《The 24-Hour Bug》 Prologue [Ep 0] One day, it happened. People started just, dropping dead. As you can guess, society as we knew it didn¡¯t last long. It¡¯s been two years now, and somehow, I¡¯ve survived. Along with my best friend Jordan, I¡¯ve managed to make it through some of the worst years in human history. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. We know very little about the disease, but we do know two things: One, if someone has it, their eyes will turn green; And two, if someone has it, they¡¯ll die within 24 hours. Beginning [Ep 1] ¡°Sebastian! Wake up Sleeping Beauty!¡± Ugh, It¡¯s already morning. I try to look at the bright side, at least I didn¡¯t die in my sleep! And no headache, which is rumored to be a sign that you don¡¯t have much time left to live. With my eyes already being green, it¡¯s impossible to tell if I¡¯ve contracted the bug or not, so it¡¯s something of a game of chance. I drag myself from the covers, and Jordan, impatient as always, is right there, waiting. ¡°Bro, it¡¯s been nearly two hours since dawn!¡± He says. ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s not that big of a deal man.¡± I reply, grabbing a shirt from a nearby pile of my clothes. Most electricity has gone down at this point, so we don¡¯t really have clocks anymore. We don¡¯t really have a lot of things anymore. We leave our house, a little cabin my grandparents owned back when they were alive. They¡¯re dead, and so are my parents. I can assume my little sister, Jess, is dead too. She went off on her own early on, and the chance of her having survived this long by herself is basically none. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°So, where are we going today?¡± I ask, pulling myself from my dark thoughts. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been thinking¡­¡± Jordan begins ¡°Oh no, you? Thinking? This can¡¯t be good, are you looking to get us shot at again?¡± ¡°That was one time!¡± Jordan protests ¡°And anyway, as I was saying, the city is a dangerous place, and we¡¯ve pretty much combed all of the suburbs. So, I propose that we cross the countryside, and find the next town over.¡± He finishes, clearly proud of his plan. ¡°I dunno man, that¡¯s pretty far to travel, and we don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll be up against out there.¡± I reply doubtfully ¡°Well, we¡¯re running out of food, Seb, and out of options. It¡¯s this or head to the city.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right. So, we¡¯re going on an adventure then, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Yep! Let¡¯s go!¡± Ambush [Ep 2] We walk across the fields of abandoned farms with a hot sun directly overhead. The grass, being without care for years, has grown to be as tall as I am in places. Sweat pours down my forehead, and I can feel my pale skin baking in the heat. ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for hours and haven¡¯t found anything interesting!¡± Jordan moans. ¡°It was your idea.¡± I remind him ¡°Well, it was a stupid idea, why did you agree to it?!¡± In typical fashion, he didn¡¯t think this through. ¡°I dunno, I think it¡¯s pretty interesting. A change of scenery at least.¡± In the two years since this all started, we hadn¡¯t left the immediate suburbs near the cottage, and I hadn¡¯t realized how much I needed a change. With the sun at its zenith, it can¡¯t have been much past noon, maybe an hour or so. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Although, we have spent half a day walking, without finding anything remarkable, and no food either- ¡° ¡°Shush, shush, you hear that?¡± Jordan whispers. I strain to hear the faint sounds of movement in the tall grass. Something big was approaching us, and quickly. ¡°What do you two think you¡¯re doing around here?¡± I spin to see a man approaching us from behind, carrying a shotgun. ¡°Dammit,¡± Jordan breathes from behind me ¡°They¡¯ve got us surrounded.¡± ¡°I promise we don¡¯t have anything of value, we¡¯re just passing through.¡± I say, putting my hands up in a placating gesture ¡°that¡¯s exactly why you¡¯re on our territory, y¡¯all wanna take our stuff!¡± The man with the shotgun shouts. Despite his scruffy beard, he seems to not be much older than us. I glance around, counting the men surrounding us. There are three of them, and one with a gun. That¡¯s way more than Jordan and I can take on our own. I hear a rustling to my right, and see the man there collapse to the ground with a knife sticking out from the side of his neck. Meeting [Ep 3] From out of the grass steps a girl, around our age, with close-cropped hair and a stiletto blade in her hand. Immediately, the man with the shotgun turns to confront her, recognition dawning on his face. ¡°Back off Reighlin, I don¡¯t wanna hurt you.¡± The girl says threateningly as she retrieves her knife from the dead man. ¡°Oh, come on girlie, you know how good I am with this thing.¡± The young thug says with a sneer, lifting his shotgun. ¡°Reighlin,¡± the girl doesn¡¯t even look up from wiping the blood off her blade on the dead man¡¯s clothes. ¡°I helped train you, I know exactly how good you aren¡¯t with a gun. Now leave these guys alone, this is my territory now.¡± The boy named Reighlin doesn¡¯t take kindly to her comments, and levels his gun at her, firing without aiming properly; proving her point by missing horribly. She doesn¡¯t miss as she deftly hurls a dagger at him, landing perfectly in his carotid artery. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Who the hell is this chick?¡± Jordan mumbles in horror as she slits the throat of the last man, who had been paralyzed by fear after the death of his comrades. She looks up and smirks at our terrified expressions. ¡°You boys new around here or what? Well, consider yourselves saved.¡± I have no clue what to think. This girl just killed three men twice her size like it was nothing, and she didn¡¯t even seem to have any qualms about killing Reighlin¡¯s relatively innocent lackeys. ¡°Thanks for saving us.¡± I say, knowing it would be best to keep this girl on our side ¡°And what¡¯s your name?¡± Jordan asks, clearly thinking that was the most important question to ask the first girl you¡¯ve seen in years. ¡°I¡¯m Annabelle, and I live in these fields as a nomad.¡± She replies ¡°Well, I¡¯m Sebastian, and this is Jordan. Do you wanna come on an adventure with us?¡± In a rare moment of confidence, I decide to ask her on what I assumed would be the post-apocalyptic equivalent of a date. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She seems to consider the proposition for a moment ¡°Sure, it would be useless for me to rescue you two if you¡¯re just going to get yourselves killed later on.¡± Fire-side Talks part 1 [Ep 4] We stopped walking when night began to fall, finding a house that was mostly intact. We were sitting in awkward silence around a campfire that Annabelle had made in a collapsed part of the floor. ¡°So, what¡¯s your story, Annabelle?¡± I ask, curious about our new group member. ¡°Well, both my parents are dead, and I used to live in the suburbs until everything went to hell. I fled out here, to the countryside, and ended up caught up in one of the many bandit gangs that roam around here. I left them about a year ago after I had a¡­ Disagreement with their leader. I¡¯ve lived on my own since then.¡± She tells the story nonchalantly, as if your average girl would¡¯ve done the exact same. ¡°How did some chick like you manage to kill those three guys?¡± Jordan asks rudely ¡°Might I remind you that this ¡°chick¡± saved your lives?¡± Annabelle replies venomously ¡°And anyway, I rose pretty high in the ranks of the bandits and learned a thing or two from those degenerates.¡± ¡°I think what my friend means,¡± I say, shooting Jordan a glare ¡°is how were you able to make the slip-second decision to kill those guys without hesitation?¡± The question had been burning in my mind all day, and this seemed like a safe enough time to ask it. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°If someone is trying to hurt you, you¡¯d best be trying to hurt them. That¡¯s something my dad told me when I was little, and it always stuck. Reighlin shot at me, I had to respond in turn.¡± ¡°But what about his lackeys, they didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Jordan demands ¡°What if one of them had a gun, and shot us as we walked away? We didn¡¯t know what they were prepared to do, and I erred on the side of caution.¡± She explains the concept patiently, as if talking to children. ¡°Sounds fair enough.¡± I say, a little shocked at how logical her explanation was. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve shared my story, what¡¯s yours? You guys must have one.¡± She pushes. I glance at Jordan, who shakes his head almost imperceptibly, clearly not thinking we should tell her. But something about Annabelle seems trustworthy to me, and besides, it wouldn¡¯t be fair to ask her to tell her story but hide ours. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that interesting. Jordan and I have been friends for as long as I can remember, our parents are dead, my sister disappeared, and so we just lived in my grandparents¡¯ cottage for the past two years.¡± I tell the story quickly, feeling Jordan¡¯s eyes boring into my back. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Not knowing what happened to your sister must be terrible.¡± She replies. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I just try not to think about it. She¡¯s probably dead by this point anyway.¡± I say defeatedly. ¡°No, she isn¡¯t, Seb! Don¡¯t talk like that, she can take care of herself!¡± Jordan yells at me as soon as the words leave my mouth. He¡¯d always had a thing for Jess, who was a year younger than us, and according to him, ¡®the prettiest girl to have walked the earth¡¯. Jordan is always the more optimistic of the two of us, and if it helps him deal with everything that¡¯s going on, I guess I can¡¯t fault him for it. Fire-side Talks part 2 [Ep 5] ¡°She¡¯s probably with some friends right now, around a fire like us, eating some fresh meat¡­.¡± Jordan trails off wistfully. We¡¯re all silent for a moment, save for the crackling of the fire. ¡°Hey, I never asked, what are you two doing out here in the not-so abandoned fields?¡± Annabelle breaks the silence. ¡°We sorta started running out of food.¡± I say, embarrassed, though I¡¯m not sure why. ¡°It was Sebastian¡¯s idea to come out here.¡± Jordan adds quickly, throwing me under the bus for his less-than-intelligent plan. ¡°I guess you guys didn¡¯t expect it to be so dangerous out here, but other than the murderous gangs, it wasn¡¯t a terrible idea.¡± Jordan shoots me a smug look, saying with a glance that I should thank him for talking me up. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about you guys,¡± he says, yawning ¡°But I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯m gonna go to sleep.¡± ¡°I suppose we should, we have another day of walking tomorrow.¡± I say, a little reluctantly, not wanting to end my conversation with Annabelle. Jordan and I had packed rather shortsightedly, only bringing a single schoolbag between us, which housed a change of clothes each. We realize how unprepared we are when we find we¡¯d brought only one blanket. I would spend the night huddled against the chilly air, since Jordan contested that, as the one to pack the blanket, he should get to have it. As I shiver in the breeze that had been scorching just hours ago, I contemplate our new companion. Sure, she had saved us, but there was still a part of me that didn¡¯t fully trust her. She is beautiful though, and my teenage self couldn¡¯t help but be excited by the prospect of having a girl around for the first time in years; but Annabelle is so far out of my league, entertaining the idea of dating her is just foolish. Nonetheless, I fall asleep to images of a nice, pre-apocalyptic life with her. Lucky find [EP 6] I¡¯m awoken some hours later by a loud thud from somewhere in the house. I jump into a crouch position, quickly scanning the room around me, empty, save for a sleeping Jordan on my left. ¡°Sorry.¡± Annabelle stage-whispers from the kitchen. I creep along, trying my best to not wake Jordan up. Annabelle stands by a hole in the floor, but an intentional one this time. Her opening the trapdoor had been the bang that woke me up. ¡°A cellar?¡± I say, straining my eyes to try and see into the gloom. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what it looks like, it¡¯s pretty dark down there, though.¡± She replies, also gazing into the abyss. Fancying myself a hero, I confidently hop onto the dusty old ladder, and slide down into the dark cellar. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkness, and it¡¯s then that I realize just how stupid of an idea this was. I¡¯m able to barely make out the shapes of a few shelves and boxes, and I start rummaging through moth-eaten blankets and tattered books, searching for food. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Holy crap¡­¡± I breathe. The previous owners of this house had a hobby farm, and kept a few boxes of bees to pollinate their crops. They also seemed to really like preserves. I found a couple dozen jars of pickles, jams, and even one of honey. ¡°You finding anything down there?¡± Annabelle calls, from the mouth of the cellar. ¡°Oh yeah, we¡¯ve hit the jackpot with this!¡± I reply, stuffing a musty sack full of food. As I start back up the ladder, I realize that, between the weight of the sack, and only having one hand on the ladder, I¡¯m rather unbalanced. I¡¯m suddenly very aware of how little traction my worn-out sneakers have on the dusty ladder rungs, and I find myself slipping on every step. Since I had just slid down the ladder before, the thick layer of grime is still entirely undisturbed. I¡¯m almost to the top of the ladder when my foot completely slides out from under me, and time seems to stop as I lose my grip on the ladder, my one arm not strong enough to carry both myself and my sack of cans. I feel myself fall, as if in slow motion, unsure what I should do. I stop falling with a jerk, though I haven¡¯t hit the floor. Annabelle has come to my rescue yet again, catching me by the front of my t-shirt, the fabric straining against my weight. Saved Again [Ep 7] ¡°Woah, you saved me, again.¡± I breathe, marveling at how strong she must be to hold me up with just one hand. ¡°Yeah, I did. Now can you please get back on the ladder, you¡¯re kinda heavy.¡± I finally snap back to reality, and start up the ladder again, being extra careful up the last rungs I hadn¡¯t yet touched. ¡°Thanks, for saving me back there, that was kinda crazy.¡± I feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment, all my previous ideas of masculinity challenged in a single moment. Saved by a girl once, honest mistake, but saved by a girl twice? That was just absurd. ¡°I couldn¡¯t exactly just let you smash your head on the floor, now, could I?¡± Annabelle pretends to be nonchalant, but her tanned cheeks seem to have reddened a little too. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°What the hell are you two doing?¡± Jordan demands from the doorway, clearly annoyed at being woken up. ¡°There¡¯s a cellar, we found some food down there.¡± I explain, deciding to leave out the fact that I nearly fell to my doom. Annabelle isn¡¯t so kind ¡°And this idiot nearly fell to his death coming back up the ladder. Annabelle says, her voice full of cocky contempt. ¡°That¡¯s why you were shouting then. You good man?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m okay. I think I¡¯m actually gonna go back down, there¡¯s so much stuff down there!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come too, so we can carry more on each trip, but you should stay up here Jordan, in case Sebastian falls again.¡± She grins at me, and I know I¡¯ll never live that down. I hop onto the ladder first, going slowly so neither of us fall.