Finding Light in the Dark

11

So cold…

Half asleep, I suddenly felt a chill, instinctively pulling my feet under the blanket. But the cold wind kept seeping in, making the curtains rustle.

Shivering, I crawled out of bed and closed the open window.

I reached out to turn on the light.

"Click."

No response.

The moonlight was bright, casting a cold glow on my face.

November 24th, 1:30 AM. The eighth day of the lockdown.

A power outage. I sighed, got up, and found the LED magnetic lights, placing one by the bed. Then I drew the blackout curtains tightly.

From now on, we had to be cautious with electricity at night.

Throwing on a jacket, I installed lights in the remaining rooms.

In the living room, Anne seemed to be sound asleep.

The balcony door was tightly closed. I habitually checked the lock; everything was fine.

"Helen," someone suddenly called me from behind.

She startled me. "Not sleeping yet?" 

"No…" She rubbed her nose, lifting a corner of the blanket, "Why aren't you asleep?" 

"The power's out," I said, climbing in beside her.

I wondered about the situation in Greenfield…

Without contact, my parents must be worried sick. 

"It was bound to happen," she nodded, "But I've noticed something strange…" 

"What?" 

"They're gone." Anne stared at the ceiling, lost in thought, "All of them, gone. No idea where they went."

I knew she was talking about the infected downstairs.

Though they looked like zombies, they didn't fear the sun.

Instead, they seemed to work with the sun, active by day, inactive by night.

"Where could they have gone?"

Anne buried her face in the blanket, her voice muffled, "Do you think they'll come back…?" 

"Come back? You mean home?"

I thought about the residents of 903.

Since the virus outbreak, their door had remained wide open. 

"Just a guess… I think they're still in the complex. We could test it—" she pondered, "Maybe by closing the lobby door…" 

"No, it's too dangerous."

Her idea frightened me. The thought of encountering a zombie next door made me lower my voice. "What if you run into one in the hallway?" 

"True," she conceded, "I'll think of something else."

We lay there, each with our thoughts, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The zombie virus outbreak lasted two or three days.

During that time, people kept fleeing their homes, only to be swallowed by larger hordes. In this slaughterhouse-like scenario, survivors faced even greater challenges.

We reallocated the electricity usage for our appliances.

From then on, electricity was mainly reserved for the fridge, rice cooker, electric kettle, and lighting.

The induction cooker's power consumption was much higher than I had expected, a whopping 2100W.

I stored it away and dug out the single-person electric pot I had from college. Its 0.8L capacity was small, but it was enough to cook something.

After that, time seemed to pass quickly.

Or perhaps having a companion made the days less unbearable.

After the virus outbreak, Jack disappeared. The supply trucks stopped coming.

The world fell silent.

It was as if everyone had left the city overnight, leaving only Anne and me behind.

We couldn't see the street directly from our home. The complex was eerily quiet.

Most of the time, the zombies barely moved.

Only when a desperate survivor took a risk did they give chase with frenzied vigor.

There was a brief period when water and power were restored.

I didn't store water directly, boiling it first before replenishing the buckets on the balcony. Usually, Anne and I could only wipe ourselves down with hot water.

Taking advantage of the restored water supply, we took a proper hot shower.

Anne brought scissors, and we cut each other's long hair.

During the water shortage days, hair had become a major burden.

Now, we shaved our heads, needing only a quick wipe during face washing.

I touched my own head, then Anne's. It felt prickly.

"Not bad, huh?" I said. 

"That's not what you said when you begged me for help."

She turned her head side to side, examining her reflection.

After over half a month together, this woman had become increasingly cold towards me.

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