Life After Death

Chapter 8

The next morning, we gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, which consisted of eggs, bacon and toast.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked her.

“I did, thanks to you. Although, I had to sleep in the nude because I forgot to get nightclothes.” 

I didn’t need to know that. “When we go out again we’ll stop at a mall.” 

She threw one of her teasing grins at me. “I really don’t need to wear anything when I sleep.” 

I decided to change the subject. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?” 

Her expression changed to a more serious one. “I’m from West Virginia. Everyone knows how to shoot there.”

“Good. We’ll pick up more weapons when we’re out scavenging.” 

“Are we expecting a war?” 

“I still think this is an invasion. We may have to defend this place from who knows what.” 

“Our only enemies are wild dogs and bears. You said that you hadn’t found anyone else alive in your journey before you came here.” 

“I still think it would be prudent to be ready just in case.” 

She lowered her eyes. “You’re probably right.” She looked up at me. “But, I hope that we don’t have to fight.” 

“I’m with you, but you have to admit that our situation is bizarre at best. We really don’t know what happened and whether we are safe now. The problem is that with time the products of civilization will disappear. We are left with whatever we can scavenge, and the sooner the better.” 

“Yes, you’re right. Without people, the creations of man will fade.” 

The screen activated. “Good morning, Jack Siefert and Diane Hobert.” 

“Good morning, sir,” I said. 

“You are right, Jack Siefert. We must prepare for the worst. Take the van out and obtain as much as possible.” 

“Yes, sir. Ah . . . what have you discovered from the satellites?” 

“Nothing, Jack Siefert.” 

The screen darkened. 

We looked at each other for a moment before going back to the garage and getting into the van. I drove out of the compound and headed toward Pittsburg. 

“The weather is starting to turn colder,” she said. “We may want to pick up clothing more suitable for winter.” 

“That’s a good idea. It’s been so hot that I hadn’t thought about the seasons changing.” 

“You had more important things on your mind.” 

I sighed. “You got that right. I was waiting for the next shoe to drop.” 

“It’s been almost four months and nothing has happened. Maybe this is just a biological disaster.” 

“If it was, it doesn’t fit the profile of a pandemic. The great flu pandemic of 1918 only killed five percent of the world’s population. Even the plagues that ravished Europe and Asia only killed off half the population at best. Whatever happened here is much more devastating, and what’s really disconcerting is terrible way that it killed everyone.” 

“I agree. If we go back to the fungus idea, it would require much more than a couple of weeks to reduce a body to powder and bones, and what doesn’t make sense is that there was no evidence that it was even present. Fungi tend to form colonies and spread.” 

I waved my hand. “Scratch that theory.” 

Once we got into Pittsburg, we stopped at a gun store and obtained plenty of guns and ammunition. One thing is our favor is that rats and wild dogs don’t know how to use guns. I took all of the AK-47’s and a couple of hunting rifles, a Winchester model 70 bolt action is a classic pre-1964 hunting rifle and is good for large game like deer and moose. I stocked up on the .270 Winchester cartridges. I also chose a BAR Mark II semi-automatic fitted for the .338 Winchester Magnum cartridges. Both had scopes fitted to them. 

We stopped at a different mall and scavenged more clothing, including light and heavy coats and jackets. We saw new signs of decay. Water pipes had burst in the mall and had flooded some areas. Fortunately, water was no longer running in the pipes that deliver the water so the damage was minimized. 

Diane picked out some nightgowns and slippers. She also selected some bathing suits. I did the same. We also stocked up on jeans, shirts and shoes. 

While driving down a street in a suburb of Pittsburg, we found a car that had crashed into a light pole. We stopped and examined it. Inside, a skeleton sat at the wheel. 

“This is the first example of a dead person out of a house or building,” I said. “He must have been rendered unconscious before he died from whatever it was that killed everyone.” 

“The event occurred at night,” she said. “What about people in areas that were still in daylight?” 

“That would be over in Europe. Paris is five hours ahead of us.” 

“There’s no way for us to know what that would have been like. Did people just fall over and die? If that were the case, bodies would be all over the place.” 

I opened the driver’s side door. 

“What are you doing?” she yelled. 

“I want to see if this one has the powder.” I stuck the muzzle of my AK-47 against the victim’s skull and it broke into dust. “What the hell?” 

“It appears that even bones have begun to disintegrate,” she said. 

“That doesn’t make sense. What would make bones turn to dust that quickly?” 

“I don’t know but it’s creeping me out.” 

I closed the door. “Yeah, me too.” 

We got back in the van and continued on. 

“Whatever caused this is not something normal. Maybe it was an alien disease.” 

“You mean as in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” she said, sounding silly. 

“If that were the case then we’re aliens.” 

She laughed. “Yeah, we’re the ones the alien plot worked on. Everyone else died.” 

“That’s an ugly thought.” 

She didn’t respond. After several minutes of silence, she said something I hadn’t expected. “When we get back I want to examine the computer more carefully. I would like to know how he achieved this amazing trick of stuffing his memories into a computer brain.” 

“I’m sure that we could do that as long as we don’t screw things up.” 

“I know what I’m doing,” she said as if offended. 

“Good,” I said. 

We didn’t say much on the rest of the way back to the compound.