the dusky recesses of the house, he exhaled a sigh of relief in response to the absolute silence that he heard. Quickly, he unslung his pack and began filling it with the food and water he found in the kitchen. When he had loaded enough to last them a couple of days, he searched the drawers for medications. Although not severe, Aaron suffered from asthma and had lost his only inhaler several days ago. Despite scouring every inch of the last few houses, Sean had been unsuccessful at finding a replacement. He hoped his luck would be different today, so after coming up short in the kitchen, he proceeded up the stairway leading to the second floor of the house.
Sean stopped suddenly as the floor of the landing creaked underfoot. The sound was earsplitting against the silence filling the dead house. After another unanswered pause, he continued forward praying the stairs beneath him would refrain from any further groans of protest. Despite having patiently checked the house for any infected, he treated every house as one should treat a firearm: always assume it is loaded and therefore lethal.
When he stepped onto the carpeted hallway at the top of the stairs, he saw what he assumed were three bedroom doors opening along its length. The first bedroom, a boy’s nursery, overlooked the front yard as well as his family’s position across the street.
Moving to the second door, he saw the room of another boy, perhaps just a little older than Aaron. The bedroom still possessed telltale signs of the innocence of adolescence. Various toys and action figures, abandoned mid-battle, were strewn across the cluttered floor, eagerly awaiting their owner’s return. At the same time, faint glimpses of the teen angst soon to come poked through the room’s childish veneer. Gone were the teddy bear sheets, replaced by ones printed with a ‘Skate or Die!’ pattern. Next to a pair of duct tape-covered shoes that looked more tattered than those of a homeless man, set a well-worn skateboard. Judging by its position of prominence in the boy’s room, Sean imagined the skateboard was among the boy’s most prized possessions.
The last bedroom he came to was the master bedroom. He rifled through the drawers of the bedside table as well as those in the adjoining bathroom. His heart leapt in his chest when he saw the little L-shaped plastic container with ALBUTEROL printed on the side of the metal cartridge protruding from the top. Mission complete, Sean triumphantly scooped up the inhaler and moved back into the quiet hallway.
Thinking of Aaron as he passed the young boy’s room, Sean decided to grab a couple of the abandoned action figures scattered about the room’s carpeted floor. “All right, soldiers! Are you ready to get back into the fight?” he said.
When he came to the nursery, he walked over to the window and gazed outside at the overgrown, lush, green grass basking in the warm sun. Scanning the wooded lot across the street, Sean located his wife and son. They were certainly becoming skilled in the art of camouflage, as it took him nearly a minute to spot them despite knowing where to look. When they saw him in the window, they gave him a subtle wave of acknowledgement. Beaming with pride, he held up the action figures in one hand then slowly raised the inhaler in the other. The mile-wide smile on his wife’s face told him she knew exactly what he found. Despite the fact that Aaron rarely needed the treatment, her worry that he would be without it when he did weighed heavily upon her.
Sean returned a broad smile that was cut short when a searing pain erupted in the back of his left leg just above his Achilles’ tendon. He let out an involuntary shriek as he whirled around to confront the source of his pain. With his leg inexplicably tethered, he lost balance and toppled to the ground.
Outside, all smiles faded suddenly as well. Despite the double pane glass, the woman heard her husband’s cry of pain as he went down. Hoping
Sean stopped suddenly as the floor of the landing creaked underfoot. The sound was earsplitting against the silence filling the dead house. After another unanswered pause, he continued forward praying the stairs beneath him would refrain from any further groans of protest. Despite having patiently checked the house for any infected, he treated every house as one should treat a firearm: always assume it is loaded and therefore lethal.
When he stepped onto the carpeted hallway at the top of the stairs, he saw what he assumed were three bedroom doors opening along its length. The first bedroom, a boy’s nursery, overlooked the front yard as well as his family’s position across the street.
Moving to the second door, he saw the room of another boy, perhaps just a little older than Aaron. The bedroom still possessed telltale signs of the innocence of adolescence. Various toys and action figures, abandoned mid-battle, were strewn across the cluttered floor, eagerly awaiting their owner’s return. At the same time, faint glimpses of the teen angst soon to come poked through the room’s childish veneer. Gone were the teddy bear sheets, replaced by ones printed with a ‘Skate or Die!’ pattern. Next to a pair of duct tape-covered shoes that looked more tattered than those of a homeless man, set a well-worn skateboard. Judging by its position of prominence in the boy’s room, Sean imagined the skateboard was among the boy’s most prized possessions.
The last bedroom he came to was the master bedroom. He rifled through the drawers of the bedside table as well as those in the adjoining bathroom. His heart leapt in his chest when he saw the little L-shaped plastic container with ALBUTEROL printed on the side of the metal cartridge protruding from the top. Mission complete, Sean triumphantly scooped up the inhaler and moved back into the quiet hallway.
Thinking of Aaron as he passed the young boy’s room, Sean decided to grab a couple of the abandoned action figures scattered about the room’s carpeted floor. “All right, soldiers! Are you ready to get back into the fight?” he said.
When he came to the nursery, he walked over to the window and gazed outside at the overgrown, lush, green grass basking in the warm sun. Scanning the wooded lot across the street, Sean located his wife and son. They were certainly becoming skilled in the art of camouflage, as it took him nearly a minute to spot them despite knowing where to look. When they saw him in the window, they gave him a subtle wave of acknowledgement. Beaming with pride, he held up the action figures in one hand then slowly raised the inhaler in the other. The mile-wide smile on his wife’s face told him she knew exactly what he found. Despite the fact that Aaron rarely needed the treatment, her worry that he would be without it when he did weighed heavily upon her.
Sean returned a broad smile that was cut short when a searing pain erupted in the back of his left leg just above his Achilles’ tendon. He let out an involuntary shriek as he whirled around to confront the source of his pain. With his leg inexplicably tethered, he lost balance and toppled to the ground.
Outside, all smiles faded suddenly as well. Despite the double pane glass, the woman heard her husband’s cry of pain as he went down. Hoping
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