"What if survival of the fittest means that the fit don't always survive?"
It's been four months since the outbreak. With the colder seasons on their way my brother, best friend and I were lucky to find shelter when we did, not to mention medicine for my brother Holden. That above all else was and still is my biggest concern. I sleep better knowing we have enough insulin to keep him alive. But enough only lasts so long, and I have to find out how long that is.
"Everyone's crazy today huh?"
"Yeah it must be national act like a jerk day." Layla replied in an outburst.
"Layla!" I stammered out while grabbing her arm.
"Chill kid the boss can't hear me down here!" her voice raised louder with each word.
I decided not to go into all the details of why she shouldn't be talking bad about the "Boss" as she so fondly called him. I knew most of her anger was due to the fact that we were stuck on dump duty. Every abled body person has a job here at Saint Helen's hospital, and depending on how well you're in with the boss, or John, decides which jobs you get. Normally women don't get this job, but my best friend and I refuse to stoop down to playing flirtatious games to get out of work.
The heavy bags of waste were hard to carry down to the burn pit, but it was quite outside and the fresh air was a pleasant change to the stale lifeless air inside. Layla and I hauled our last large bag down to the pit. Together we walked alongside the fence. We haven't had contact with an infected since John had the fence put up. The heap of waste was small in comparison to the large crater like hole that held it. The crater was left by a large plane that had crashed; the debris had since been moved to further use in building the fence and other protective forces. We watched the other waste workers and tried to take note of everything they did and exactly how they did it. It was rumored that this can be a dangerous job, and the last thing we wanted to do was screw something up. The most important thing we observed was how careful the waste workers were with their footing as they threw their loads over the edge.
Just then a loud beep came from the hospital beside us, it was the six a clock alarm, that told us that dinner would be ready in the cafeteria. Our single file line of waist workers became antsy. And I understand why, food was about the only thing we have to look forward to here, I guess you could say it's the excitement of our day. Layla and I weren't last in line but we were close to it. After we threw our load in, we started back down the fenced lined path to the hospital doors.
"Rachel! Layla!"
I stopped when I heard him yell my name.
"No, not you two. I have orders to keep you two here until everyone's gone and the waist is secure and ready for burning." he went on to say.
I need not fight him; his was the kind of voice that demanded authority. A voice that learned how to sound like the action he wanted to see, with a military boom dripping off of every end of his sentences. I stood aside and watched as all of the dump workers walked towards the hospital. Some of them held their backs in pain, I hadn't noticed until now but my back hurt too. I wasn't use to heavy lifting, and just what was in these bags that made them so heavy any ways.
"Alright girls, take these poles and use them to push down the garbage bags that didn't make it all the way down to the pit." Max said in a tired but demanding tone.
"Why?" Layla replied.
"It's the end of the world out there sweet heart, the last thing we need is an out of control fire." Max's eyes flickered with sarcasm.
Layla and I grabbed the mettle poles and began shoving the garbage waste further down into the pit. It didn't take long before we were close to being done.
"Ray! Come on lets go eat!" Layla yelled excitedly.
"Ok, hold on. One last bag!" I yelled from the far end of the pit.
I pushed on the bag with my pole. But it wouldn't budge. I stepped closer to the end and tried to put my full weight on the pole but the bag still didn't move.
"What's ammatter babe? Is the bag to heavy for you?" Max asked as he approached me.
"No." I answered between my teeth.
The bag didn't seem that far away. Maybe it was caught on something and if I lifted it I could pull it lose. I quickly set the pole aside and got down on my belly. I was right the bag was in reaching distance. I had ahold of the bag and began to try and pull it free, but it was much heavier that it looked. Just then a moan came from inside the bag. I had heard that nose before and knew what I should do. I knew I should move but I was scared stiff. To my horror the bag began to shift and the shiny black plastic began to bunch and tear. Fingers! Yes those are fingers ripping through the plastic, and before I could yell for help I was staring into the eyes of a soulless hungry body, whose only lot in life was to eat the flesh of the living.