Short Story: BORN TO DIE
It was too good to last a lifetime.
I
For three weeks, we had the run of the whole city. We lived high, slept in palatial beds and shopped without money. We drank whatever we wanted. We went wherever we wanted. I saw the finest things and took them. My hair flowed. My wrist glistened. I rode the abandoned highway on a bicycle in Versace. I swam in pools I’d only seen in magazines. I lived. It may have been the end of the city for others, but it felt like paradise to me, like the afterlife had already come my way.
There were more of us at the beginning. Now there were only three: Gabby, Lee and me. I’d known Gabby since grade school and we picked up Lee a few days back. He was tall, had a knack for opening things; a goofy kid with stoner hair and Trust Everyone inked on his arm. I liked him. So did Gabby.
II
It didn’t happen often, but if we saw other people we hid. Most of the time, the streets were empty. We didn’t even know why exactly. Gabby said we were all supposed to be dead by now. The plague was a fortnight overdue, a month if you counted the evacuation. It didn’t feel real and none of it looked real either. It was too good to last a lifetime.
‘Unless that lifetime is pretty short,’ said Lee.
We were in some penthouse downtown. Three silhouettes in the night window.
I could feel Gabby getting anxious beside me.
‘Maybe it isn’t coming,’ I said.
III
But it came. The plague didn’t run into town like an army. It seemed to sprout up. We were down on a high street boulevard when we saw the first one, some security guard devouring a stray cat like it was BBQ chicken. We all got twitchy after that. We started looking for a map and hiking gear. We started listening for cars and helicopters. We started walking.
IV
A couple of days later, we were in the desert and worried. Those things were hiding everywhere. We’d all killed one. Gabby had to brain this girl that looked just like her. She hadn’t really said much since then.
One day, we were on the highway and a truck came by. There were two men, brothers by the looks, and some women. Everyone seemed happier than they should be. They idled the truck and chatted for a bit. Then they asked me if I wanted a ride.
‘Just you,’ said one of the women.
As we sped off, I watched Gabby and Lee from the rear tray.
They were holding hands.
Lee waved.
END
— IAIN
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