Hello

Gone were the days of warmth and happiness, all that is now is darkness and solitude. Except for Them. Them emerge when they need to feed and are savage. Beasts that once were human, now evolved into monsters. Them dwell underground in caverns dug for them when the virus first began to take hold. The scientists never figured out where the virus came from or why it spread so rapidly. They tried to find a cure using blood from those of us who seemed to have a natural immunity. It didn't work. While in their labs, a vile containing the beastly virus was dropped and it was set loose. It ravaged the bodies of the scientists and they became Them. More and more people succumbed to the virus, and those of us who didn't soon realized that we were being hunted. I watched helplessly as those around me, my family, my child, either became one of Them or became a meal for one of Them. For twenty-seven years I thought I was the last survivor alive, until two weeks ago.

I heard a radio transmission. I have one of those camping radios that wind up and don't need batteries. Once a day, for the last twenty-seven years, I wind the little plastic handle and hope. Usually it's nothing but static, I grew to expect it and it had become routine. Then there was this, "Hello?". It was faint, I wasn't sure I had actually heard it. Then again, "Hello?". I began to cry, I hadn't heard a voice in so long and for so long I thought I was alone in the world. I desperately wished I could answer back. I wanted to let them know that they weren't alone and that I was alive. I wanted to speak to someone other than myself. Did I still remember how to speak aloud? I've been alone so long with no one to talk to, I took to not speaking at all. I tried to say something, anything, just make a sound. "Hello." It was scratchy and soft, but it was there. It didn't bother me that my voice sounded strange and forced, had forgotten what my voice sounded like before. At least it worked. Now all I have to do is figure out how to transmit a message to the person on the radio and try to find them. All this while trying to survive. There's no difference between day and night now. The sun burnt black around the time of the emergence of the virus. For that reason, many people were convinced that it was the Devil's doing, others thought it was God trying to cleanse the Earth. Then there were the proud few who just "knew" it was aliens. It doesn't matter why now, it's done.

It is impossible to predict when Them will come out and feed. One must always be prepared to fight for your life. Be alert and fast, always run. I began growing food on the roof of my high-rise. I'm the only one left inside, so I do with it as I please. I made the bottom three floors completely secure and I now live in my place on the top floor. My garden has flourished unexpectedly. I have fresh fruits and vegetables now, so my days of running at top speed to the store to pick through what hasn't rotted are over. I haven't tried to leave the building in five years, I haven't needed to. Now I must, I need to find a radio station. I need to tell the other person that I exist, that I'm alive. I didn't realize how lonely I actually was until I heard that faint transmission. Then the loneliness of twenty-seven years flowed through me like a freight train, seeping into every cell of me.

Tomorrow I will search the abandoned apartments for weapons. I have to be completely prepared before I try to go outside. I am scared that I won't be able to run fast enough anymore.