Plague Triggers Love

Intro

As if life wasn't hard enough being gay in a world where the majority will use anything to push you down and get ahead, it only got harder after September 12, 2012. My life before that day may have seemed like a perfectly normal life to people who didn't know me and didn't understand what I was going through. But they had no idea. I was doomed the day I was born into my family. Don't get me wrong, I loved both my parents to death. But, when your gay and you were born into a family where your mother belongs to a very wealthy and conservative white family and your father belongs to a very traditional Spanish family, life isn't that fair for you. Two families with very different traditions and beliefs; but, one thing the two families shared in common were their beliefs on homosexuals. Or another way to put it, their lack of tolerance for my "kind." Coming out to my family, the people who were supposed to be there for you no matter what when you need them the most, was out of the question. Not because of fear of their disapproval; I honestly don't think they would have kicked me out or disowned me. But because of the fact that I loved them too much to let their opinions of me change, even if it's the slightest bit. On top of that, the schools I attended while growing up weren't the best places for a gay person to be open about it. No matter how much progress there has been and all this talk about everyone having equal rights, people will still judge something they don't understand or agree with. I watched too many kids get picked on and get turned on because they were different and I was not going to be one of those kids. So at a young age I decided this would be my secret and that only a selected few who I could trust would ever find out about me.

Bottling up my emotions and keeping them to myself I have come to realize has only hurt me in the long run. I have so many feelings that I don't know how to get rid of. Choosing to keep my secret only made my life harder. If people didn't knew I was gay then how were other gay people supposed to know I was open for love? This made it really hard for me to explore my sexuality and become comfortable with myself. I've only had small experiences with two guys, nothing more than kissing and touching each other. The only reason I got these opportunities was because my best friend, Kaelynn, found these boys and set us up. Not having people there that thought I was attractive and trying to hook up with me only furthered my insecurities. But I only have myself and my cowardliness to blame for this.

None of that matters now. For all I know me and my friends are the last people on this earth. The last time we heard a transmission over the radio it said that no place was safe and that it had reached all parts of the world. And the last time I saw another survivor was over three weeks ago. Even if there were groups of people left what are the chances that we will run into them? And who says one of them will be a gay guy? All odds are against me and I've learned to just accept it. There's no point in wasting my emotions and time on something that is completely hopeless. The survival of my friends and myself is more important than a wild goose chase. My friends need me now more than ever and I won't let them down.

Chapter 1

I walked along a street scattered with abandoned cars and other objects. It was weird seeing the once busy college town of San Luis Obispo so dead and deserted. This city went from being one of the happiest places on earth to one of the deadest. Glass covered the sidewalks and streets from battered cars and windows. Some buildings were black and charred from when the city went into complete chaos. Every once in a while you would come across a mangled body or just a piece of a body. At first these images scarred me and I couldn't bear to walk the streets. But two months into this disaster and seeing it daily has allowed me to numb away any thoughts or feelings for who these people were and what happened to them. I've learned to only invest my feelings in people who are still alive and trying to survive along with me. As we got closer into the downtown area my nerves started to get uneasy. From past experience it seemed like the closer you got to downtown the more dangerous it got. The streets were getting denser with cars and visibility was dropping quickly.

"Be careful you guys this area looks really sketchy." Kaelynn said from a few feet behind me.

I looked back at her as she started putting her long wavy black hair up into a bun and then she folded up her sleeves as if she was expecting a fight. Then she reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a small handgun. Kaelynn had been my best friend since High School and we were always there for each other. Without her I wouldn't have made it this far. I would have died with the rest a long time ago. Her uneasiness was transferring to me causing me to reach back and pull out a long blade from my backpack. Gripping it tight in my right hand I kept walking. As I furthered down the street I was nearing a semi-truck that was flipped onto its side. The front end of the truck was smashed into the side of a store and the back end was lodged into a store on the other side of the street, completely blocking the street. There was no way we could go under or around the truck. The only way through was up and over. But, going up meant climbing up ten feet on a surface that had no grip. Kaelynn slowly walked up to the front of the car, trying to find a way through.

"Looks like we're going up." Bradford said as he took a running start and then leaped for the top of the truck, throwing his hands as far as he could.

"Not even close buddy." I said as he missed the top by a good distance and fell awkwardly to the floor.

"I don't like this it could be a death trap. Maybe we should just go back and find a different street." She said as she looked around nervously.

"Don't be so scared, it's not that big of a deal, "Bradford said trying to sound confident, but continued when he saw she wasn't convinced, "How about we send someone up to check things out and then we make a decision."

"Fine. But, I'm not going up. I'll keep watch." She said as she walked over to an empty car, climbed on top and clutched her gun as she watched the streets behind us.

"I'll go up. Can u give me a hand?" Bradford said looking back at me as he walked closer to the truck.

"Sure." I said.

I waited as Bradford started to take off his backpack and weapons. When he took off his jacket I couldn't help but stare at his muscular arms. I quickly looked away, not wanting him to catch me raping him with my eyes. Bradford was probably the same height as me, around 6'1, but he had more muscle than me. I'm slimmer than all the other guys but I wasn't weak, my body was well toned. Bradford was perfectly balanced, being right in between slim and muscular. He almost looked like a swimmer; slimmer torso and nice muscles in his arms and chest area. Not only was his body perfect, but he also had big blue eyes that were hard not to stare into. With the nod of his head towards the truck he walked towards it and waited for me. As I walked up to him he combed his fingers through his dark brown hair.

"Try not to drop me alright?" Brad said jokingly.

"I'll try my hardest but I can't promise you that." I said back as I intertwined my fingers and gave him a footstep on my palms.

Putting his shoe on my palms he tested it by putting slight pressure on my palms.

"Are you sure you can handle this I don't wanna hurt you?" Bradford said sarcastically with a big grin on his face.

"Shut up and hurry before I let go." I said giving him a fake smile.

After giving me the same smile back he pushed down on my palms and propelled himself up. Pushing up as hard as I could he reached the top and gripped onto it with both hands. Seeing he needed a little help I pushed up on his heels as he was pulling himself up onto the top. Rolling onto his side he got up and stepped forward out of my view. Not knowing what to do I turned around to check on Kaelynn. She was still standing there, clutching her gun and watching the streets behind us intently. Turning back to the truck I still couldn't see Brad and he hadn't said anything.

"Brad?" I said but not to loudly, not wanting to attract anything around us.

"Be quiet there's a group of walkers nearby." Brad said coming back into view at the top of the truck.

"How many?" I asked quickly, as fear started to seep into me.

"About a dozen or so." Brad answered as he got back up and went out of view.

On September 12, 2012 life as we knew it changed forever. A few days prior to that day there was an emergency broadcast warning of an unknown virus that had sent thousands of people to the hospital in the span of a few hours. They said that it had originated in the San Francisco bay area and was quickly spreading. The next day my University sent out a message cancelling all classes for the week and warning us to stay indoors and away from public areas. Apparently the virus had already reached San Luis Obispo. Scared out of our mind me, Kaelynn, Brad and our three other roommates stayed indoors for a long time, just watching the news. The reports said that there were hundreds of cases of the virus in our town already and that they haven't figured out how it was spreading. It had a 100% fatality rate. The next day on September 12 we woke to screaming and loud bangs that sounded like cars colliding. On this day all those infected people who died came back to life. But, they weren't the same people. They turned into savage hostile beings. Attacking the people around them and eating them alive. Chaos erupted and things just went downhill. We had no more communication to the outside world. Electricity stopped working and there were blackouts everywhere. We have no knowledge of the situation going on anywhere else. Last thing we were told was that it had spread quickly to other states. It's been 48 days since that day and still no help has come. I'm starting to have my doubts of there being other survivors out there.

The people who were attacked by these infected people were given the virus, and once they died they to would return as hostile beings. Some that come back are mangled or have stiff bodies that don't allow them to move quickly, which we call "Walkers." Others that aren't as beat up or come back with loose bodies can move quicker and can be really dangerous. We call those ones dashers.

"Kaelynn there's a dozen walkers on the other side." I said quietly as I stepped closer to her.

"Shit. Then what do we do? We can't just stand here we can easily get trapped." She said back.

She walked to the edge of the top of the small car and dropped down onto the hood of the car. A loud, high piched alarm started going off from the car. The sudden noise made me flinch and fear suddenly filled my body.

"Shut it up! It's gonna attract dashers!" I screamed and what seemed like on cue we heard loud, distorted screams coming from the streets behind us.

"Brad! Dashers are coming!!" Kaelynn screamed as she ran towards the semi-truck.

Around the corner about two hundred meters away seven dashers rounded a corner street coming at them full speed. I instantly turned around and put my palms together for Kaelynn. Without words she understood and put her foot up. Being much lighter than Brad it was easier to push her up and with the help from Brad up top he just pulled her up. Taking a quick glance back the dashers had already covered half the distance and behind them more were coming around the corner. Freaking out I quickly tried jumping up to Brads outstretched arm but I failed multiple times. With the dashers almost reaching me I took a couple steps back and ran this time. As I leaped up Brad caught me by my wrist and I held on as tight as I could. Fear paralyzed me when I heard Kaelynn start shooting her gun, they must have been close and I didn't want to know how close. He outstretched his other arm and I quickly grabbed it with my loose arm. With the combination of him pulling up and me using my feet to climb up the wall I reached the top and he pulled onto the top. Just as I fully got up I heard them slam into the truck below. My heart was beating the fastest it ever had and I was out of breath.

"What the fuck do we do? We're trapped. I told you guys we should have gone back!" Kaelynn screamed.

"Just stay calm KK. We'll figure something out." Brad said reassuringly.

"Figure what out? There's dashers on this side and walkers on that side. We're trapped!" she said trying to hold back tears.

Getting up I took a look to the other side of the truck. There were a few dashers but mostly walkers. With the car alarm still on, more and more of them were being attracted to our location. If we didn't do something quick it would end badly for us. Just then I heard glass breaking to my side. Brad had ran over to the back end of the truck and broke a window that was on the second floor of the building and only a foot to the right of the ledge of the truck. He then swung into it and motioned for us to follow. Kaelynn went next and I followed after her.

It was a small room and looked like it was used as an office. There was one door in the far corner, a big wooden desk with a large chair near the window facing the door, a large and old looking couch and multiple cabinets spread around the room. The door was shut and Brad slowly crept up to it, putting his ear to the door. Kaelynn stood in front of the door a few feet back and held up her gun, pointing it at the door. I walked up next to her and gripped the blade with both hands holding it like I was about to swing at a ball. Quickly opening the door, Brad jumped back and got his weapon ready. The door swung open revealing a seven foot hallway that led to a descending staircase. Halfway down the hall was a closed door on the right side. Slowly we all walked out of the room and into the hallway.

"Brad you watch the staircase, we'll check the room." I whispered.

He moved towards the staircase as me and Kaelynn prepared ourselves. I grabbed the door knob and looked back at her, waiting for her call. Positioning herself in front of the door again she held up her gun and nodded at me. I pushed open the door and before I had time to look inside the room gunshots were going off and I froze up. Just then a dasher came charging out of the room and smacked right into Kaelynn. Instincts kicking in I snapped out of paralysis and swung my blade at the dashers neck. A few more swings and it was dead. I was heading to check on Kaelynn when I was hit from the side and thrown to the floor. A dasher was on top of me trying to dig its teeth into my neck. With both hands I was pushing its face back, but the dasher was a large man and I couldn't get out from underneath. I heard Kaelynn screaming my name as she tried pulling at the dasher but a walker came stumbling out of the room and she scrambled away to get her gun. My arms were starting to weaken and give out; I don't know how much longer I could fight off its face. I let out a scream as the last bit of strength and energy left my arms and they gave out. With my eyes tightly closed shut I waited for the bite, but instead the weight lifted off of me and I could move. Brad was standing above me, swinging away at the dasher as it tried scrambling towards me again. I just sat there, to scared and filled with emotion to do anything. I had almost died twice in the last hour. It was getting to dangerous to scavenge in the center of town. But there was nothing left in the houses and buildings in the outskirts. Those were the first places everyone raided. The only reason they chose to come this far to the center of town was because supplies were running low and they were coming up empty on most scavenging trips. This wasn't worth it though; none of their lives were worth a few supplies.

"Did you get bit? Did they get you?" he asked me, bending down to my level.

When I didn't answer quick enough he just started moving my arms around looking for bite marks.

"No I'm fine." I responded, shrugging off his hold on my arm.

"What about you?" he said looking up at Kaelynn.

"No. But shouldn't we worry about them being downstairs to." Kaelynn said nervously.

"They would have heard all the noise and come up already." Brad said as he got up and went into the new room.

"Are you ok Chase?" she asked me as she put her hand out.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little shaken up." I replied as I took her hand and she pulled me up.

"This rooms clear. I'll clear out downstairs and you guys raid these rooms." Brad said as he walked out of the room and headed down the stairs.

After getting myself together I walked back over to the room we had entered through. Needing to sit down I headed straight for the chair behind the desk and fell back into it. My body was still shaking from the previous events. A few minutes later my nerves were back to normal and I started to take in my surroundings. The desk had three drawers on the right side, but the top one had a lock on it. I opened up the bottom drawer and just found a bunch of papers and files; the next drawer up proved to be just as useless. I tried forcing the locked drawer open but it wouldn't budge. Grabbing my blade from the back pack I stuck it in the crack above the lock and pushed hard. To my surprise the drawer slid open a few inches and I pulled it open the rest. I had hit the jack pot. Inside was a small handgun, a box of bullets, bottle of liquor and a pack of cigarettes. All the items would be put to definite use. I pulled out the handgun and set it on top of the desk, then grabbed the bottle to get a better look. It was a blue bottle with a red label that was in a different language. Not knowing what it said I popped open the top and took a whiff. The instant the smell hit my nose I had a gag reflex and instantly knew what it was. Tequila, the alcohol that always put me over the edge and gave me a bad night. It had been a while since they had gotten drunk and I missed the happiness and oblivion that came with being drunk. It's hard to find a time to get drunk when you're constantly fighting for your life. But, now seemed like the best chance I would get so I put the bottle to my lips and took a long swig. Big mistake; it all almost came right back up as the flavor lingered on my tongue for a long period after.

"I see things haven't changed. Still need some of this?" Brad said as he strolled into the room and tossed a can in my direction.

Caught off guard I almost looked up to late as the can was sailing straight for my chest. I awkwardly caught it in time and looked down. Seeing it was a can of soda I quickly opened it and took a big sip. Even though the soda was warm and had no carbonation it tasted amazing in the circumstances. Looking back up at Brad I saw him pull another soda from his back pocket.

"Thanks. Where'd you find these?" I asked holding up my soda.

"I found a few things downstairs when I was looking around, but I see you beat me." He said smiling as he walked towards me and held his hand out towards the tequila, "Can I get some?"

"Of course, but under one condition." I replied, shielding the tequila from his grasp.

"And what's that?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"No chase, no face." I said giggling.

Without saying a word he grabbed the tequila easily from my grasp and took a longer swig then I had taken; then put the bottle down in front of me on the desk and looked at me with a serious face.

"Your turn."

"No I can't I'll throw up."

"Come on. Don't be a puss." He said grabbing the bottle and putting it up to my lips.

"I can do it myself." I said as I grabbed the bottle from him and took another swig.