May 20, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 150 Hours / 6.25 Days

Eury Morrissey

I stood in the kitchen and watched the back of Kelly’s head.

He wasn’t very big. Pretty short for a guy—I know it’s rich coming from me of all people. Aside from that, and the ridiculous samurai sword he carried around, there was just something about him that I couldn’t shake. Something that just felt off. It wasn’t like he was doing anything suspicious, but he seemed like a suspicious guy. So, after I woke up, I went to the garage and took out the pistol from the safe. It felt heavy holstered on my belt, hanging beneath my tank-bag, but that same heaviness gave me confidence. No matter what this guy did, I would be ready for him.

He turned from his seat on the couch to almost face me. I had purposefully positioned myself as far away as I could, to make it difficult for him to look at me. Of course, now that he practically twisted his head around, I felt like my effort was wasted.

“So, are we going to talk or are you going to keep trying to set me on fire with your eyes?”

“I can just move on to gasoline if you’re looking to get it over with,” I said, giving in to the conversation. I took my pepperoni stick and walked through the small hallway connecting the kitchen and the living room.

“Yeah, I’ll pass. Seriously though, I’m getting a bit sick of the awkward silence.” He said with a cheeky smile.

“You’d rather have an awkward conversation?” I said as I moved in front of the fireplace, keeping my distance from him. Even though I had stored his sword in my room, I still didn’t know what this guy was capable of.

“I mean... that was before it started getting awkward.” He said turning to face me again.

“What’s so important you interrupted my contemplative staring?”

“Glaring, I’d say.” He corrected.

“Fine, what was so important to talk about that you interrupted my glaring?”

“I dunno. I just… I think I just wanted to get to know you or something.”

“Oh great. Now, what is this, a meet-cute?”

“I don’t know. Probably?”

“Well you already know my name, and you already know that I want you outta here as soon as possible, so what else is there to know?”

“Your sign?” My eye roll was so obvious it was practically audible.

“Fine, fine! How ‘bout, uh, what do you do?” He asked, eager to please like a dog begging for a treat.

“What did I do, you mean?” And with that amendment, the puppy dog excitement fell away.

“Sure, yeah. What did you do?”

“I was a student. I was going—”

“I knew you were full of shit! You are in high school!”

“Shut up, will you?” He did when I waved the pepperoni stick at him. “I just graduated from Gonzaga, I’m a teacher, or I was gonna be a teacher. God knows what’ll happen after all this shit—”

“Stop.” He said, holding up a surprisingly calloused hand. “I just don’t wanna talk about that, you know? Anything else is fine with me.”

“That? That? That’s what you’re gonna call the end of the world?”

“First of all, you don’t know if it's the end of the world. It could just be Sheridan. You said it yourself, there wasn’t anything on the net.”

“I guess, but—”

“But nothing. I don’t wanna talk about it, okay?” Talking about that seemed to have struck a nerve. “And to address the second part, what would you want to call it then?” He didn’t let me answer. “That is good enough for me.”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure you could come up with something more creative than just that.” He shifted forward on the couch. Instinctively, I flinched at the sudden movement. One hand pointing the pepperoni stick, while the other began to reach for the handgun. When he smiled, my hand stopped, and returned to my hip.

“Jesus. Do you know what’s hilarious? You sound exactly like my high school english teacher, Mrs. Morrissey. Maybe you really were born to be a teacher.” I must’ve looked sheepish at that moment because he smiled like a wolf. “What? What is it?”

“Mrs. Morrissey? You went to Sheridan High?” Just like me? I forced myself to relax. This wasn’t the time to play helpless.

“Yeah, that’s right. Born and raised right here in this shit smear!” He said with a hint of too much pride. “Why?”

Gross, but I ignored it. “Mrs. Morrissey is my mom.”

I must’ve shocked him because Kelly took several seconds to process the information.

"Mrs. Morrissey, huh?" He looked thoughtful for another moment.

“I know. Not much of a resemblance, right?” Of course, there wasn’t. My mom was a tall, porcelain-skinned woman; everything that I’m not.

“No!” His outburst surprised me. “No, that’s not it, I just… didn't know that she had a daughter.” Kelly relaxed back into the couch. “That makes sense though, following in Mom’s footsteps, huh?”

“Not really. I’m going to be teaching biological sciences.” For a second, it looked like Kelly realized something important. But just as quickly, he returned to his normal affectation.

“Science? Huh. You’re definitely giving off more of a bookish vibe.” There was a slight difference in the tone of his voice. The way he pretended to beam was just a little dimmer than before.

“Yeah, not so much,” I said.

“I mean, really, you’re small, and you’ve got the hair for it.”

My hair? Unconsciously, I ran my hand through the messy nest of curls I somehow managed to tame in the dark this morning.

“All you’re missing is the glasses then—” He almost made me jump when he clapped his hands. “Boom! Presto! Your classic book geek!”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that a roundabout way of calling me a nerd?” I said, pointing the half-eaten pepperoni stick at him.

“Well, you are a nerd. You just admitted that yourself a minute ago. But don’t worry, you make for a cute nerd.” I glared at him, but it didn’t seem to stop him from smiling anyways.

“You must be hearing things then ‘cause I never said that.” The lack of sleep was getting to me. It must’ve been because I almost found that charming.

“Ah there it is.” He said leaning back into the couch again. He began chewing on his thumb nail while he stared at me.

“There what is?” I said, worried something was at the front door. There wasn’t.

“Your smile! It finally showed itself. If only for a second.”

“That’s what this was all about?” I said, annoyed that it had almost slipped right past me; the fact that Kelly steered the conversation away from That without me noticing. Or at least without me noticing right away.

Interesting.

“Not all of it. I mean, I’m still waiting to hear about your star sign.”

“Oh Jesus. I’m done. I’m grabbing something to drink.” I said as I walked past him back into the kitchen.

“Soooo, uhh.” I turned away from the fridge to look at him as he spoke.

Where the hell did that come from? For the first time since I woke up this morning, he actually seemed to be worried. Up until now, he had been really glib and it was almost getting on my nerves.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“I’m gonna level with you. I’m not heading back out there.” He didn’t turn to look at me when he said this, nor did he take his nail out of his mouth. “Not alone, at least.” Suddenly, I became very thankful for the handgun on my back. Maybe my suspicion wasn’t unfounded.

“And what’s gonna stop me from kicking you out.”

Kelly shrugged. “Honestly? Nothing, really.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“Listen. If I go back out there, I’m dead. I’ve actually been outside. You haven’t. And I know I can’t survive another three days out there. Not again. There’s no way in hell I could.” His jaw kept churning on that nail while he stared straight ahead. “And something tells me you’re not going to kill me.”

“You don’t know what I’m capable of.” I snapped back at him.

Don’t fool yourself. You are incapable. There isn’t a damn thing you can do, no matter what this idiot junkie is worried about.

“What if I offered to help you?”

What?

“Help me? How? By eating my food?”

Is that really what you want Eury? To push him away like everyone else? You can lie to yourself all you want, but you know that you’re lonely.

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“I don’t need to be a science nerd like you to know you need that.” He pointed at my oxygen tank. “I saw what happens when you run out. You aren’t useless, but you might as well be when you don’t have it. So what do you do then?”

“I won’t be running out for a long time. Not until long after you’ve gone.” I said, walking back into the living room with my glass of water.

Not until long after he’s abandoned you more like it.

“But what happens then? When you run out of oxygen. You might as well be a fish on land, gasping for air without your O2.” I hated to admit it but he was right. Still, though, I betrayed nothing. “What you need is a plan B. Somewhere to go when you need more oxygen and lucky for you, I need someone to be around. Where’s the problem with that?”

“From the way you’re eating my food and drinking my water, I think it’s called parasitism.”

Kelly stopped, glanced down at his hand, then back up at me.

“For how long?”

“How long for what?”

“How long are you going to have that food for? Better question, how long before you run out of water? Even if you didn’t have a limited supply of air, what about everything else? What if a horde of those freaks knocks down your door, or the government suddenly decides to drop a nuke? Either way, you’re living on borrowed time and you know it.” Kelly leaned forward in his chair. Looking directly in my eyes, his lips formed into a soft smile. “So what do you have to lose?”

“Better question, what do you have to gain?”

“Is it so bad that I wanna spend the end of the world with a cute girl?” Another blindside. I’d be lying to say it didn’t put me off balance. Regardless, I kept my face still. There was no knowing what his endgame was.

“Calling me cute now, parasite?” I had to give it to him, he had me playing his game again.

“Oh, to think how naive I was, thinking a mouth like yours could belong to a highschool girl. Talking to you in the meantime has shown me the error of my ways. This parasite, humbly asks for your forgiveness.”

“Let’s hypothetically say I agree to keep you around, what do we do first?” I asked, trying to ground the conversation back in reality.

“Other than getting our food and water rationed out? I don’t really know.”

“...You are about as helpful as a parasite, you know that?”

“Hey. At least I’m trying.” Kelly scratched his head, more like a monkey than the thinking man. “What was your plan then, huh?”

“I’m good here for at least the rest of the week, then after that my dad…” Go on princess. Tell him. “On the 25th, my dad’s going to come for me. He’s got solar panels out at his acreage so I’d be able to charge my concentrator’s batteries. Plus he’s got a bigger system set up that can store a lot of O2.”

“So, until your daddy comes and rescues you, you’re just gonna suck on your tube of oxygen? I could think of worse plans except how’s he supposed to come for you?”

Kelly’s sudden blow put me on my back foot. “I don’t know. I mean, he has a truck so he can—”

“There’s no way that’ll work.”

“What? Why?”

“The streets ‘round here aren’t so bad—sure—but downtown, the bridges, and mainstreet are a shit show.” He shook his head. “There’s no way he can get through that mess. And besides, have you seen those freaks outside move? I guarantee you, the moment they hear a truck, every single one of them is gonna come running from miles around.”

“But he said—”

It’s not like it’s the first time he hasn’t been there when I needed him.

Shut up. Just shut the fuck up! He’s coming, and that’s it.

“He said he’d come for me so that means he’s coming.” I continued.

“But what if—”

“You don’t fucking know him, so don’t act like you do!” I shouted. I grabbed for my handgun when I did. But the moment I touched metal, I let it go. “He said he was coming, so he’ll be here. I… I just know he will.”

I have to trust him. If I don’t, then what else do I have?

“I don’t doubt your daddy’s gonna save his little princess, but think, realistically, how much time do you have left?” I considered the gun again when he took that little crack, but I thought better of it.

Begrudgingly I did the math in my head.“...By my calculations, I’ve got just over 150 hours with the tank upstairs and the batteries I’ve got. But if I run my O2 at seventy-five percent or less, I should be able to stretch it out a bit longer.”

Calculations? Oh good God, did I really just say that? Instantly, I could feel my cheeks getting red.

“But wouldn’t you pass out if you run it too low?” The red in my cheeks quickly faded as Kelly ignored the softball of a joke for more serious matters.

“That. Or worse.” I said.

“So then you’re not running it low! Are you stupid or something?” He snapped at me.

Why was he getting mad?

“Hey, fuck you! I’m just doing what I gotta, to survive.” I snapped back as I started towards the stairs. I didn’t need this stupid conversation.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t just survive on doing the bare minimum.” He said, the intensity lingering on his words. “Like, what happens if you don’t get enough oxygen while you’re running or something?” He said as his thumbnail returned to his teeth. “I sure as hell don’t need to be a science teacher to know the answer to that one.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“Did you not hear me? I just told you in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t get here, and what? That doesn’t mean shit to you? How’s he supposed to get you more oxygen? Without a truck how do you think he’s going to be able to get you outta here?” Kelly asked.

“He… he could…” I took a breath in as I realized what had just happened. “Then I go to him,” I admitted. Clearly it was his idea but he nodded along like it was mine.

As I spoke, he relaxed, letting his hand fall from his face. Then, he smiled. Nothing smug. More out of relief, really. “I couldn’t have suggested a better option myself.”

“Don’t try and mess with me. I’m not as stupid as you think I am. I know what you’re doing.”

Kelly blinked. “Would you believe me if I told you I was banking on oxygen deprivation?”

“It’s called hypoxia. And you are scum.” I said while I started up the stairs.

“Oh Eury please. I saw that smile!” He called up to me from the bottom of the stairs.

“Are you sure you’re not the one who’s hypoxic?” I retorted as I walked into my room. “I mean, you are having hallucinations.” I stopped a step into my room, and turned around. “Also, try not to shout, there is a fucking thing going on right now.”

“Them? You don’t really need to worry about it to be honest.” He said walking up the stairs. “They’re crazy, they’re violent, but they aren’t super-powered. Or that smart either. If you’re quiet enough, or you’re in a house or something, as long as you don’t really yell, or whatever, they can’t hear you. Not unless they’re right up against the door.” He confidently walked into my room behind me.

I carefully unlatched the other E cylinder from the liquid oxygen tank, making sure to twist the valve on the larger tank tightly.

“I guess I didn’t really ask yet, but how the hell did you get here?” I said.

“I travelled at night, of course. It’s not like they have super night vision or anything. Hence all the black.” I had noticed his odd attire, black jeans and oversized windbreaker, but paid it little attention. It was still May after all. “Plus I have this.” He said holding out an odd piece of cloth.

“And that is?” I asked as I took a seat on my bed.

“Look!” He pulled the cloth over his head. His sandy blonde hair, and light skin were nearly covered by the stretchy black cloth. Only his light green eyes were still visible. “With this on, they can’t see me unless they’re right on top of me. Helpful yeah?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, imagining him army crawling across the city. Then, I imagined myself attempting to do the same. That will not be happening.

“As long as you’re quiet and you travel at night, it’s pretty straightforward. You stay out of sight and they don’t see you. Easy as that.”

“Okay, now how are we going to get anywhere with that?” I asked, pointing at the five-foot cannister in the corner.

“How heavy is that thing?”

“Full? Around fifty, maybe sixty pounds. Empty, closer to thirty.”

“Okay, so it’s not the lightest thing around.”

“No it isn’t. And now you see my issue. I can’t go anywhere, and if I do, I gotta come back here, unless I find some O2 tanks laying around.”

“And since this isn’t a video game, that’s not gonna happen,” Kelly added, finishing my thought.

“That would be correct.”

“Well, then how do we transport the thing? I could carry it but—”

“But if you drop it then I lose all my oxygen supply, and you probably freeze to death.”

“That’s dramatic.” He said, scratching his head again.

“Yes, yes it is.”

“Well, maybe we just stay here then?”

“You yourself just told me that wasn’t going to work!”

“Yeah, that was before. Like, how the hell are we going to get that damned tank anywhere?” Kelly said. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a radio-flyer tucked away under that bed or something?”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. Just imagining the huge tank getting carted around in the same kind of red wagon kids in the fifties and sixties would pull their little dogs in. It was enough to make me smile.

I looked back at Kelly just in time to see the smile on his face as well.

“What?” I snapped. And then, just as quickly as it came, my smile left.

“Nothing, you just have a cute laugh.”

“Geez drop the rom-com schtick. I thought we already talked about this.”

“We did, but I never said that I was going to stop telling you what was on my mind.”

“Don’t you have something better to be doing than just standing around harassing me?”

That was a little harsh, wasn’t it?

“Harassing you? I’d hate to see what you’d call anything more than a little bit of light flirting.”

This was light flirting? I hate to admit it, and I’d never say it to him, but this was probably the first time ever that somebody—who didn’t come off like a creep—decided to keep flirting with me after seeing all of the baggage that came along with me.

“Sorry. I—”

Kelly interrupted me before I could finish. “No, it’s fine. Let’s just get back to our strategy meeting.”

“Fine, yeah, sure.”

And now you’re sulking. Do you want the boy to flirt or not?

“That wagon idea isn’t too bad actually,” I said, ignoring the thought.

“What? Really? Do you actually have one of those things hanging around?” He asked.

“No, but I’m sure someone around here does. What’s stopping us from finding one?”

“You mean breaking into the neighbour’s? I don’t think that’ll work, but you’re just full of surprises aren’t you miss bookworm.”

“Don’t call me that. And why not? You’re already dressed like a burglar.” I said, smirking at my joke.

“You weren’t out there for the last three days. When things go to shit, people aren’t looking to play nice.” And without warning, his affable persona disappeared beneath a layer of severity.

“Do you mean—”

“I mean, people like you and me, the healthy ones, aren’t out there to look out for us. They’re looking out for themselves.” He said, gradually getting quieter like he was telling me a secret.

“Then what if we go somewhere there aren’t any people?” I said, realizing the way forward.

“No people? How are you supposed to know? I only knew that you were here because I happened to be watching this house before the power went out. Then I just took a chance.”

“Well, I know that the house across the street is empty.” I offered.

“Really? How?”

“Because… because I watched the neighbour… leave.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” I said solemnly.

“Tonight then?” Kelly said, grabbing the now full E tank and pretended to swing it like a bat.

“If you think it’s a good idea.”

Kelly looked me right in the eyes and shrugged. A flippant way of agreeing to something that could be so dangerous. But I understood. There wasn’t any other option. Even if the option sucked, it was the only one we had.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve got a better plan. I’ll get the food sorted downstairs if you want to rest.” For a moment I worried about the food—what was going to stop him from running off with all of it? But the worry disappeared as I remembered the sheer volume of it.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.” I said.

Kelly’s bottom lip slipped into his mouth as he nodded. He walked into the hallway, closing the door behind him. I got up quickly and tip-toed to the door. With a finger on the lock, I waited until I heard him descend the stairs.

“Sleep well.” He called out to me from down the stairs.

“Thanks.” I grabbed my headphones from my side-table beside me. My iPod still showed 87% battery power on the faded monochromatic screen. The only thing they did right with this old piece of junk. They gave it enough battery power to last weeks if you didn’t use it all the time.

I set the sleep timer for half an hour, that should’ve been long enough. That being said, I managed to stay up to hear De Luca’s Melancholy for Flute cut off moments before finishing. A nostalgic song, fitting for the moment.

After that, I proceeded to spend the better part of the next six hours parsing through whatever the hell that all was. Did I really just suggest that we rob Curlers? Were we nuts for even thinking about going outside? Should I just wait for my dad after all? Wait, did he say he thinks I’m cute? What the hell was that?

O2 Remaining: 149 Hours / 6.33 Days