You Are Me

Part 2 - Names

Shit! She was too loud!

I thought quickly, grabbed some paper, and jotted a note as she repeated her ear-piercing words in a jumble of sobbing and stammering. I thought she might bang on the glass but all she could do was drag her fingers across it.

I wrote quickly, figuring they were following her. I pressed my first note to the glass through the shades.

CAN YOU MAKE IT TO THE FIRE ESCAPE? ACT LIKE YOU ARE NOT TALKING TO ME.

I heard only the rattling of the balcony. The rest was silence.

After a moment, she said, "It's far down. Might make it. So tired."

Some part of my ego wanted to rescue her off the balcony. But my rationality knew it was too risky. If any of them saw then they would relentlessly search the dorm until they found both of us.

I pressed the next paper to the glass.

TAKE THE FIRE DOOR. GO TO ROOM 235. KNOCK VERY SOFTLY 3 TIMES.

And that was it. The rest was up to her. Eventually, I heard her step off the balcony in the direction of the fire escape. If they were swarming the hallway then she would have no chance. I didn't know if they had any memory of those they absorbed. I started planning for contingencies. I held my broom in front of the door. I braced it and switched off the alarm.

The hall was deathly-silent. I tried a few normal breaths for the first time in a while.

I didn't hear footsteps before I heard the softest, most hesitant little trio of touches of my door. It sounded like a kitten trying to paw it. Broom at the ready, I opened the door.

Somehow, the girl from the balcony staggered into my dorm. I slid the door silently closed behind her and gingerly led her to my room. Her shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair looked physically dirty. It was tangled and askew. Her eyes were raccoon-ringed dark. She had a long, dried cut on her cheek.

She wore frayed jeans and an oversized school jacket with the sleeves curled up. Her narrow hand seized mine like a vice. When I had the door to my room shut and latched, she looked to my bed and the large bag of candy bars I'd raided from my roommate's stash. I nodded and she leaped at one faster than the creatures outside pounced on their prey. Two bars were gone before her eyes fluttered shut and she slumped back against the bed.

I let her sleep off what was clearly exhaustion, but I kept a careful watch in case she'd been followed.

She looked familiar. Something about her rounded, small face. I knew she wasn't one of my neighbors, but I was certain she went to the college. I didn't remember her from any of my classes though. She wore a sturdy pair of boots, though it looked like they were a tight fit.

Ethan would have said, "She looks apocalypse-hot." Even with all I had on my mind, I had to agree.

Being a true gentleman, I let her have the whole bed without concern (I still had Ethan's cot) and made my rounds of the dorm and the windows. No sign of a single one of them. That left me on edge. I checked everything again five minutes after. I even considered sealing the front door. I turned the door alarm back on too. No stupid mistakes.

The courtyard was completely clear. The half-view of the senior parking lot was also serene. Only a few cars left. If I could find just one of them then I'd feel a hell of a lot better. No luck there.

I stopped by the mirror to check my reflection. I looked as greasy as I felt. I used a quiet trickle of water to rinse my face. At least the water was still running, even though the lighting was intermittent.

After checking on the sleeping girl, I made my way to the closet. If she was going to stay here for any length of time then the hiding place would have to fit two. It was big enough, but I'd have to put my plans for a false wall on hold. I considered the other main closet, but I'd already vetoed it as a secondary hiding place on my own.

As I worked, I heard a soft groan behind me. I leaned out and peered at her. She held her head. It didn't take long for her to notice me and mutter, "Do you have some water?"

I passed her one of the water bottles I'd slowly filled from the tap. She sucked it down and panted, "Thanks. Thank you. I was sure I was a goner. Call me Myra." She stretched out her slender hand.

I shook it. "Call me Jacob. So, what's your story?"

I listened as she told her tale. She was visiting a friend when all this happened. She hid in one of the science labs and eventually made a break for the dorms. From there, she worked her way from room to room, stealing what she could to survive.

What I paid attention to when she spoke wasn't her words but her presence. Blame being alone for so many days and locked in closets, but I was skeptical. Most people I saw didn't survive out in the open for long. The lack of 'them' around concerned me too.

However, if she was one of them in disguise, she already had plenty of opportunities to get me. I had to consider the possibility she was just like me, just someone trying to survive. Still, I watched her and kept my guard up.

Clearing her throat after her story, she asked about my situation. I told her the basic details of hiding out and watching and what I'd been able to accumulate.

Her next question was, "So, what's your plan for getting out of here?"

"My main plan is protecting myself here. They've gone through not too long ago. Assuming they don't return…they probably won't make another sweep today."

She clenched her jaw and tried to brush at her matted hair as she spoke, "I know. That's why I was out there. I was scared shitless. And you don't know what they'll do. How could you?" Her voice rose a little above our mutual whispers but, before I could say anything, she hushed up on her own. "And the nights. I spent last night in the dark. And quiet. Only I could always hear something. Something somewhere… No sleep. Noooo sleep." Her chin trembled.

I sighed. "You can have the bed for the rest of the day. We can go in shifts. How's that?"

She stared at me. "I'll be up in the dark again…"

"Then I'll sleep first and be up tonight."

"I can't sleep in the dark like this…"

"But I'll be watching. I'll be here."

She narrowed her eyes and looked me over. "What if you fall asleep at night too? I'll never wake up before...uh…and what do I do on guard watch?"

I stretched a little. "I can tell you my whole system. If it doesn't work for you, feel free to take some candy bars and you can make it on your own."

She listened with very little expression. When I was done, she remarked, "That's stupid. They'll get you. You gotta keep moving."

"It's worked just fine for me until now." But I would be the first to admit that my plan wasn't that great and it was finite, something to protect me until most of them moved on.

She shook her head. "It didn't last me a day. I've got a plan. I'm heading somewhere fortified…like a prison or a military base. There's a big one in the hills. There might be panic rooms, like in movies. Nobody gets in. Bomb shelters are good too. But this place isn't safe at all."

She briefly mentioned hiding out in dumpsters. That explained her hair. She didn't smell like a dumpster, but then she didn't smell like roses either.

I listened and nodded. "It isn't safe but how do you propose to move from here to a fortified place?"

She rubbed at her eyes and massaged her wrists. "I was never able to get to the parking lot because they were always swarming there. But today I noticed it was a lot better."

I warned her that I didn't have a car on campus. She noted, "With some old cars, all I'll need is a flathead screwdriver. Maybe a drill to be sure."

I raised an eyebrow but only said, "A drill would get their attention pretty quickly. And once a car started…if it did…we'd have very little time to get away before they started slamming windows."

She wrapped her arms around in front of her. "I've seen how strong they are. I know."

With a sigh, she stretched her back. "I really need a shower..."