Reclaiming the Power

I didn’t sign up for this shit. Do you know what happens when you kill a virus that reanimates the dead and use it to make a vaccine? That’s right, it reanimates. We should have known better. Someone should have known better. But just off the heels of a third pandemic, the anti-vaxxers had learned their lesson and seemingly everyone rushed off for the untested vaccination again.

Those who didn’t were infected and turned. Those who did get the vaccine? They were infected and turned too. There were no safe paths to take.

Thanks depression! You saved me from the movie magic that is a zombie apocalypse!

Of course, the movies got it all wrong. The virus spread even faster than its fictional counterpart. Also, zombies can’t live for very long. At least, here in the south, the heat and humidity caused the bloating and rot to happen so much faster. In a matter of months, everyone was infected or eaten, turned to zombies, then died again.

I haven’t seen a single person, living or zombie, in weeks. Aside from two trips to loot local stores, I’ve been holed up in a darkened house. Yes, I stole a whole house during the apocalypse. Its owners are dead (I’m guessing), the doors all have deadbolts, and the windows have functional shutters. Major upgrade from the apartment I was originally in.

The lack of electricity is a major drawback though, which is why I made a trip downtown to the electric company’s headquarters. They own the block, consisting of a parking garage I’ve avoided and a 7 story building for taking payments, the call center workers, and executive suites. It’s all abandoned, but the power is still on, as is the power for most businesses, though I’m not sure why.

I’m in one of the boardmember’s offices, Katrina Larenski according to the door. A monitor and a laptop on the desk are both glaring at me, waiting for me to enter her password. It’s the desk I’m going through though. I don’t have a password, but I’m hoping Katrina was the type of person to write her passwords down. Papers are scattered across the floor, my way of separating what I’ve already searched. Mainly, it’s financial documents for the power company, with nothing written— just typed.

I try to open the next drawer in the desk, but it’s locked. This has to be it! I think, yanking harder. I haven’t seen any keys, so brute force is my only option. I put my foot on the front of the desk and kick as I pull with all my weight.

With a loud crack, I find myself on my back, room spinning, the face of the drawer now leaned against the wall behind me.

I take a deep breath before sitting up and shoving a hand in the now-exposed drawer. All of that for a single piece of paper and a silver necklace. The necklace has a heart-shaped pendant with leafy etchings on the front. It looks expensive, but is utterly useless. My pre-apocalypse greed kicks in though, and I put the necklace around my neck. Not exactly my style, but I’ll find a use for it someday when this is all over.

The paper has a three by three grid on it: System, Username, Password. This is a promising sign, but the password fields are all blank.

“You’re making a lot of noise in there. Dead or alive?”

The voice is coming from the hall and I actually know it! “Zoe?!”

She rushes through the door with a quiet, “Oh my god,” but she stops short of me, sliding slightly on the papers. “Dead or alive?”

“Beyond me saying your name?” I stare at her with a grin, already certain of what I’ll say if she insists.

“When my mama was infected, she used to call my name all through the night.”

“Oh.” I took a small step forward and pulled her into a hug. I whispered in her ear, “I lost the game.”

She grunts and grabs a handful of my hair. Her thumb caught the necklace, pulling it tight against my throat in the process. “You know I could just stab you for that, right?” She flashes a hunting knife in front of my face.

I can’t manage more than a nasally hum in response.

She lets me go immediately when she sees the necklace. “You’re trying to turn your power back on, aren’t you.”

I nod, rubbing my throat.

“So Katrina was my trainer when I worked here before. She always said to keep your password close to your heart so you can remember it. Have you opened the locket yet?”

I hadn’t noticed the hinge on the side. “No.” My voice is raspy. I give the necklace to her.

When she couldn’t open the locket with her hands, she hits the side of it with the back of her knife, the paper I’d been looking for falling to the floor.

P@55w0rD!

With one address from me and less than 5 minutes at the computer, Zoe had managed to turn the power on at my house, with a confirmation showing through the system.

“I also set the account to be a business account, which gets free power because of the pandemic.”

We made our way out the front of the building as the sun set.

She points up at the sky. “Is that a plane?”

A silvery speck is floating across the sky. “So someone is alive who knows how to fly. Maybe we can all survive this after all.” I put my arm over her shoulder. “Coming home with me?”