Looting Up

Alex paced back and forth around the living room while waiting for the call to connect.

"Ring... ring..."

"Mom, how are you doing? Did dad answer your call?"

"Alex, sweetie, you wouldn't believe what just happened. We were attacked by zombies and your father was almost bitten."

Though he already knew the information from the messages he got, Alex couldn't help but be angry.

His father had a bad feeling about things since early morning and the moment everything started turning weird, he immediately drove back to pick his mother from the clinic.

That's the only reason the two were together so quickly in a short time.

Though his father reacted quickly, the problem was the apocalypse was happening everywhere.

He got back to the clinic safely but brought a lot of uninvited guest with him.

"Is dad okay?"

"He's fine. A police patrol car came and saved us. The police tried to clear the place of zombies but the sirens seem to attract more of them, so they lured them away instead. Dad an I chose to stay in the clinic. The road doesn't seem to be a safe place to be in right now."

"What happened to the police officers who saved you? Did they get away?"

"Yeah, I don't know where they went but they brought a lot of zombies behind them. The good things is we're safe for now and we can fetch you some time later at night."

"No! Just stay put! I'm safe here too and there's not much going on here compared to the city center."

"Right... I guess that's right. I told your father that you're at home but he wants us to go and oick you up."

"I'm realy doing fine. I'm alone in the apartment and the door is locked."

"Okay then..."

His mother seemed to relax after hearing repeated assurance that he was safe, so he continued telling her what he's doing in the mean time.

That caused his mother to chuckle and open up a bit more.

"Your dad's busy trying to stabilize his breathing. We're old you know, so we get exhausted faster."

Alex perked up but didn't allow it to show in his voice.

"Oh? Can I speak with dad please?"

"Alright. Jason, Alex wants to speak with you."

A few moments later, a gruff voice echoed on the phone and spoke in rugged breath.

"Alex, I'm glad to hear you're safe. Don't go out okay? We'll pick you up tonight. I know you're a grown man now but it's not safe out there."

"Thanks dad, but you didn't really have to risk it. I'm safe here."

"Stop, you can't change my mind. Even if it's safe now, we can't guarantee it will be the same as before. We'll pick you up and go to your grandpa's farm as soon as possible."

Alex gulped and couldn't think so he just nodded.

"Okay."

"Good. I heard your doing exercises?"

Alex cheered up having something lighter to talk about.

"Yeah, I'm doing some stamina exercises right now to get into shape. My job choice didn't really help me out lay out the right foundation for an apocalypse."

"Hahaha, that's good. It's always good to have the right mindset. It's never to late to learn something new and adapt. By the way, your mom told me there's something you want to say?"

"Ahh, right. I have a question dad."

"Ask away, I'll answer the best I can."

"Did anything weird happen to you earlier like something major that could have caused you to die? Like, you felt weird or something strange happened?"

"Like suddenly running out of breath?"

"Right! So you also experienced it, it's not just me. What about mom?"

"From your words, your also having a hard time to breath? But you're still young... Let me ask your mom. Jody, did you..."

His parents talked in the other side and Alex listened blissfully.

Ever since he moved out, he started missing this kind of daily interaction they make.

His mom's excited voice continued loudly on the other line.

"Yes, how did you know?.. I thought it comes with my age but it also happened to you and Alex?.."

"Alex, you still there? Did you hear what your mom said?"

His dad's voice took over the phone.

"Yes, dad. I think I have something that can help you resolve the breathing problem. I discovered a useful breathing exercise that helps breathe more with less. I know it might sound strange but there's no harm in trying it out."

"Okay, we'll give it a shot."

Alex taught the breathing technique and gave some advice based from his experience.

His dad tried to perform the technique and got some minor feedback.

"It's not as effective as you described it to be but it's helping me relax. And it does relieve the pressure s bit."

"That's good to know. Please keep practicing it and tell me if you discover anything, okay?"

"Will do, thanks son. I'm gonna hang up now. Stay safe, kiddo. We'll try to call later, we're trying to conserve battery."

"Okay, dad. Tell mom I love her."

"Sure thing. Bye, son."

"Bye, dad."

Alex felt relieved hearing his parents are safe.

He's a bit worried about his mom though. She's prone to worry and might kept thinking about him.

Though she's healthy, she's not young anymore and stress can do a lot of things.

"Please work for them too."

He couldn't help but mutter softly under his breathe.

***

Alex spent the whole day watching the news, checking the perimeter through the cameras, and doing some basic exercises.

He partnered his cardio exercise with the breathing exercises and though nothing happened, he started getting a better feeling about the warm energy flowing inside him.

The breathing technique only helped gather the energy but he doesn't know what to do about it.

Not much is known to him right now but there's one thing he was sure about - the energy is beneficial to the human body and can speed up its recovery.

The more he trained, the more the resting time decreased, causing the number of sets increase.

His stamina grew at an unprecedented than before like he was living the prime of his life.

His attacking form started gaining some shape from the constant knife swinging.

'Maybe I'm really improving from all these activities.'

The day passed peacefully and the night finally came.

But first of all...

'What to eat? I'm really hungry.'

Alex found a few snacks on the fridge and ate them to keep himself sated but it did nothing to stop his stomach from rumbling.

Does using the special energy make him hungrier?

"What do I do now? If my hypothesis is correct and using energy will make me hungrier, my food won't even last for two days then..."

Alex glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and noticed that it's almost 6pm.

"If I go to the supermarket, I can get enough food and water to last for a week or more."

"But the chances of encountering zombirs becomes higher during the night. Should I risk going out right now or should I continue to wait?"

So far, he only heard the police has taken action from his parents story eith no signs of the military in the area.

Aside from some sporadic shooting on thr distance, he didn't hear any other gunshots.

Well, that's supposed to be normal since not everyone keeps a gun or has needs for a gun in this country.

Usually the police, mobsters, and robbers...

On yhe bright side, every household has something in common though: everyone has bags of rice hidden somewhere.

"Well, I have a bag of salt. If I make gruel everyday, I can last for a week and a few days more. I can also loot the other apartments for supply, so I don't really need to risk heading out for the supermarket at this time."

Alex brightened up and started devising a plan.

"But the real problem is, I don't have a key to the other apartments."

Alex tried to think of a solution but none of them are ideal.

"Should I go and search for an empty apartment that doesn't have a door lock?"

"I don't know how to pick a lock, so aside from picking the lock, the only other option is to break the door.

"I only see characters from movies breaking doorknobs. Let's hope I don't have to resort to that."

Alex made a simple plan.

First he will jump down from the balcony after making sure the perimeter is safe, then start looting the apartments below since he's sure they're both clear from danger.

If he can loot enough food stuff from below, he doesn't even need to loot his dead neighbor.

"I'll wait until it gets a bit darker, so I can have better cover from the night."

Time passed quickly when surfing the net and watching news.

He kept a close watch on the security camera and aside from several fast pursuit chase of zombies and survivors on the main road, nothing else happened.

As for the back of the apartment, the dirt path in the back alley didn't even have a single shadow of movement.

Alex unlocked the front door and like a curious cat, took a peek outside of his safe haven.

The cold night breeze greeted him as soon as he opened the door.

And nothing else...

It was quiet.

Alex felt strange and went back in, grabbed his stuff near the sofa before heading out of the balcony.

He threw the knife and tenderizer on the ground and waited for a few seconds for anything to happen.

When nothing particular happened, he started climbing over and after a couple of clumsy movements, he successfully jumped off the balcony falling into his bum first.

"Damnit! Next time, I'll just take the long way around even if there's a chance something could see me."

Or I could exercise more and this could be nothing after a few days...

Alex stood up and grabbed his weapons before walking to his first target.

The backdoor had a outdoor kitchen to cook and an area for washing clothes.

It's a small unit so he won't have a hard time exploring the place.

Alex knocked on the door a few times and listened for any noises inside.

There was nothing.

"Alright, let's try to be a bit stealthy now."

He took out a paperclip from his pocket and looked around before leveling himself to the door.

"Here goes nothing. Let's hope watching a few videos online can help."

He inserted the clip on the lock and started jiggling it.

It was hard and frustrating but after a few minutes of trying and failing, he managed to open the lock.

"Yes!"

Alex celebrated in muffled voice as he clenched his teeth and made a fist after hearing the lock open up.

Though it took him several times and a few paperclips, he successfully infiltrated the apartment without causing a ruckus.

"Now, let's find out what I can get here."

Alex searched every nook and cranny of the house.

"No zombies, that's a good start."

There's nothing much on the house except the usual necessities, so Alex had a hard time finding something worthwhile.

Of course, he saved the best for the last: the kitchen.

He started from the drawers to check if he can get a surprise - and surprised he was.

Most were empty, not even having utensils, just having the bare minimum.

Disappointment washed over him and he unenthusiastically opened the cabinets.

And he was greeted by lots of protein powders.

He took some of them and decided to go to the fridge.

This is the main loot.

"Here goes nothing."

He slowly opened the fridge and his mouth watered at the sight of several packs of meat. On the layer below were cleanly stacked energy drinks.

"Thank you! I'll treat everything as even now even if you ungratefully ran away after receiving my help."

He took all the food and placed them on his ecobag, thankfully he brought two of them because the protein powder and energy drinks took a lot of space.

He left what he couldn't take and decided to come back later to grab things up if the situation permits it.

Alex happily made his way to the front door. He opened it a bit and carefully searched the vicinity.

The coast is clear.

He passed by the dead man near the stairs before heading back to his apartment.

When he locked the door from the inside, a smile naturally formed on his lips.

All the tension and pressure suddenly disappeared.