Trash in the Apocalypse

An infected fell down as a bullet struck its head.

Jun turned around looking for any remaining infected. The street was littered with corpses. The intact bodies were mixed with the burnt and incomplete ones.

Edward and Sheila were already looting the bodies while Jun stand guard.

"We should assign jobs on each group."

Edward abruptly said which gained the two people's curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Jun raised his brows.

The first thought that came in his mind was that Edward isn't happy with him being on guard duty while they do the manual labor.

Jun's face turned stern as he waited for his reply.

"I think I said that wrong. What I mean is, we need to have an extra body looting dead corpses and taking care of inventory. Like a porter or something."

Sheila didn't speak, but nodded in agreement. All the sitting, crouching and moving were exhausting her energy that was supposed to be reserved for crucial moments when they have to fight infecteds.

Jun thought about what Edward said and nodded his head. "That's true. Let's discuss things when we come back. Every suggestion is welcome."

Jun found the easiest way to look for a working car, by searching for traffic accidents. He found an old pickup truck from a nearby car crash.

Sheila reluctantly hopped on the passenger seat as Edward volunteered to sit on the trunk.

"You know how to drive on manual?" Sheila inquired as she watched Jun smoothly reversed the car.

Jun smiled. "There's a lot of things I'm willing to learn. You should try learning some too."

The truck failed to start a few times, but still managed to, when Edward pushed the car for a few feet. The truck roared to life and drove flew forward.

Edward run hastily and pulled himself up into the trunk.

They passed by an intersection that had a lot of stranded cars, most probably left behind by their owners due to the fact that the doors were left open for most of the cars. The people must have panicked and run for their lives when infecteds loitered the streets.

A few infected appeared but were quickly left behind. Unless they gathered into a horde, Jun wouldn't care about them.

They turned left into a narrow dirt road with rice paddies on both sides. The modern feeling that the National Road gave faded as trees and bushes filled the surroundings.

After a few minutes of bumpy rides, the truck stopped in front of a wooden sign that said, "BEWARE! No Trespassing!"

Jun alighted from the car and started walking towards an old fashioned house. There were antique wooden windows and unique looking doors all over the house.

This is Jun's grandmother's house. She owned it and stayed here even though, Jun's mother asked her to moved in with them. His grandmother valued this house greater than luxurious apartments or modern houses. When asked why she doesn't want to leave here, she replied that she treasures every memory she gained here, that she would like to stay here until her final days.

Edward and Sheila who were following Jun gasped at the scenery. A row of mango trees that have ripe fruits hanging on thin branches astonished the two of them. They were too used on living in the modern part of the town that they forgot that this place was still a province.

Sheila ran towards Jun who was walking along the dirt path. "Do your parents own this farm?"

Jun turned to her and smiled proudly. "No, my grandparents did. They own four hectares of land which they mostly used for farming. Oh, and don't expect us to be rich."

Sheila nodded her head blankly as if thinking of something. Her curiosity got the best of her and she asked: "But if your grandparents owns this land, why do you live so far away?"

Sheila looked around, then pointed towards an empty lot. "You could just build a new house over there."

Jun wryly smiled as he remembered an old story that her mother used to tell him. "My father suggested on turning the farm into an apartment complex. He was an engineer and he knew a lot of people. In short, we can become rich with almost no investments! We own the land, he knows who to speak with and has access to supplies. My dad's idea was a good one for modern people, but a terrible one for my grandparents. We were driven out of the house, and we never came back. Sorry, I was rambling on my own. Its just... I can't help but think of the past."

"It's okay. It didn't bother me."

They arrived at the door. Jun looked around the house then readied his arsenal; his shield and aluminum baseball bat. He opened the door and secured the immediate area. When they all got inside the house, he noticed how neat the place was. Should he be happy that the place seemed safe or be worried that there seemed to be no one inside.

He called out loud, shouting for anyone to answer, but failed to receive one. He searched the kitchen, then the bathroom before going upstairs. He searched every room but still didn't find anyone.

Jun gloomily sat down on the living room. His heart felt like it was being clenched tightly. An unknown feeling of sadness filled him. He doesn't know what it is, but the thought of finally being alone scared him. Deep in his mind, he atleast wanted to find out whether they were really dead or still alive. His search for his family suddenly went down the drain with his final lead resulting in a failure.

Edward and Sheila stood silently on the side when a loud barking sound came from the backyard.

Jun quickly stood up and run towards the kitchen. He opened the backdoor and saw a group of people walking along the vegetable garden. The group was being led by a large dog.

When the door opened, the group tensed up. They warily stared at Jun who currently looked like a madman due to his reddened eyes.

The dog barked then wagged its tail. The dog excitedly run towards Jun and climbed up his pants.

Jun hugged the dog and softly mumbled, "Don't leave me, okay?"