Agonal Dreams

The world had already begun unraveling by the time Kat and Jenny stepped into the ruins of Eglin Air Force Base. It had been ten weeks since the tsunami, ten weeks since the earth shifted on its axis and humanity followed it into chaos. Kat crouched in the debris, her fingers sifting through a pile of trash. The stink of rot clung to the air, stifling in the Florida heat. She tossed aside an empty can, her stomach gurgling loud enough for Jenny to hear. “Find anything?” Jenny’s voice carried from across the lot, edged with exhaustion. She was picking her way through rubble, her skin raw from burns the sun had left behind. “Just junk,” Kat muttered, wiping sweat from her neck. “God, it’s so hot.” The horizon was still painted in shadows, but the first hints of dawn pressed at the edges of the sky. Jenny drew closer, shielding her blistered arm with a scowl. “The sun’s almost up. I can feel it,” she said. “We gotta get back inside. I can’t afford any more burns.” Kat ignored her, turning another heap of scraps with the toe of her boot. “We still have an hour of darkness. Can’t waste it. You can go back if you want, but I’m checking a few more places.” Jenny’s patience snapped. “You’re going to get us killed! I can go without food or water for a couple of days, but look at me. My skin’s fried.” She thrust her arm out, the red welts glaring under the moonlight. Kat barely gave it a glance. “When was the last time you had clean water?” Kat snapped. “I’m sick of this — scavenging every damn day just to survive. We need to find resources, stock up, and conserve energy. Or do you even want to survive?” Jenny glared, her lips pressed into a thin, bitter line. She shifted on her feet, casting nervous looks into the shadows beyond the trash heaps. “You’re getting on my nerves,” Kat continued sharply. “Go back inside. You never help anyway.” “Why do you always do this?” Jenny’s voice cracked, a mixture of anger and desperation. “You don’t listen. You just do whatever you want!” A scream cut through the night. Both girls froze. The sound wasn’t human — not anymore. Jenny’s eyes widened. Kat straightened, scanning the dark as her pulse hammered in her ears. “If you’re afraid of a basher, don’t be,” Kat said, her tone hard. “You’ve got your knife. I’ll be fine. Go.” Jenny hesitated, then turned away, muttering curses under her breath as her footsteps faded. “Such a great friend you turned out to be!” she shouted back, her voice trembling. Kat sighed, bending again to search. But her hands stilled as the memory of the last ten weeks crept back: the tsunami that had swallowed an entire nation, the sudden madness that followed, the collapse of governments and the silence of the world. Survivors became scavengers. The earth itself tilted, throwing hemispheres into searing heat and endless cold. The sound of snarling jerked her back to the present. Kat pressed herself against a brick wall, holding her breath. Two men stood in the open a short distance away. One of them thrashed violently, a guttural scream tearing from his throat as he lunged at the other. “Allen, it’s me! Dominic!” the victim cried, his voice strangled with panic. “Please, don’t!” The plea was cut short as Allen’s hands closed around his throat and hurled him against the concrete. The sickening crack echoed, followed by Dominic’s gasps and convulsions. Kat clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting the urge to scream. Allen grinned — wide, feral — as he lifted a cinder block and brought it down on his friend’s skull. The night filled with a grotesque silence, broken only by Allen’s triumphant howl. Kat’s eyes blurred with tears. Her body trembled. She wanted to run, but before she could move, Allen turned. His gaze found her. He was on her in seconds. Cold, filthy fingers closed around her throat. Kat gagged, clawing at his arms as her vision dimmed. In desperation, she dug her nails into his eyes. Allen shrieked, his grip loosening just enough for her to tear free. She ran. Her lungs burned as she sprinted through the dark, Allen’s footsteps pounding behind her, his guttural screams echoing. Her hand caught the rusted handle of a shed door. She flung it open, hurled herself inside, and slammed it shut. The wood shook under his furious blows as she pressed her back against it, gasping for air. The basher howled outside, enraged. And then— A voice inside the darkness: “Who the hell are you?” A man’s voice, sharp and furious, came from the shadows. Kat spun, chest heaving. A stranger lunged forward, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her against the wall. “I’m not one of them!” she choked out. “Let me go!” He didn’t ease his grip. “Your name. Now.” “What?” “Your full goddamn name!” “Kat. Kat Song.” “Spell it.” She blinked. “What? Why?” “Spell it!” Her voice trembled. “K-A-T.” The man stared for a long moment, then released her with a frustrated sigh. Kat shoved him back, bristling. “No apology? Do you greet everyone like this, or just the ones you like?” Something whispered at the edge of her hearing. A ghostly murmur that seemed to curl around her thoughts. Kat froze. “What?” she blurted. The stranger frowned. “What’s the matter with you? Shut up, it’s still outside.” “You didn’t hear that?” “Hear what?” His gaze narrowed, unsettled. Before she could answer, the howls outside faded. The man checked the door, then slung a backpack over his shoulder. Without another word, he pushed it open. “Hey, wait!” Kat called, hurrying after him. He paused, his face tight. “You know what it’s been like out here. I haven’t survived this long by accident.” “Well, neither have I,” she said firmly. His name was Adrian. They traded wary questions as they walked the deserted base. She admitted she’d come searching for her father, a pilot named Rogelio Song she had never met. Adrian admitted he’d been a medic, training as a physician’s assistant before the world collapsed. Neither trusted the other completely. When they reached the building Kat had claimed as shelter, she invited him in. He shook his head. “I’m leaving. Supplies are low. Too many of them around. Time to move on.” Kat hesitated. “Then take us with you.” His eyes narrowed. “Us?” “Me and Jenny. I’m not alone.” After a long silence, Adrian relented. “Meet me at the guard shack at dusk. Don’t be late.” ⸻ The next morning, Jenny complained as Kat packed. “Why risk leaving? At least here we’re safe.” Kat ignored her. Safety was an illusion. Adrian arrived in an old jeep, impatient but unsurprised they showed up. The three of them set off north, tension thick between Jenny and Adrian. Hours on the road brought them to a roadside motel. The air inside was heavy, mold clinging to the walls. A clerk stood behind the desk, motionless. “Hey, you,” Adrian called. The woman turned, her face blank, her voice faltering as if every word was dragged through broken glass. “Y’all must be from out of town.” Kat felt a chill crawl up her spine. “Adrian…” “She can’t even tell me her name,” Adrian muttered. He raised his weapon. The woman shrieked, lunging across the counter. Adrian fired once, dropping her in a heap. Kat’s heart twisted. She couldn’t shake the image of how young the girl had looked. Jenny dismissed it coldly. Adrian knelt by the body, studying her with a medic’s eye. “No obvious signs of infection. Just… gone. Like her mind’s been hollowed out.” Kat shuddered. Room after room told the same story — corpses, decay, and the lingering stench of death. Jenny nearly gagged. “I can’t stay here.” Adrian sighed, exhausted, his patience thinning. But when Kat and Jenny mocked his crankiness, even he cracked a small, reluctant smile. They pressed on. The jeep didn’t last. Outside Montgomery, steam burst from the radiator, scalding Adrian’s eye. Kat insisted she’d search for another vehicle. Reluctantly, he gave her a gun. “Don’t talk to anyone,” he warned. She walked for hours, the heat shimmering on the horizon, until she reached a small town. Houses stood untouched, lawns neat, streets quiet. Too quiet. The absence of bodies unnerved her more than their presence ever had. That was when the whispers returned. Faint at first, then rising, cruel and angry, echoing inside her skull. Kat pressed her hands to her ears, but the sound only grew sharper. A laugh broke the silence. A basher spotted her, its distorted face splitting into a grin. “Stay back!” Kat shouted, raising the pistol. “Tell me your name or I’ll shoot!” The creature answered with a howl, sprinting at her. She fired — but the gun slipped from her grip, clattering uselessly to the ground. “Shoot it!” A voice rang out from the street. A young man loosed a bolt from a modified crossbow. It struck the basher in the throat, dropping it in a gurgling heap. Kat gasped for breath, shaking. “You okay?” the stranger asked, offering a hand. “Yeah… thanks. Nice shot.” He pulled back his hood, revealing dark eyes that glimmered strangely. Kat stiffened. Something was wrong. “What’s wrong with your eyes?” she whispered. “You’re one of them.” “No,” he said quickly, raising his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Kat backed away. Panic clawed at her chest. She found a car, keys still in the ignition, tank full. She yanked the door open. “Wait!” he pleaded. “Don’t leave me out here! There’s more coming!” Kat froze. And then she saw them. The horizon moved — a wall of bodies, hundreds of them, snarling, shrieking, sprinting, limping, crawling. A tide of Bashers, more than she had ever seen, pouring down the street with eyes locked on her. Her breath caught. The town wasn’t abandoned. It was alive. And it was coming for them.