Apocalypsis 01 - Kahayatle

the people who’d locked their doors to die inside.   I hoped these neighbors had done the better thing, and gone to the hospital to do that bit of nasty business, like my dad had.  
    I was grateful for his final gesture, even though at the time it was the worst day of my life, watching him drive away like that and leave me all by myself.   I don’t think I could have buried him in the backyard.   That would have been too much, and like he had said, I wouldn’t have been able to leave him behind when it was time to go.   He wanted me to be mobile and flexible - memories shouldn’t be tying me down to a sinking ship, he’d said.
    I wrapped the hand towel I’d brought with me around my fist and punched the glass panel nearest the door handle to break it, reaching through the hole I’d made to unlock the deadbolt.   I opened the door slowly and stepped inside.
    I left the door open, tiptoeing through the back hall and into the kitchen.   I don’t know why I was trying to be so quiet.   I guess knowing I was breaking into someone’s house made me feel like I should sneak.  
    I took a whiff of the air, testing it for the smell of rotten flesh.   Nope, no dead bodies in here for sure.   That was a relief.   I’d smelled that odor now many times, when the wind blew strongly.   Whenever that happened, I wondered how long it would be before that smell stopped being a regular part of my new life.
    I found the pantry and opened it, expecting to find it full.   But it was nearly empty too.  
    “What the hell?” I said out into the room.   The raiders must have beat me to this place, but it was weird because when they came, they usually made a big mess; and this place was spotless.   Everything on the counter was lined up with regimented perfection.   Even the hand towels were hanging on the oven door handle as if they’d just been laundered and ironed, put there for the evening’s dinner preparation.
    I shut the door to the pantry and nearly dropped a doodle in my drawers when I realized I wasn’t alone in the house.
    ***
    “Holy shit , dude, put that thing away,” I said, feeling my blood pressure shoot up like a rocket and my heart start to beat triple-time.   I was staring down the barrel of a big ass handgun.   It had to be a .357 Magnum or something.   The kid could barely hold it up, it was so heavy.
    “What do you think you’re doing breaking into my house?   You know you’re not supposed to do that.”   His voice sounded like a girl’s, it was so soft and high-pitched.   How had he survived if he hadn’t entered puberty yet?
    “I didn’t know anyone lived here, I swear.   I thought I knew all the kids who went to Winter Park High in this neighborhood, but I don’t recognize you.”
    “Yeah, well, I didn’t go there.   I went to Seminole High.   But that doesn’t give you the right to break my window and try to steal my stuff.”
    “I’m sorry, like I said, I didn’t know this place was occupied.”  
    I frowned at the kid.   His hands were shaking and he was resting his elbows on his stomach to give his arms more support.   I guess he wasn’t twelve, being in high school, but he sure was small for his age.
    “Would you put that stupid thing down before you shoot me, please?”
    “Why?   So you can eat me and my food?”
    I laughed.   I couldn’t help it.   “Eat you?   What the hell are you talking about?”
    “The canners.   You’re one of them.   Where are your friends?” His eyes darted to the space behind me.   I could tell he wanted to turn around and look behind himself too because his eyes kept jerking to the side along with his one shoulder, but he was too afraid to take his eyes off me.   He was seriously freaked out.
    I shook my head, trying to make any sense at all of what this kid was saying.   I looked at him a little closer, trying to figure out if maybe he’d lost his marbles, being alone for these last couple months.   But he seemed mostly normal, if not a bit too thin, even for someone who was on a survivor’s diet.
    “I’m not one of anything.   I’m just me, trying to find some food.   I’m tired of noodles and beans, that’s all.   But I’ll go back to my house now and leave you alone.”
    “Ha!   So you can come back at night and eat my heart?   I don’t think so.”
    I smiled.   This kid had no idea who he was messing with.   The only reason I hadn’t taken that gun away from him and immobilized him