Ghosts and Old Memories (A Pandemic Story) - Part 1

Hello, and welcome to the first of several short stories set in the world of my novel. I'm using these as an opportunity to improve my writing skills and help to build the world of my novel. You will meet many of the characters that are part of my novel's world, though none of them are main characters. These short stories are exercises designed to help me bring more life and vibrancy to secondary characters. Please let me know what you think, and I will answer every comment (as long as you give me something more than "Good Story".

Eric Briggs looked around his empty home. Its quiet halls and dark rooms were beginning to weigh heavily on his mind, and the isolation was getting to be too much for him. Set on an acre of prairie land not far from the city, he had been alone now for close to a month. A few days ago he had realized that there was nothing left for him in this house except ghosts and old memories.

His wife and daughter had both gone quickly, if not quietly, just days into the pandemic. After a week, almost everyone had gone. He hadn't seen any sign of another human in almost three weeks. He'd gotten sick but recovered fairly quickly, having had only a slight cough and headache that kept him down for a day or so. Since then, he'd spent most of his time inside the house, trying to keep in touch with the dwindling number of people online. He hadn't even been able to bury his family because of the frozen ground outside. He'd had to settle for building crude stone cairns to serve as their final resting place.

Despite the best efforts of those few people who had survived, the utilities were starting to fail. His power had been flickering for days before finally quitting a week ago. The fuel for his generator would run out tomorrow or the next day. He'd been able to connect with a few other survivors over the internet, but that had failed for good a couple days ago. He'd told them of his plans, and left a post on Facebook, which had kept running until the bitter end.

Not far from his house, just outside the city limits was a rail yard. Parked there, since the start of the pandemic, were a series of trains hauling all sorts of rail cars. Contained within and upon these cars were products of every description, he was sure.

He'd loaded his SUV up over the past couple days. Thankfully, it still ran and with the results of the pandemic, there was lots of gasoline around. He got in and started the engine before backing away from his house. He stopped, got out, and retrieved the sign reading "The Briggs Family" from the front porch. Wedging it into the passenger seat beside him, he drove down his driveway and away from his home.

Until today, the cold weather had largely worked in his favour. His stockpile of frozen food had grown as he had raided his neighbours houses once it became clear that they weren't coming back. He'd had the misfortune to find some of his neighbours who had tried unsuccessfully to escape the pandemic by hiding in their houses.

Today, however, was a different story. As his SUV pushed through the unploughed roads, he was thankful for the 4-wheel drive that kept him from getting too badly stuck in the snow. As it was, he still felt the SUV sliding around beneath him as he navigated the snow-covered roads.

Before long, he reached the outskirts of the large business park where the rail yard was located. He paused, looking out at the warehouses and commercial buildings dotting the landscape in front of him. As the idling SUV rumbled beneath him, he considered the fact that all it would take is one person with a rifle to ruin his plan, and end his life.

But the only vehicle tracks were his own, and despite the power appearing to still be on in most buildings, there was no sign that anyone had been around in a long time. As he moved the gear shift back into "Drive", he slouched down in hiw seat and moved the car cautiously to the parking lot of the closest building. As much as he would like to explore the entire area tonight, it would have to wait. His first priority had to be food and shelter.

He parked the SUV and put on his winter gear. Pulling his rifle from its spot beside the passenger seat, he exited the vehicle, keeping its bulk between him and the building. He put his rifle to his shoulder and cautiously scanned the side of the building closest to him. He saw no signs of anyone being there, so he slung his rifle and carefully withdrew his hand gun.

His neighbour on the next acreage over had been a cop, and after finding her body, he had decided to put some of her equipment to good use. His slim frame had easily fit into her vest and jacket. And, while it had taken some getting used to, he found her tactical belt to not only fit him but also carry a plethora of useful items.

As he moved forward, he held the gun as he had seen in movies - one hand holding the gun with the other supporting the first hand's wrist. As he approached the door, the hand without the gun reached out for the door handle, not surprisingly the door was locked. He quickly considered his options before deciding to break the glass on the front door. Hopefully he would be able to find something to cover the hole with, but there seemed to be several layers to the building and he figured he would be warm enough.

After breaking the glass, he ducked into the lobby and quickly took cover out of sight of anyone coming into the lobby from inside the building. When nobody appeared after the first few minutes, he breathed a sigh of relief. If the sound of breaking glass hadn't summoned the occupants, then they likely weren't here.

He quickly scouted out the rest of the building before settling on an office on the second floor as his new home. He hauled his gear out of the SUV before making himself some supper on a camp stove and rolling out his sleeping bag. After making sure his rifle and handgun were both close by, he attempted to fall asleep.

To Be Continued...

Image Sources:
http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Home-Snow-Michigan-House-Winter-Usa-Ice-Blue-554954
https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1171188
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_snowy_scene_within_Havant_Business_Park_-geograph.org.uk-754031.jpg