Boxers and a t-shirt would have to do for now as Oscar
wheeled himself outside and down the sidewalk. On his lap rested an old katana
his college roommate had given him for his birthday a few years ago. "Why
would a cripple need a sword?" he'd asked, to which his roommate just
smiled and shrugged. "You never know." No truer statement, as it
turned out, had ever been said.
His neighborhood was in ruin, and it was only 7:00 in the
morning. Someone had gotten busy early, or maybe late last night. Oscar noticed
loners lingering here and there, all resembling the late Ricky in gait and
posture. Whatever happened to Ricky back there, it was not an isolated
incident. Oscar realized this now with stunning clarity. Was this the end of
civilization as we know it? Oscar readjusted the sword on his lap and rolled to
the corner of the block.
There was no point in staying home, he decided while lying
on that floor beside the dead nurse. Sure, he was limited in his abilities to
fend for himself, but he figured there was just as much chance of surviving out
here as there was staying in there. Not his most sound logic to date, but it
was his conclusion and he went with it. Besides, he had his katana with him.
What's the worst that could happen?