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First Minute Preparations (4-3-18)


[WP] You have a pair of indestructible glasses that allow you to see 5 years into the future as though a zombie apocalypse had started. You cannot interact with this world but people you can see can also see you. [Link to post.]

I walked out of the stranger's house at midnight, carrying a dufflebag of weapons and ammunition. A heavy canvas back backpack full of canned goods, along with a usable can opener helped slow me down. I wasn't in a hurry though, the house owners were out of town. I added the two heavy bags to the rest in my car and started the seven hour drive back to my house. The lonely road gave me plenty of time to reminisce. Four months ago, my 18th birthday, I discovered a pair of magic glasses. Magic being a catch-all for the unexplained. I didn't put much thought into how they worked, I just knew they did.

That day I followed my regular shortcut home down a back alley and a brilliant sparkle caught the corner of my eye. The glint came from under a garbage dumpster, the setting sun reflected off of something just right. I sank to my knees and found a small, rectangular, solid platinum glasses case case hidden under the rusty metal container. Standing there in the alley I pulled the glasses out and looked them over; the frame felt like solid gold. I'm no expert, but my dad's a jeweler. He gave up trying to keep me out of his workshop when I was 10. As near as I could tell the red lens was made from a thin slice of a giant ruby. The blue lens, sapphire. They appeared to be the most expensive 3D glasses ever made. So I put them on. 

Then I screamed and slapped them off my face in a hurry. I panicked looking around me for the horrible thing I saw in front of me when I put them on. It looked like a zombie, and I realized someone was probably playing a prank on me. After chuckling to myself I searched the ground for the glasses. Another glint of sunlight caught my eye from the middle of the street. As I walked toward them an 18-wheeler ran over the small glasses. I ran to pick up the pieces, but the glasses still looked brand new. 

"Not even a scratch," I whispered to myself in awe. I had enough sense to get out of the street, then put the glasses back on again. I saw the same zombie a bit further down the alley, where I stood the first time. He faced away from me, just standing there. I took off the glasses and stared at the empty alleyway. Then I put the glasses back on and stared at the zombie. I turned around, with the glasses on, and noticed several more zombies wandering the nearby park and in some of the buildings. Just to make sure, I took the glasses off and took another look around at my surroundings, then noticed the sign on the local hardware store showed today's date. I put the glasses on, and read a date five years in the future. 

"Okay," I said. I pulled the glasses off, put them in the case, pocketed it, then ran the rest of the way home. The surprise party waiting for me at home helped distract me for the rest of the day. Fear kept the glasses in the back of my desk drawer for the next two weeks. Finally, curiosity got the better of me. I pulled the platinum case out of my drawer and climbed out of my east facing window to my favorite spot on the roof. I could see most of the city from here, and I wanted to see it through the glasses. 

I put them on and scanned the city, taking in every detail. The bright orange color of the sun setting behind me caught my attention. I saw the color clearly, not through the purple haze of 3D glasses. I looked for the usual evening walkers that roamed the neighborhood at twilight, but only found zombies. Most of them stood in place, though a few shuffled about. Then I noticed a streak of blue headed toward my house faster than I'd seen any of the zombies move. A person in a blue hoodie ran up to my porch. I listened for the doorbell, then I remembered this person was five years in the future. 

"They're probably just looking for somewhere to hide," I mumbled to myself and kept surveying the city. 

"Hello?" the glasses vibrated against my temples, and I heard a female voice. I knew it wasn't my mom, so I turned around. A young woman pulled the blue hood down revealing her light blond hair. "Who are you?" she asked.  I looked around, half expecting to see someone next to me. 

"You. The idiot with the dorky glasses on." I freaked and pulled the glasses off. I knew she wasn't actually in my room, but I needed to check. I took a couple of deep breaths and put them back on.

"Where'd you go??? How'd you do that??" She asked, stepping closer to the window. 

"You can see me?" I asked. 

"Yeah." She nodded.

"And you can hear me?" I stood from my seat on the roof and ducked into my room through the window. 

"What kind of stupid question is that? I'm talking to you, ain't I?" Leah asked. We talked for the rest of the night. I learned her name, and about the zombie outbreak. Between us we figured out what I saw through the glasses was always exactly five years ahead of me. My 23rd birthday is the first day of the zombie outbreak; the two weeks the glasses stayed in my drawer I missed most of the panic. The next morning I woke up to the sound of Leah screaming for help. A zombie was trying to break through my bedroom door, and Leah didn't have enough weight to keep him out for longer than a few more minutes.

I rushed to the door to add my weight, but it didn't make a difference. I was still sleepy, so I forgot what Lean and I learned the previous night. I couldn't touch anyone or anything in the future. 

"My dad has a hatchet in the shed!" I said excitedly. 

"I can't *get* to the shed, moron!" she yelled at me. "Don't you have anything in here?" The zombie chipped out a small piece of the door. I looked around at my room and shrugged at her.

"THEN GO GET THE HATCHET!" She yelled. 

"What?" 

"GET. THE. HATCHET. THEN LEAVE IT IN YOUR ROOM!"

"For five years?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around what she was asking.

"OH MY GOD! I'M GOING TO FUCKING DIE! GO BUY A HATCHET, A GUN, I DON'T FUCKING CARE. KEEP A WEAPON IN THIS ROOM!!" The door was ready to give way, but I chuckled when it finally hit me. 

"Oh okay. I'll have to save up a bit, but I'll buy a gun in a couple of months. I'll keep it..." I looked around the room, then pointed to the wall next to her. "In there. I'll hollow it out, and leave the gun in there for you. I promise." As soon as I made the promise she reached into the wall and pulled out a shotgun. 

"It's loaded, but there's extra shells in the chest by the window." She fired two shots into the zombie that almost made it into the room. A second zombie was ready to take it's place.

"I don't know how to reload!" She said. I felt glad she wasn't yelling at me anymore. 

"Oh, then there's a loaded handgun in the chest too. With the safety on." She dashed to the chest and pulled the gun out. "Safety's right there," I pointed it out to her, then she put the second zombie out of its misery. 

Things got fun after that. We took cross country drives together, in different cars, searching for other survivors. People were more than happy to donate anything belonging to their past selves. I went and stole from them, with their permission of course. 

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