Through the Doorbell's Eye

The installation of the doorbell camera was supposed to keep her safe. Instead, being able to see what was happening outside her apartment made her even more nervous once the city fell.

Diane was expecting the internet to go down immediately once the city fell, but as the days passed, her camera continued to work. It became a daily ritual to sit down in front of the computer she’d woken to watch the outside world. She didn’t dare venture out after seeing what was happening outside.

It was day five that convinced her it would be better to stay inside, at least for the current moment. She had just poured herself a bowl of dry cereal, having used up the last of the milk two days prior. She had some shelf stable milk, but hadn’t yet brought herself to open it.

Settling in her chair, she opened her computer and clicked the camera view open, looking to see who was outside her house. Not long after she started viewing, a young woman came into view. The woman couldn’t be much older than Diane herself and she looked scared. As she passed in front of the camera eye, she kept glancing over her shoulder.

Diane got to her feet, thinking she would call out to the woman through the door, but stopped as someone else came into view. This person moved with grace instead of the frantic movement of the woman. A hood covered his head, hiding his face from the camera. He wore jeans and heavy boots with the sweatshirt, clothes that Diane wouldn’t have looked twice at Before.

Now, it made her worry. Only people who were dangerous hid their faces now. Everyone else walked openly, trying to make sure that they were not attacked by a random faceless person on the street. It was one of the main reasons Diane stayed inside. She hadn’t been outside in years without a mask, too scared that she was going to catch something that would kill her.

Now… she was worried that wearing the mask would kill her. It was one of the main reasons she stayed inside.

Her attention turned back to the camera as the woman came back into view. She didn’t look worried about the other person, but that person straightened up, angling towards her.

Diane held her breath as the woman got closer and closer to the faceless person. She still couldn’t tell if the faceless person was male or female, but they were now advancing on the woman. Diane’s hands clenched as she realized what was about to happen.

The person reached out towards the woman, grabbing her arm and hauling her towards them. The woman struggled, trying to pull away, but the other person was clearly stronger as they placed a hand over her mouth, muffling her screams.

Diane gasped as the woman was dragged out of frame. She didn’t dare run out to help, with her infirmities, she would probably end up in the same or similar position. But she wanted to do something.

She reached for her phone, but paused before she could pick it up. Before she wouldn’t have hesitated, but now there was no telling who would answer the call. It could be the actual police or it could be someone affiliated with the person that had taken the woman. And she wasn’t even sure if the call would be answered. Actual working phone calls were few and far between despite the internet working.

Still she couldn’t just sit there. Grabbing her cane, she got herself to her feet and headed to the door. She had tethered her doorbell camera to the phone Before and now she opened the app to guide her as she opened the steel door.

There had been a glass door blocking entrance to her building Before, but it had been broken long ago and she carefully stepped through the opening, her cane gripped tightly in her hand.

The woman was nowhere to be seen and she sighed, feeling like she’d wasted her energy to come all the way outside. She couldn’t believe that the person had moved that fast.

As she turned to head back into her building, something crashed into the back of her head and she fell to the ground, already dying. Apparently trying to be helpful had just landed her in more trouble.