ELI
No, I want to be alone. I'll keep the pickup truck on, just in case. Watch out.
Eli enters the stairwell when he is attacked by a strong and sickening stench of death. He leaves the glass entrance door open and holds the flap of his coat over his nose, trying to catch his breath. Since there is no electricity in the city, Eli turns on his lighter and climbs the four floors to his apartment on foot, in the dark stairwell. On the third floor, a corpse blocks the stairs. Eli utters a curse in his fear. The eyes of his old neighbor stare at him in the stasis of death and the large pool of blood that comes down from the wide cut in his throat is already all crocheted, as well as his shirt. Thousands of flies cover the dried pool of blood like a carpet. The flies didn't seem particularly impressed by Eli's presence and continued their evening meal with an ear-splitting monotonous buzz. Eli, in one big step, passes the body that blocks his path and climbs with the rest of his strength the additional floor to the entrance of his apartment. His heart beats wildly, both from the ascent and from the unpleasant meeting with his old neighbor.
But most of all, he is tormented by the fear of what he will find in his own apartment. No one receives him in the apartment. The moonlight enters the kitchen. He walks through the rooms with the lighter in his right hand. Everything was abandoned in an orderly fashion, so typical of his wife.
ELI (whispering to himself)
Dina, Dina, where are you?