Status: Active.
Reincarnation
One.
“We’ll stay in the next town, see if there’re any others and continue at dawn. Should be there by sundown,” Remy’s voice was thin, breathy; fatigue beginning to bite at his senses. He glanced at his watch then up to the sky, frowning in the glare from the sun. The bright orb was sinking slowly, it’s dying heat making it hard for the two to continue. Elle nodded and for a while, it was just the sounds of their heavy breathing and their shoes scuffing against what might once have been a road but was now a cracked, concrete path.
“What if there’s no one?” Elle spoke, dragging her fingers absently through her matted hair, sweeping it from her eyes.
“Then we move on. Keep searching for survivors, somewhere to stay until...” He trailed off at the end, unsure of what they were waiting for. An end? A revolution? Neither were sure, they just knew they couldn’t stay in one location for too long and if they were to hope for any sort of existence, they would need more people. To fight.
“And if there’s...creatures?” Elle could think of no words to describe the terrifying things that seemed to be able to find them under any conditions. ‘Zombies’ sounded too whimsical for her taste; this was real, not childhood games that ended when someone scraped their knee. You get hurt, you continue. Or you die.
Remy shrugged, picking at a scab on the back of his browned hand: “We fight,” His hand curved reflexively around the weapon hanging from his belt, making sure they were still secure. “Or we run, depending on numbers,” he sighed, hand still attached to the only protection he and Elle had.
The sun faded more, turning to dusk and bringing with it a coolness that made it easier to walk faster. On the other hand, the diminishing light made the urge to reach a destination stronger, you couldn’t see them well when blanketed in darkness; just their pale eyes that reflected the dull moonlight. They could see you though, and when they were close enough to catch sight of, they were too close for you to escape.
“Rem, it’s getting dark,” Elle watched him glance at the sky as though he had not noticed and lengthen his strides so that his pace quickened.
“I know. Nearly there,” he stated shortly, adding: “Don’t worry,” as an afterthought. Elle fought to keep up, both speaking no more as they focused every ounce of their energy on walking. The subsequent silence was, again, filled with heavy footfalls and laboured breathing.
Eventually the skeletons of broken buildings began to appear before their eyes. They walked into the town with dry mouths and aching limbs. They passed the worse off, sparsely spread buildings until the frequency began to increase, buildings tightly packed and slightly less damaged.
“Where are we?” this from Elle, voice barely a whisper, just in case. Remy ignored her, stooping over and moving slowly towards the crooked doorway of a nearby building. She knew not to question this, following almost silently. He turned back, pressed a finger to his lips and pointed to his ear. Elle listened closely in the darkness, hearing nothing for a while. No animals, no cars, just Remy’s silenced breathing and the sound of the wind passing through the vacant buildings. Then there it was. A mere whimper, almost nothing to either’s ears but a definite sound of life. Moments later, the same sound and Remy was reaching for his gun, holding it before him with two hands.
“Flashlight,” he hissed and Elle immediately reached for her backpack, rifling around in the dark until her fingers closed around the cool cylinder. She held it at shoulder height, flicking the switch into Remy’s path of vision. They moved forward again in unison, till another doorway was found, both huddled to the side of the black rectangle of possibilities. It was clear after moments that the source of the whimpering was in the room.
“Go!” Remy hissed and she followed, sweeping the room with light as he held the gun out at arms length.
“Who’s there?” Elle spat into the darkness, still circling the beam of light until it found a huddled shape in the corner, still whimpering every few seconds. “Show your face!” The thing, that was apparently a person, raised their head. A girl, with dark hair and dark, streaming eyes stared back at them. Not one of them, yet at least. Remy lowered his gun slightly, still clutching it tightly.
“Have you been bitten? Are you infected?” he barked at the girl, causing her to let out another choked sob of fear.
“No,” she whispered, “But please... please, you gotta help me.”
“What if there’s no one?” Elle spoke, dragging her fingers absently through her matted hair, sweeping it from her eyes.
“Then we move on. Keep searching for survivors, somewhere to stay until...” He trailed off at the end, unsure of what they were waiting for. An end? A revolution? Neither were sure, they just knew they couldn’t stay in one location for too long and if they were to hope for any sort of existence, they would need more people. To fight.
“And if there’s...creatures?” Elle could think of no words to describe the terrifying things that seemed to be able to find them under any conditions. ‘Zombies’ sounded too whimsical for her taste; this was real, not childhood games that ended when someone scraped their knee. You get hurt, you continue. Or you die.
Remy shrugged, picking at a scab on the back of his browned hand: “We fight,” His hand curved reflexively around the weapon hanging from his belt, making sure they were still secure. “Or we run, depending on numbers,” he sighed, hand still attached to the only protection he and Elle had.
The sun faded more, turning to dusk and bringing with it a coolness that made it easier to walk faster. On the other hand, the diminishing light made the urge to reach a destination stronger, you couldn’t see them well when blanketed in darkness; just their pale eyes that reflected the dull moonlight. They could see you though, and when they were close enough to catch sight of, they were too close for you to escape.
“Rem, it’s getting dark,” Elle watched him glance at the sky as though he had not noticed and lengthen his strides so that his pace quickened.
“I know. Nearly there,” he stated shortly, adding: “Don’t worry,” as an afterthought. Elle fought to keep up, both speaking no more as they focused every ounce of their energy on walking. The subsequent silence was, again, filled with heavy footfalls and laboured breathing.
Eventually the skeletons of broken buildings began to appear before their eyes. They walked into the town with dry mouths and aching limbs. They passed the worse off, sparsely spread buildings until the frequency began to increase, buildings tightly packed and slightly less damaged.
“Where are we?” this from Elle, voice barely a whisper, just in case. Remy ignored her, stooping over and moving slowly towards the crooked doorway of a nearby building. She knew not to question this, following almost silently. He turned back, pressed a finger to his lips and pointed to his ear. Elle listened closely in the darkness, hearing nothing for a while. No animals, no cars, just Remy’s silenced breathing and the sound of the wind passing through the vacant buildings. Then there it was. A mere whimper, almost nothing to either’s ears but a definite sound of life. Moments later, the same sound and Remy was reaching for his gun, holding it before him with two hands.
“Flashlight,” he hissed and Elle immediately reached for her backpack, rifling around in the dark until her fingers closed around the cool cylinder. She held it at shoulder height, flicking the switch into Remy’s path of vision. They moved forward again in unison, till another doorway was found, both huddled to the side of the black rectangle of possibilities. It was clear after moments that the source of the whimpering was in the room.
“Go!” Remy hissed and she followed, sweeping the room with light as he held the gun out at arms length.
“Who’s there?” Elle spat into the darkness, still circling the beam of light until it found a huddled shape in the corner, still whimpering every few seconds. “Show your face!” The thing, that was apparently a person, raised their head. A girl, with dark hair and dark, streaming eyes stared back at them. Not one of them, yet at least. Remy lowered his gun slightly, still clutching it tightly.
“Have you been bitten? Are you infected?” he barked at the girl, causing her to let out another choked sob of fear.
“No,” she whispered, “But please... please, you gotta help me.”