Fester
Into The Forrest
We had been walking for days. The bottom of my pants were still damp from crossing the river earlier that morning and every time I took a step the material shifted and chafed my legs. I was so thirsty, sweat drenching my neck from where the hot sun now beat down on me from between the trees. Throwing the forrest into patterns of shadow and light.
I reached behind me into the side pocket of my pack and unscrewed my water container taking a long drink of now warm water. The temperature of it didn't make me feel any better and made my stomach cramp. I was so tired of walking. Constantly pushing forward with an effort that seemed futile.
I couldn't do it anymore. Finding the nearest log in the shade I sat down. Pulling up my pants I confirmed what I felt. The skin was rubbed raw and little red dots showed where blood seeped. I reached for a spot where a small piece of skin hung on, sort of dangling, and pulled it away with a sharp pain that faded into a burning like the rest of my leg wounds.
I was reaching into my bag for antibiotic cream when Alister Holden, our unofficial group leader turned around. Somehow he sensed I was no longer following behind. From the beginning he had taken his place as the head of this small group of survivors that had banded together. We didn't know much about him other than he seemed to know exactly what we should do and his alpha male attitude gave us little room to ask questions.
"We need to keep moving." His voice was the kind that demanded attention. But I was too tired, too hot. I didn't want to hear any of it. All I wanted was to go back to my home and lay down on my bed in the AC. The thought seemed so far away after what had happened in the past few days.
When Alister stopped and turned around so did the other four. Their tired eyes turned to face me, unsure of why their heat dazed walking had stopped.
"Why can't we stop early for the night?" My voice sounded weak. We had been hiking for a good four days and it seemed like enough distance was between us and our old town. A good enough buffer zone to stop our relentless walking, at least for tonight. Just this once.
"We need to be farther away. We cant risk it." As he says it he uses the back of his hand to wipe the sweat that's come to drip towards his eyes. It takes him a little bit to unscrew the lid off hit canteen which buys me time to formulate a good argument as to why we should stay here.
"I just need to wrap these wounds. If they open any more i'll just slow you guys down." He eyes me, putting his canteen back in his red pack. He needs more convincing. "We can leave as soon as dawn breaks I swear." My eyes plead and he chews it over in his brain, assessing the possible threats it may cause. Something tells me he's had military training, enough of it to kick his brain into a conditioned tactical mode.
"As soon as there's enough daylight to see your feet that's it, we leave." He says it as a finality and I'm just thankful we no longer have to walk. I sigh with relief and continue applying the cream to the exposed parts of my legs. I watch as the others all find places to lay or sit, finding refuge in the shade. Alister opens his pack and takes things out one at a time, moving his lips and checking inventory.
Grabbing a roll of first aid gauze I slowly spin it around the open sores till it presses tight. With the open air no longer hitting them they feel better already. I stand up and start scouring the surrounding forrest, picking up dry wood and breaking off dead tree limbs that will spark a fire better. As I walk I think back to my town. It seems like a far away nightmare, like ill wake up soon but it still burns fresh in my mind.
It started with a boy, about my age, though i didn't know him since he had gone to a school farther down the highway in the neighboring city. He had apparently ran late catching the bus home and had to wait till it made its rounds again.
He had been waiting when a homeless man approached, reaching and grabbing him. The stench of dead flesh made it hard to breathe and gave the man time to lean forward and grasp the boys shoulder in his mouth, biting down hard. The boy pushed the old man off and ran to a bus that had pulled up and made his way home, still scared and frantic.
When he got home he cleaned the wound and didn't tell anyone, scared of getting in trouble for missing the first bus.
It didn't take long for the infection to jump from person to person, taking the whole town down and leaving a few healthy groups to scatter into the surrounding forrest.
The smell of rotting tissue still filled my nose. I shudder and continue to gather wood, noticing the sun now slipping low into the tree line
Alister will wonder where I've gone.
When I return sure enough, I see him standing in the small clearing we stopped in, scanning the nearby trees until he spots me. He gives me a look but doesn't say anything and sits down next to the tiny fire he made. The rest of the group is scattered, doing their own thing. There's an older Mexican woman who joined us but she's unable to speak much English and so she sits at the far edge, adding beads to what looks like a necklace. The young girl no older than 13 that joined us on the path, scared, two days ago sits on the on the other side of the fire. She warms her hands and stares into it. She hasn't talked to any of us and we don't even know her name. I smile sadly at her. She's so young and has already lost everyone close to her.
I look for the other two, a young married couple and i find them huddled close together not far away. they talked in rushed whispers and i can tell shes scared and so can he as he places his hands on hers, trying to comfort her.
I dump my pile of wood next to it and add a few pieces to keep the flames going before I lay down not too far away. As the sun sinks so does the temperature. My once sweating skin now raises in goosebumps. The heat from the fire warms me and its not long before I slip into an awkward sleep, tossing and turning.
I reached behind me into the side pocket of my pack and unscrewed my water container taking a long drink of now warm water. The temperature of it didn't make me feel any better and made my stomach cramp. I was so tired of walking. Constantly pushing forward with an effort that seemed futile.
I couldn't do it anymore. Finding the nearest log in the shade I sat down. Pulling up my pants I confirmed what I felt. The skin was rubbed raw and little red dots showed where blood seeped. I reached for a spot where a small piece of skin hung on, sort of dangling, and pulled it away with a sharp pain that faded into a burning like the rest of my leg wounds.
I was reaching into my bag for antibiotic cream when Alister Holden, our unofficial group leader turned around. Somehow he sensed I was no longer following behind. From the beginning he had taken his place as the head of this small group of survivors that had banded together. We didn't know much about him other than he seemed to know exactly what we should do and his alpha male attitude gave us little room to ask questions.
"We need to keep moving." His voice was the kind that demanded attention. But I was too tired, too hot. I didn't want to hear any of it. All I wanted was to go back to my home and lay down on my bed in the AC. The thought seemed so far away after what had happened in the past few days.
When Alister stopped and turned around so did the other four. Their tired eyes turned to face me, unsure of why their heat dazed walking had stopped.
"Why can't we stop early for the night?" My voice sounded weak. We had been hiking for a good four days and it seemed like enough distance was between us and our old town. A good enough buffer zone to stop our relentless walking, at least for tonight. Just this once.
"We need to be farther away. We cant risk it." As he says it he uses the back of his hand to wipe the sweat that's come to drip towards his eyes. It takes him a little bit to unscrew the lid off hit canteen which buys me time to formulate a good argument as to why we should stay here.
"I just need to wrap these wounds. If they open any more i'll just slow you guys down." He eyes me, putting his canteen back in his red pack. He needs more convincing. "We can leave as soon as dawn breaks I swear." My eyes plead and he chews it over in his brain, assessing the possible threats it may cause. Something tells me he's had military training, enough of it to kick his brain into a conditioned tactical mode.
"As soon as there's enough daylight to see your feet that's it, we leave." He says it as a finality and I'm just thankful we no longer have to walk. I sigh with relief and continue applying the cream to the exposed parts of my legs. I watch as the others all find places to lay or sit, finding refuge in the shade. Alister opens his pack and takes things out one at a time, moving his lips and checking inventory.
Grabbing a roll of first aid gauze I slowly spin it around the open sores till it presses tight. With the open air no longer hitting them they feel better already. I stand up and start scouring the surrounding forrest, picking up dry wood and breaking off dead tree limbs that will spark a fire better. As I walk I think back to my town. It seems like a far away nightmare, like ill wake up soon but it still burns fresh in my mind.
It started with a boy, about my age, though i didn't know him since he had gone to a school farther down the highway in the neighboring city. He had apparently ran late catching the bus home and had to wait till it made its rounds again.
He had been waiting when a homeless man approached, reaching and grabbing him. The stench of dead flesh made it hard to breathe and gave the man time to lean forward and grasp the boys shoulder in his mouth, biting down hard. The boy pushed the old man off and ran to a bus that had pulled up and made his way home, still scared and frantic.
When he got home he cleaned the wound and didn't tell anyone, scared of getting in trouble for missing the first bus.
It didn't take long for the infection to jump from person to person, taking the whole town down and leaving a few healthy groups to scatter into the surrounding forrest.
The smell of rotting tissue still filled my nose. I shudder and continue to gather wood, noticing the sun now slipping low into the tree line
Alister will wonder where I've gone.
When I return sure enough, I see him standing in the small clearing we stopped in, scanning the nearby trees until he spots me. He gives me a look but doesn't say anything and sits down next to the tiny fire he made. The rest of the group is scattered, doing their own thing. There's an older Mexican woman who joined us but she's unable to speak much English and so she sits at the far edge, adding beads to what looks like a necklace. The young girl no older than 13 that joined us on the path, scared, two days ago sits on the on the other side of the fire. She warms her hands and stares into it. She hasn't talked to any of us and we don't even know her name. I smile sadly at her. She's so young and has already lost everyone close to her.
I look for the other two, a young married couple and i find them huddled close together not far away. they talked in rushed whispers and i can tell shes scared and so can he as he places his hands on hers, trying to comfort her.
I dump my pile of wood next to it and add a few pieces to keep the flames going before I lay down not too far away. As the sun sinks so does the temperature. My once sweating skin now raises in goosebumps. The heat from the fire warms me and its not long before I slip into an awkward sleep, tossing and turning.