London Bridge Is Falling
The Living Is Undead
The next morning comes without any warning. I jolt awake to the sound of the horse walking around. I gather up my things and stuff them into the bags. I pull up the shutters and mount the horse then leave the mall. It's warmer than yesterday, it feels good on my skin. I ride for hours and eventually stop for a break in the woods, secluded so the infected can't find me. I pull out a few apples, some for me and some for Sparkie.
"I think we're almost there" I say to him. Twigs crunch and he instantly runs away. "Sparkie!" I yell. "Damn horse" At least I grabbed the bag and my weapons when I got off.
I pull the pistol out of my holster and go investigate the noise. A girl comes out from behind a tree. She's beautiful, long black curly hair, brown boots, tank-top, jeans and a vest.
"Don't shoot" She says, she's British.
"You scared away my horse" I lower the gun.
"I'm sorry about that. My name's Marina"
"Lara" I reply.
"We have a sanctuary"
"Waterson" I say. "The Waterson Sanctuary"
"How'd you know?" She asks.
"A guy named Noah told me about it"
"Noah...He never came back"
"I met him in New York"
"Crazy idiot" She says. "What's he doing there?"
Screams come from behind us. "We need to go" I say.
"Follow me" She turns around and heads for the way out of the woods.
We run for what seems like forever until the treeline starts to fade into the distance. My horse is gone, along with my flamethrower and gas tank, I could have used the gas for a car, for something useful. All these things run through my mind, I have to force a mental shutdown. We end up in a field of wheat with the wind swaying softly. I put my hands on me knees and suck in a deep breath. The sun is starting to set, it's beautiful but it brings horror with it...Shrinkers.
"We need to get the hell out of here" Marina says, turning on the UV light on her vest.
I never go anywhere without my UV light anymore, I learned the hard way while crossing a bridge back in New York. I wasn't able to hide soon enough, so I was attacked by maybe five of them. I was so into remembering the battle, I didn't realize the sun had finally gone. The only light was ours. Rule number one: Never get caught outside at dark, the Shrinkers are stronger now. Marina stops me in my tracks and knocks loudly on a metal door.
"Who's that?" A man asks.
"Noah sent her here. I believe her friends are asking for her"
"Sen and Selena?" I ask.
She smiles. "That's them"
The door slides open and a bunch of purple lights turn on in sync. It seems like those are the only things that keep Shrinkers at bay.
I see two people walking towards me. How am I supposed to break the news to them, Dylan is dead and It's because of me. The smile on Sen's face disappears as he gets closer. Selena looks in disbelief.
"What happened?!" Selena says sternly.
"He was hurt after you guys left him behind. I went back for him and we managed to get away from that area. But a group of guys used him as bait and killed him. He wouldn't have lasted long anyway, the virus started back up in his system"
"We should have went back for him, Sen" Selena yells.
"You don't think I regret that, Selena?! I've been wondering to this day if he was alive or not"
"Look. It's over with. Like he said, we can't dwell on the past" I say, choking back tears.
That night, I'm greeted in my room in a building they call "The Tower" It's where everyone sleeps. Marina brings me a tray of food and my bags, they had to check them when I entered the sanctuary.
"You okay?" She asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine" I roll over and look at her. Her red lipstick firm.
"Just making sure. I'll leave this here" She puts the tray on the nightstand beside me.
"Don't go" I say. "Stay"
"Sure" She smiles. "What's on your mind"
"So many people have died. Many people I've cared about. Jill, Jo, Ellie, Jake, Dylan. I feel like I could have done something to stop it"
"Nature is taking it's course, Lara. There's nothing you could've done"
"There must've been something" I swing my feet over the bed. "Anything"
She puts her hand on my shoulder. "Don't dwell on the past..."
"I think we're almost there" I say to him. Twigs crunch and he instantly runs away. "Sparkie!" I yell. "Damn horse" At least I grabbed the bag and my weapons when I got off.
I pull the pistol out of my holster and go investigate the noise. A girl comes out from behind a tree. She's beautiful, long black curly hair, brown boots, tank-top, jeans and a vest.
"Don't shoot" She says, she's British.
"You scared away my horse" I lower the gun.
"I'm sorry about that. My name's Marina"
"Lara" I reply.
"We have a sanctuary"
"Waterson" I say. "The Waterson Sanctuary"
"How'd you know?" She asks.
"A guy named Noah told me about it"
"Noah...He never came back"
"I met him in New York"
"Crazy idiot" She says. "What's he doing there?"
Screams come from behind us. "We need to go" I say.
"Follow me" She turns around and heads for the way out of the woods.
We run for what seems like forever until the treeline starts to fade into the distance. My horse is gone, along with my flamethrower and gas tank, I could have used the gas for a car, for something useful. All these things run through my mind, I have to force a mental shutdown. We end up in a field of wheat with the wind swaying softly. I put my hands on me knees and suck in a deep breath. The sun is starting to set, it's beautiful but it brings horror with it...Shrinkers.
"We need to get the hell out of here" Marina says, turning on the UV light on her vest.
I never go anywhere without my UV light anymore, I learned the hard way while crossing a bridge back in New York. I wasn't able to hide soon enough, so I was attacked by maybe five of them. I was so into remembering the battle, I didn't realize the sun had finally gone. The only light was ours. Rule number one: Never get caught outside at dark, the Shrinkers are stronger now. Marina stops me in my tracks and knocks loudly on a metal door.
"Who's that?" A man asks.
"Noah sent her here. I believe her friends are asking for her"
"Sen and Selena?" I ask.
She smiles. "That's them"
The door slides open and a bunch of purple lights turn on in sync. It seems like those are the only things that keep Shrinkers at bay.
I see two people walking towards me. How am I supposed to break the news to them, Dylan is dead and It's because of me. The smile on Sen's face disappears as he gets closer. Selena looks in disbelief.
"What happened?!" Selena says sternly.
"He was hurt after you guys left him behind. I went back for him and we managed to get away from that area. But a group of guys used him as bait and killed him. He wouldn't have lasted long anyway, the virus started back up in his system"
"We should have went back for him, Sen" Selena yells.
"You don't think I regret that, Selena?! I've been wondering to this day if he was alive or not"
"Look. It's over with. Like he said, we can't dwell on the past" I say, choking back tears.
That night, I'm greeted in my room in a building they call "The Tower" It's where everyone sleeps. Marina brings me a tray of food and my bags, they had to check them when I entered the sanctuary.
"You okay?" She asks.
"Yeah, I'm fine" I roll over and look at her. Her red lipstick firm.
"Just making sure. I'll leave this here" She puts the tray on the nightstand beside me.
"Don't go" I say. "Stay"
"Sure" She smiles. "What's on your mind"
"So many people have died. Many people I've cared about. Jill, Jo, Ellie, Jake, Dylan. I feel like I could have done something to stop it"
"Nature is taking it's course, Lara. There's nothing you could've done"
"There must've been something" I swing my feet over the bed. "Anything"
She puts her hand on my shoulder. "Don't dwell on the past..."