London Bridge Is Falling

Forget

The wind blew through my hair, It was finally warm again and the cut on my forehead had finally scarred over. I was left in the back of that truck, stranded in the cold. I'm somewhat angry that they didn't come back for me, but I know they couldn't. After all, we did leave Dylan behind. I got word from a few survivors from a camp in New York, they were headed to Virginia, some sort of salvation camp, an oasis. I haven't seen oasis since Dover, even then it wasn't much of an oasis. I've seen so much death, it's hard to remember what life looks like. I imagine cars filling the streets, angry businessmen and women stomping down the sidewalks, looking at their watches, screaming into the air because they're late for an important meeting but all that has changed. I haven't seen a person on the street since...forever. A few days ago, I slashed my arm open escaping a few infected, I let it bleed, I had nothing to suture it with.

Right now, I can see a wall with UV lights and large buildings. When I arrive to the gates, there is none. The front doors are blown apart and bodies lay piled against the walls. It takes every muscle in my body to keep me from throwing up. The whole 'Oasis' is destroyed, even some of the small buildings are burned to the ground. The person or people that did this are ruthless and deserves to die. My ear catches something, humming, almost like a bee whispering close to me. It's a truck, and it's not a civilian vehicle, it's military and they're coming up fast. I jump behind a pile of bodies and lay down, peeking out just enough to see what's happening. They pull up and jump out. One man looks around like he's scanning the area. He shakes his head and another man steps out.

"Looks like everyone's dead"

"They got what they deserved" One of the men said. "They didn't pay their survivor debt, what a shame"

Survivor debt, it has to be a sort of payment to stay here or something. They say a few more words that I can't really make out, but I understand some things. "B.T.A.R....Dylan...Lara...London"
Something must have happened in London with the B.T.A.R. Dylan or Lara had to be involved. They leave and I slowly stand up and make sure the coast is clear. There's nothing left here, I need to take what I can find and get the hell out of here. There's a few medkits, a bow and a few arrows and some rope. It looks like they were left here from the other survivors. I pull the string back and listen to the rope creak, it's a pleasurable sign to my ears, I've been without weapons for a few months. I've battled shrinkers on my own, so I need to take some of the UV lights here and make a nice belt with them. I manage to build a makeshift belt with the UV lights, that should protect me. Burn the skin off those fuckers.

I leave the oasis behind, not looking back or thinking of the carnage I seen. But something is burned into my brain. Why would the military want to have 'Survivor Debts' and why would they want to kill innocent people?
When I get farther out, I climb up a tree and tie my UV light around a branch. I fall asleep in an uncomfortable position, but at least I'm sleeping. I awake to a sound, a scream. It startles me and then I roll out of the tree, smacking against the dirt. My body aches and screams inside. I look up, the UV belt is still around the branch and shrinkers are getting closer. I crawl quietly to the tree and wrap my arms around it. I need to make it back up, but I don't think I can. And then a shrinker attaches itself around my back, dragging me across the ground. I manage to grab the knife in my pocket and stab it in the eye. I stand up quickly and run towards the tree, getting tackled by another shrinker. I push it off and start climbing the tree, my life depends on it. I climb, my lungs and legs screaming at me.
Push harder!
Climb faster!
go Go GO!
I grab the belt and it unleashes from the branch. I tumble back down to the ground and wrap the belt around me. The shrinkers sizzle and run back into the dark. My heart pounds and my chest aches. I can't breathe, the air is stale in my lungs, the air doesn't circulate, it sits and I can't breathe.