Alone Together
Stupid
Morgan had stayed with her for a day. Or maybe two. Time had ceased to have meaning in the new world they lived in, and she found herself not knowing how long it had been since the beginning of it all.
Max still hadn’t stopped eyeing the stranger in front of him, even after he had helped Val to suture his wound. If she was bad at making friends, her dog was much worse.
“I think it’s time we go our separate ways.” Val folded the new set of clothes she had found the previous day. Or had it been two days ago?
“Are you sure? You could always come with me and help me find my friend. There are other survivors, you know?” He opened his map as Val sighed. Not that again.
"Being alone was what kept me alive." She shoved the rest of her stuff inside her dark backpack and met his eyes. "It's less messy, less noisy -"
"And also less frightening." He cut her off. "But trust me, everything that's worth living for is about people. Now more than ever."
Val stared at Max’s wounded leg. For a moment she seemed to think about what Morgan had said to her, or at least that was what he wanted to believe.
“You’re heading north, right?” Before he could answer she turned her back to him. “Then I’m heading south.”
Val had never been a superstitious person, but she was now starting to think that the people from Alexandria brought her nothing but bad luck.
Max’s eyes were fixed on the bikers. One word from Val and he would lunge at them, but she wasn’t sure if that was the best thing to do.
Seconds ticked slowly, the bikers waiting for them to hand over their weapons or fight back, Daryl and the others trying to buy some time and Val waiting for the right moment to make a move. Waiting for a distraction.
Static came from one of the biker’s handheld radio. This was their chance.
Val yelled for Max to run. The dog darted into the forest. When everybody realized what was going on, it was already too late. As the first shots were fired, Max had disappeared from their sight and she had followed suit.
She ran further into the woods. Low branches whipped her face and the rotten ones made her stumble. Whatever was happening on the road they had fled from, she couldn’t hear it anymore, or her brain simply wasn’t registering. Her breathing was loud and uncontrolled and her senses focused only on following her dog. She didn’t care about it either way. She just wanted to be safe.
The sky had turned into a dark shade of blue and orange. It was not the noise of the river that made her stop, but the smell. A sudden sweetness in the air.
Val stood as silent as possible, eyes closed and ears listening carefully to everything that surrounded her. No gunfire. No screams. Not footsteps. Just the two of them and the wilderness.
They took a few steps further, until the land went down on a slope, making her stumble down to a muddy bank and into the cold river water, which flooded her boots. Cool liquid that made her smile.
She washed her hands, then her arms. The cold water created goose bumps on her skin. She filled her canteen with the semi-clear water. If she still had her backpack she could have used the purification tablets to make the water drinkable. Now she had nothing except for her machete. Stupid people.
Val pinched her lips together, eyes moving to watch Max enjoying his drink before returning to the canteen between her hands. Dirty water would have to do the job.
The night should have been warmer than it was. They had been walking for at least an hour now and Val wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. She looked up the sky, frowning at the lack of stars in it. Rain was all that was left to make their situation even worse.
They could have stayed the night in the woods, they could have set up camp and started a fire if she had her backpack. Her military backpack, filled with warmer clothes, medical supplies and everything she needed to set up a place to sleep. But she didn’t have it, so now she had to fend for herself with a machete and water filled boots. Stupid people.
Max stopped. Val stopped too. The dog’s ears moved and his nose smelled the air with tremendous intensity. After a few seconds she heard it too. Branches snapping, leaves being stepped on. It was a person, that was a given, alive or dead that was what they were going to find out.
Val crouched behind a tree, her knees cracking as she did so. With her machete held firmly with both hands, she waited. And waited.
She watched Max disappear towards the sound’s source. She wanted to stop him, but making any sort of sound would only draw more attention to them.
Val took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to face once she stepped out of her hiding place. Hopefully it would be a dead person and not a living one.
She raised her blade and prepared herself for the impact of killing again. When Daryl’s familiar face appeared in front of her, she had to take a step back to avoid hitting him.
“Oh, it’s you.” She lowered her machete and glanced at Max, the dog too busy trying to hunt a snake to care about her.
“What the hell was that?” When she faced Daryl again, anger was clear in her face.
“Excuse me? I was saving my ass, did I have to stay and save yours?” She felt heat flushing through her body and the more she thought about what had happened, the more she wanted to yell at him.
Daryl seemed unfazed by her little outburst. “I’m gonna search for them.”
She knew he was talking about Abraham and Sasha and part of her wanted to know what had happened to them and the bikers, but she refrained from asking. “Then go, that’s none of my business anymore.” She crossed her arms against her chest. “It never was. You guys have done nothing but put me and Max in danger, so thank you,” she snorted. Stupid people.
Daryl, whose eyes had not yet landed a single time on her, scouted the darkness that surrounded them, hand gripping his hunting knife. Val could not believe that man’s insolence. He clearly didn’t give a shit about what she had just said.
“Why are you still here? I’m not gonna –”
“Shut up.” He suddenly snapped, making her jaw drop.
“What?” She raised her voice. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Shut up!” He hissed and before she could react, his free hand had covered her mouth.
Her hands curled into fists as her face reddened. She was about to bite him and kick him in the guts when she heard it. Footsteps, then voices. One, two, five. Her eyes widened and gave him a confused look.
Daryl finally let her go. “It’s them.” The serious tone told her everything she needed to know. The bikers were looking for them.
Frantic rays of light zigzagged, getting closer by the second and providing them with fleeting glimpses of the terrain ahead of them.
Val searched for Max, who had taken the opportunity to go hunt his own dinner. When he finally appeared they followed Daryl.
The voices were getting closer and not even a minute had passed when a male voice shouted.
“There they are! Go after them!”
Her legs burned as the three of them ran faster. Val found herself vaguely aware of the fear she should have been experiencing, it was something she knew, but did not feel, her mind already drifting into a state of survival, the one she had felt during the times death had stared at her in the eyes.
She looked behind for one moment, just a quick head movement, but the moment couldn’t have been the worst. She tripped, her feet tangling in a mess of twisted branches and roots, making her fall and drop her machete. Steps became closer. They were coming from all sides. She tried to get up, but her ankle was stuck in a tendril. Daryl stopped and quickly came to her rescue.
“Let me go,” she grunted, groping the ground, trying to find the machete that had been lost when she fell. When her hands found it, she got up in a flash, almost crashing into Daryl.
Rain started to fall. It was almost imperceptible at first, but after a few seconds water had already soaked all their clothes. In the pitch black darkness of the forest, they kept running. Running without a destination. But they wouldn’t stop. To stop was to die. Literally.
Max still hadn’t stopped eyeing the stranger in front of him, even after he had helped Val to suture his wound. If she was bad at making friends, her dog was much worse.
“I think it’s time we go our separate ways.” Val folded the new set of clothes she had found the previous day. Or had it been two days ago?
“Are you sure? You could always come with me and help me find my friend. There are other survivors, you know?” He opened his map as Val sighed. Not that again.
"Being alone was what kept me alive." She shoved the rest of her stuff inside her dark backpack and met his eyes. "It's less messy, less noisy -"
"And also less frightening." He cut her off. "But trust me, everything that's worth living for is about people. Now more than ever."
Val stared at Max’s wounded leg. For a moment she seemed to think about what Morgan had said to her, or at least that was what he wanted to believe.
“You’re heading north, right?” Before he could answer she turned her back to him. “Then I’m heading south.”
Val had never been a superstitious person, but she was now starting to think that the people from Alexandria brought her nothing but bad luck.
Max’s eyes were fixed on the bikers. One word from Val and he would lunge at them, but she wasn’t sure if that was the best thing to do.
Seconds ticked slowly, the bikers waiting for them to hand over their weapons or fight back, Daryl and the others trying to buy some time and Val waiting for the right moment to make a move. Waiting for a distraction.
Static came from one of the biker’s handheld radio. This was their chance.
Val yelled for Max to run. The dog darted into the forest. When everybody realized what was going on, it was already too late. As the first shots were fired, Max had disappeared from their sight and she had followed suit.
She ran further into the woods. Low branches whipped her face and the rotten ones made her stumble. Whatever was happening on the road they had fled from, she couldn’t hear it anymore, or her brain simply wasn’t registering. Her breathing was loud and uncontrolled and her senses focused only on following her dog. She didn’t care about it either way. She just wanted to be safe.
The sky had turned into a dark shade of blue and orange. It was not the noise of the river that made her stop, but the smell. A sudden sweetness in the air.
Val stood as silent as possible, eyes closed and ears listening carefully to everything that surrounded her. No gunfire. No screams. Not footsteps. Just the two of them and the wilderness.
They took a few steps further, until the land went down on a slope, making her stumble down to a muddy bank and into the cold river water, which flooded her boots. Cool liquid that made her smile.
She washed her hands, then her arms. The cold water created goose bumps on her skin. She filled her canteen with the semi-clear water. If she still had her backpack she could have used the purification tablets to make the water drinkable. Now she had nothing except for her machete. Stupid people.
Val pinched her lips together, eyes moving to watch Max enjoying his drink before returning to the canteen between her hands. Dirty water would have to do the job.
The night should have been warmer than it was. They had been walking for at least an hour now and Val wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon. She looked up the sky, frowning at the lack of stars in it. Rain was all that was left to make their situation even worse.
They could have stayed the night in the woods, they could have set up camp and started a fire if she had her backpack. Her military backpack, filled with warmer clothes, medical supplies and everything she needed to set up a place to sleep. But she didn’t have it, so now she had to fend for herself with a machete and water filled boots. Stupid people.
Max stopped. Val stopped too. The dog’s ears moved and his nose smelled the air with tremendous intensity. After a few seconds she heard it too. Branches snapping, leaves being stepped on. It was a person, that was a given, alive or dead that was what they were going to find out.
Val crouched behind a tree, her knees cracking as she did so. With her machete held firmly with both hands, she waited. And waited.
She watched Max disappear towards the sound’s source. She wanted to stop him, but making any sort of sound would only draw more attention to them.
Val took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to face once she stepped out of her hiding place. Hopefully it would be a dead person and not a living one.
She raised her blade and prepared herself for the impact of killing again. When Daryl’s familiar face appeared in front of her, she had to take a step back to avoid hitting him.
“Oh, it’s you.” She lowered her machete and glanced at Max, the dog too busy trying to hunt a snake to care about her.
“What the hell was that?” When she faced Daryl again, anger was clear in her face.
“Excuse me? I was saving my ass, did I have to stay and save yours?” She felt heat flushing through her body and the more she thought about what had happened, the more she wanted to yell at him.
Daryl seemed unfazed by her little outburst. “I’m gonna search for them.”
She knew he was talking about Abraham and Sasha and part of her wanted to know what had happened to them and the bikers, but she refrained from asking. “Then go, that’s none of my business anymore.” She crossed her arms against her chest. “It never was. You guys have done nothing but put me and Max in danger, so thank you,” she snorted. Stupid people.
Daryl, whose eyes had not yet landed a single time on her, scouted the darkness that surrounded them, hand gripping his hunting knife. Val could not believe that man’s insolence. He clearly didn’t give a shit about what she had just said.
“Why are you still here? I’m not gonna –”
“Shut up.” He suddenly snapped, making her jaw drop.
“What?” She raised her voice. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Shut up!” He hissed and before she could react, his free hand had covered her mouth.
Her hands curled into fists as her face reddened. She was about to bite him and kick him in the guts when she heard it. Footsteps, then voices. One, two, five. Her eyes widened and gave him a confused look.
Daryl finally let her go. “It’s them.” The serious tone told her everything she needed to know. The bikers were looking for them.
Frantic rays of light zigzagged, getting closer by the second and providing them with fleeting glimpses of the terrain ahead of them.
Val searched for Max, who had taken the opportunity to go hunt his own dinner. When he finally appeared they followed Daryl.
The voices were getting closer and not even a minute had passed when a male voice shouted.
“There they are! Go after them!”
Her legs burned as the three of them ran faster. Val found herself vaguely aware of the fear she should have been experiencing, it was something she knew, but did not feel, her mind already drifting into a state of survival, the one she had felt during the times death had stared at her in the eyes.
She looked behind for one moment, just a quick head movement, but the moment couldn’t have been the worst. She tripped, her feet tangling in a mess of twisted branches and roots, making her fall and drop her machete. Steps became closer. They were coming from all sides. She tried to get up, but her ankle was stuck in a tendril. Daryl stopped and quickly came to her rescue.
“Let me go,” she grunted, groping the ground, trying to find the machete that had been lost when she fell. When her hands found it, she got up in a flash, almost crashing into Daryl.
Rain started to fall. It was almost imperceptible at first, but after a few seconds water had already soaked all their clothes. In the pitch black darkness of the forest, they kept running. Running without a destination. But they wouldn’t stop. To stop was to die. Literally.