I told Trystan that we were going to stick around for a while just in case they came back. Three weeks went by and there was no sign that they were coming back. I felt abandoned and alone. Trystan tried her best to comfort me but I kept brushing off her attempts. I needed the comfort, I wanted the comfort, but I wouldn’t let her. If I lost my entire family before a month was even over who said she was safe? My entire existence was filled with grief and pain. I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to be the same. My life felt empty. To distract myself I went and checked on the supplies left inside the closet. We were running low on water so I offered to go down to the lake and refill the containers. The water was murky and honestly couldn’t be good for our health. Most likely it was going to make us sick but water was water and nowadays it wasn’t common.
Once they were filled I sat down by the water and watched the small fish swim by quickly. My heart was heavy and I was beginning to not feel like myself. The past three weeks all I had done was mope around when I could have been out of this place of death. I laid back and listened hard for the sound of planes. Everything was so quiet without the hum of electricity crackling in the air. It was peaceful. Almost. I heard the guttural groan of Treaders nearby. My muscles tensed painfully as I turned my head slowly as one fell beside me. It was only one and it was closer than I had predicted. I tried to roll away but it was surprisingly strong. It must be a newly risen one. One arm was pinned beneath me as I struggled to reach the swords at my waist. It was no use. Teeth came dangerously close to scraping my throat and I could smell it’s rotting breath. I gagged as I pushed against it. I needed to scream but the sound was frozen in my throat. This was it. This was where it was all going to end. Part of me wanted to give up but the other part of me couldn’t leave Trystan like I was left alone.
Blood spewed over my face and I let out a noise of surprise. Trystan was standing over me breathing hard with a pocketknife in hand. She held out her hand for me to grasp. My body shook as I got to my feet. “Thank you,” I breathed. She nodded in reply. “I think we should leave.”
She tensed as she eyed me carefully. “Have you been out in the sun too long? Why would we leave? We’re safe here.”
“I don’t think we should stay. If they were…taken by someone for God knows why they could come back.” I kicked up a clump of grass. I didn’t want to voice that my real concerns were about myself. If I stayed here much longer I didn’t think I was going to be able to handle myself. My emotions felt like they were twisted into a tight ball unreachable for me to analyze.
“I think if they were coming back they would have already come Briana.” Trystan only used my first name when she was upset with me. “We should stay. It’s as close to paradise as we’re going to find. There’s a water supply right by the house. We have a huge amount of food inside.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “I know it’s just that I think we’d be safer if we kept moving.”
“What if we get sick? There’s a medical supply here.” Her jaw was set in defiance.
“It isn’t your decision to make. We’re leaving and that’s the end of the story.” I turned to walk away. My frustration was boiling over into anger.
Trystan grabbed my arm to stop me as I brushed by her. “So what? I don’t get a decision in the matter? That’s not how this is going to work. We’re a team now and you don’t get to make all the decisions.”
I pulled out of her grip as I stormed away. “I’ll be back,” I screamed over my shoulder as I half ran half walked to my car.
“Where are you going to go?!” Her frustration with me was obvious and I felt a sudden flash of guilt. I swallowed through it as I reached my car and got inside. The purr of the engine soothed my prickled nerves slightly. I just needed to clear my head of these disastrous thoughts that kept plaguing me.
An hour later I found myself running through the woods trying to work out the red emotions that haunted me. I needed Trystan. She was all I had left. She was practically family to me. I stopped to rest and listened to my hard breathing as a couple of twigs snapped here and there. My hands slid over to the hilt of my swords as I waited. When I turned what I saw would haunt me for the rest of my life. A hoard of Roamers was dragging their feet towards me from between the trees. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I mind kicked into flight mode. I turned on my heel and sprinted away from the masses snapping and grabbing for me. All I had to do was make it to the car. I pushed myself to the breaking point when I finally saw the gleam of the sunlight hitting my car through a gap in the trees. When I reached the vehicle my hands were shaking so badly I could barely pull open the door. I patted down my pockets when I finally sat down before realizing they weren’t there. It was like every bad horror movie I had ever seen come to life. I screamed in frustration as I saw them being kicked around by the first few Roamers making their way towards my car. It took me two seconds to decide before I flung my door open and lunged at them. Ten bodies later I had my keys in my hand just as the others were finding the clearing. I raced to my car and quickly got the engine running before throwing it into reverse and peeling out of there.
-Briana Griffin
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