I thought I'd try something a little different.
The sun was falling to fast and the moon was coming up just as quickly.
Huffing she fiddled with the large strap that ran from left shoulder down to her right hip. The object on her back was feeling increasingly heavy every step.
What made it all the worse was how tired, hungry and thirsty she was. She couldn't stop to sleep because she had no one to watch her back. She couldn't eat or drink her fill because there was a good chance she wouldn't be getting anymore soon.
She scurried as best she could across the street sliding between cars. She knew to be as quiet as possible; day three had taught her that.
She heard an almost groaning sound and swallowed. Day one had taught her not to panic. Looking to her left in the low amount of light, she had forgotten when lights started to not work. The sound was coming from the four wheeled drive. The beast of a car was black as the night coming and crashed into the side of a building. The front of it was almost completely gone.
But in there was a woman… a living one.
She moved quickly to her. The woman let out another groan as the girl peered over the shattered window.
"He-hello?" She almost whispered the words.
"W-who?" The woman rasped out and the girl noticed blood dripping from her mouth. "Di…did Kay… and George get…out?" Looking in the back seat of the car the girl noted an open right rear door and an empty baby seat…. From the distance she didn't see any suggestion the two had done anything but get out of the car.
"Yes… I would say so" the girl told her and the woman smiled slightly breathing heavily. She looked over the woman in the light she could see no wound on her suggesting a bite which was lucky because she was stuck in the car jammed under the weight of the crushed front and painted crimson.
"Go….good" she rasped closing her eyes and the girl could hear her breathing stop.
No… The girl said in her head. Stay with me please… her loneliness added selfishly. She stood there for a moment in silence when the woman began to move. The girl looked up hopefully only for the woman to attempt to leap out through the window at her grabbing at her. Jumping back the girl not caring about how loud she was ran.
Three blocks down she finally stopped and ducking into a building collapsed.
That day… Day sixteen had taught her that bites weren't the only way to turn.
She sat there by the door and quickly looked around to make sure nothing else was in there with her. When she knew the coast was clear she began to sniff and soon sob. She pulled her knees into her chest and placed her head on them.
The girl realized she wasn't crying for her escape but for everything. This was her life now and her other choice was death.
She heard a shuffle of footsteps and leaped up. Her eyes moved wildly around and landed on two men. One was older than the other probably in his early fifties. The second looked more like early thirties… possibly late twenties.
The older man had his hand to his lips to tell her to keep silent. She moved her hand into her bag where there was a knife.
"We're not going to hurt you kid" the younger man said but day seven had taught her how often that was a lie.
"How do I know that?" She asked
"You aren't the walking dead right?" the older man said with a laugh "come on kid join our little party" the younger man turned to him glaring
"Oi! Only if she brings something" he turned back to her "you have any food on you?" The girl fiddled with her bag
She understood now what this was. She had run into situations like this many times since whatever happened. It was simple; groups of people who had no interest in killing each other would join up for a night. You had extra eyes for watches and the only fee was to add something to the night. These were when she generally got some sleep however her supplies were running low now, the vending machine she had raided in the beginning now left her with three bags of chips, a bottle of lemon aid and a water bottle.
She shuffled her feet thinking she should move on since this would probably be the end of her food, something she needed.
"Well?" the man asked but the older man pointed at the object strapped to her back.
"You play?" She pulled the heavy bag from her back; the guitar bag had almost become an extension of herself…
"My brother taught me a song or two" she replied honestly.
"We have enough to eat and drink between the four of us, let's have some music then" her eyes went wide and the younger man looked about to speak.
"Henry he's right" all three of them turned to see a woman, she was a bit large and it looked wrong on her. She looked over at the girl and gave her a soft smile. "Look at her she's what fourteen?"
"Fifteen" the girl squeaked out
"Fifteen" the woman corrected herself "and out in the city alone? The least we can do is offer her a night where she can get some sleep" 'Henry' shot her one last look, probably to tell her how lucky she was before heading to one of the other rooms of the building. She followed realizing that she had entered some sort of small hotel. The group had situated themselves in one of the smaller rooms on the first level. It was still comfortable with their small group.
The woman went to sit on the ground but Henry refused having her sit on the bed instead. The girl took a position by the wall. Close enough to the door for an exit but far enough in case something came through it.
The oldest man took that spot, he sat by the door and threw her a bag of pretzels and a bottle of water. She tore the bag open but ate slowly so as to trick her stomach into thinking she was eating more then she was.
When she finished she pulled out the guitar, it was a darker brown acoustic creature. She checked first if it was in tune before she started to play. She had played a few times over the few weeks and so she knew to play soft songs or at least play the ones she knew softly.
She needed to mumble the lyrics as she played to help her remember her place and she didn't look up from the chords as she did so.
A smile tugged at her lips as she remembered her brother teaching her how to play the song. It was hard but they laughed as she messed up. They would be sitting in the garage together right next to the fan because it was summer.
Mum and Dad had been inside and she would often disappear to listen to him practice. All his instruments had been in the garage because it meant he could play without annoying their parents. She would come out and listen after he had learnt to play and sometimes he would give her a lesson or two.
Her fingers fumbled a bit as she forgot the chords and realized the piece had mutated into a completely different one.
She heard someone sniff and saw Henry looking at the woman next to him on the bed and taking her hand in his. He rubbed tears from his eyes and the girl stopped playing worried she had in some way offended the man. "Keep playing" he told her and she returned to playing the tune.
"It was our graduating song back in high school" the woman explained "we're high school sweet hearts" she sighed leaning into him.
"It was so much simpler then…" Henry said wiping the tears away. The old man snorted.
"I don't think it mattered what was happening to you it was simpler and easier then this" he said dryly "that said being out here with a baby on the way…" his eyes were on the woman's stomach.
"It's not like we planned it" She said looking down at her stomach "I wonder if we even should bring a kid into this?"
"Julie…" Henry shook his head and the girl felt like she was listening in on some sort of private conversation. However it stopped there with the two looking at each other and then wanting a new conversation topic all together "so… were you just learning to play?" he asked the girl who stopped playing.
"No… This was meant to be my brother's" she explained. "He played all these instruments… Sometimes he would let me play too" she pulled her hand across the varnished wood.
"Where is he?" Julie asked
"I don't know…" the girl looked at the curve of the guitar "I had a baseball game, he always came to those but not that time he was in the school band. He had to go to the play offs… I was angry and I shut my door in his face when he tried to explain. I felt like shit after that, I played like it too." They let her just keep talking not looking at them "thing is though when the game was over we went home and then got ready to go. He couldn't go to my game because he had to be on the bus but I could get to his. This guitar was a gift from all of us as a show of support, he'd gotten a solo. We got half way there when we hit one of…. them"
"Your parents?" Julie prodded further
"Gone… in the mob trying to escape I lost them and I found them again…" they understood what she meant. "I just… My brother has to be alive… I want to apologise and I want to spend more afternoons fucking up the slide on a trumpet, even if he hates me for breaking a reed or something" the woman moved closer to her placing her head on her shoulder.
"It's alright sweetheart" she told her as the girl began to cry again. She hugged the guitar closer to herself and Henry came closer more tentatively to sit with them.
"We can help you look" he told her.
"But we need a name" the older man said "and yours as well, I'm Wallace and yes I am inviting myself along on this. Dear God I am never going to let a pregnant woman and a little girl go off like this Margret would have my head!"
"I am here old man" Henry growled
"Yes… my point still stands" Henry glared at the man while the girl and Julie laughed. When they stopped the girl was calm enough to speak again.
"Becky… Becky Paul my brother's name is Ben"
….sigh episode 5… I… you give me so many mixed feelings….
And remember folks don't flame unless you have an extinguisher…