The empty streets were creepy; it seemed unnatural to see the once busy roads empty, only the odd corpse too mangled to reanimate or dried bloodstain to show what had occurred just a few months ago.
I figured the small town of Lancaster would be safe enough to check out, as from what I could tell, most of the walkers were heading south as the winter came. I wouldn't have risked it with a bigger city though, probably cleared out of anything useful in the first week anyway.
I would have steered clear of the city at all costs, but food was becoming scarce, and I figured the herd must have moved on by now. It was a small town, from what I could remember of my weekends here with family all those years ago. I figured the undead, like me, must have moved on in search of food.
The thing that made them so lethal was this insatiable hunger, a hunger to spread the virus. I knew how it felt to be hungry, the past couple of days I had been searching fruitlessly for food. I would feel sorry for the forsaken creatures if I had not looked into the eyes of many and seen nothing, no emotions or acknowledgement, they weren't alive at all, they just existed.
A screech interrupted my thoughts. To my horror and excitement it was that of a live human, something I hadn't come across in a long time. It wasn't the scream itself that unnerved me, but the predictable reason for it. My fears were confirmed when a boy came tearing round the corner, followed closely by a few dozen of the bloodstained creatures.
I beeped the horn; drawing attention from the undead was inevitable now, as I was driving towards the boy and his pursuers anyway. The look of relief on his face was almost comical as he swerved around a trash can and sprinted towards my car, a rucksack bobbing up and down on his back.
He swung open the front door and practically launched himself into the seat so fast I didn't even have to stop the car. There were a few seconds of silence as I drove through the ugly crowd and down the high street. I turned to look at the boy; he had longing messy black hair and a look of fear still etched across his face. He wore chinos, Nike sneakers and a hoodie, a fashion victim, but I guess fashion didn't really matter anymore.
"Where you headed?" I asked, it felt odd to have to actually communicate with another human.
"I'm not really sure, I was gonna try here in the city, but that isn't really an option anymore." He said in a southern accent, looking in the rearview mirror at the creatures disappearing into the distance.
"So there's no food then?" My heart dropped, I had wasted three hours travel time making a detour towards this city, and for nothing?
"Nope," he shook his head "nothing but walkers as far as I've seen."
"You're alone?" I asked, not wanting to make any more detours to return a lost puppy.
"Yeah," he said, "For a while now."
"Well, you can hitch a ride with me if you want." I said, not sure how I felt about the prospect of a travel partner.
"Sure, I'm Carl by the way." He muttered, still staring at his feet.
"Emma." I said.