The forest is dark and smells of moss and the soft decay of plant matter.

I remember being a child and spending every waking moment deep in the woods, looking for just a little bit of that fairytale magic hiding away in the quiet of the inbetween places.

The memory is vivid and for a second, just a moment, I look around and try finding it again. Under the drooping leaves, in the soft wood of a dead tree, in the cloves at my feet, I search for fairies, trolls, and tricky little woodland creatures of old.

They aren't there of course, not a trace to be seen.

In the quiet places though, between the twitter of birds and the rustling of leaves, when the world is truly silent... It all feels like a tomb. Like somehow I've slipped between seconds and stumbled into the ancient mass grave of a dead age, where wild things roamed and the world teamed with impossiblities made, well, possible.

Even now this fills me with awe. Even now it strengthens my belief in those fairies and trolls and tricky little woodland creatures.

Even now it brings the realization that it's all dead. That maybe, where the world once bristled with this life, it was all wiped off the face of the planet.

Now I wonder if what happened then is what's happening now.

Then the moment is gone and seconds return with all the sound they bring but my sorrow remains.

"What a terrible world it is, to be without magic." I used to think this all the time. Now it just seems hollow.

My heart aches but I continue on, the shadows of a memory following me to the edge of an era's grave.

When my feet touch asphalt I brush the lethargy of mourning off and pick my way through the remains of another civilization.

Perhaps not as beautiful as the ruins of Rome, I think, but certainly just as moving.

Maybe that's just sentimentality speaking though. After all, even in the throws of death humans remain vain.

It's a trait I've learned to recognize in myself, although certainly not one I'm prone to be ashamed of. In my opinion, everyone deserves to be a little vain from time to time.

Unfortunately, I think, now is not that time.

Practicality is the name of the game right now and I've already spotted a near-by Super-Mart that looks mostly intact.

Probably because of the Dead stumbling around the parking lot in mini-herds.

However I'm just on this side of desperate and the droves look to be continually thining out, even as I stand here. Which, I realize, is not a great idea and why I quickly move for cover.

It looks like most of the things are still hanging around though and I really don't have the time, or confidence, to just sit around and wait on the off chance that something happens to draw them away.

I shift around to make myself more comfortable between the wrecked cars I've hidden behind. It's time to actually use my brain beyond the "scavenge and survive" mindset I had grown pretty complacent with.

I couldn't wait around for a distraction so I'd obviously have to make one myself. It'd have to be big enough to draw all of the Dead (and I really need something else to call them) away, far enough so I'd actually have time to get what I need and not risk capture by Negan's thugs, and it has to be something I can easily get to.

Fireworks are out of the question for the simple fact that it wasn't even close to the fourth of July when this all happened and most stores don't carry them any other time of year.

I might be able to cause an explosion but the risk to myself is too great. If anything it's plan Z.

Nothing else is forthcoming but I figure that I might be able to gather some ideas from looking around, so I brace myself to do just that.

Peeking my head over the hood of one of the cars, I notice with unease that about three of the... Lurkers? Yeah, lurkers.

Three of the lurkers are closer than I'm strictly comfortable with. I watch them as they shuffle closer and closer to my location, heart in my throat.

An idea bubbles at the back of my mind, but it's pushed away for now as I take the initiative and quickly move to another cover further away.

The lurkers seem almost confused for a moment before one lifts it's head and... sniffs the air?

That must be how they know where I'm at, I watch as they turn and start following my scent again, smell and sound must be how they can differentiate between living and dead in order to hunt. It's fairly obvious their eyes are no good, it's why they're attracted to flames. They're bright enough to be seen and hot enough to register on their flesh.

This information is actually pretty good to know for when I start out on my own.

Note to self, grab a rain poncho, gloves, and something to cover the lower half of my face.

It would suck to ruin the clothes I'll have to wear and stick with, already the thought of covering myself with lurker guts is making me sick to my stomach.

For now I need to think about what comes next and as my eyes rove over the storefronts I'm struck with my own forgetfulness.

There's a bank about five blocks from here and it has the old fashioned alarm that makes a ton of noise. All I have to do is break a window and run, this town is still small enough for the bank to have non-bullet proof glass.

Beyond hoping the generators are still running, it's simply a matter of actually getting there, which considering the cars littering the street as cover it shouldn't be impossible. Just extremely dangerous and nerve-wracking.

With a deep breath I lurch forward to the next car, refusing to give myself time to chicken out of the plan. From there my mind settles in on the task set before me, the same mindset that made me a world-renowned surgeon aiding my efforts now as I push all other unnecessary thought and emotion away, focusing entirely on my mission and every action, precaution, and instinct that would ensure my success.

The way to the bank is riddled with the ambling dead and engaging them would be paramount to suicide so I focus on evasion and speed, quietly leaping over the hoods of cars, weaving between vehicles, and rolling under those I can in an effort to avoid contact.

Naturally I come across a few that I simply can't work my way around but with my knowledge of the weakest points of the human cranium I'm able to deliver swift, silent blows that drop the lurkers for good.

Eventually when I look up again I'm met with the still mostly intact front of the local bank. When everything went down money became the most pointless thing the world had to offer and no one so much as glanced at the bank with intent beyond trying to find shelter.

Peering through the window, I spot a single lurker roaming around inside with the emergency lights still blessedly on. The information is pointless beyond confirming the back-up generators still run though and I don't really have the time to sit around and day-dream. Already the surrounding lurkers have noticed my presence and have started to shamble over, so with rising panic I look around, only finding a manhole cover to use.

Getting the damned thing up is hard and re-opens the fresh scabs on my knuckles, but it also affords me an escape route. With a punch of exhaled air, I lift and swing the heavy disk through the window, shattering the glass and eliciting a loud buzz as the alarms go off.

The lurkers speed up and I quickly begin my descent into the storm sewers, re-orienting the direction of the Super-Mart in my head and begining to make my way back over. Hopefully by the time I get there the lurkers will have cleared out.

As of right now though, I need to actually get there.

In the dark.

In the sewers.

Damn. There goes my socks.

It's a shallow thought but still serves to destract me from my fear.

Picking my way through the tunnels is hard, I trip a few times and get turned around once but I still manage to find a grate close enough to the Super-Mart that I'm willing to exit here.

Carefully peeking out of the grate, an action which reminds me heavily of the Ninja Turtles, I'm glad to note that the lurkers have mostly left by now. A few stragglers remain behind for various reasons, all of which have to do with different portions of their lower halves missing, but I'd rather risk the few slow pokes over the living people who will inevitably check out the commotion.

Pushing my way out of the manhole was easy enough, as was making my way over to the Wal-Mart. The doors are wide open and from the looks of it I'd say the lurkers have all filtered out although I move forward with the belief that at least a handful remain out of sight.

I quickly shut the doors behind me and turn the lock. Hopefully there aren't any back doors open.

Turning back to the objective, my inner pack-rat both screamed in joy for the supplies I began collecting and cried for what I'll have to leave behind.

Clothes came in the form of a pair of double-stitched light grey cargo pants, long white socks, a sports bra with no underwire, a few pairs of panties, a long-sleeved button up flannel, a white tank-top, a sweater, and a pair of sturdy combat boots. I remember to grab a bandana to cover my face with before leaving the clothes isle.

Medical supplies were collected in their own little kit, basically painkillers, fever reducers, allergy medicines, and various other things to soothe common illnesses. Bandages were easy to collect as well as disinfectant. Unfortunately anything that needs stitches will have to work with fishing wire and sewing needles. I made sure to grab vitamins to supplement for what I will not be able to get naturally anymore and sunscreen to avoid bad burns along with a box of medical gloves.

Food was a lot of crackers, bread, and rice- things that get you full on less- with dried fruits, nuts, and jerky to cover all bases. Several bottels of water- a mixture of mineral, regular, and flavored- made it into the growing pile along with a canteen and a filter for outside water sources.

The filter won't cover all my bases, I'll still have to cure the water before drinking it, but it still soothes my mind to have the extra help.

Over-all the pile is large and I had to grab two bags, a backpack and an over-the-shoulder, to carry it all.

I couldn't find a poncho either, although a cut up sheet should work the same.

As I was looking around for the alternative poncho I found the weapons section, picking up a handgun and several boxes of ammo along with a couple of hunting knives. The handgun would be a last resort.

Looting the place took longer than I would have liked and I had to take care of a couple lurkers still in the store but the haul was worth it and the dead bodies simply supplied the camouflage I needed to get moving.

I was strangely grateful to put the whole place behind me though.

I suppose it had been time to move on for long enough, might as well actually start doing it.