Disclaimer: Same aschapter 1-9.

Heading South - Chapter 10

x

The warm wind blew gently in her dreams. A rose blush sunrise kissed the lush green grass, and the song of birds, known only to her through the memories of others, floated on the breeze. She was in wonder of it all. She did her best to picture that which she had never witnessed but longed for so badly. Greens, blues, rosy golden pinks - colours she had never seen in this misty grey world into which she had been born.

John was there, in her dream, holding his hand out to her, beckoning her to follow. She did; she always would. The sun lay ahead of them, resting on the edge of the horizon, but its warmth paled to the touch of his hand. Between her smile and his steady steps, they wandered deeper into a vast golden field of wildflowers, and she heard his voice call her name. So real... Gently at first... then urgently.

'Anna. Anna! Wake up.'

'What's happen - ?' Before she could finish her question, his palm was on her lips, as he brought one finger to his own.

'Sshhhh...they are coming.'

'Who?' Anna asked, still groggy from sleep, only for the realization to strike the next second. 'Oh no! Them?' she whispered.

'Just grab your stuff, quickly! We have to get out of here. Fast.'

xxx

It was freezing outside and still dark. The car had no lights, driving into the village like a thief in the night. And that's exactly what they were, nothing but thieves; even worse than that. But not sneaking, in fact, they were loud and boisterous; no need for silence when one's in power, especially when that power is taken by brute force. The village was deserted - or so they thought - they had emptied it out many years ago.

'Are you sure it's here already?' One of the three men who climbed out of the car spoke, his breath noticeable when it came in contact with the cold air. They had parked in front of the store.

'Louis sent a message, didn't you hear!' an irritated voice barked back. 'They trade petrol every month here.'

'And what do we have to offer?' the driver asked, still new to this business.

The other, who had just shouted his answer, held up a gun and pointed to the back of the car. 'We're loaded with guns and ammunition, a few of our newest finds…' he smirked. 'Now check if there's anything else we can get from this place…'

'Haven't we been here before?'

'We have, but…' he nodded; clearly, the one who answered most of the questions. 'We have, and we took care of them. Now go!' he spat, eyeing the curious newbie with disdain. 'Look around! We're in need of clean water too.'

xxx

'What are they doing here?' Anna cried, as the two pulled on their coats and boots. Time was running out. 'Don't they know there's no one left?'

'They're probably looking for something else?' John told her, looking outside through a hole in one of the boarded up windows, his hands instinctively checking for his pistol in his inside pocket. He couldn't see anything from this vantage point. Not good.

'For us?'

'I don't think so.' He reached for the shotgun then, slinging it by its strap over his shoulder. 'Come on, this way.'

xxx

The men stood outside the store looking around. Three men armed with guns and bad intentions; dressed in dark, heavy clothing and boots. Two of them appeared to be in their thirties; the new one was probably not yet twenty years old. One was tall - the one who answered all the questions - and stood arrogantly, proud of things a human should not feel proud of at all. He had hooded eyes, grey as the weather, soulless, and a permanent obscene smirk on his lips. The second, was shorter, brown hair, scraggly beard, an angry, wild expression on his face. The third, the younger, trembled. Unsure if this was the life he wanted to pursue, but what else could he do? If you weren't with them, you were against them, and that was a dangerous place to be.

'Jack, get the bags from the boot of the car. We have to take them around to the back.'

The young man did as he was told. Opened the trunk, fumbled with the bags, took one, placed it on the snow... Then, straightening up, his eyes caught something else. 'Hey! Smoke,' he pointed to a house across the village square. The other two immediately looked to where the lad was pointing.

'Smoke?!' The angry looking man frowned, his mind already racing.

'There shouldn't be anyone here,' he stated, taking a firmer grasp on his gun.

'Maybe not before, but there sure as Hell is now. And…' The one with hooded eyes turned steely in anger, '... I bet I know who. Let's go!'

'Who? That one bloke and the girl?'

'Yeah...I lost track of 'em a few weeks ago…' He smirked then, grey eyes darkening and his hatred fading into an insane enjoyment. 'I guess our paths were meant to cross again.'

xxx

'I'm so stupid!' John berated himself as they ran outside, through the back door, which led to an open backyard. Just behind dry bushes and those trees ahead, there was a cart they had found and filled with necessities, in case they had to leave in a rush, just like now.

'Why are you saying that?' Anna panted, following close behind.

'We shouldn't have burnt that fire!' he exclaimed, exasperated with himself. 'I didn't think properly. I should have! How stupid!'

'Why not?!'

'The smoke will give us away! If one thing will, it'll be the smoke. Stupid! We shouldn't even be here anymore!'

John continued cursing himself, zipping his jacket all the way up and opening a path in the snow for her. It was so hard to walk. He only hoped beyond hope the falling snow would cover up their footprints until they found shelter in the trees beyond.

'You think they'll find-'

And for the second time that morning, before she could say another word, he was pulling her to him, covering her mouth and bringing her to the ground. The cold and dampness had to be forgotten now. The backdoor burst open and from it three men, carrying guns and everything John didn't want to see in their faces, appeared.

They laid in the snow and cold and damp and fearing for dear life. The cart they had prepared was well hidden deep in the trees, but their footprints were still visible. And that's exactly what those soulless, grey eyes caught first. John cursed again, this time only to himself, as Anna shook against him.

'They can't be far.'

The men began to trudge single file through the deep snow, guns at the ready.

'What about the car?' the young man asked.

'The car? Let it be, we'll need it to carry extra passengers.' They laughed as the boy followed, and all Anna and John could do now was make a break for it.

'Run!'

xxx

The cart had to be forgotten for now, and maybe forever. Their lives were more important at the moment. So they ran, as fast as they could, between bushes and trees. The voices of the hunters close behind them.

'We lost everything!'

John heard Anna cry and a piercing pain ran through his body. They had lost everything, how would they survive? If they ended up surviving today at all. The only things they had managed to bring with them were weapons and the clothes they wore. Mistake after mistake. He was failing at every basic law of survival. He was tired.

'We're close!'

But he couldn't give in to tiredness, especially for her. So they continued to run, zigzagging, rounding trees, sneaking in behind bushes, anything John could think of. At times he swore the men were stepping on their toes, other times he could hear their vicious whispers in his ears.

'I see them! There! There!'

A shot was heard, and Anna gasped; the bullet flying so close she felt the hot metal passing right over her feet.

'No!' The hooded-eyed man slapped the back of his comrade's head, furious. 'Be careful with her! I want her very much alive, you idiot!

'I aimed for her legs-'

'Sshhh…' He brought one finger to his lips, and the other two listened carefully. 'They've stopped.'

Silence fell then. All they could hear was racing heartbeats and their own breathing. Time stood still.

'Are you all right?' John asked her, as quietly as he could. His eyes were flying from one tree to another, trying to spot their stalkers. He couldn't see a thing.

'Yes,' she whispered. 'Where are they?', doing her best to find the three dark figures in between grey and white nothingness.

'They know we stopped. They're preying on us.'

'John…'

'Shhhh…' John turned, facing her for a short moment, and managing to offer her a reassuring smile. 'I won't let anything happen. I promise.'

A promise he knew he couldn't keep, but, goddammit, he would do his best; if only to see her smile for a second or two. But it's always at times like these, often when an impossible promise is made, that events escalate so fast one hasn't time to think. And then suddenly the snap of a dry branch was heard, and John knew they had to run, again.

And so it began, once more. Hunter and prey, as if they were nothing but wild animals, trying to survive in a world too harsh for them.

And just like that, in a blink of an eye, John felt Anna reaching for the back of his jacket, not quite taking a proper grasp onto it. Her cry was heard, and when he looked back she was not there anymore.

'Anna!' he called, looking around in an angsty frenzy, doing his best not to make too much noise; no answer reached his ears. The only noise he could hear was of them, walking fast, running, as if nothing and no one could stop them. 'Anna!'

'John!' They heard each other then, but dead nature and snow were making it all too hard to see. They were lost, from everything, and worse even, from each other.

In despair, John sat on the ground against a tree, his vision now catching the three armed men, not five meters away from him. They didn't have Anna - that was good - and he prayed that she had found a place to hide. If she succeeded, long enough for them to quit, he could later look for her. Please, just hold on where you are, Anna. Please.

But to John's surprise, and shock, she was right there, behind a fallen branch, laying on the snow with her hands pressuring one of her legs. He couldn't see well, but he saw enough. The three approaching Anna, her hiding place a few steps away from them. If they looked down they'll see. Oh God! If they looked down they'd see her. He wanted to cry, but couldn't. Instead, he took a hold of his shotgun, hoping he didn't have to use it, but sure he would just so he could keep his promise. He aimed to that one man who answered all the questions, and recognised him. With a frown, he took a deep breath. The grey eyed man was smiling, sure he was close. He was. Anna heard them just there - just there - mere centimeters away and held still. Everything stopped again.

John's finger was gently touching the trigger, as Anna laid there, eyes closed. The other two looked around and for marks on the ground, and the tall man they knew from that gunpoint of months before, was taking in the cold air, as a dog sniffing for his prey. It was all too messy, the snow falling, everything smelled of rotten wood, damp and freezing; the man squinted his soulless eyes. He was seeing something...

BANG!

Thank you for reading :)

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Terrie & Handy