Chapter Eleven
A small figure crawled over the hill of rubble. Slowly, very slowly, it made its way across the barren collapsed building. It had once been the Bank One building, towering once high in its prime. Now, it was reduced to a mound of broken beams and shattered glass. The person was very carefully crossing this building.
Sarah saw, with a good deal of wonder, a monolith of an establishment before her. The old Bank One Ballpark lay maybe a mile away. The large bowl was mostly intact, save for a large crack on its northernmost side. Some explosion must have split the wall. Not a single person who lived now knew.
A cat followed the woman closely. Its name was Tomorrow. She called the cat Tom. The cat was a small, strangely thin black and white striped feline. Sarah knelt on the hill to pick him up. She would say to the cat, "Everything will be better Tomorrow."
The cat meowed softly and lifted its head to sniff the air. Apart from being her companion for two days, the cat was something of an Afflicted alarm. It knew the smell, it seemed; so she would prepare for something if Tom, sniffed the air frantically. She did so now and bolted away. Though she was weary, she needed her life to find Faladon. The cat sprang after her, afraid to be alone.
It was to the baseball stadium she ran. Speedily, she sprinted down what used to be Central Street, then she traveled through a few more streets. A broken banner that once flapped in the wind now lay on the asphalt of the roads. Its metal holder lay, astrewn, on the ground nearby.
The sun was setting solemnly behind the horizon, marking Sarah's mood. Now the end of the land was ablaze with its red light, the sky above grew dark, and Sarah grew cold. A stale breeze blew in among the destroyed Phoenix downtown. It blew away the clouds that had been looming overhead after the storm that had occurred the day she had parted from the others.
With the stagnant wind came a chill that Sarah felt in her bones. She wore only the bland nondescripte clothing she obtained from Jewel. Where Jewel, as well as Dorris and David were, she knew not. It was at this moment, only a few miles away, that Jewel had lost her life at the fury of Fal; the same Faladon, her love that she now longed and searched for.
If she could get to the park, then maybe she could send some sort of signal to show Fal that she was thence still living. She still needed to get there first. No need to get too far ahead of myself, she informed herself.
The soft padding of the cat behind her had ceased. She turned to see what had happened and saw that the cat smelled the stale air once more. This time, however, it showed more need than before, when it had been merely curious. Something was happening. She heard noises emanating from the entrance.
She crept closer, past upturned benches and barrels that once contained trash. Their innards had been burned in a vain attempt to ward the Afflicted away. Ashes were scattered about the ground. A few bones lay to the side; evidently, their flesh had been stripped away long ago by carrion birds and Afflicted. She closed on the wide entrance into the building.
Bricks that had once made up the outside of the entrance now lay broken on the sidewalk. Shards of concrete were scattered all about. Sarah had to pick her way across this field of rock before she reached the door. Another crash resounded from the opening.
She crept more tentatively now, wary of the noises. She threw her back to the wall and poked her head into the threshold.
Inside the building there was a hall. Once, people had strolled around in this hallway, crowding the large place. There had once been workers to populate the shops along the sides; now they lie empty. Trash littered the ground, it lay along with rotting corpses. The dead bodies had once been employees and fans, but now they lay still and lifeless.
Sarah heard the noise again, closer now. It came from around the curved corner of the ring about the park. A shadowy figure came around the bend.
The woman gasped at the sight of the mysterious creature that was quickly approaching. Sarah was weaponless. She shouted: "Stay where you are!"
Surprisingly, the figure stopped in midstride. It now was holding its breath. This was a small human shaped thing that had a feminine shape: it had a small middle that tapered down to rounded hips, and above the middle were shapely breasts. The thing reminded Sarah of an hourglass and she scoffed at it. The other woman seemed living. The thought that Sarah had that it still bore a beating heart in its bosom was reinforced when it spoke.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Claire was the beauteous thing. Claire had once been a model. Her shoot had been interrupted by a gush of Afflicted into the theatre. From thence, she had dashed through the city. Her pretty hair bore many snarls, as did everyone's then. No one had been able to wash his or her hair for three months (not like everyone had washed it before then). Horrible things she had been through and Sarah pitied this woman, though she generally didn't associate with women who bore such good looks. She felt like these women thought themselves higher than her.
Claire told her that this was a safe place and that Sarah could dwell here for a spot of time. Claire had food, water, and weapons. Sarah went upstairs into the bowl. She slept peacefully, for the first time in a long time, on the seats in the stadium. Claire hovered above Sarah to ensure her safekeeping. Or was she?
A small figure crawled over the hill of rubble. Slowly, very slowly, it made its way across the barren collapsed building. It had once been the Bank One building, towering once high in its prime. Now, it was reduced to a mound of broken beams and shattered glass. The person was very carefully crossing this building.
Sarah saw, with a good deal of wonder, a monolith of an establishment before her. The old Bank One Ballpark lay maybe a mile away. The large bowl was mostly intact, save for a large crack on its northernmost side. Some explosion must have split the wall. Not a single person who lived now knew.
A cat followed the woman closely. Its name was Tomorrow. She called the cat Tom. The cat was a small, strangely thin black and white striped feline. Sarah knelt on the hill to pick him up. She would say to the cat, "Everything will be better Tomorrow."
The cat meowed softly and lifted its head to sniff the air. Apart from being her companion for two days, the cat was something of an Afflicted alarm. It knew the smell, it seemed; so she would prepare for something if Tom, sniffed the air frantically. She did so now and bolted away. Though she was weary, she needed her life to find Faladon. The cat sprang after her, afraid to be alone.
It was to the baseball stadium she ran. Speedily, she sprinted down what used to be Central Street, then she traveled through a few more streets. A broken banner that once flapped in the wind now lay on the asphalt of the roads. Its metal holder lay, astrewn, on the ground nearby.
The sun was setting solemnly behind the horizon, marking Sarah's mood. Now the end of the land was ablaze with its red light, the sky above grew dark, and Sarah grew cold. A stale breeze blew in among the destroyed Phoenix downtown. It blew away the clouds that had been looming overhead after the storm that had occurred the day she had parted from the others.
With the stagnant wind came a chill that Sarah felt in her bones. She wore only the bland nondescripte clothing she obtained from Jewel. Where Jewel, as well as Dorris and David were, she knew not. It was at this moment, only a few miles away, that Jewel had lost her life at the fury of Fal; the same Faladon, her love that she now longed and searched for.
If she could get to the park, then maybe she could send some sort of signal to show Fal that she was thence still living. She still needed to get there first. No need to get too far ahead of myself, she informed herself.
The soft padding of the cat behind her had ceased. She turned to see what had happened and saw that the cat smelled the stale air once more. This time, however, it showed more need than before, when it had been merely curious. Something was happening. She heard noises emanating from the entrance.
She crept closer, past upturned benches and barrels that once contained trash. Their innards had been burned in a vain attempt to ward the Afflicted away. Ashes were scattered about the ground. A few bones lay to the side; evidently, their flesh had been stripped away long ago by carrion birds and Afflicted. She closed on the wide entrance into the building.
Bricks that had once made up the outside of the entrance now lay broken on the sidewalk. Shards of concrete were scattered all about. Sarah had to pick her way across this field of rock before she reached the door. Another crash resounded from the opening.
She crept more tentatively now, wary of the noises. She threw her back to the wall and poked her head into the threshold.
Inside the building there was a hall. Once, people had strolled around in this hallway, crowding the large place. There had once been workers to populate the shops along the sides; now they lie empty. Trash littered the ground, it lay along with rotting corpses. The dead bodies had once been employees and fans, but now they lay still and lifeless.
Sarah heard the noise again, closer now. It came from around the curved corner of the ring about the park. A shadowy figure came around the bend.
The woman gasped at the sight of the mysterious creature that was quickly approaching. Sarah was weaponless. She shouted: "Stay where you are!"
Surprisingly, the figure stopped in midstride. It now was holding its breath. This was a small human shaped thing that had a feminine shape: it had a small middle that tapered down to rounded hips, and above the middle were shapely breasts. The thing reminded Sarah of an hourglass and she scoffed at it. The other woman seemed living. The thought that Sarah had that it still bore a beating heart in its bosom was reinforced when it spoke.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Claire was the beauteous thing. Claire had once been a model. Her shoot had been interrupted by a gush of Afflicted into the theatre. From thence, she had dashed through the city. Her pretty hair bore many snarls, as did everyone's then. No one had been able to wash his or her hair for three months (not like everyone had washed it before then). Horrible things she had been through and Sarah pitied this woman, though she generally didn't associate with women who bore such good looks. She felt like these women thought themselves higher than her.
Claire told her that this was a safe place and that Sarah could dwell here for a spot of time. Claire had food, water, and weapons. Sarah went upstairs into the bowl. She slept peacefully, for the first time in a long time, on the seats in the stadium. Claire hovered above Sarah to ensure her safekeeping. Or was she?