the house laid still, so silent it seemed like there wasn't anybody in the derelict building at all. night had come and gone, leaving in its wake the pale golden sunlight of the dawn. with breakfast eaten and rest taken, madalynn packed her things before she set out for the day.
"well, house," she thought to herself. "thanks for keeping me safe last night."
she situated her backpack on her shoulder and retreated, leaving the house in its original state, like nobody had ever been there. the forest was just as quiet; there were no birds chirping, no dead stumbling and groaning. it was eerie; in the apocalypse, quiet woods meant two things. one: you were alone and walkers just weren't around, or two: somebody was hiding in the trees, ready to strike at anyone, dead or living.
pushing away her fear, madalynn continued forward, easily finding her way back to the main road she had been following just yesterday before she was chased off by a herd of zombies. the highway was just as quiet as the surrounding forest, but she doubted there were any malicious groups just past the tree line and hidden within the deep sea of trees.
hours had passed before she even thought about stopping. she had a clear destination in mind and even if she didn't, in a world infested with the walking dead, stopping to rest was always a gamble. the sun was halfway through its daily cycle when she finally paused to take a break.
the girl set her bag on the shoulder of the asphalt, carefully lowering herself down to sit. her knife was in easy access if she needed it and she was prepared to run at any second. as she dug around for a snack to eat, she couldn't help but wonder if what she was looking for was even real.
luckily, madalynn finished lunch and rested without any disruptions. it was quite strange that there weren't any walkers around, but in the back of her mind, she was kind of thankful for it. for once, it meant not having to kill anything.
once again slinging her bag over her shoulder, she began to walk. this time she wasn't so fortunate; there had been a reanimated person or two that had crossed paths with her. however, those were the only living things she encountered until nightfall.
as the sun sank once more, giving way to a clear twilight sky and the moon. it was peaceful, the stars beginning to appear in the dark horizon of night and the moon retracing the sun's steps. the light breeze made everything feel just that much better.
having walked for nearly 14 hours, madalynn was ready to stop and rest until the next day. her surroundings were silent, aside from the rustling of the tree leaves in the wind, so she began to search for an adequate spot to sleep.
as she began to veer off the path of the road, there was a loud rustling behind her. she knew too well that an animal couldn't make that much of a sound and walkers were always groaning, which was missing.
just as she had done the day before at the river, madalynn whipped around, knife ready to attack; there was no one there. it had to have been a person, there wasn't a walker anywhere near her current position.
"who's there?" she called, hesitantly. "i heard you. i know you're there."
"this is a bad decision," she told herself. "they could be dangerous."
"well, everyone is dangerous, nowadays."
still on the offense, madalynn made herself and her motives of the moment clear once more.
"i heard you rustle some leaves. who are you?"