"My idiocy will be the death of me."
-Hanna
"If I died. At least I passed knowing Hanna's safe. I know things she doesn't. I wish we could reach the hospital faster. Maybe we can stop this before it gets us. Forgive us Hanna. "
-Lily (Deceased.)
When I heard the metal door behind me shut, I felt my blood run ice cold in fear and doubt. Everything inside me was screaming and shouting to turn back. It isn't to late to back down now. My chest started to hurt more than normally. My heart was pushing itself to the max due to my panicking. "Push forward Hanna. You didn't break your oath of never going back to a quarantine zone for nothing," I said to myself in my head. I wrap my arms around my body, clutching the fabric of sweater that felt like my only life line between me being discovered and killed or me leaving alive. I looked up and saw them. The humans. The non-infected. It's was bizarre thinking how I was once them and now I'm a freakish mutation of this infection. Most of them were at these poorly made stands that looked like they were made and built with anything that was them. Barrels, rotten wooden pieces, water proof covers. Anything that was able to keep something up. They were to preoccupied to even look at me yet it felt like I was being stared down. I slowly walked towards them, following the sent of the woman and man. They seem to have gotten some distance between me. I smelled something being cooked. Smelled burnt. I got on my tippy toes to look over the crowd and saw what the man behind the stand was making.
Rats. This man was cooking rats. He didn't even bother skinning them. He simply drove a metal rod through the sides of the rodents stomachs and placed them over a grill and let the fire do its work. Aren't rats the reason this fungus raged like fire? Started this apocalypse? If I was them I won't dare eat a single one but its all about survival. They do what they do to live the next day. With people dying left and right due to the lack of nourishment and food available, I say eat anything you can that won't kill you but rats wouldn't be my first choice. I lifted my eyes to the apartment buildings and saw how miserable they look. They were dirty. Rusted. Possibly stained with blood of those who were killed long ago and now especially at the front gate where those check points were stationed at. Many came to seek shelter, only about half made it passed the points. Memories flashed in my head when I remembered when my family and friends were going through one of those. They held scanners to the back of necks or eyes that identified us as positive or negative. We watched as families were separated if someone was positive. They would take them off to somewhere and all you would hear nearby guns going off while at the same time you watched soldiers bringing back body bags on stretchers or worst cases, a body on a stretcher with a simple blanket covering the person you could've saw alive minutes prior and see the red spots on the blanket or arms dangling. Worst thing about it, they dump the bodies altogether in piles or in dumpsters as if those people weren't anything. As if they were no better than those who did change and became unspeakable horror. Yes they might have been carrying but they were still them. They were human! Every single person that turned to the military for help only to have a bullet blown through their head? After the horrors they seen? The nightmare they had to fight through to get to them they deserved that as their reward of survival? I understand they did it to keep the others who were identified negative safe. Like I said before they followed the saying, 'Kill one, save a thousand.' Yet they killed a thousand to save a thousand. I wasn't surprise when riots started erupting and more people died.
Paranoia and anger were everyone's best friend.
I closed my eyes and took a whiff in the air. I almost felt like gagging as I covered my nose with my hands. The air smelt of human waste and human body oder. The body oder I could tolerate, but human waste not so much. I don't know what was worse. The decaying bodies of rip apart humans and infected or the remains of human waste. I think I'll stick to decaying bodies since I been exposed to them more than humans. I heard the distance sound of thunder and I gazed to the sky. I could see the dark clouds advancing slowly. I needed to hurry before I get caught up in it. I moved my hands and sniffed again.
There it was again. Their scent. I turned following the sent and felt my body froze. Their scent went straight through a makeshift market that had a dozen or so owners sitting there waiting. Staring. Glaring. It looked like they hated everything about like by the looks of it. I mean, who wouldn't? Everyone has a bone to pick with Mother Nature. There has to be another way around. I can't go head on after them through that. Is it to late turn back? No, I didn't run and follow them halfway across the city and from my safe zone for nothing. Going back through that door will no doubt make me look suspicious but I also didn't want to face death in the eye. I faced him once and that was when Lily bit me. It felt like he was there to claim my soul that day yet he found this sick satisfaction watching me cry, scream, wither in pain and bleed in agony as the fungus ravaged and attacked my body from the inside and out while hearing my twin yelling and screaming behind the door to get to me to finish me off. He watched me suffered before leaving as if he made the decision it wasn't my time to go. That's why I'm a mutated monster everyone fears.
The infamous Leaper that everyone calls me yet never seen but only by a few.
"Hanna." My eyes widen at the sound of my name. Who-did someone recognized me? No. That can't be possible. Everyone dear to me got killed when our safe zone got overrun. Mom and dad got were killed at the clinic. Nathan, Ana and Ivy got tackled and torn apart by runners when we were running to escape. Lily died in my arms and changed. Than there's me. I don't know if I'm dead or alive. "Always the clueless one." L-Lily? I looked to my right where there was an alley and standing there was Lily. She stood there, wearing her favorite one shoulder hot pink shirt with her blue leggings and brown knee length boots. Her hair done in a high ponytail with a few strands of hair hanging loosely in front of her eyes. That's what she was wearing the day the infected got in our safe zone. How many years ago was that? Five? We were fifteen when we were bitten. She smiled at me. The innocence we both once had was on her face again. "My sister alright." I suddenly felt something tug on my sweater and I jolted. I looked down and saw that kid that opened the door for my humans looking at me. I looked back up to the alley and she was gone as if she was never there. What was that?
"Miss? You alright?" asked the young boy. I nodded a yes as I tore my eyes from the alley to look down at him. He didn't seem to notice the abnormalities. That's a good sign. "You're crying miss." I touched my face and I felt the wetness. I didn't realize it. That had to my imagination but something like that never happened before. I've had dreams similar to that but nothing like that. I crouched down to the young boys level, wiping my face clean while keeping a calm face. "Why were you crying?"
"H..." I swallowed, feeling nervous. It's been awhile since I talked full sentences. I've talked to myself to not forget but I might be pretty rusty, "Have you ever...missed someone so much...that it hurts?" I asked him as I detached his hand from my sweater carefully. I'm actually not bad at talking.
"Yes. I miss my father. He was sent out with his team to search the area further from our safe zone," his gazed drop to the ground, "Him and his team never came back." I felt this pang of guilt in my chest. The only team he could be talking about is the one that entered that building followed with the screaming and gunfire a few days back. I'm sure there are no survivors seeing how the more inner you go into the city the more runners, clickers and those god awful annoying stalkers there seem to be roaming inside the long forgotten, rotting away buildings. It's suicide walking inside a building blindly even more suicidal knowing that those search teams jobs were to find infected and than send another team to clean out the area to find supplies.
"He'll come back. Don't worry," I lied. What was the point of telling the truth? Truth seemed dead. Reality was a nightmare. If lying was going to bring a shimmer of hope into someones eyes so be it. Most would rather be lied to than be told the truth. It'll save so much more than pain. It'll give a false hope when they lost the real hope. After all, when we turned for hope, she left us to die.
"You really think that?" I gave a fake smile in return.
"Yes I do." That smile he gave radiated like the sun. "I saw you come out that door right after that lady and guy. Are you a friend of theirs?" Here come the lies. I'm going to be dragged to hell for certain after this.
"Yes. I'm a friend of their's. I met them along way to here. They allowed me to tag along as long as I kept my distance and I did. I was making sure we had our tracks covered but as you can see, it took more time than I thought now I got lost from them," I rub the back of head sheepishly, "Do you think you can take me back to them? They were looking for a guy named Robert. Do you know where this guy is? Where this Robert guy is they're bound to be there."
"My mom said I shouldn't go to where he is. He's a bad man." This peaked my interest.
"Bad man? How so?"
"He does bad stuff."
"Oh really? Like really bad stuff?" He nodded a yes. "Can you point me where to go?" He nodded a yes again. Without looking up he pointed back to his right. I followed his arm and it was pointing at the alley where I saw the apparition of Lily.
"Take that alley. Than two rights and make a dash across a street to the alley parallel to the one you're in. Than climb up a ladder and use the rooftops and make your way to the ship yard. Watch out for the guards though." He warned, "They have orders to shoot and kill on sight." I was baffled by how much this kid knew. It was as if he memorized the entire map of this zone.
"This the quickest way?"
"No, but it's an alternative route. It's fast depending how quickly you can run across roof tops," well that isn't too hard considering I'm the Leaper, "The quickest way to reach it is that way," he pointed to the makeshift market, "But they won't let anyone by if they don't know you unless your with someone they know." Really? No one really owns any part of a zone unless they're the kind of person that can line the pockets of some greedy and easily convincing individuals. Whoever my humans are dealing with has made quite a infamous name for himself that much I'll say.
"Kid, do you know the name of that man and woman?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. The guy, his name is Joel and the lady, her name is Tess." Joel and Tess huh? Not bad. Would've thought something like Charlie and Maria but Joel and Tess sound like fine names.
"Thanks for helping," I stated as I ruffled up his hair playfully and he laughed as he smacked my hands away. "Stay a good kid," I smirked at him before jogging my way to the alley. I expected to see my sister there but there was nothing.
What did my mind make up?
I pulled myself up onto the roof, not needing much effort. It would've been more easier if I just jump onto the buildings but that would've got me spotted sooner so I did take the ladder...kind a. I mean I climb half way than jump and grab the ledge so therefore I did use the ladder. I'm use to jumping around not using the normal methods of climbing. My human instincts aren't really there like they were five years back. I used my hands and blocked out the sunlight. I squinted and saw a ship. A ship means the ship yard or docks. All I know is that they are heading that way to deal with this unknown guy. Thinking about when Tess, my female human, mentioned 'Robert's men' means that this guy is a bit more in control of this place. All I know about him is he owes them guns. I hate guns. I know they are meant to kill my infected brothers and sisters but sheesh. Some people get a bit to trigger happy and go on a bloody killing spree killing non-infected and infected alike. This twisted, devastating time has pushed some over the edge to oblivion, to insanity. To kill without thought was more scarier than anything else. Most would say that my infected siblings are mindless beings and I won't deny, most are but they kill to feed. If they don't eat they starve to death like I've seen. They become skin and bone and I pity them when I find them on the ground to weak to stand. But humans who had lost their minds have nothing else but utter chaos and bloodlust. Worse case scenario I have ever saw was a man devouring other man on purpose. He hanged his body up like a pig in a slaughterhouse ready to be cut into pieces and simply hacked the dead man to bits.
'Survival of the fittest.' Where does it say in the book of sayings that survival of the fittest meant resorting to cannibalism?
"What the?" I let out a gasp as I heard a male voice behind me. I turned around and saw a young male standing there, staring at me confused. He was carrying a heavy gun in his hands while wearing protective armor. I knew if I ran he would shout, shoot and probably call for back up blowing my cover or I can simply overpower him since I'm triple his human strength. I'm not into the whole killing thing unless it's needed, and this kid looked like he was in his early twenties. It looked like he didn't even know how to hold the damn gun for sweet sakes! I might as well as disarm him and go on my merry way. But he could be a marksmen for all I freaking know. Is it worth the risk? "How did you get up here!" He was yelling. Not good. I kept quiet as I stared him down. "Answer!" He lifted his gun towards me. It's now or never Hanna! I sprinted forward at him at inhuman speed. His eyes widen in surprise as I jump into the air, reaching at least a good fifteen to twenty feet in the air covering the space between us before I slammed down on him. He laid under me while I sat above him. He was in too much shock to fight back as I snatched the gun from him and tossed it far from us. I leaned forward, our faces inches apart. I saw the fear in his eyes as if asking what am I. He looked familiar a little, but from where? I put a single finger to my lips, telling him to be quiet. His eyes seemed paralyzed on something. He must've noticed my eyes. The discoloration in my right eye. I rolled my eyes, I knew I should've been more careful.
"Stay...down okay? I'm not here...for you. I'm looking for someone else...two actually. I'm going to get off you alright, but you need to stay down until I'm gone. Understand? Or I have to disable you and I'm much more stronger and I don't want to do that. Okay?" He nervously shook his head a yes, his frighten amazed eyes never breaking contact with mines. I slowly got off him, in a pounce stance incase he tried to do anything funny. Seeing that he barely moved a muscle I ran to the edge of the roof in the direction of the ship yard and leap across and landed on another building and ran as fast as I can towards my destination. I felt weightless as I glided effortlessly in the air and jump from building to building with grace. It surprised me how empty the streets were in this part of this zone. Where was everybody? Silence never meant anything good. Never did and never will. My went back to that young male. Where have I seen him before? I never made any contact with humans besides that one time...with a male soldier a month or two back ago...no that can't be him. I didn't even get a good look at the soldier I saved nor did he get a good look at me. But he probably might have remembered the entire feeling of jumping and gliding through air or he simply knew me through rumors about me, 'The Leaper.' Than I again, I did jump nearly twenty feet into the air. I really need to stop putting myself in these situations I swear. Suddenly this smell hit me. It was faint but was getting stronger as I neared the ship yard. A smell I'm all too familiar with.
Blood.
And there was a lot of it. I could pick up various scents but I smelled Joel's and Tess's blood in the mix. There's was faint but the thought of them injured wasn't a pretty thought. I needed to get there and now.
