Although I'm publishing just chapter 2 I'm currently writing chapter 11 (I would love to publish with some regularity so I'm giving myself a fair start in case life gets in the way) and I can tell you this story is gonna be quite long, consider yourself warned.

I hope you enjoy and see you soon with next chapter ;)

CHAPTER 2: THE PARK

There was definitely a lot of green. Trees and grass, and the shirt the man (what was his name again? Mel? Mal? Something like that) was wearing. That place didn't look like the last she remembered before fainting out

- Where are we?

- Hello there. Let me introduce you. Quinn, this is Mal, Mal, this is Quinn.

The man nodded toward her. He was sitting on the grass, eating an apple, and he looked like the average regular guy.

- Come on Quinn, sit here.

She followed Anya's hint and sat on the grass near them.

- How are you feeling?

- I'm ok, I guess.

It was true. The throbbing in her head she had when she woke up was mostly gone, but there was still a dull ache behind her eyes. She felt tired but not wrecked.

- Good. Ok is a nice feeling these days.

The sun was higher than Quinn expected but it wasn't as hot as she remembered. It felt almost nice, one of those days where you could just lay on the grass and let time pass you by.

- Want to eat something? – asked her Anya and, as soon as the word eat was pronounced Quinn's stomach murmured.

Mal smiled and took an apple from his bag for her.

- Here it goes, Mr. Apple Man, no iphone intended. – Joked Anya – I swear I don't know where he gets all those apples. I'm starting to think that bag of his is related to Mary Poppin's one, or at least made of the same fabric but still…

Mal grunted something and got up leaving the two of them alone.

- Don't mind him – Anya informed her – He plays tough but he's a nice guy. And useful too. He always seems to know how to find food.

- But can he talk? – Quinn asked as she watched him go away.

- Fair question. Yes, he can talk, he just doesn't like to. He's that weird. I'm not sure if he was like this before the Apocalypse or because of something that happen after slash during it. Anyways, he's like that now. But he's a nice guy, like… a silent hero, you know? Silent knight… sort of Batman… but I'm blabbering... I do that a lot, feel free to stop me when it happens, and speaking of feeling free, feel free to ask questions too, I guess you have a lot of them now, right? So, shoot!

Quinn had indeed a lot of question but, again, she thought it was better to start from the basic ones.

- Where are we?

- Right. You asked before. The short answer is "Somewhere safe, I hope". The geographical answer is "I don't know". I lost track of our whereabouts when I thought we were near Manchester but I saw mountains that, according to my geography class memories, weren't supposed to be there. So… Canada, Mexico, France… who knows.

- No, what I meant is that this doesn't look like the road where I fainted.

- Oh, that 'where are we'! – Anya snapped her fingers – Of course, my mistake! The road was a few miles back. We couldn't stay there, we were right in the open, so Mal took you on his bike and we move… I guess west, for about an hour. And here we find a city, like, a city with a real park, can you believe it? We arrived here yesterday and took some time to rest. Being on the road is not that simple and…

Anya voice became a noise in the background as Quinn got up and started analyzing the place.

Shit! I must have lost it in the last days. I was probably going up and down the same road without even realizing it! I've never got away.

- We should leave.

- What? Why?

- Cities aren't safe.

- Yes, well. The whole world is not safe anymore so…

- I'm serious. I've been here and I know what I'm saying. We should go, right now.

After the earthquakes most of the survivors tried to reach the cities to find shelter, army and some sort of government that could help them. But cities weren't what they used to be. If they weren't burnt down they were big cemeteries with corpses slowly decomposing. And people claimed pretty soon the few places where it was still safe to live.

A few months before that wouldn't have been a problem, but during the apocalypse people lost so much – homes, family, friends, and hopes – that most of them developed a strange sense of property. They were ready to defend their newly found possession at all costs.

- We can't leave right now. It must be around midday, it's going to be too hot on the road. Besides we need to look for supplies, we don't have many left.

- Fuck the supplies! We need to go! – burst out Quinn, almost screaming at Anya.

There was a look of horror and fear in her eyes and her bottom lip trembled a little. She realized how she must look like and she turned away from Anya, facing the woods.

Anya got up and approached her quietly. She moved for her shoulder but, at the last moment, she decided not to touch Quinn and lowered her arm.

- Ok, you're upset. I believe you have your reasons and they're probably very good ones. Still, if we go now we might be as well as dead so… Let's keep this simple.

She moved in front of Quinn forcing her to look up. Quinn had regained some composure but there was still a hole in her eyes, something she was trying very hard to push aside in order to focus on Anya's words.

- I take we must avoid something or someone. – Started Anya, hoping that Quinn would fill the blanks. She had to wait a few seconds before Quinn was able to ansewer her.

- Somewhere. – Quinn said – There's a part of this town where we should really not go.

- Ok. – Anya's voice was very calm. She didn't push, but just stood still and waited.

- It's near a bridge, half collapsed, there are still cars on it and you can't really go through unless you have bikes or you're on foot. – Again Anya just nodded taking a small step towards Quinn, closing the distance bit by bit. – There are at least hundred of them that I saw last time, and they move through the entire city. We should hide, they... - Quinn's voice cracked. - They always travel in groups of five.

- Ok, so we will take extra precautions. We will pack our tent and have our backpacks always ready. We'll be silent and extra cautious, I promise.

It was Quinn turn to nod silently She knew she was being childish but she couldn't shake way the image in her head, the five men coming toward her, the hand grabbing her arm, his look, the way he hold her arms behind her back, his voice.

- Quinn? – Anya's voice was soft, just a little bit worried.

And the trip back their camp, decapitated heads impaled on the perimeter, like it was some sort of horror middle age town. And all those woman and children looking tired and annoyed, like what was happening to her was perfectly normal and understandable; the way they talked about her, like she was an object, a thing to be sold, or booked, or used for their own purpose.

- Quinn? – This time Anya touched gently her arm. Quinn shivered but the contact brought her back to the present. – Are you ok?

- Yes, sure I… I'm thinking about a mall. I saw it last time. I didn't get in because something set me off, I got this weird feeling about it, but, I don't know, maybe there's still something useful in it. It's probably safer and faster than trying to look in every abandoned house and, the sooner we find what we need, the sooner we can get away.

- Sounds like a plan. – Agreed Anya.