The next morning Doc is already gone. Darla and Italy are fast asleep. I lay on the canopy of the barn, staring at it's beamed ceiling. The events of yesterday aren't on my mind, I've subconsciously pushed them to the deepest part of my mind, and am only focusing on what is happening now. Which, fortunately is nothing. But, we can't stay here forever, so might as well get a move on it now.
I turn onto my side to stand up, my muscles groaning in protest. It hurts to stand, but I manage to get up anyways.
I wake Darla up first, then go to Italy. Neither mind being woken up, I guess it's a pleasure to know they aren't dead.
We walk silently, with only our shadows following us, as we cross the farm's fields and land. Then we enter a forest made up mostly of pine trees. It's a very bright and sunny morning, but the trees manage to block out most of the light.
I wonder what has happened to Kleff. If he made it out of the walls or if he's still there working on something. My head hurts from fatigue and thirst and all the stress. I stop to open up my bag and take out a bottle of water.
I drink nearly half the bottle before passing it to Italy and Darla. I hadn't realized how thirsty I've been until now.
My stomach starts to cramp as the pain of drinking too much water without food sets in. I grab a protein bar out of the backpack as well, and give a box of goldfish crackers to the kids.
Finally, after hours of walking and little to no talking, we reach the end of the forest. We step out onto the edge of a cliff. Below us was a mass amount of buildings. It looks like a really big zone without any walls to protect it.
"The city," Darla breathes.
"What's that?" I ask. She answers by pointing to the sight in front of us. The buildings were tall but mostly decaying. They were all above ground which is strange. We make the final steps towards the city, not knowing what would be in store for us once we got there.
"This is an American city built way before Canada took control. It was bombed, but it was long enough ago that it should be safe. But I would still wear the gas mask. Your suits are filtered right?" She asks. For a ten year old, Darla sure was smart.
"Most clothes in zone 7 are." I say.
We end up on a wide road. It leads directly into the heart of the city. Abandoned cars with open doors and smashed windows line it with no particular pattern. It seems as though they had all been rushing out of the city.
The city is quiet. In the way that it is incredibly eerie. It's as if nothing living existed here, but then again, it wasn't likely that anything did.
We put on our gas masks, in case there is any radiation left from the explosion. We walk further in, ending up in between tall buildings that grow into the sky. The streets are littered with garbage, an ungodly smell eroding from the garbages. The whole city had a dead smell to it, as if the blast wasn't enough to burn the stench away. But nuclear bombs were supposed to disintegrate people, weren't they?
A horrendous moaning noise comes from behind us, causing us all to turn around. Someone, who appears to be suffering from fatal wounds is walking towards us. Their jaw hangs slack and their eyes droop. Dried blood stains most of the skin on their face, mostly near the mouth.
"Excuse me! Are you okay?" I call to them. What had done that to them?
He doesn't answer, but continues to walk forward. Now that their closer, I can see that their torn shirt is printed with the American flag. Which was strange because…
"Are you okay?" I call again.
"Ms. Germany." Darla says quietly behind me. I turn back to her. "I don't think he can hear you." I look back at the man whose head rolls unnaturally to the side. Then it snaps up and lets out a loud, agonizing scream, running at us with full force.
I pick up Italy and Darla runs behind me as we try to escape the monster-like being. I swoop Italy onto my back and hurry Darla up a ladder that lead to god knows where. Once we were halfway up, I look down to see that the thing was stuck at the bottom, as if it couldn't comprehend how to use the ladder.
I hear Darla scream above me and climb up, coming face to face with a woman whose eye was hanging from a hole in her skull. I suck in a breath as I hear a loud boom. It's the sound of a gun as the woman falls onto me. I push her back and she lands on the ground with a thump. My hands are covered in her blood, or what I assume is her blood. I look over to expect Darla and her shotgun, but instead is a masked figure with a pistol.
"Thank you," I breathe. The masked person nods, putting away the gun. He steps closer to me, and I'm afraid for a moment, and shut my eyes fearing the worst. When I sense his presence move away, I open my eyes to see he's grabbed my knife out of the side of my bag and is holding it out for me. I take it and realize he wants me to use it against the monsters. He then proceeds to climb up another ladder, and make his way to the top of a building, leaving us by ourselves.
Italy pokes my back and gives me the sign to put him down. "Mikael the zombie." He signs. I look at him, trying to make sense of what he just said. Mikael the Zombie was a childrens book of unusual nursery rhymes. Mikael the Zombie was one of his favorites. I didn't understand why he was bringing it up now, though.
"What about it?" I sign back.
"What's he talking about?" Darla asks me.
"Those scary people look like him." Italy signs.
"He thinks that the people are zombies." I tell Darla. Now that I thought about it, it did kind of make sense. Darla doesn't say anything after that.
We end up in a building with little homes lined up inside of them. Darla calls them multi-family homes, but the sign on the building said Lakeside Apartments. Being above ground for so long is making me nervous, and we decide to spend the night in one of the cleaner apartments. After checking for any zombies or intruders, we lock all the doors and barricade them.
Darla and Italy fall asleep while watching a Spongebob movie that was installed on one of the tvs. I watched outside as the sun faded into the horizon, beautiful from up here.
I wish I could have thanked him for saving us. I wish I had known who it was. Nevertheless, I'm thankful we've made it this far. I watch from the couch as the moonlight shines in, mixing with the last of the sun. Something moves out of the corner of my eye. I immediately look to both kids who are passed out on the other couch, tucked in under several blankets and pillows.
Then my attention moves to my shadow as it quivers slightly. Had my eyes just faltered? Or is that a trick of the sun?