Oh well, hello there. (Nervous laughter) Yeah, I gotta fix my updating schedule. But hey, to make up for it I'm giving you two chapters instead of one. Woo! (Cheering crowd noise)
Something's tickling my nose, so I reach up and scratch at it. My fingers brush against something slimy and I bolt upright. A slug is stuck to my face and I send it flying into the grass.
"Ew, ew, ew." I wipe my fingers on dry leaves to rid them of the slime.
I wonder how long I've been out for? The sun is barely in the sky, signifying it's the start of a new day.
Sophia!
I push myself off the ground and try to steady myself on a tree. My back is aching and I'm sure I'll be sore for weeks. Looking side to side I check for any signs of Sophia. Seeing as I'm here alone I hope that she's okay.
I have two options, search for Sophia or find my way back to the highway. Problem is, I have no idea how to do either of those things. So I'll search for Sophia while making my way back to the highway. Good plan.
My attempt at climbing back up the hill ends in failure and muddier shoes. Going around seems to be the best plan. I start walking, it's a while before the hill starts to level out. From there I try to find my way to where I fell down.
It feels like an eternity that I'm wandering around when I finally hear something. The sound of church bells ringing in the distance.
Without wasting a second I start sprinting toward them. It's faint but I'm sure of where it's coming from.
Surely others will be there, someone will know how to get back to the highway. I can't be too far from it.
Sophia must hear them too. She'd try to get there just like me.
Then the sound stops, and so do I. Holding my breath I stay quiet and listen for them again, but it's just silence.
The heat begins to make me light-headed so I stop and lean against a tree. My stomach growls, and I'm so hungry I'm wishing for those bags of dried fruit.
Bong-Ding Bong-Ding
Pushing myself away from the tree I run. Past overturned trees and spiky bushes. Squirrels and birds scatter as I rush under their branches.
The bells stop again, they didn't ring as long as they did the first time.
Sitting down to catch my breath I patiently wait for them to ring again. Sweat rolls down my face but I don't wipe at it. I'm much too tired at this point to care.
Just as my heartbeat returns to an even pace, branches snap in the distance causing me to quickly stand back up and dart away.
Keeping on the same path that should be taking me to the source of the bells I'm careful to keep my footsteps light. I've seen some walkers in the distance, too far for them to notice me but close enough that if I stepped on a twig they'd come stumbling over.
The sun is almost midway through the sky so I know it hasn't been long since I woke up.
Another stomach grumble reminds me just how long it's been since I've eaten. Back in the RV I ate a few bites of some stale granola Glenn found. It wasn't much and I'm regretting not taking Glenn's offer of having a second bowl.
My foot connects with an exposed root and my face slams into the ground. Touching my face I can feel the beginning of a bloody scrape across my cheek but worse there's a cut above my left eyebrow. Blood seeps out of the wound and drips down the side of my face.
Tears well up and I just let them fall. I'm tired, and hungry, and so thirsty.
I don't care that my sobs are probably drawing the attention of walkers. I just want to go home. Back to my warm bed and loving parents.
Bong-Ding Bong-Ding
The sound is so close I nearly yelp in surprise. It's sudden ring shocking my tears away. Determination fills me, standing I wipe some of the blood off my face and sprint toward the sound. I have to reach it before it disappears again.
Emerging into a clearing, right ahead of me is a small church. It's white paint is chipping away and the windows are filled with cobwebs, but it's much more inviting than what surrounds it.
A hundred tombstones stand between me and the building. Some still have flowers strewn at their base. It sends a shiver down my spine when I think about the dead buried all around me. At least they make better company than the living dead.
Rushing around graves I make it to the entrance of the church. Reaching for the handle of the red doors I pull it open slowly and peer inside. Three figures are sitting in the pews. One turns its head to look at me and I gasp. Her lips are pulled apart causing her teeth to show, the rest of her face is obscured by a white cloth but I can imagine what lies beneath it. All I can do is stare at her mouth in horror before shutting the door and racing away.
A dead end, literally.
I follow the dirt road outside, it seems decently traveled upon. If it leads to a concrete road I might be able to find a sign pointing to the highway.
My legs start to hurt from running, and once I'm comfortable with the distance I've put between me and the chuch I take a small break. There's an old wooden fence lining the road so I lean against it and focus on taking deep breaths. I'm sure that my plan will work and I'll be reunited with the group before dinner. Sophia's probably already back with her mom enjoying dried fruit and sun-warmed water.
With a sigh I continue forward until I see a house and the appealing thought of food draws me toward it. It's a small one story house with a singular tree set on the front lawn. In between me and the house is a large field with a long driveway that connects us. It takes me a few minutes but I get to the front of the house. The curtains are drawn back so I can easily see inside, some stuff is knocked over and the house is a mess but a thin layer of dust coats everything. That's probably a clear sign that no one's been in the house for a while so I try the front door, it's locked. I try the back and it's locked too. My grumbling stomach doesn't let me give up so I try each window, hoping that at least one will be unlocked. I find that the window into the master bedroom seems loose, so I gather my strength and pull until it slides open. This is a moment where I would shout for joy if I wasn't so scared of being eaten.
As quietly as I can, I climb in, wincing at the pain it causes mt back, and crack the window behind me. Slowly I creep out of the room and into the hall. Ignoring the family photos and framed crayon drawings I make my way to the kitchen.
Glancing around I make sure I'm still alone before climbing onto the counter and opening the cupboards. Most of it has been cleared out, but I find a bag of marshmallows and a package of dunk-a-roos. Hardly a balanced meal but I'm starving and haven't had sugar in forever.
Hopping off the counter, I sit on the living room couch and eat the dunk-a-roos first. I toss a couple of the marshmallows in my mouth. One day I'll miss the soft pillowly feeling when the world runs out. The rest of them I save. Carl, Sophia, and I can toast them when I get back.
Now, carrying a bag of marshmallows, I leave the house and return to the road. It's about midday now and I don't plan on spending another half a day out here. I try to pick up the pace but the pain in my back's only gotten worse as the day's drawn on. The cut on my forehead is slightly burning too, at least it's stopped dripping blood.. Instead of speeding up I start slowing down. There was no water back in that house and I'd been so focused on hunger I forgot all about dehydration. The thought of dying from that instead starts worrying me.
My breaths become quick and short. I know I can't start panicking but that makes me panic more. I sit myself down and focus on taking deep breaths. In and out, in and out.
Bang! A gunshot.
My eyes fly open. When did they close?
I stand up too fast and the world spins for a second. After it stills I race toward the sound. I haven't come across anyone else yet and my group is still around here, the gunshot had to be from one of them.
Crossing through a field of overgrown grass I rush back into the woods. I don't care about the noise I'm making as I push through bushes and step on twigs. Right now, I just don't want to be alone.
Everything's blurring into one. I don't know how long I've been running now.
Something moves up ahead and I race forward in an attempt to catch up to it. Then I see it's side, half an arm is missing and it's got holes littered around it's torso.
It's one of the more gruesome walkers I've seen and it takes a lot for me not to scream at the sight. Yet I stay silent, not moving.
Another walker joins the first, and then another. The trio stumbles forward together now.
Of course, they heard the sound and want to find the source almost as badly as I do. There's not much I can do until they get far enough ahead that I can duck down in a bush or hide up in a tree without them noticing.
Something runs across my foot and I look down. A small purple salamander looks back and proceeds to run up my leg.
I shriek.
The corpse trio turns on me instantly and I run. Ducking past branches and over mud puddles. I run and run and don't plan on stopping until I'm sure they've either lost interest or found something else to chase.
My head is spinning now. A sure sign that I'm in desperate need of water. I don't stop running, I'm sure that when I stop they'll be right behind me.
The bushes around me start getting too dense for me to run through so I head to my right and almost barrel down a hill. I've already done that once, I'm not doing it again. So I take a sharp turn and wind my away around some trees. I look behind me, I don't see anything and look forward coming face to face with a low hanging branch. My face slams right into it and I fall over. I hear the crack as the branch breaks off the tree and falls to my side. There's a sharp stabbing pain in my right foot.
The sky is spinning.
Don't pass out again, the walkers could be right behind you!
All my thoughts are shouting at me to get up, to keep going. I'm too tired to listen to them anymore. If they would just be quiet so I can take a quick power nap. When I wake up I can run to my heart's content.
Wait, run? Run from what again?
The sky isn't nearly as pretty as the last time it was spinning.
Oh right. The walkers! I'm sure they have much better things to do than chase me, I'm small, definitely not a good meal for the three of them.
I laugh a little before my thoughts go silent and the world goes dark.