The Wastelands

Chapter 8

Thick grey clouds blocked the sun from warming the ground in the morning. The smell of rain threatened a storm. The broken concrete road appeared more dismal in the darkened daylight. Even the crows flying overhead made the land match the depressing descriptions the Metropolis had always believed.

Blue had been walking since dawn all the way into early afternoon. She finished the bread in her pack as well as another bag of chips. The ration of food she carried was growing small. If she didn't make it to the town by the end of the day, she'd have to go without eating for a while. The Hospital designed her to spend days without food or water and still feel as though she'd eaten a feast fit for a small town.

The light rain let her refill her water bottles to keep going. She pulled the hood over her head and stowed her hatchet in her pack to keep it dry. Her clothes were damp but her spirits were high. With her hands in the pockets of her hoodie she marched straight ahead with her eyes focused forward. For years, she taught herself to never look down to watch her feet; always up and alert to face whatever lay in her path. A skill the doctors saw important and it improved her ability to survive their tests.

Don't go there monster. You don't need to go down that road right now.

She argued with herself, trying to keep her thoughts on the present.

Thunder growled in the distance, echoing in the gloomy countryside. She had no idea how far she had walked since she climbed out of the tree, but hoped to be nearing the town. Corn fields lay on either side of the road. The dying stalks leaned to one side under the weight of the rain and ice. The smell of those fields reminded her of the farm house and she almost grimaced.

And of course, you're going there.

As much as she urged her thoughts to focus on the future, those reminders found a way to bring up a family that no longer wanted her. When she stood before her parents two nights ago, they didn't bother offering help or even give her any food or clothing. They saw her as a burden the moment she revealed the truth of her disappearance; something that would only bring them more harm than good. She wanted to rid herself of those painful memories as much as they wanted to rid themselves of her.

She had always believed she didn't belong with that family. They were so different right from the very beginning. Her mother had too much faith and trust in a deity that refused to show his face. Her father chose to work his life away instead of asking his children how their day had been. Marcus was always too busy to make time for her; not once being the older brother she longed for. Charlotte tried to be in her life and Blue continuously blocked the girl out. It wasn't long before she started to enjoy her alone time and preferred it even after her stay at the Hospital.

People complicated things, making her self-control harder to retain. Arguments sparked the monster to life and confrontations took things over the top. It was the part of her she hoped to gain control of and hoped Frank Gibson was the answer to her silent questions. She believed what Emily had told her about him. He was once a respected doctor at the Hospital in charge of certain aspects with an older version of the serum. He knew what flowed in her veins forward and backwards and she hoped to gain more knowledge about the monster in her head.

The rain picked up, hammering in to the ground and soaking her clothes. Water dripped from the edges of her hood and tickled her nose. She adjusted the strap of her bag and skipped over a puddle between the broken concrete.

Lightning flashed directly in front of her, brightening up the sky for a fraction of a second. A loud crack of thunder sent chills down her spine and she stopped moving. The ear-splitting crack wasn't what had her on edge nor was it the impending storm. Above the thunder and flashes of light, she heard a sound drifting through the cornfield on her right. A single set of footsteps crept through the mud as some type of creature shoved through the stalks.