The Ruins Of Tomorrow

02. Run

The sky was dimmer than ever. No planes, not even the chattering of nearby neighbors. It was like a cloud of emptiness and I had seen no animals crossing by or strangers in a while. Anything that might have still been alive wouldn't last any longer. Anything that is still running would reach a dead end soon enough, like everything else.

I felt the cold, piercing dryness in my throat, trying to hold back a cough. "What color is it?" I asked.

He tapped the glass with his index finger one more time until the infected slammed its fists on the other side, causing the window to shake. "Silky white, so..."

I let out a breath of relief. "That means it's just a regular infected."

"Okay..." his voice trailed off for a second and he stepped back from the window, letting the curtains fall back into place. "That's a good thing, right?"

I dropped my bag on the ground and checked the aisles. "It just means we won't have to run as much. Hopefully..."

"But walking won't do you any good either if you have blisters on your foot," Thomas said, standing beside me as he dropped his bag to his feet.

I shrugged. "I'll be fine," I said, completely unsure if I will be. "It will just take time for it to heal."

Thomas caught my gaze, and he held it for a split second until he got down to his knees to pick up a box of matches. He placed them in his bag and let out a sigh, a very annoyed sigh. "So, what happens if we see one that doesn't have silky white eyes? Will I have to drop everything and carry you on my back?"

I snorted. "You might just end up getting us both killed," I said. "We can't afford to leave anything, Thomas. We need water and food. I can tolerate the blisters on my foot. I'd rather it be me than you."

I could read the curiosity in his brown eyes. He's only ever seen regular infected and not the ones that crawl. I hoped to god he wouldn't need to see one, but I also couldn't make that promise to him. He was a kid who only knew how to use a pocket knife and not a gun. Which was better than nothing, I supposed. It still scared me because no matter where we would go, anything can ‌catch up.

Thomas was finishing tying his shoelaces when he looked up the moment we heard a loud bang from outside. I dropped a random box of light bulbs from my hands as it shattered on the floor. I felt my body go into fight or flight mode and my hands snatched my backpack from the ground as I turned to take his hand. Thomas dropped something from his palm and followed me through the aisles until we reached the emergency exit.

"How far do you think it was?" he asked hesitantly.

"Not far," I said. "We have to head out. I don't think the horde was too far behind us."

The tight knob didn't seem to budge when I twisted it. I tried rattling the thing, but nothing happened. I stepped back and slammed my foot against the door when the dim sunlight poured over our heads. Thomas didn't bother looking back as we slid down a hill and entered the vast forest.

We heard another shot... a few meters back? The second one caused the surrounding trees to tremble as a flock of birds hovered over the greenery. Keep calm, keep calm, I said to myself. If I panicked, then Thomas would panic too. The blisters on my foot were screaming at me to stop. I felt my hand slip, but I kept my grip on his wrist.

A sharp pain fired back at my foot, and I had to stop in my tracks. I rolled up the sleeve of my pant leg to check the wound on my foot. Thomas was the first to gasp when he saw the blood on my sock and how the blister grew twice its size.

"Scarlet... that looks bad," he said.

"F—I can shake it off," I tried to sound convincing, but he didn't seem to buy it when he frowned. "Stopping isn't an option," I said.