The Last Plague

Chapter Four: The Barren Path

The trees peered over the path. They bent over and created darker and darker shadows. The path went on. I continued walking down it, checking behind me and to my sides continuously. I couldn't see the end of the path, and soon the front of it was hidden too. I continued walking down it. The darkness caused the road the glow eerily. I couldn't find anything at the end of the road, so I considered going back. The path seemed to stretch on endlessly, so I began to turn back, but a small flickering light caught my attention.

It was faint and seemed to be dying, but it was visible. I started walking slowly towards it, and realized it was in a window. There was a clean glass window on the cottage. It almost looked like it didn't belong. It was a small wooden cottage with a small clearing of trees in front of it. The sides were completely surrounded and covered in trees.

I walked slower and quieter as I came closer. I almost expected a creature to come from it, or the forest. I walked up to the front door, trying to listen for anything inside. I could hear a slight crackle from the fire inside, but nothing else. I walked over to the window to look inside, there were three people inside staring intently. They seemed confused and scared when they saw me. A man in the back stood up quickly.

"Hello," he whispered quietly. "Who's out there?" he whispered again.

"What is this place?" I whispered back at him.

He immediately ran up and opened the door. "Get in, quickly," he told me.

Fear was painted in his eyes. I ran in quickly as he shut the door.

"How did you get here?" he asked me, staring at my legs.

I didn't know how to respond, so I just looked at the people behind him. "Who are they?"

"First answer me," he said, backing away. "How did you get here?" he said sharply, over pronouncing every word he said.

"I came from down the road this leads to. I was told to evacuate, but I didn't."

"Why didn't you evacuate?" he asked me sharply again. "And more importantly, have you been bit?" he asked again, he was still backing away slowly.

"No, I haven't been bit," I told him quickly. "Please, tell me who you are and why you're here."

"Why didn't you evacuate?" He repeated, still as sharp as ever.

"I was told to, but I didn't want to. I thought it would be better for me to stay there. I didn't know about the creatures at that point either." I told him. "Now, please, can you tell who you are and how you got here," I asked them again.

"We've been surviving here for over a week, and we plan on staying that way. We were chased into here by zombies and don't want, or need, to leave," he snapped at me. "I don't know what you want, or who you are, but leave," he commanded as he glared down at me.

"I just walked through the dirt path to get here, there aren't any—"

Then, as if right on cue, a moan came from outside.

"You were saying?" he said sarcastically, a small smirk grew on his face.

Their faint moans continued from outside. The man's face grew serious again and he grabbed my arm. He pulled me down near the small fire and we sat down. I finally looked at the people who were hiding behind him.

There was a small girl near the fire sitting in a woman's lap. She seemed to be about eight years old. She seemed to have been crying; her eyes were soaked and her face was moist. Fear covered her eyes as she stared out the window. She noticed I was looking at her and she pointed out the window. The woman was staring into the fire. The flames flickering against her eyes made her look scared, but she seemed calm. She was really tall, I noticed. She was curling over the girl and slowly rocking her back and forth. The moans quickly grew though, so I focused my attention on them.