Failure of Glory

Chapter 14

Jolie ran halfway down the next street before she was sure that there was enough distance between her and the pack of Howlers. She crouched behind a house to catch a breath and decide which way Aaliyah had run.

She slid into the dirt taking labored breaths looking through the darkness for a sign of her sister. Aaliyah had gotten out of the pack before they began to swarm so Jolie knew that they hadn't run the same way but she couldn't have gone far. Jolie knew that Aaliyah had enough sense to not go wandering off.

When her breathing became somewhat normal she pushed off the side of the house and went on her way to look for Aaliyah, she didn't know if she should backtrack to the swarm and start there or just assume that she was near. Jolie had been too focused on getting the timer ready to even notice which way Aaliyah had run and she silently shamed herself for it.

After glances down each side of the street she thought that it would be best if she backtracked. Aaliyah had been in the bunker her whole life with little to no physical activity so she couldn't have run very far from the start.

***

Aaliyah crouched under a melted lamp post that had been bent in the explosion. She held both hands over her mouth to try and keep from letting her whimpers out. In front of her stood four or five Howlers, just passing by without any knowledge that their next meal was a few feet away from them.

When Jolie had told her to run she had sprinted off to the left of the road and now she was regretting her decisions. She kept wondering why she didn't just go further down the road or run back to where their bunker was located, it was only down the street she could have found it. But instead she decided to run to the left and now she was in the middle of a herd passing.

Aaliyah couldn't describe the horror she felt when she first stumbled upon it. When she had first turned the corner she counted at least ten all of them huddled around a body that had been picked clean to the bone. She shuddered when she watched one of them crunch down on what looked like a femur.

The street that she was on was covered in debris and loose rocks, she had to maneuver carefully through it all, in an attempt to follow her sisters orders of not making any noise. A few times the gravel would crunch under her shoes causing an echo of clicks to sound through the air. When this happened she stood very still, not moving and breathing as little as possible.

Now she was crouched behind a lamp post that was most certainly not big enough to cover her from any attack that could possibly come. She gnawed on her lip watching the end of the street hoping that she would see Jolie appear, tired but unscathed. But instead she found a man, his steps were uncertain and his eyes were drooping with exhaustion. Well eye, one of his eyes was clamped shut, his left eye to be more specific.

Aaliyah couldn't tell why until he got closer, right under the moon's light. She saw a scar that started at the middle of his forehead, slicing diagonally through his left eye and stopping at the top of his left cheek.

Aaliyah watched in wonder as the man scanned his surroundings, his attention not staying on an object for more than a few seconds until finally his eyes landed on her. Just a small girl cowering behind a few inches of melted steel.

The man blinked as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. As if he hadn't seen another human being in months, years maybe. The man walked toward her cautiously. The man signed 'are you ok' to Aaliyah which she of course couldn't understand.

'What,' she mouthed back cautiously, scared that even a slight breath would attract a howler.

The man looked down at the gravel under his feet and then to the small herd of howlers, he knew he was one misstep away from a gruesome death. He raised his hands to Aaliyah, making a motion telling her to wait.

The gesture made Aaliyah nervous. She knew that right now she had the upper hand-being on soft dirt, but as soon as he crossed the gravel road she'd be in danger. Aaliyah was smart enough to know that there was no way she could overpower this man, she didn't even think that Jolie could, if she was here.

The first thing she had noticed about him was how tall he was, if she had to guess anything above six feet. He was well built, which was a good sign. It meant he lived somewhere with a steady food supply and got out enough to be in shape. He had a full beard-brown like the rest of his hair.

And his scarred left eye was enough to make Aaliyah shiver. It didn't look fresh and for some reason Aaliyah took that as a good sign. It added character but she wasn't sure if it was the right kind. He could have gotten the scar saving a little girl.

Or attacking her.