Annihilation

Red Lane

I kept on the same road we'd taken during our run into the city where I lived before, trying to keep my hands from shaking as they gripped the steering wheel. The last image I had of Hobi played on a loop in my mind and I started to hyperventilate, pulling off to the side of the road and falling from the car with my entire weight with a gasp for air.

With the car still running and the door open next to me I let out a guttural, aching scream that echoed around me. My nails dug into the dirt as I sobbed, a moment of space to grieve before I inevitably jumped back into action.

I checked the trunk for the supplies they packed, four large bags filled with food, water, medical tools, handguns and ammo, a few other weapons scattered among the sacks. As I leaned over the trunk the familiar groaning sounds of the undead grew stronger and closer, and when I turned around, I counted ten shuffling from out of the woods by me, drawn out by the sound of my cries.

I reached for the handle of a machete, turning around to decapitate the first and second with a slice that I held every bit of loss I felt. I reached into one of the holders strapped to my thigh, flinging my longest bladed knife through the eye of the next. The last seven met my blade, a blur of their innards that were the release of every drop of my anger and pain.

My chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as the last fell to my feet. I collected every knife I'd thrown. I jerked them from their  heads before moving back to the car and tossing the machete into the passenger's seat, my eyes widening as I climbed in and looked out at the road ahead.

There were too many of them to count, dragging their feet in congruence down the asphalt. I got out of the car, the shock that kept me petrified converting into adrenaline as I rushed back to the trunk, shuffling items around in the bags and slinging as many as I could over my shoulders to carry.

The space between myself and the hoard of undead decreased with every second that passed. By the time I tucked a last handgun into the waist of my jeans they were just at the front of the car, and I sliced through the decayed head of one, speeding past the swarm and into the woods. The weight of the bags slowed me, but I kept a light jog, running into a few more undead scattered about as I kept the same southwest direction we took into the city. I crossed my fingers that I would find somewhere safe to stay, a place that was familiar to increase their chances of finding me if–after, they got out.

I stopped to rest at the same shed that Jungkook and I found ourselves during our search for water, groaning as I dropped bags to the floor and rubbing at my shoulders where the straps dug into my skin. I sank to the floor, a sensation like pins and needles poking at my muscles. The sunset outside created a luminous light that shone through the cracks of wood holding the shed together and I laid back to rest, my eyes fluttering closed with tiredness.

I was jolted awake by the sound of footsteps, a chorus of moans and grunts that let me know the undead were nearby. Through one of the slightly larger cracks in the wood I could see them, a mass as large as the one that'd been coming down the road. I clasped a hand over my mouth as they staggered past the shed, crouched in the middle of the floor and praying that they didn't catch my scent.

Their bodies banged against the walls of the shed as they passed, my hands quivering with the terror of being surrounded and what felt like my imminent end.

Somewhere between the hours that I stayed frozen in position and sunrise, the noise died down outside and in my head. I stood, stretching before cracking the door open slowly, birds chirping in the trees as if nothing happened.

I found a small notepad and pen in the pocket of my backpack, scribbling a note to leave behind just in case any of them came to take shelter.

Trying for the city. Stay safe until we find each other again. -Alena

After tucking it between the floorboards I wrestled with the bags again, starting on the walk to the city.

It was a much different day than the one before, the cool temperature making for an easier trek, the forest almost silent. I stopped at the stream we discovered during the drought first, replenishing the water I drank and rinsing my face off. Before I left I took out the notepad again, leaving the same note tucked into the crevice of the most noticeable rock by the water.

The start of leaves being shed from branches gave me more visibility, the edge of the forest breaking into a group of abandoned plots of land, formerly set for development with signs for purchase and things to come.

I fished a pair of binoculars from the bag of supplies resting on my left hip, assessing that everything, from the Dollar General to the road just within was packed with the undead, so many that they tightly moved back and forth against each other without much direction.

I couldn't catch a break, collapsing to my knees to release the weight of all that I carried and unsure of where to go next.

With a flood of defeat washing over me I reopened my map, pinpointing my location and looking for any label that could lead to somewhere safe. It was a guessing game since we hadn't made it past the city, only a couple more small sheds in the woods that we identified but that wouldn't make for a stable place to wait.

I traced lines on the map, deciding that I would try to get around the main part of the city by using the woods that surrounded the town. If I could make it there, I'd reevaluate and find a place to sleep. The main road through the city was only about twenty miles, but would be a little more without going straight through. Absent any problems, I estimated that I could make it within another day.

To decrease some of the difficulty I had to leave behind some of the supplies, four bags too many to continue carrying. Frustrated and alone, I cursed them for giving me the responsibility to get everything out, though I was sure it was a ploy to guarantee I made it with all I'd need.

I cut open and drank a can of soup before starting again, equipped with food and water that I'd stretch for as long as possible.

Nightfall was the worst, a dark veil that both protected me and pulled me into resting against the trunk of a thick tree to sleep as long as I could, a gun by my side and a machete resting in my hand like that old stuffed llama Jin slept with.

My hand automatically shot out, slicing through the air before my eyes could even open, the sound of chomping and pruney hands grabbing at my flesh waking me. I sliced the undead woman's gut, her insides spilling onto my torso before I was able to push my blade past her chin and up through her brain.

I shoved her body off of me, heaving at the smell and feel of her insides covering my shirt before using a tiny bit of water to rinse off any chunks and continuing on my way.

"Just go and don't stop until you're safe." I repeated his words to myself every few steps, a little mantra to keep me going.

When I made it to the other side of town, at the edge of the city limits, I lifted the binoculars again, peering down the road and into the city for a view almost identical to the day before. In the process of expanding, officials took down the sign close to the busiest part of the city for an upgrade, stranded on the ground with a message that now mocked me, Welcome to Red Lane.

Though there was a similar stretch of woods to the one I'd already been through ahead, I pressed on with hope that I'd find a place abandoned and clear, because after everything, something had to be out there.