Ash shielded her eyes as she stepped outside, the bright summer sun piercing through the leaves that had gathered above the doorway as vines had overgrown rapidly. Closing the door as softly as possibly, she locked the door and made her way down the driveway, opening the gate and quietly pattering along the sidewalks.
She slowed down once at the end of the street, feeling a single drop of sweat drip down her face. Quickly glancing side to side to make sure there weren't any Walkers, she dashed across the road towards the mini mart next to the gas station she had gone to for years. The city was dead silent, no sounds except the moans of the dead that surrounded her, but were far away. Some. She heard ragged breathing behind her and slowly turned to see a Walker standing 6 feet away, staring at her hungrily. It's dark eyes held no life as it continued staring at her, slowly shuffling forward towards the fresh meat. It's once dark skin was now bleached grey and it's hair held no volume as it sunk to a white color after wandering months in the sunlight. Her hand rested on the handle of her knife that remained on her belt. The Walker took one more step then reached it's arms out and lunged at her, groaning angrily. She quickly stepped aside to let it pass her by inches, then with a hiss, pulled the knife out of its holster and swiftly plunged it into the back of the rotting head. With one last growl, the Walker struggled for a moment then went limp. She pulled the blade out with satisfaction as maroon almost black blood poured out of the fractured skull. Letting the body fall, she wiped the blade on the grass and held it tight as she continued. When finally entering the parking lot, she paced up to the door and opened it, flinching as the mechanical bell ringed, then quickly closing the door.
The sun's rays were the only light in the store, as all the bulbs had blown out months ago and were never replaced. She briskly walked to the back where chips and some protein bars remained. She stopped for a moment as she watched a raccoon hastily ripping open a Doritos bag to get the contents inside. It hissed at her, then scurried away as it escaped her. She picked out 6 bags of chips and 13 protein bars, also grabbing a 12 pack of water bottles, then went behind the counter to grab a bag.
Shoving her groceries inside, she left, but paused as she saw something on the outside window. Someone had spray painted the words,
"BY THE IRON BRIDGE IS HELP". She sat confused for a moment, wondering how she hadn't seen it when she walked in. Someone must have recently painted it while she was in the store. But then how didn't she notice them? Shrugging, she threw the bag over her shoulder and jogged back to her house.
When getting inside, she plopped the contents down on the table, leaving them there as she sat down, thinking. The Iron Bridge was a water pipe system that stretched over the creek she and her friends had called when they were little kids. That meant it was sheer coincidence this person called it the same thing or it was someone she knew. She got up and left again, this time walking down the street and down the public trail that led to the Iron Bridge.
