Ella & Vlad at the end

# 1 - Ella

By R.A.Lancaster 2019

Eluding pursuers Ella, in great brown wolfen form, races hard through a vacated industrial area. Ahead a wide, water filled ditch divides a diminished city from stagnated farm fields. Crossing that would force any one chasing to hold, turn back or give up.

Accelerating the last dozen strides to the ditch she gains great momentum.

Leaping high vaults her self, forepaws stretching out for ground. Across the ditch, her large paws briefly touch soil, gracefully continuing.

Running across the field incoming breezes carry to her the scent of men, diseased men.

Glancing far left and right for cover spots a depression in the landscape. Veering right anticipates adequate height to hide her hide.

A bullet whizzes past her head and a few more pass close by, before the actual shots can be heard ringing out, Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! The gunman is so far away Ella is barely recognizable to him. Realizing how close those bullets were to her rear she amplifies speed.

Into a natural drainage rut between fields she enters a vegetative veil. Concealed Ella keeps on her pads dodging various obstacles, perpetually studying the path ahead. Damn that was close. Hate to get taken out by the diseased. Used to be regular folk just kill us. Now these starving fools are willing to eat us. Just a big ol'wolf to them I'm sure.

Reaching an overgrown intersection she listens and smells the air. Easily heard, several men are making their way towards the ditch used.

Able to exploit the connecting ditch for cover she continues on at a slower pace. They'll be too slow to catch up. Keep those sick bastards to my back. Hopefully won't see them again today.

Further distancing the men and thirsty she takes in a whiff of the ditch water. Pausing for a better scent she only detects petroleum as a deterrent. Having drunken worse over the centuries Ella stops to lap some up.

To her the last twenty years are proving to be the most risky for traveling in the daytime. Disparaged by her ventures Vladimir prefers she stay close to the farm. Today's venture may have merit as Ella located a curious scent on the north side of the city. She picked up the scent last month and has spent the last few weeks tracking it. She's certain in that city there are four normal, healthy, human beings.

Continuing on Ella can't wait to let Vladimir know despite being apprehensive to his reply. Stubborn and solemn in his ways, its' his complacency, that's most frustrating to her. Their extended lives endangered due to contaminated blood. They'd been wandering mid North America searching for any large animals uncontaminated by the virus.

A simple flu virus went super when combined with a trial vaccine. Half of the world's population dies from the super-virus by the third year. After a few more years there's not enough manpower for societies and systems to function.

Carried within bugs, birds and vermin the disease further spread. Animals once abundant upon the world are now rarely seen. Discerning to Ella not a single Blue-jay or Cardinal seen in several seasons.

This year the surviving world's human population is under a million. In North America the remaining mixed races make up just over a hundred thousand people scattered from Mexico to Artic-Circle.

Halting before a highway Ella remains hidden evaluating the area. Many times in the last dozen years she's come close to getting shot in similar surroundings. Starving people conserving energy wait along open stretches to shoot at easier targets.