Lost In Lucidity

Step by step, minute by minute

My fingers trip over themselves as they dive viciously at the glass screen. My head is still spinning, and the phone light seems far too bright even though it's fully dimmed, but I have to send the text to Val before it's too late. There's still signal in the area, which means I can reach her if she hasn't left the town yet.

im okaymeet at smae place we stoppped before if i don't make it in anhour afetr you arrive leave without me

It's a safe place to plan for since even if Val doesn't get the message, she's smart enough to know it's where I'd expect her. It was the last place we stopped. Waiting in the open would be suicide, especially with all the noise, and she has the survivors, so she has more incentive to move.

I slide my phone back into my pocket, pull off my pack, and start rummaging through it. Eventually, my hand wraps around what I'm looking for; a spare knife. It's not nearly as long or lethal, and I don't feel as confident in my capabilities with it, but my main one is left in a stranger's back, miles behind me.

I zip up my bag and start moving again at a slower pace. I'm almost certain with everything going on, especially those last few moments, I've gained enough distance to relax. Well, at least slow down. My boots step lazily one foot over the next as I follow the muddy ditch toward Carver. Eventually, my thoughts become less of a soup and more like a stew, and I can feel my functionality slowly returning. My brain still thunders like a drum, pulsing pain through me with my heartbeat, but now that adrenaline isn't also part of the equation, I feel much better. As I walk, I still make sure to take care, however. As I said, there was a lot of noise.

'Do you think they made it? Val never texted back.'

'I hope so. Maybe they were just off the grid again already.'

'If they didn't, then all of this is your fault. You know that, right?'

I keep shuffling along.

'What was all that back there?'

'Whoever those people are, they're insane.'

'How long do you think they've been out here? There's no way they've been surviving alone from the beginning, right?'

'They had guns. A lot of them.'

'Maybe they were military?'

'Whatever they were, once they ate that flower, that part of them died. Let's just hope whatever those beasts back there were, they'll finish off what's left.'

'What do you think that Mason guy meant? He said they hadn't seen one like us in a while. That we had a strong aura.'

'Like I said, they were crazy. It was probably just some insane nonsense."

The path is quiet and calm as I shuffle on. Ten minutes. Twenty.

'Val is going to be mad at us.'

'There were more people to protect this time. We made the right call.'

'That doesn't matter. She'll still be upset. Did you forget why she was hesitant to come out here?'

'Our goal was to save the survivors at all costs. We both knew that'd mean risking our lives.'

'It's one thing to do it once or twice. You jump at every chance to put yourself in harm's way.'

'Only when Val is in danger.'

'Yeah, but she hates that. 'it follows who it follows,' remember?'

'Look, maybe she hates it, but ultimately, Val's opinion on if we live or die doesn't hold much sway to me. Remember after the accident? We got back to school, and she didn't even notice we had been gone. I think Val likes to pretend that people matter to her, and maybe she convinces herself she does, but deep down, there's always more people to turn to if we bite the dust.'