Dead Souls

Chapter Five

The 'Welcome to Evanston' sign comes into view as Meredith continues her trek north. She has been on the road for two weeks since the encounter in Utah with Jax.

Meredith snags her notebook out of her pack to jot a note; 07/29/2025- Saint George, UT to Evanston, WY- two weeks by foot

As Meredith crosses the invisible border separating two states, she eyes the sign with a railroad engine front and center. She secures her notebook back into her pack and continues her pace.

When the dead souls made their appearance, most camps were setup in the big cities. The small rural towns of the country were left forgotten, abandoned. Most towns in the rural parts of the country are ghost towns. With that said, Meredith notices Evanston has an additional eerie feel to it. Greenery is overgrown, spread across the roadways. Vehicles lay askew, covered in dirt and some in foliage.

If Meredith has learned one thing in the last three years, it is to be aware of her surroundings at all times. Although a town appears vacated, it doesn't mean the sleepers aren't present. Sleepers are what they sound like- DeSo's without a consistent meal.

Learning the hard way, Meredith nearly met her end in the first year with sleepers. She had ventured west, towards the Pacific Northwest when she came upon an abandoned small town. She had found a small shop to refill her food and water supply. From the rustling to the thankful gasps, she had awoken a desolate sleeper. If she hadn't had her hunting blade strapped to her boot, that would have been a whole lot of hell endured for an even crappier ending.

Meredith adjusts her pack and continues down the roadway, avoiding any of the greenery. On her trek through Utah, she plucked a few huckleberries and plops one into her mouth now. It has been some time since she enjoyed huckleberries. As she reaches for her hydro flask, she realizes it's near empty. Coming to a halt, Meredith decides to chance her luck in the local convenience store.

Walking up to the glass doors with a pull handle, Meredith steadies her breathing and peers through the glass. The store looks ransacked, many shelves knocked down. She studies the layout of the store, locating the drink section and the distance from the exit. After a few minutes, Meredith calls coast clear and opens the door slowly. Thankfully, it releases easily to enter. Walking stealthily towards the cold section of the store containing drink selections, Meredith scans for water. After locating water, she slowly opens the door and takes one water at a time slipping it into her pack.

After grabbing the sixth water bottle, she hears the drop of a box at the other end of the store. Meredith stills and peers around using her peripheral vision without moving. She doesn't see any large movements, but hears a soft rustling. Walking on the tip of her feet, Meredith eases herself down the isle, on high alert. She uses the round mirrors as eyes in the back of her head and she approaches where the sound came from. As she turns the corner, her heart leaps into her throat as a rat scurries out from under a box of cheese-its.

"Shit," she breathes barely above a whisper. Turning around, she walks back towards the water when she sees movement to her right. In a matter of seconds, her hatchet is drawn from her left hip and pointed at the subject of her attention. A DeSo charges her in a limp-run as she takes one swipe at its head.

She really should earn a medal for the amount of heads she chops off without an ounce of emotion. Remembering to breathe, Meredith stills to listen for anymore in the immediate area. The stench that leaves the DeSo makes her stomach turn.

It's disturbing to know that these things used to be human. Watching the black liquid leak from the severed head has Meredith turning her back on the once human and continuing her mission of gathering water.

After gathering enough water to last until the next stop, Meredith ventures out of the convenience store thankful for fresh air. On her way out, she had snagged a bag of goldfish. Opening the goldfish, Meredith stands and absorbs the sunlight. Meredith closes her eyes when her ears pick up on a sound. Her eyes shoot open and pinpoint where the voice is coming from.

"I'm telling you! I saw her go in the direction of the Quick Mart. We can easily block her in." The voice is hushed, but nonetheless, Meredith picks up on what they say.

Context or no context, this can only mean one type of people- swindlers.