An Unlikely Ally

Chapter 2 - Close call

John's watch vibrated furiously, abruptly waking him from his slumber. He stretched his back, feeling the satisfying pop as he sat up and sighed. "I need a real bed," he whispered to himself, rubbing the soreness away. He tore open a muesli bar and began his morning routine, utilizing wet wipes for a 'dry shower,' and finally brushed his teeth, the bad taste lingering from neglect over the past two weeks. He donned a branded fishing shirt and shorts before slipping his bag on.

"I look like an utter moron, but not like there's anyone to judge," he chuckled, half-serious, half-joking, before stepping outside into the orange-lit streets, the sun slowly rising on the desolate town. Consultations with his notebook pointed him in the direction of a possible residential area where he might find a mattress, but he hesitated, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease about heading there just yet.

With a shiver, he decided to avoid kindergartens or schools—those places held the potential for a haunting sight he didn't want to confront. "Focus, focus, no time to think about that stuff," he admonished himself, pushing the unsettling thoughts aside. He started walking aimlessly down the street, peering into shop fronts, making sure nothing had changed since yesterday. While dodging a few bodies strewn across the pathway, he passed by the fuel station and continued, staying ever-alert for any signs of danger.

As he reached the outskirts of town, the woodlands grew denser, and he spotted no interesting stores or buildings. John decided to take a moment and sat down on the curb, retrieving a small water bottle from his bag. He drank while taking in his surroundings—the lack of cars and people made the serene sight even more apparent. The breeze rustled through the fields of grass and mixed woodland, and he even heard the distant calls of birds. Under different circumstances, John would have loved living here, exploring forest trails and encountering exotic wildlife up close. He reminisced about how he always wanted to see a deer up close, something almost impossible in his previous life back in Columbus, where he was too occupied with high school and then a full-time job.

It had been a rather abrupt end to his future, an extreme diversion for him and the rest of the town's occupants, one that is still surreal to think about. It is like at any moment a car could come from another town, or a plane fly overhead if he ignored the carnage behind him; he would simply believe it to be another day, just quiet.

Sighing and slowly clearing his head with the sight before him, one thing it did was make him appreciate how the silence could be soothing alongside this countryside. He bet many saught this level of silence their entire life, through vacations and holidays, that sadly all would have to come to an end and return to the working life.

"Sometimes you just need the world around you to stop for a moment, to take in everything and see the world for its beauty." He smiled and shook his head. "Maybe I just needed to open my eyes and stop myself." Though John knew this 'vacation' would be permanent for him, the world really did stop around him.

However, a sudden crack of a stick sent shivers up John's spine. "Fuck, do not talk, John, not outside," he whispered to himself, his heart racing as the realization of his exposure hit him. He imagined one of those monsters breaking through the treeline, on a collision course with him.

With panic overtaking him, John hastily stood up and began walking back to town briskly, trying to suppress the overwhelming fear. The sound of snapping sticks and crunching leaves seemed to echo all around him, and he fought the urge to break into a sprint, knowing it could mean certain death.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling shriek pierced the air behind him—a harrowing and alien sound. Something was very close, just behind the treeline, maybe only a few hundred meters away. Not far enough.