ᴍᴇʟᴏᴅɪᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴀʟ

Chapter 21: Dead Girls Walking

The absence of sleep weighed on your eyelids, yanking them down now and again. The guilt and gratitude of living another day welled in your stomach. The morning sun peaked through the trees, creating intricate patterns of shadow on the forest floor. Birds chirped harmoniously, their lilting songs merged into a symphonic rhythm with the rustle of leaves. Dew splashed up your shoes, small droplets forming then cascading down, returning to the grass. These trees weren't like the ones back home: you couldn't distinguish them. Instead, their unfamiliarity stood tall, each one a landmark to guide you home. 

By now, you and Minnie had been travelling for upwards of an hour, having left at the crack of dawn. Minnie said the walk would be long and assured you the school wasn't too far after you passed a nearby bridge. "How do you know the way from this far out? I thought Marlon didn't let anyone out past the Safe Zone."

"We were allowed this far out back when Ms Martin was in charge." Informed Minnie, "Marlon only tightened up the Safe Zone because the school got overrun."

"Oh, right." You nodded.

Emerging from the forest, the aforementioned bridge stood grand in front of you. It had a triangular wooden roof with a large, broken light aimlessly dangling from the rafters. The wood was decaying, climbing ivy cascading and engulfing the sides. Cars were inconveniently littered, rust cloaking them, their once vibrant paint deteriorating. 

A pair of walkers approached you from the left, their lifeless groans echoing through the atmosphere, arms dangling in desperation. You were quick to plunge your knife into their skulls, killing them for good, catching up with Minnie immediately after. 

The floor of the bridge was encased in moss, varying weeds scattered between the crevasses. A gaping hole prevented an easy crossing, the wood splintering where it had broken, lost to the river below. "Oh shit." Breathed Minnie, "That's new." 

Approaching the gap, you observed, "We can jump it," the hole was the width of four planks, "it's not too big."

"We don't have any other choice." Agreed Minnie. "You first." She quickly allocated.

You scowled. "Why me?" Huffing, you shook your head, "Never mind." Stepping back a few paces, you took a deep breath before sprinting toward the gap, propelling yourself at the last second. Your heart skipped a beat as your fate was in nature's hands, thankfully you landed on the wood, the damp moss sliding you to safety. "Your turn." You called to Minnie who was already several paces back. She ran up, swiftly leaping into the air and landing beside you. "That wasn't too bad, was it?" You said conversationally. 

"Let's keep going." Minnie trudged past you, ignoring your attempt to communicate. Turning right, she latched onto a fence and began to climb, "This way's a shortcut." She told you, hoisting herself to the other side. You followed suit, latching onto the entwined metal diamonds like a pterodactyl, scaling the fence to land firmly on the grass below. The journey from there didn't take long.

The sun grew higher, casting its spotlight upon the Earth, illuminating your path. Grey clouds shrouded its usual glory, nature's warning of unwanted weather. A chill settled upon your skin: a survivor's intuition. The clouds disfigured the sun as quickly as they appeared, their gloom shadowing the land. Droplets began to drip from the sky, slowly at first, one by one. It then transformed into an unrelenting shower, morphing the dirt into a slimy sludge, sticking to your shoes with an unsavoury squelch, coating them with their muck.