Wither With Me

CHAPTER 59 - THE PATH AHEAD

Claire's fingers rummaged around the weeds, revealing a plump, brownish mushroom.

'Edible.'

She pulled out a pocket knife and carefully cut the base of the stem. She added the mushroom to the bag hanging from her left arm, making sure she didn't crush the rest of its contents, mostly wild berries and some culinary herbs.

Stopping for a moment, she closed her eyes, and listened. Birds chirping from the heights, tree tops fluttering in the wind, some kind of small animal stirring sticks and fallen leaves in the distance...

It had rained the previous night. With each breath, her nostrils filled up with the fresh, moist aroma of wet dirt. It was chilly, but nothing too unbearable.

Everything looked normal, mundane, as if nothing had ever happened. It was almost difficult to believe. How much time had passed? Two years? That new reality was so focused on day-to-day survival that counting time had lost most of its relevance.

After the rescue operation, authorities finally shed some light on the true magnitude of the issue. Humanity was no longer the dominant species on the planet; the "stingers", as they called them, had stolen that spot.

The military focused all their efforts on stopping the expansion of those monsters, but it was a war they couldn't win. Sunlight is, after all, an inexhaustible resource. They couldn't hope to compete against something like that.

Claire continued making her way through the thicket, with her eyes on the ground. After some more foraging, she raised her gaze to the sky and analyzed the sun's position.

'I should be getting back.'

...

She glanced at the meadows and the houses decorating the landscape here and there, on both sides of the road. It was a rural area, far away from big centers of population. In such isolated communities, survivors of the pandemic had gone back to the old ways. The military provided them with supplies from time to time, but a large portion of their sustenance came from nature itself. Agriculture, cattle, hunting...

A peaceful life, for those able to forget the horrors of the past, and ignore the danger lurking past the horizon.

Claire exchanged greetings with the few people she crossed paths with, but she wasn't in the mood for talking. She remained caught up in her thoughts the entire walk back.

At the town center, she turned a corner and spotted a big building of rustic appearance, in front of a square. It used to be the town hall, and after lots of remodeling and rebuilding to repair the damage caused by abandonment, it had returned to its functions as a community center.

Claire's eyes opened wide as soon as she saw something dark and big on the road, directly in front of the building's entrance. A military truck. Their last supply visit had been recent, it should've been weeks until they were back.

'Maybe...!?'

She crossed the road with long strides and ran all the way to the entrance. A group of soldiers discussed something in front of the door. One of them saw her coming, and stared at her with a confused look on his face.

Out of breath, she tried to say something, but no words came out. Among the soldiers, she saw a familiar face, who stared at her as well.

"A-Ah....! Stella!"

"Claire! Where are you going in such a hurry!?" said Stella, patting Claire's back. "Come on, breathe."

Stella had turned out to be a blessing for the community. The way she had taken leadership and established roles among the survivors was admirable. At least she had gotten something positive out of her experiences during the incident.