𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 || 𝐴 𝑄𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒

𝐨𝐧𝐞

BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD, noise was the normal. Whether is was horns honking during five-o'clock traffic, or the jumble of conversations from people walking in the sidewalks of downtown. Noise was expected no matter what.

Nowadays, noise meant death. A loud enough creak in the floorboards or a glass getting knocked out of the cabinet, it could be over just like that.

Thats what was drilled into Lottie's mind anyway. During the first days of the apocalypse, the young girl had gotten rid of every threat of noise in her house. She had  carefully removed every glass item from her kitchen and brought it into her neighbors yard, thinking that it wouldnt be a bother considering her neighbors never made it home the evening it started.

Lottie had marked each creaky floorboard with her mother's old nail polish, the plum shade in little 'x's decorated over the house.

At the moment, the small girl was sat on the couch with a cup of water in her hand, reading a new novel she had found in town. The girl hadnt had many issues with the way of the world now, but she feared the day a tragedy would happen.

But that day hadn't happened yet, so she read peacefully on the faded blue couch in the living room. Lottie rolled her eyes when the sun had shined her eyes from the large opening in her wall, the one the monster had made before it took her father from her forever.

Lottie had come to terms with the fact she was an orphan, considering her mother had never come home. Of course, she had stopped crying about it, mostly because she was not a quiet cryer, and shoving her hands over her mouth to muffle her sobs made it hard to breathe.

She gently changed her position to hide the sun behind the wall once more, flipping the page in her book. She sighed silently when the dreaded words 'The End' appeared in the next page.

She set the book on the table and took the bookmark out of the book so she wouldn't forget later. Finishing the water in her cup, she bit the inside of her cheek while she thought about the following day. She needed to go to town once more.

Lottie had hated going on runs, because that meant leaving the silent safety of her home and risking unknown causes of noise.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the couch, shrinking down into a small ball. It was too late in the day to go to town anyways, so she got comfortable on the couch, deciding to go to bed so she could be up at sunrise.

—————

With a dreamless sleep, Lottie awoke, the reflection of the newly rising sun reflecting on the laminated bookmark on the table. Lottie yawned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. The girl stood up, her legs in an awkward position as she avoided the nail polish stained floorboards.

She grabbed her empty tote bag from the coat hanger and stared at the door, a silent prayer before she opened it, the fresh air meeting her senses. She walked through the neighborhood with only her socks on. Shoes were too loud, and being barefoot was not the smartest idea in her opinion, so socks was the best solution.

The followed the path she had made, clearing it of crunchy leaves and loose items like sharp gravel or half burnt cigarettes that once laid in the road.

As she walked, she replayed the list in her head, making sure she wouldn't forget the needed items. Lottie had realized that if you forget about the monsters that lurked the earth, that the peace was something to enjoy. The way the remaining people that walk are too focused on surviving that no one bothers one another.

Lottie smiled as she saw birds flying in the clear skies, no care in the world. She looked back at the ground, following the path carefully into the shopping center.

Once Lottie made it into the row of shops, she went over the mental note of the ones she had looked through already, having to travel further each time.

Lottie was a sympathetic girl, so when she would scavenge, she wouldn't clear the place completely in case someone else was in need. Making it to the new store, she had gotten memories, memories she shook away. Memories made her upset, and she was an easy crier.

Looking through the shelves, putting things such as bandages and canned food into her bag. She carefully stood on her tippy-toes to see the shelves she couldn't see normally.

She had been able to find a good amount of things surprisingly, and she stopped when the bag started to fill, the slightest bit heavy. As she exited the store, she could have sworn she saw movement in another store. Deciding it would be best to not think about it much, she walked—a little faster than normal—back to her house.

Making her way through the forest, she fiddled with the strap of her bag. And for a moment, Lottie thought she had finally gone crazy when she heard music and whirring.

When she came to her senses, she listened for the noise of the creature, making sure it wasn't coming from her side of the forest. When she realized it was, she started running, she hadn't realized she was running at an angle until she walked onto a large pathway.

Lottie turned to look to her left just in time to see a small boy get attacked by the monster.