Unraveling The Faded

Chapter 3

     Trudging through the tall grass was something I enjoyed a little bit. It was just enough to give me some coverage, although those things haven't ventured out into these fields yet. Or as far as I am aware.

Sometimes I think I can hear them and their cries. It's worse at night. Before I found this place I had to take refuge wherever I could find it and the nights were absolutely terrifying. At times those things were constantly screeching that deafening howl that seemed to take control of every part of you. The very essence of you. They were all I heard at night, all through the night, nonstop. It's as if the sound of them comes all at once from every angle directed specifically at you. It's as if they want you to hear them. They want you to be unnerved and filled with the most horror-struck panic and anxiety within you. Because this gives them pleasure.

I barely got any kind of sleep before I found my shelter. I constantly was running for my life and if not that, I couldn't sleep in fear of those things finding me. And sometimes they did. I really cannot believe I am still alive and I have no clue as to how I have managed to live this long with those things here.

     Leaving the fields behind me as well as my comfort, I walked along a dirt path that had less plant life but still provided a few trees down the way. After yesterday's encounter I did not want to go back. Reluctantly I had forced myself out of my partially underground home because I needed to look for something to silence the squeaking of my door.

I also wanted to get inside a room that was blocked inside this one store that wasn't far from the grocery store. I wanted to check for more flashlights and anything else that would be of use.

Looking at the trees that remained, some seemed healthier or weaker than others. The one thing they all had in common however was that they were all on their way to dying.

     The patches of sunlight scattered along the path as the leaves and branches danced beside the wind. It resembled shattered pieces of glass thrown about in every which way upon the ground. I liked how the fragments of light seemed careless. The frosty morning breeze brushed against my face and gave me a small amount of joy.

After walking for some time I could see the ruins of the old buildings in the distance and I knew I would have to be more careful from now on. As I made my way my eyes captured everything around them and left no room for any missing details.

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     A gut-wrenching, animalistic scream erupted from the deepest fibers of her being as it ricocheted along the walls. It took her a moment to even register that the sound was coming from her. The tears drenched her face and she whipped around in a frenzy trying to establish where exactly she was and why her mind was a puddle of mush. Unable to remember anything of importance. Her screams continued and continued until her throat was sore from the endless beating it endured. Her dry coughs took over as she tried to catch a breath but her efforts were becoming futile. She hunched over, heaving and hyperventilating as her hands pressed into the gravel of the ground picking up small pieces to be embedded in her skin.

The time of her breakdown was abruptly cut short when a vigorously forceful wind entered the room in such a way it commanded to be acknowledged.

The girl was thrown backwards with the air snatched from her. An audible gasp ran from her before she hit the wall and fell to the floor. Her attempt to raise herself halfway only succeeded on the second try.

Oh but she wished she hadn't. How she wished she would have just stayed with her body close to the ground. She wished more than anything her eyes had remained closed. Regret for her panic-ridden screams doubled over with terror as she looked ahead.