More Than a Battle, Less Than a War || tøp AU

10

Josh stowed away the tent while Scarlet scavenged the rest of the hotel for anything worth the keep.

The sun barely peeks over the horizon, but there's no time to waste. We pack up our bags tightly and strap them to our spines.

Day two:

Absolutely exhausted. Josh, Scarlet and I stayed up all night. We have traveled roughly three miles so far. At this pace, we would never even come close to the halfway mark by the end of the week.

- Tyler

I follow Scarlet out of the building with Josh right beside me. She seems to know where she's going, unlike Josh and I.

"Stay alert and look alive," Scarlet firmly instructed, "I can sense a warm aura, and it's unclear what direction or how far. So try not to make too much noise with your step."

I gulp. A warm aura? Is she sure it isn't just mine and Josh's body heat combined? Either way, she could probably sense something is coming. If something attacked us out of the blue, what would I do? Stand by and let them risk their lives for me? What if -

"Tyler!" Scarlet shouted, startling me out of my wits. "Your heart rate. Take a deep breath."

Slowly, but carefully, I do as she says and inhale deeply and exhale forcefully. It made me lightheaded, but at least I'm not heavy-headed with anxious thoughts. I need to breathe more often.

As we trek the dry and barren streets of whatever city is three miles southeast of Chicago, we come across a skyscraper that lay in cookie crumbs directly in our path.

"Well, I guess we have to go around it." Josh said, easygoing.

"Can't. To go around the left side would mean going around a couple more buildings, which we don't have time for. I can sense people setting up a camp at the right side around." Scarlet evaluated.

Josh let out a big sigh at the fact that we have to climb over the rubble. My heartbeats speed up knowing that there are actually other people outside the city and outside protection boundaries. I have never come across any other people while I was on the run.

Take a deep breath, I remind myself. Take a deep breath.

The skyscraper ruins wobbled beneath our feet, making it almost impossible to take a silent step and even more impossible to maintain balance. Scarlet, however, uses her small frame and agility to her advantage and effortlessly strides across the rubble.

"C'mon, guys! Get a move on!" Scarlet hissed, hushed.

I beckoned her to come back and help out Josh and I. And she did, she grabbed our man-hands with her flawless little baby hands and managed to pull us up another step in one swoop. Before she began walking again, she suddenly crouched down to the ground, which caused Josh and I to instinctively crouch down too.

"What is it?" I cautiously asked.

"The campers to our right are less than 40 meters away." Scarlet quietly replied.

Josh set his hand on the ground and closed his eyes.

"They would be able to hear us at about 85-90 decibels. We better keep quiet." Josh said.

We walked with low heads and anxious feet, on constant watch of what surrounds us.

Each little noise I hear raises a hair on my head. I can tell that is the same situation for Scarlet and Josh too, by the way they twitch at the slightest noise of my clumsy footsteps.

I heard a blunt thumping noise coming from Scarlet.

"Ouch!" Scarlet cried. "Ow, Ow-"

Josh quickly covered her mouth with his hand, Scarlet still trying, but failing to keep her screams of pain at bay. I look around and see that her dainty little right foot got stuck in a gap in the rubble.