Dead End [#Wattys2016]

CHAPTER 3

I had been walking down these dark tunnels for what felt like hours. I don't know how long I had been down there but I did know it was long enough to make my already throbbing legs feel ready to fall off. I was just about ready to fall down any moment and not get back up, I was even tempted to give into my desire, but every time I was just about ready to give up I thought of my brother and how he would not die for nothing, I was going to live on for him.

All the tunnels looked the same, it felt like I was just running in circles, heck maybe I was. I just couldn't tell.

A small scream escaped my cracked lips as something scurried by in the shadows. I was just about ready to run when it came into the light and I saw a small black rat. It looked at me in a curious manner and then ran off again.

'REALLY? Out of all the things out there to scream about, you screamed at a little rat?' I internally scolded myself.

As the forsaken silence engulfed me once more, I suddenly realised I had just been talking to myself. Wasn't that one of the signs of going crazy? Dammit. The gleam of something shiny caught me off guard, snapping me out of my delirious thoughts. As I cautiously edged my way closer, I began to recognise it as a ladder. A way out. A large smile lit up my face, making my cheeks hurt from the sudden use. I almost ran to the ladder; I would have if I wasn't so cautious of the darkness surrounding me. I'm not usually scared of the dark, but these days you can never be too wary of what lurks in the unseen.

Isn't it funny that zombies are usually so loud but when they ambush you, they're as silent as the wind? It never ceases to amaze me, but then again, when they ambush you it's mainly when you are the least prepared, most off your guard.

I had finally reached the end of the passage, the rust-covered bars levitating right before my face. Hesitantly, as if I was afraid it was just a hallucination, I firmly grasped the freezing material in my palm. It sent a sudden chill down my spine from the sudden cold and I relished in that feeling of the shivers because I might not get another chance to just stop and enjoy the tiny things in life. I learnt that the hard way.

I was just lying dow- No, no time to get lost in my thoughts right now, not when I'm so close to the surface.

Without another thought I heaved myself upwards with my tired limbs. I had decided with myself that as soon as I got out of there I was finding a safe place to sleep, and if I was lucky it would have food and clean water, no matter how unlikely. The thought of having cold water running down my dry throat almost had me letting out a groan of longing. It had been so long since the last time I had clean, cold water. Just that thought made me feel more determined to be able to find a stable place to spend the night, all in hopes that it would have something to drink and eat. That made me realise just how lucky I was before the apocalypse started that I took almost everything I had for granted.

A horrible scraping noise of old metal moving for what seemed like the first time sounded so loud in my ears, even though I was almost positive that it was quiet and only appeared loud because of the long duration of time I was stuck underground with silence enveloping me. The lid of the sewers pushed up slightly and a burst of sunlight streamed through, right into my eyes, blinding me temporarily. Blinking rapidly, my vision slowly adjusted to the vast change of lighting. Letting out a sigh of relief when I no longer felt the burning sensation in my eyes, I slowly and steadily clambered my way out. My head was turning right and left, trying to find any immediate signs of danger. When I found that I couldn't spot anything, I sluggishly took a small step away from the sewers, still looking everywhere I could for a change or movement. Nothing.