I Found You

Somewhere Safe.

The dust from the empty streets made my eyes weak. Every now and then, I would squeeze my eyes shut and opened them slowly, hoping I could wake up from this nightmare already. My face was pink and puffy; I had been crying for hours. I miss my Momma, I miss my sister, I miss the normality. Even though I had not come across anybody for the past hour, it was anything but quiet. Car horns, screams, bombs, sirens, gun shots and distant moans were all I could hear. My head hurt, like I had just thrown myself into a brick wall. The cruel memories of my sister's horrifying eyes invaded my mind and wouldn't leave. Maybe she wasn't dead. I saw her die, then I saw her wake. Why did I leave her? I need to find help.

I decided to walk down the motorway, which took me another hour, where I finally approached the edge of the city. I was alarmed by the sound of crunching and lips smacking coming from the green trunk beside me. I froze. My heart pounded out of my chest as I silently crept around the corner, staring at the wing mirror. A woman wearing a mucky green dress was crouching over a pile of meat with her back towards me. She was chomping on something that stank, so I was quick to assume that she was just incredibly hungry. I took a couple steps forward, trying not to make her jump at my presence.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I said, making her head shoot forward, still not facing me.
"Please... um... my sister... there's something wrong with her. I came all this way to find some kind of help. Please help us... ma'am."
I paused and waited for a response. She wriggled her head backwards at me, and that was when I realised. She was eating a man. Her face was exactly the same as the man in the park! I fell backwards while she got closer. Scrambling to my feet, I screeched and ran as fast as my legs would carry me, out of the motorway and into the city.

~

The buildings towered over me like a bully, twisting and turning at every corner. I tried to follow the gunshots that echoed through the city; there had to be someone shooting it. A sudden noise of footsteps came rushing through, along with shouts. A group of a dozen people, some with children, came into my view. They were running, so I had to be quick.
"Help! Help! I'm here!" I screamed. They didn't look back at me except the child, who tried to get his mother's attention. Running after them, I realised that they were much faster than me and I had lost my breath already.
"Please," I whimpered, I had lost hope.

In front of me stood a grey-brown building, vandalised by spray paint and paint chipping off the walls. Above the dirty white doors wrote 'Harrison Memorial Hospital'. Finally, somewhere safe. There must be someone in here to help me.
I pushed the door however it wouldn't budge. This time I used all of my strength to throw myself into the door, but once again, it wouldn't budge. A smashed window was next to the ambulance so I wondered over there instead. I pushed my palms against the window frame where small shards of glass pressed against me, slicing my hand open. This startled me and I flipped into the hospital floor. I cringed at the pain that shot through my back. I got up slowly, admiring the abandoned walls around me.

"Hello?" I called into the shadows.
"Is anyone here?" Silence.
"Hello?" I called once more.
As nobody seemed to be there, I cautiously climbed up the stairs with blood dripping from my palm.

I wondered down the empty halls that seemed like a never ending maze. Bullet holes covered the walls and the floor. Although nobody seemed to be in here, it all felt untouched, apart from the bullet hole and blood, of course. A couple picture frames were at a sideways angle, and cupboards left open but it all felt how it should usually be. In every peak around the corner, I saw personal belongings to those who used to be here. I entered a small room. A titchy doll sat upon rustled white bed sheets and framed pictures covered the walls. I looked at one. There was a cheerful little girl being adored by her family on what seemed to be her birthday. My eyes started to glisten.

She looked like my sister.

I decided to toughen up and I carried on. Bullet holes covered the walls and the floor. So did blood. A suspicious hospital bed stood in front of a door so I pushed it, gliding further down the hall. Something must be in there, why else would someone block the door? Carefully, I fiddled with the door knob until it clicked, and pushed the door open.

A man.