The Vulgus Chronicles

Vulgus Chronicles - Chapter 9

9

Hannah Brown is goin' to town.

Hannah Brown is goin' to town.

The words repeated in her head keeping time with each stride. She walked briskly along the two miles of wooded road between the boy's academy and town. Even in the daytime it was dangerous. Marauders were known to hide out and pounce on travelers, especially lone ones.

Finding this town in the middle of the Black Hills South Dakota with an old style paper map had been difficult. It had taken her weeks. Finding the boy at the academy was easy and only took two days. She spent a couple weeks developing trust, which included doing the one thing they couldn't—go into town.

She pulled the strings on her hood to tighten it a bit more, partly against the chill of the early morning, and partly to conceal her gender. The men's jacket and backpack full of rabbit furs helped add bulk to her otherwise bony figure. As tall as most men, she hoped to fool and deter would be predators. She chose to travel in the morning as attackers preyed at dusk and later, but one could ever be certain.

Hannah Brown is goin' to town.

Hannah Brown is goin' to town.

She kept watch, eyes darting side to side, along with frequent glances behind.

Hannah Brown is goin' to town.

Hannah Brown is goin' to town.

She rather liked her alias.

She came within eyesight of the outskirts of town. Tumble down cottages and trailers, broken by numerous vandals, lined the road. Each had front yards overgrown with tall grass and blackberry bushes gone wild. Most driveways had dirt covered cars and trucks, windows broken, all out of gas and unusable for the past year. The only running vehicles were military, none of which, she was thankful, were present.

Hannah came onto Main Street through town. It was desolate. All vehicles had been pushed off to alleys and other streets so as to not impede government vehicles. Civilians were walkers, not by choice, but by necessity.

Only a few of the shops in the small town looked like they were in business. Anything frivolous like nail salons or tuxedo shops had their windows broken out and their contents long since scavenged. Any wood used to board them up had also been taken.

"Hey!" a voice came from behind, startling her.

She turned and immediately tensed.

A grubby bald man with grey in his whiskers came out from an alley.

She moved quickly from the sidewalk to the middle of the street, looking around her for anyone else who might approach from another direction.

"I ain't seen you here before," he said.

She kept walking, glancing over her shoulder while scanning for an ambush.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you! What you got in that pack?"

She said nothing, but picked up her pace.

"Wait a minute. I'm just looking for directions. Can you help me?"

She wasn't falling for the ploy. Fifty yards ahead was a business with intact windows. There might be someone there.

"I'm talkin' to you!"

She could hear his clomping feet quicken to a trot. She looked over her shoulder to see him coming closer. She broke into a run heading for the business. She reached the solid wooden door and tried the handle. It was locked. It was too early to be open.