On My Way

Chapter {one}

I only have a map, strawberry chapstick, a first aid kit, and $74 on me. How long has it been? How much longer to go? My tennis shoes bought from the local store are already torn up, my hair is a mess that will never be sorted out, and my face looks like it's been through a dust storm. This map is only leading me to one place, and to one place that I do not want to go.

It seams like only yesterday I was living my new life, happy to finally have a fresh start. Almost like only 24 hours ago I was starting my new job at the office or shaking hands with my new roommates. Now though, those things don't matter anymore. Fitting in at college and being the most popular girl in my dorm doesn't matter anymore. Those stupid things that sucked all of the energy out of me, just don't matter.

Now, I have much bigger problems, like making it out of Oregon and surviving. I pray that there will be someone left when I arrive in Miami, or at least something left.

    Present day apocalyptic time.
I quickly eat the rest of today's food against a tree, the bark brushes up against my arm as I get up and causes a wound. "Crap!" I whisper to myself, I can't risk getting an infected wound. As I reach out to pull out some water to clean it, I hear the click of a gun.

"Drop it!" A woman's voice whispers.

"It's only water!" I whisper back.

"Does it look like I care?" She snaps back at me.

"Ok,ok!" I whisper as I slowly put the water back into the duffle bag.

"Now back away!" She whispers as she frantically looks around for cameras. I back away slowly with my arms up, showing her I can't do anything.

"Are...you one of them?" I whisper, flickering my eyes around to make sure there are no cameras as well.

"Of-of course not." She stutters and then zones out for a few seconds. While she's zoned out, I take the chance and reach out for the gun from her hands. In a flash, I have the gun pointed toward her.

"Please." She puts her hands out in desperation. "You don't understand!" She pleads to me.

"Who are you?" I ask, completely ignoring her.

"You don't understand!" She whispers louder.

"What do I not understand!" I tense up with anger. She looks down at the ground thinking about something. Her eyes seem to glaze over as she continues to zone out again.

Why does she keep zoning out? What is going on?

"Hello?" I whisper in her direction.

"I can't anymore." Her gaze travels upwards, but not toward me.

"What are you-" I get interrupted as she begins to run into the distance.

Then, it all happens in a millisecond. She runs directly into the view of a camera on a tree behind us, the laser beam shoots out through the lens. Before I can say or do anything she is  gone, scorched, dead. What just happened? Who was she?

The worst part is, this is only the beginning.

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