A Fresh Start

Chapter 21

As I waited, the air was getting thin. And the attic was getting hotter by the minute. I wiped my forehead a few times. I reached for the flashlight in my backpack and turned it on. I looked around the attic and saw that there was no other way out.

"Shit," I whispered.

I turned off the flashlight and continued listening. Some more movement was heard downstairs. I needed to get out of here. It was too hot. I slowly began to open the door. The air suddenly feeling so much fresher as I kept opening the door.

"Hold up. Left some of my shit upstairs," one man said.

I believe it was the same one that had first come into the room. I quickly closed the door again. I heard his footsteps enter the room. I waited some more. The attic was becoming hot once again. When I heard his footsteps disappear, I quickly opened the door and let myself out. I grabbed my things and hid them in a pile of clothes. I had to make sure they were gone. I wiped my forehead once more and pulled out my knife. I held it close to me. I slowly made my way out of the room. There was some distant chatter that was going on in the kitchen area. I stopped at the foot of the stairs, making sure that there was no way of seeing me.

"Len! Would you quit your shit? We ain't got time for this. The asshole that killed Tony is still walking around. We have to find him to teach him a lesson. Now, we have to get going. That's final," a man said whose voice I didn't recognize.

There was more movement. I went into a room nearby and slid myself under the bed in case one of them decided to come upstairs again. I listened closely. The door downstairs opened and after a few minutes, there was silence. I waited under the bed for a while longer just to be safe. Don't know how long it had been but I eventually came out from under the bed. I went downstairs and looked around. The door was left wide open. I looked out the windows to see if those men were anywhere to be seen. I wanted to close the door but then I thought if those men were still out there, they'd want to see why the door they had left open was suddenly closed again. Safe to just leave it open for now. I went back upstairs and grabbed my backpack. As I reached the door, two walkers had made their way into the room. I reached for my knife but one of them had knocked me down. I held its face away from me. The sound of its teeth chomping down resonating within the room. I felt the other walker reaching for my leg. I kicked as hard as I could. I shoved the walker that was on top of me to the side, getting hold of my knife and ending it with one fell swoop. I went and did the same to the other one who was by my leg. I felt around my body to check for scratches or bites. None were found. I exhaled and chuckled. I'd made it. With my backpack over my shoulder, I made my way to the door. Unfortunately as soon as I reached it, there were more walkers coming up the stairs and towards the room I was in.

"Son of a bitch!" I exclaimed.

I closed the door as fast as I could moving a dresser in front of it after. The banging on the door was louder than ever. I had to get out of here. There was a window that overlooked the backyard of the house. I went over and looked for a way to open it. I was thankful that it wasn't nailed shut. I opened it and looked down. It wasn't that far of a drop. I looked back at the door and the dresser had slowly started moving away from the door. They were getting through and it would be great if I wasn't there. So, I swung my leg over the windowsill and climbed out as best I could. Once my hands were the only things holding onto the windowsill, I let go.

"Shit!" I shouted once my body made contact with the ground.

I'd landed on my feet but I landed wrong on my left foot. Pain was suddenly coursing all throughout my ankle. I moved it around. It hurt when I moved it but I knew I couldn't stay there. I had to leave right now. This was definitely going to slow me down. But at least it wasn't something worse. I looked around before I picked myself back up and limped into the trees once more. So long as I didn't put too much weight on it, my ankle was fine. But I knew that I would have to wrap it as soon as possible. There were a few times where I had to stop for a bit to rest. Didn't last long because being out here with a messed up ankle wasn't safe. Limping through the woods tired me out much faster. I needed to wrap it somehow. But there was nowhere I could go. There was nothing but trees in front of me. No sign of anything that remotely resembled a place to rest. I just kept walking. There had to be some place. I was not losing hope. As I ventured further, I ended up losing my footing and fell.

"Damn it!" I said.

I sat there on the damp ground with my head looking down.

"This can't be how I go. There has to be something. Anything. Come on. Give me a sign that all this leads to something," I whispered.

I rubbed at my ankle and moved it around. I didn't have to see it to know that it was more than likely swollen.

"All right, Amelia. Come on.  Get off your ass. You've got to keep going. For everyone. Come on," I told myself.

I slowly got back up and moved forward, limping all the way. Wincing whenever my foot made contact with the ground.