"He had several others before me. He kept talking about how the Shift was the only one strong enough to kill 'Their Leader'. He talked as though they were somehow organized. These creatures are mindless and savage, but he doesn't understand that."
I shake my head.
"No, he's right."
I say, pulling the note from my back pocket. I hand it to her.
She reads it and her eyes widen.
"How long do you think it will take for this to happen to me?"
She asks.
"I don't know. He's not vary specific."
She shakes her head.
"So he's real?"
I ask.
"Who?"
"The Shift? He's real?"
I ask.
"Of course he's real. And it's not just him, he's got a team and according to Keepers, when they're together, they're unstoppable."
I look at Amy, who has since fallen asleep.
"Do you know where they are?" I ask.
"No. No one does. Last I heard they were MIA."
Of course they are. This...Keepers guy does all kinds of experiments on them, it would make sense to hide them too.
"Do you know what the goal of the experiments was? Maybe that will give you some clue as to how to fight them off."
"No. I don't. Just a bunch of blood tests and seeing how my body and mind reacted to different types of trauma. He drugged me up a few times with different things to test their effects on me."
I look at her through the dim lighting.
"I'm sorry." I say.
"I'm not. I'm gonna kill him the first chance I get."
She says with an arrogant smile.
"Well, at first light, I'm getting Amy out of here."
She looks at the little sleeping girl.
"She's pretty."
She says.
I nod.
"When I found her, she was alone and afraid. She was hiding inside a vehicle, with dirt and blood covering her face.
She was dehydrated and she hadn't eaten in days."
I've stopped talking with my head, my heart has since taken over my lips.
"I always wanted a little girl. Or a little boy, I honestly wouldn't care which one I had I just wanted a kid."
Now that I've got one I wish I could give her the home she deserves. But that's no longer an option."
Elizabeth stares at me thoughtfully.
"You haven't found any of the settlements?"
She asks.
"I stay clear of them. I've learned that they can be really savage."
She nods.
"I know what you mean."
I turn back to Amy.
The gunshots and screams have since stopped.
"Listen."
"I don't hear anything."
She smiles.
"Exactly."
"Stay here Amy. I will be right back."
I say. She nods, shaking slightly in fear.
I sling my rifle, and place a pistol reluctantly back in Elizabeth's hands.
With my rifle aimed up, I climb the ladder back to the surface.
The manhole cover weighs at least 100 pounds.
It takes a lot to push it aside, but I do.
It rains outside.
Thunder rolls, and the streets are littered with rubble. The sky lights up red in the flames. Smoke hovers over the ground.
Elizabeth and I wander the street, searching for danger.
Something catches me off guard.
Music.
"And Now, The End Is Near..."
Elizabeth and I trade unsettled glances as the song plays from all around.
"And So I Face, The Final Curtain"
I see Amy's head poke out from the hole in the street.
I take her hand and help her up.
She looks around at all the destruction.
Elizabeth takes a deep breath.
"You think that base has some supplies?"
She asks.
I nod, not looking to her.
"Yeah."
Amy grabs my hand.
"We're going towards the base that shot at us?"
She asks.
"We need those supplies Amy."
"What about the bodies?"
She asks.
She's right. There's bound to be bloodshed scattered amongst the battleground.
No child should have to see that, but this world is unfair.
The music plays all around us, echoing through the destroyed city as we walk through the carnage.
"I did it"
The three of us begin to hike towards the settlement.
The air is filled with dust and ash.
"My way."
