What Is Left

The Masked Figure

Junipers constant screaming gave Olivia anxiety. Someone set this up. Someone could hear her.
"Shut up!" Olivia finally yells, too loudly and harshly.
Juniper stops screaming and goes to crying, "help."
Olivia didn't know what to do. She never seen anything like this. Had the beasts created this as a trap? Are they that smart? It never occured to her that they could...think...plan. What else could they do? Spiked pits? Tripwire?
The thought of them running around with weapons scared her. Swords? Bow and arrows? ...Guns.
It was hard to find guns these days. The government, years before this all happened, took away the right to have guns. They needed to control the people. This is why Olivia had never seen someone like Juniper. They had been separated by neighborhood for her whole life. She knew 2 other children and 5 other adults. If they went outside of the neighborhood fences they would be shot or attacked by the monsters outside.
When the soldiers that guarded the fences never came back, everything fell appart.
Nothing could stop the beasts from entering.
So the fences fell and everyone Olivia knew ran off to fend for themselves...or died infront of her. Ripped to pieces and eaten alive.
This was when it was hard to tell what was a monster. They hadn't sharp teeth yet, they had on clothes, looked human except for their wild hair and eyes, the dirt all over their body, the groaning and odd noises they made.
Olivia blinked, pulling herself back into reality, then searched for a rope that connected to the ground.
Juniper was only a few feet off the ground, so when Olivia finally found the rope, Juniper did not fall too far.
Juniper sniffs and holds her head, "Thank you."
Olivia nods, grimly, "We need to keep moving before something finds us."
"olly?" Juniper was looking over Olivias shoulder, but she didnt notice, she was annoyed at what Juniper had just called her.
"Its Olivia. Not olly." she hated that nickname, even worse than olive.
Then Olivia follows Junipers gaze over her shoulder to see a dark figure walking their way.
It was giant, dragging a long sword on the ground and holding a small animal in their other hand. It wore a raggid suit with a torn tie, which was odd for a beast. Most of them ran naked, ditching clothes to run faster or they had ripped off through the years. As it got closer, Olivia realized it was wearing a gas mask, which was also odd, but with its giant figure and dead animal in hand...and worse..the sword..it was dangerous.
She took Junipers hand and pulled her up, "lets go!"
Juniper falls back down, "my ankle!"
Olivia picked her up, not too heavy but still extra weight, and ran.
She looked over her shoulder and the masked figure was running after them, making a noise that was muffled by the mask.
She suddenly was angry she didnt have that mask. It could help with breathing in ash. But now was not the time to think on that.
Juniper clung to Olivias neck, crying still, "hes catching up."
Curse those long legs, Olivia thought. He was bigger so he shouldnt be that fast, but he didnt have a backpack and girl in his arms. It would only be a matter of time before he caught up.
She could of ran for a bit longer, but then she found herself falling into a pit.

She landed on something that was not dirt, something that cried out with pain. Juniper.
Olivia quickly scoots off of her and stands, the pit was not that deep, just high enough for her to reach, it was meant for small animals, had been covered in leaves and sticks. she quickly jumps and grabs the top, pulling herself up. She turns and reaches for Juniper, then heard the rough breathing behind her. She turns to see the masked figure, sword in hand, reach down for her and grabbing her arm.