Virulence Immune

~ Chapter Twenty-Seven ~

Perri found herself in a familiar forest once again.

Hearing the familiar barking of a dog once again.

However, this time the world seemed grey, through the treetops she could see dark clouds blanketing the sky. Their shadowy presence made her feel uneasy.

She began to walk, not knowing if she was heading in the right direction at first. But, the barking growing louder was a good sign.

"Chop?" She called.

And soon, Perri could hear other voices.

Two. Both male. Both calling out the same name.

"Kelsie?!"

It seemed like a lifetime ago now, but, she knew that name. It reminded her of a time before the apocalypse. A time of love and laughter. Of warmth and baking cookies with a young helper with a sweet voice, who shared the same hue of golden brown in her eyes as Perri's older brother.

The memory hit her like a blow to the gut, knocking a breath past her lips. Forcing her to take in a deep breath and shuddering as she exhaled.

She realized, at that moment, where she was and lurched into a run.

There had been a gap in the wall of the encampment, it was caused by some fool who couldn't drive a manual—like they swore they could—and had damaged the gate.

No one had even noticed the gap, it was far to small for an adult to squeeze through. But, a child...

When the shapes of two men and a dog came into Perri's view, she had to force her legs hold her up, to keep moving, otherwise she may have collapsed. Her heart seemed to grab onto the inside of her chest and press itself against her, as if it were trying to peer out of a too-high window.

"Elliot? Wade?" Saying their names aloud felt foreign.

They turned to Perri, as did the canine in front of them. There was a stillness in the woods when she beheld their long-forgotten faces. But, to her dismay, the stillness didn't last.

"Any luck?" Asked Wade. His baby-blue eyes seemed pale—not at all how she remembered—matching the grey that loomed above. His short, chestnut-brown hair was plastered to his scalp from sweat.

When Perri didn't reply, Elliot grimaced and turned his face away, letting out a disappointed sigh.

"Where could she be? She couldn't have gotten far." He said mostly to himself as he placed his hands on his head, interlocking his fingers. His short hair was also sodden with sweat, making his dark-brown hair look black—a trait he shared with Perri, but neither shared with their parents.

The dog sauntered over to Perri. He was a handsome specimen. Short, creamy-brown fur coated his entire body except for his black muzzle and one white sock on his front left paw.

When the American Pit Bull Terrier brushed her knee with his large head, Perri blinked herself back into the moment. A sigh escaped her as she smiled down at the beautiful dog. Intelligent, almond-shaped eyes gazed right back. It made her heart swell and her nose tingle as tears threatened to burst the flood gates that she refused to let flow.

She stroked the smooth fur atop the dog's head and a single word, barely more than a whisper, crept out, "Chopper."

But, the tender moment was soon interrupted.

Elliot's voice broke through the calm of the woods. The calm before the storm as it were. "You go that way. I'll check over here. And... Perri?!"

Her head snapped up as her brother spoke her name. It was the last time she'd ever hear it uttered in his confident voice.

"You take Chop and double back. Let's move!" There was desperation and urgency in his command.

"Wait!" Perri shouted. "We shouldn't split up!" She pleaded, but no sound accompanied her words. Words she should have said that day but didn't. So, they would not hear them now, either.

With that, the two men ran off, leaving her with Chopper.

She didn't want to go in the direction Elliot had said, she wanted to chase after them. But, no matter how hard she tried to will her limbs into motion, she couldn't.

Because that's not how it happened.

And so, her own body took control leaving her no choice but to watch the memory unfold. To relive what she considered to be the worst day of her life.

Perri and Chopper made to double-back as she was told, until a scream stopped her in her tracks. Chop's ears erected to the sound, his well-defined muscles went rigid and his nose twitched.

A second scream followed.

"Go Chop!" Perri shouted and he bolted off at her command. He was out of her sight within seconds.

She ran after his invisible trail all the while watching from behind her own eyes and wishing she'd had her tomahawk, not the ten-centimeter knife she was made to carry back then. For she remembers, all too well, the scenes that took place that day.

Crucial events that changed everything.