Exploring the Wasteland.

Day 5

I ripped off my belt and wrapped it around her leg to try and stem the bleeding. I could hear screaming and it wasn't till I looked down that I realised it was Maddie. "Where are they?" I cursed to myself. Someone must've heard us by now. All the noise made me nervous, then I heard glass crunching under boots and I felt my body run cold. Since the end had begun the remaining people left alive had turned on each other. Stealing and murdering each other just to survive... And sometimes just for fun. The steps grew closer and I begged Maddie to be quiet but she was hysterically sobbing and thrashing on the floor. The virus was already in her bloodstream, filling her with fear and a creeping hunger that threatened to steal her humanity away.

"Do I wanna come in there?" An unfamiliar voice came from outside.

"Help me!!" Maddie screamed.

"Ssssshhhhh" I tried to cover her mouth with my hand.

"We're fine! Thank you for your concern" My voice cracked.

"You don't sound all that fine to me" He had an accent I wasn't familiar with. "Look I'm coming in okay?" the unknown man crouched down to crawl through the gap. "Now your friend there is my biggest concern when was she bitten?" He was succinct and matter of fact, like to him this wasn't a horror show to him. As he moved away from the door I began to see him more clearly. Broad shoulders, athletic frame but strong. He had a rifle slung across his back and a machete hanging from his belt.

"It happened so fast, I thought I was so careful" I choked on my words. "You know what happens next?" He looked at me and even in the half-light his eyes were as blue as the sky and made my stomach tighten. "No, I've never seen it happen" I swallowed.

"Well you're lucky" He winced at the memory. His eyes were haunted and for a moment his face was stricken with pain, then it was gone again. He stood up, pulling his rifle into his grip. "I'm really sorry" He aimed calmly at Maddie's head, she was still screaming and writhing on the ground, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"No wait!" I cried but it was too late, he had already pulled the trigger. The bullet discharged, and I felt the air shift, my ears ringing. I flew at him and tackled him, punching him repeatedly. I was on top of him straddling his body, I could feel nothing but pure rage and loss. I couldn't stop hitting him. I felt my fists connect with his face again and again and felt the wet flesh under my knuckles as I broke his nose. I felt my weight shift and the world tipped sideways. Suddenly I was flat on my back, the unknown stranger was on top of me his hands pinning down my shoulders. "Stop!" He shook me, raising my body off the ground causing my head to slam against the concrete floor. "Stop now" His voice was calm and firm. Why did it make me feel safe? "Who are you?!" I sobbed tears streaming down my face.

"My name is Colby" He got up and held out his hand to help me up, I grasped it and stood up slowly. I could feel his hands were rough and strong, whatever he did before this, I knew it didn't involve sitting behind a desk. I could see Maddie's lifeless body out of the corner of my eye and it made my stomach lurch. My legs felt like they were going to collapse beneath me, I felt sick, I had to get out of here. I scrambled out of the gap and fell against the opposite wall of the alley, I retched and threw up. Colby appeared moments later with both the backpacks. "I'm sorry about your friend but if I'd have waited we'd both be dead too" He looked at me soberly. "I hardly knew her, she was my best friend's girlfriend you know?" Just as the words left my mouth Brennen and Jake appeared in the alley with us. Jake was staring at me and it wasn't till I looked down I saw my chest and shirt were covered in blood and other things I didn't want to think about. "Where the fuck is Maddie, and who the fuck is this guy?!?"