Surviving The Haze ☑️

Chapter Four

I woke up the next morning; the tears were dried on my face. I sniffed loudly, trying to unclog my nose. I glanced down at the book in my tight grasp. Tear marks covered the paper. I slowly sat up, rubbing my crusty eyes.

I stretched and looked over at my sister. Lucy was already awake, changed, and was slowly combing her hair. She noticed me, but she didn't say anything.

I sighed as I stood up and pulled my backpack out from underneath the bed. I grabbed a pair of blue jean shorts and a camo tank top out of the bag. I quickly slipped them on. I grabbed a ponytail holder out and tied my dark brown hair up in a messy bun.

I picked up my machine gun and started to load it. I shoved the ammo down the back of my pants once I finished loading it. I grabbed my black pistol and put it in my pocket with the safety on. I slung the machine gun over my shoulder and turned to Lucy.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked.

Lucy flicked her glare to me. "Yes."

I nodded and motioned her to pick up the bags. She did as I said and followed me out the door.

We hiked back to the highway, and I held out my hand to Lucy. She passed the map and red Sharpie to me. I unfolded it and uncapped the Sharpie as I scanned the area around Socorro. El Paso was the next town, so I marked out Socorro and drew a line from Socorro to El Paso on the line that stood for the highway on the map.

I handed the items back to my sister and started towards the next town.

***
We reached the next town five hours later. The sun was setting behind us as we walked up to a motel in the middle of the city. We climbed to the highest floor and camped out in a two-bedroom suite. I let Lucy have her own, knowing she needed space.

I slid all of my stuff under the bed in my room and went to put the food in the kitchen. Lucy was already in there, waiting for me.

"What is it?" I asked, grabbing the gun that was slung on my waist.

She shook her head. "You won't need that. I just want to go walk around the town."

"Okay. Let's go," I agreed, walking out the door. I knew she'd follow me.

We walked around the town in silence. I wanted to talk to her; I wanted to explain myself. She hated me right now, and I didn't want that. The only way I could protect her is if she trusted me.

We saw many things in the hollowed-out town. I stopped at a playground, staring at the remains. All of the equipment once used to being joy to children was twisted and bent. I also saw a petite house next to a school. The house's roof was caved in; the walls were torn down, leaving only broken furniture and wood. The school had a car sticking out of the side of the building, and the windows were shattered. Lockers from the building were laying nearly twenty feet from the actual school.

The sites were awful and full of misery. Sometime during our venture, Lucy grabbed my hand and squeezed. I knew she was feeling remorse for the town as well.

The worst part were the bodies. They littered the ground like trash. There were more children lying in the mud as sewage than adults. Lucy choked on a sob behind me as we came upon an infant, barely a month old, wrapped in a bloody blanket; its head was in an odd angle as it laid in the sewer water.

It was completely dark outsides when we reached the end of the town. I started to turn around when Lucy stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I know you're doing what you can to protect us, to keep us alive. I just wish you didn't kill people when you did," she whispered softly.