A Place Like This

Chapter 4: New Friends

I woke up to a shimmering bright light sparkling in my eyes, and  my back against the cold, hard concrete. It only takes seconds to remember the events that took place...My hands still shook with guilt and pain. I still haven't processed what I did. I didn't want to open my eyes. If I did, I'd have to move on with life, knowing what I did killed an innocent woman. My time back on the real world has been short, not even 24 hours yet, and I already lost someone I loved. Why did she have to go? Why couldn't it have been me who died? She didn't deserve this mess, nobody did, except for me. It would hurt much less if I was gone, an not Ms.Hartley. I still didn't open my eyes. Leave me here to die, I thought. I'm alone in this shit, now. I won't survive, so why should I even try?

I heard a loud rumble beneath me, shocking me and forcing me to open up. I shoot right up, balancing myself while the rumbling continues under my feet. I panicked, and bolted outside of the gas station, dodging the  crumbling chunks of roof that shattered when they hit the ground. I slid under the wood that almost blocked the entrance completely, but luckily I was able to fit under and free myself from the building. As I'm running out, I remembered my little death wish that I thought about before I escaped. That would have been my chance, but I guessed part of my body wanted me to live. I still felt disgusting on the inside, but I was slightly stronger, knowing that there was still some sort of trigger in my mind that would save me from death.

I think coming out stronger was what I needed to get my adrenaline pumping. 

I turned around to look back at the caving in building. I stood there in silence amongst the screaming people, running around for cover. A small tear sheds, but I quickly wipe it away. Then I ran.

The ground still shook as I sprinted towards a local grocery store about a half block away. The place looked much more decent then the gas station did. I ran inside and grabbed one of those reusable plastic bags. I jogged up and down the halls, constantly checking the roof for any cracks or broken spots. I snagged a couple bags of pretzels and bottles of water. I looked through the appliances to find any knives, and luckily I found a wooden knife block holder with most of them still in there. It was  stored inside a microwave, as if someone left them there for later. Sucks for them, they're mine now.

I emptied the knifes out of the block and wrapped them in a paper bag.

I made my way across the store, snatching a couple cans of soup, towards the pharmacy. I prayed that there would be some medicine. I completely ditched that basket of pain killers in the basket at the gas station, so I needed to restock. Thankfully, there was 3 bottles of Tylenol left on the shelf, and I grabbed a bottle of Benadryl. The bag was almost full, and getting heavy. I figured I had enough to survive a couple days, maybe weeks. But all I knew is that I needed to get to Ottawa, to the government buildings, where this John Lester could be. One problem - I was in Boissevain, a small town in Manitoba, populated by about 300 people since the world went insane. 

I threw the blag bag over my shoulders and made a run for the exit.

-

I was already far from my town, walking briskly on the side of the road. There was lots of farmland, large fields with tall grass and no shelter. Most barns or farmhouses had been torn down.

I glanced at the small town in the distance behind me. It was destroyed...nothing was left of it. Now that I think about it, I still haven't gotten much answers as to why everything is still like this. I didn't see any men working hard at doing Labour jobs, and I noticed many young girls running with the crowd, earlier today and yesterday when I first arrived. So what happened after that? Did they stop? Why is everything being demolished? Were people not inportant anymore to the earth? Why are we treated so harshly? And why the actual fuck were the criminal laws lifted? Do you know how idiotic you'd have to be to do that? I could go on and on with more questions that needed to be answered, and hopefully...I'd get them soon.