Saviour

Chapter 5

Slow Going

          A third of the distance was behind me and getting here was a little hazy. I limped heavily on my way. My walking was so slow now, hardly even a shamble as a drifted down the lifeless interstate. Food wasn't a problem, but for some reason I was always hungry. I put it down to the constant walking and low-calorie diet I was on. I was lost; not in direction, no, it felt like I was spiritually lost! Like my soul was drifting. I meandered my way past so many abandoned vehicles drifting between them as I went.

          For the moment I was numb, my thoughts had stopped invading my mind but, in the back, somewhere was still that nagging need to be home. I struggled more with each passing step and I had to stop. My leg was burning so I rolled up my pants to see what was going on. What I saw horrified me. All up my shin was bruised, and it was so tender to the touch. I explored the bruising some more with my finger, feeling the shin bone underneath as my fingers got midway the pain became so intense, then nothing.

          I was aware, or at least I thought I was. It appeared I was asleep, maybe the pain had knocked me out. On the fringe of my conscience I could hear people talking. They were men, 4 separate voices. I had a sense of relief fill me for a moment, but then realised I couldn't move, I wanted to tell them I was here, that I was alive! Then there was a pain in my chest, and it felt like I couldn't breathe. Was I being stood on? I gasped for air, I felt water so much water. I was drowning, but how? It was then I became aware of the rain, I turned on my side and dragged myself under one of the cars, I wasn't sure if I was awake properly. It was dark outside and from under the car it felt like I was in the rain-forest again and I was tangled under a bush of some kind. The only illumination was from the flashes of lightning that occasionally lit up the sky.

          I woke to the morning and a very dry throat. Oh, the irony; it had rained all night and now I was thirsty. Quickly I scanned my shin, the inflammation had gone down somewhat, and after a little test I was able to put weight on it. I ate some beans and drank plenty of water then stood back up. My chest hurt from nearly drowning, it felt like I had been punched repeatedly in the sternum. I really could have waited here all day, that's how bad the pain was but I wanted to get back to my folks. My brother was an ass, but I even craved his company. I still hoped that deeper inland people had managed to avoid this grim world. As I panned my vision around, I couldn't help but notice the lack of colour and the absence of abundant life had a sombre effect on the world. It made everything feel like it was in black and white. Giving myself a massive kick up the ass wasn't an easy task, but it was something I desperately needed. I again put one foot in front of the other feeling that this was a journey to my execution.

          A day later I found something different, bones with rotten meat. Someone had perished, it was the first time I had actually seen another person, even if it was remains, I was going to grab that company by the heels, so to speak. I examined the body to try and figure out what had killed it and after a brief glance I figured she was a lady the bra gave it away really. That and her attire, I guessed her age to be around late teens early twenties. Her cause of death? A single bullet wound to the skull. I was assuming much, for instance – I was not a ballistics expert and I wasn't an Osteoarchaeologist either, but just from looking at her skull I could see a small round hole at the front and quite a large exit hole at the back. I welcomed this distraction and looked around. What possibly could have happened that required a young woman's life? As I searched around the car, she lay near, I noticed a pistol. I wasn't massively familiar with small arms, but I recognised a .45 revolver when I saw one. The entry wound on her head led me to believe that this was not the murder weapon. "Maybe it was yours." I looked down at her and assessed her position in relation to the car and the gun, her right hand was pretty close if I had to be honest. "You were packing some artillery kid." I walked in straight line from her corpse, I was curious. My search took me about 20 feet from her location – there on the floor was a 10mm Glock; her assailant wasn't here. It appeared her killer had fled the scene after shooting her but why had they left the gun? My little crime scene was getting more interesting; My worry was time. It had destroyed most of the evidence! Her corpse for instance was badly decomposed and any tell-tale disturbance of the ground that would have told me the direction her killer had ran, was long gone. Washed away by the rain and eroded by the wind. The meat on her bones was nothing more now than tatters clinging to her bones, there was more substance to her inside her clothes but even that was difficult to distinguish as being human. I searched her pockets for some ID. Score! I found a wallet, it was a man's wallet. I didn't want to judge or anything, but I guess she figured male wallets were more practical. "Rose Sanchez." Now my new friend had a name; she, was Hispanic. I sort of guessed from her hair the bit that was left. It appeared she was heading away from Florida. "Like most of you on this Exodus!" My talking out loud was for my own benefit, even my own voice was preferable to this gloomy silence that had washed over the world. "Why the shoot-out though?" If all these people were in the same position, then why, why would they kill each other? What had been so important that a young woman needed to die? "It was something I was beginning to struggle with. The impending doom must have been frightful for all these people and maybe it was the fear that had resulted in this murder. All these humans must have been running from an unknown-hunter. I was terrified and I hadn't even bore witness to this situation. My heart began thumping again in my chest and my mouth became incredibly dry again. I had developed a sense for these panic attacks now and knew I was currently going through the throes of one. I decided then to sit beside Rose and said a little prayer for her. The praying part helped. If not for her benefit it certainly calmed my mind. I sat there for some hours looking at the picture of Rose on the ID, she was a looker; dark brown hair and wow did she have a lot of it. Her skin was just the right side of mocha. As I looked at the picture of her I had to admit I was in love. It had been years since I had actually seen a beautiful woman and for me this was the last time, I would probably get to see one. I looked at the age on the ID, she was 21 I guessed, based on the time everybody disappeared and she died. Now she would have been 24 and I wish I could have met her. As I sat there mulling over poor Rose's life, wondering what kind of person she had been, I'd lost track of time. The sun was sinking on the horizon and I was aware that I needed sleep. I know it sounds gross, but I cuddled up to her, she didn't smell bad or anything and I wanted, no I needed someone. I was desperate for a connection and as I lay there feeling the last of her hair tickle my face in the breeze, I drifted off to sleep.