Koalas (Kyle O'Shea)

Chapter 2

It had taken her weeks to get back to the small town and she was more scared of the souls than ever before. Her nights were restless. The slightest sound made her cower in fear. Every deer, every racoon, every rabbit sounded like a seeker to her. Living without her brother was the worst thing that happened to her. She was able to get back to her cave. It looked undiscovered, so she moved right back.

The first week she stayed in the cave too scared to go out again. It wasn't until she ran out of food and water that she dared to go back. The sun shined warmly down at her, heating up her cold skin. She put on her sunglasses and braided her hair, so the greasy hair wouldn't draw too much attention but making sure her neck was covered.

She tried to stroll casually to the supermarket. Everyone around her seemed suspicious to her. Melody walked inside the store, a bag on her shoulders. First, she went to the food. She reached for the familiar can, not taking too much, before walking to the other part of the store, happy there weren't many souls shopping for groceries. She took some water and lastly contact lense solution before going to the cashier.

"Good afternoon, how are you?"

"Hello, I'm very well, thank you. What about  you?"

"I'm good, but I don't like the heat so much." The woman behind the counter sighs.

"Well, this world has a lot to offer."

"I know and I'm so excited to try out everything."

"Then have a lot of fun exploring."

Melody quickly left. She wanted to go back to her cave but two silhouettes made her falter.

They were two men, obviously brothers. Both were tall and muscular. Their hair was black and their eyes were covered with sunglasses. Both wore regular clothes perfect to blend in. But it was their movement that stopped her. They seemed so stiff and tensed. They were human.
Melody tried to seem calm, not in a hurry as she approached them.

"I have lived here for quite some time undetected. Could you please be less suspicious?"

The men turned to her. Then they looked at each other.

"Who are you?"

She took off her sunglasses, revealing the white ring around her eyes. The men took a step back, ready to run.

"Look closer."

The one she guessed to be the younger one looked into her eyes. He took of his glasses to reveal wide, bright blue eyes.

"Contact lenses. You're human."

The older one, with a crooked nose, took a step closer, wanting to see for himself. It had been a while since the brothers encountered any human. They were far away from home, from their past. His voice was deeper as he talked,

"Who are you? Are there more?"

Melody shook her head. "I'm Melody. I live alone in the forest."

"I'm Ian, this is Kyle. It's been so long since we saw another human."

"We need to leave before we attract attention." Kyle said, looking around nervously.

"Will you join us? You can bring all of your stuff, of course." Ian offered.

No, she couldn't. She didn't want to become attached only to have them ripped away from her. Three people would be noticed too easily. Her heart ached for her brother. There was no way she could get over losing another person. She'd rather be alone than suffering through that.

"I prefer to stay alone."

"Are you sure? It isn't safe to be alone, especially this close to town." Ian was concerned but Kyle nodded.