Surviving The Apocalypse *serious editing*

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I've become paranoid, or at least I think I have. I suppose a truly paranoid person would not realize they're paranoid. Anyhow, I've started constantly looking over my shoulder, I feel like someone is always watching me, following me. I know it's insane,  no one would follow someone for a week for no reason. Plus, I haven't had an encounter with another human since Alec, a week ago. I gave all the towns wide arcs and if I heard anyone on the road I would hide in the bushes until they passed.

The encounter with Alec put me on edge and Ive been narcotic ever since.  I can't sleep for more than an hour at a time. Nightmares of Alec have been added to my nightmares of my mom and Anne, Julie and Henry, and Ryan and the man. It's not always specifically Alec, most of the time it's a faceless man or bodiless hands grabbing me. I dream that some one is watching me, hunting me, but I always wake up right before I see who it is. My sleeping nightmares have become my waking nightmares. I can't walk more than a hundred yard without looking over my shoulder.

It's been a hard week of traveling. I'm moving faster now. My body has become accustomed to the long hours of walking in the hot sun. But, always checking over my shoulder takes time, and slowed my progress significantly. I'm traveling about ten miles a day, but I don't feel like I'm moving fast enough. I've gone through a fourth of my granola bars, all of my peanuts, and one can of beans. At this rate I'll be out of food before I'm half way to Georgia. I've also drank all of my water too. My main focus is to get more water, but if I can find food to then I'll be set for another week.

A mile before the New York City exit I can smell it. The skyscrapers pierce the sky in the distance and rising from them is a dark cloud. New York City was ablaze with dozens of fires. When the power went out, things short circuited, caught fire and without firemen and no one wanting to sacrifice water, a small fire grew into an inferno that consumed a city block.

I had hoped that New York City would have faired better. Before the outage, New York was the center of trade and had politicians. I had hoped they would have banned together and been trying keep America going. Millions of people working together to create so kind of post technology society. But at the same time, I was wary of other people. Even before the outage network was dangerous. Could I risk it? One look in my backpack told me that I had to. Either that or die of dehydration.

I pulled out my map. If I could find a road that would lead me close to the city but not directly through it, then I. Could trade without risking intercity chaos.

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It was already too late when I heard them. I cursed myself. I had started traveling on the road in order to find someone to trade with, but I handle ft myself vulnerable. They came out of nowhere it seemed, shuffling and grunting like cavemen. They had seen me, I could run but they would have chased me and I would have no energy left to fight.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" A gruff, slurred voice called from behind me.

I froze in place too terrified to turn around and see the men behind me. Discreetly I pinched my arm. I was not dreaming, but this was like something from my nightmares. How could I be so careless? I should have been paying more attention.

Stiffly, I turned around to face my new company. There were six men, all in their late thirties or early forties. The stench of alcohol radiated off of them, leaking out of every pore. They carried shotguns that had fifty times the power my pellet gun had. I shivered. They reminded me Bill's men and for a second I had a panicked thought, they tracked me all the way to New York just to kill me. But these men were not Bill's, they were another ragtag team of old drunks roaming around doing what they wanted.

"It seems we have ourselves a young lady." A tall, broad man said to the first man.

"Ya, you know what they say about ladies?" The first man asked.

"A lady in the streets and a freak in the sheets." A third man said winking at me.

I tried to breath. These men where drunk and no longer had the incentive of the law to keep them from hurting me. They were unpredictable and dangerous. I was out maned and out gunned. I needed a miracle to survive this.

"So little lady,"  For the first time, a man turned to speak directly to me. "What do you say. Come over here and introduce yourself." The man leered at me. He held his arms up as if wanting to embrace me. Instinctively I stepped back. I kept my mouth closed. I didn't want to say anything that would anger them or egg them on. 

They came towards me, but I matched their advances with with retreating steps. I didn't take my eyes off the men. They kept advancing, but I hit a tree. The impact threw me off balance and I stumbled to the side. I fell to the ground and before I could get back to my feet they were on me. I scrambled to my feet, but it was too late. The men were an arms length away.

"Aw you look scared, little lady."

I was shaking as one of them snaked their arm around my small waist and pulled me against his side.

"Now, now, don't be scared we'll take good care of you. Won't we boys?" They all laughed in response.

I tried pushing against the man-who-held-me's chest, but I was too weak. Panic wouldn't let me think clearly or have control of my body. I was a second away from bursting into tears. These men were going to take turns raping me. Then after, they had their fun would kill me.

I was going to die. I should never have run off to Georgia. It was a stupid risk and I was going to die baca use of it. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks, but I refused to make a sound. I would not give these men the satisfaction of screaming.

"Here why don't you take a load off." A man came up behind me and grabbed my shoulders. He roughly pulled my backpack off. The force knocked me to the ground again. I tried to get up, tried to curl into a ball,anything that would protect me from their assault. Hand grabbed me, holding me to the ground, leaving me open to their attack. I thrashed and kicked out but it did no good.

I got one of my legs free and kicked one of them in the face. My reward was a kick in the stomach. Then another and another. Four of them held me down, and one sent kick after kick into my gut. What happened to the sixth one? The answer was a distinct zipping sound. The kicks stopped, replaced by hands pulling at my jeans. I felt the weight as one of them on top of me.

I wished I would black out, so I wouldn't have to be conscious for what I knew would come next. I wished for death, so the pain would end. I was too weak to fight, too weak to care. I was broken.

The weight lifted. I could no longer feel their hands on me. Was I so numb that I could no longer feel? I hoped so. I was too weak to even turn my head. I waited. Sprawled on the ground, clothes half torn off, head throbbing, internally and externally bleeding.

I waited. Did they leave me? Got bored as soon as they ruined me? Gone off to attack some other unsuspecting traveler? Will they come back? I would still be in the same place even if they did. I don't think I would every leave that spot.

Then I heard feet moving closer. Hands pushed me over, pulled at what was left of my clothes. They had come back. I was too weak to do anything about it. I kept my eyes closed and waited for it to be over.

Then a miracle occurred. As I was being manhandled, I finally blacked out. Drifting off into oblivion where no one and nothing can hurt me.