monster | troy otto

part one

When the world changed, so did Grace. She became stronger, quicker, more silent. She became a weapon, fixated on only surviving. It was a kill or be killed world, and she wasn't very fond of dying. Her choice of weapon was knives. Guns were quick, sure, but they were loud and failed her too often. Knives were dependable and silent. 

Grace noticed a monster coming near her, and her bloody face paint had been slowly coming off with the sweat she was producing from her long trek. Huffing, she pulled a blade from the holster on her thigh and plunged it into the side of the head, right in the ear. 

She felt no remorse, no sadness upon killing the thing. It had no feelings, it had only hunger for living humans. It was a monster that deserved to be put out if its misery. 

The young woman took the time to stab the corpse and paint herself over again with the blood now spilling onto the asphalt. It was at this time she felt as if someone were watching her. She decided to try to act as normal as possible and continued walking down the road.

She soon came across a small gas station that looked like it had seen much better days. Of course, the inside was just as terrible as the outside, including the rotting bodies littering the ground. She stepped around them carefully, knife and flashlight out just in case. The building was relatively empty, but she did score a few bottles of water and some canned food. She could ration this out for the next few days, at least. 

Grace decided to keep going, as she still felt she was being watched, and she much preferred her odds out on the open road. The woman packed up her new finds into her backpack and drank some water, preparing herself for a long hike. 

However, her journey was cut short upon coming out of the building. In front of her were three armed men and women, all in uniform. She hadn't come across any army personnel before, let alone this many. Noticing all guns were aimed at her, she raised her hands, still holding her knife and a bottle of water. "I'm not one of those monsters." She said, slowly moving her arm so she could wipe at her face with the sleeve of her shirt. 

"Ma'am, you'll have to come with us. Hand over any weapons and follow us to our vehicle."