[SEQUEL TO THE HOLLOW]
Darryl continued the journey that he and Zak started. He encounters many things along the way, good and bad, but manages to make his way through it all. Can Darryl make it home safely?
But there's something more to this all. A...
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Two weeks later.
Leaves of all colors littered hundreds of trees. They fell gracefully to the ground, littering the road ahead and the floor of the encompassing forest. He would have to guess it was late September. Up north, he'd originally thought that it was winter. That idea was practically self-explanatory. There was no telling of what season it was up there. It was always an endless winter.
Darryl was finally in his home state, the Sunshine State: Florida. He had predicted that he was roughly 30 miles from Orlando. He could barely recognize the area, he'd probably driven through it a few times in the past.
On his journey, he had met a few bands of survivors. He was, of course, skeptical of them, but they proved to be not cannibals. Most places, meanwhile, were completely in desolation. No signs of people, not even any signs of said peoples' bodies. It had left Darryl severely perplexed. There was just... no one. Hardly anywhere. And no one had a clue why.
The thing is, no one had anything to say about it. It was the new normal to them. They'd adapted. Hopefully, there would be more survivors in Orlando. Ones that were trustworthy. Hopefully.
The sun was starting to set, which cast unlimited hues of extraordinary colors. Darryl got a good look at it. There were yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and blues. Darryl couldn't even begin to count how many vast, alluring colors lined the open sky. The shades and hues were boundless, limitless. And it was breathtaking.
Darryl decided to pull over to the side of the road and turn off the truck he'd borrowed those weeks ago. He was surprised that it stayed in such an okay condition. He reclined the leather seat he was sitting in and watched the astounding sunset. Soon enough, it was twilight and Darryl decided to get some well-earned and needed shuteye.
His eyes opened to the blackness of the moonless night. He had a hunch he wouldn't be able to get back into a delightful slumber, so he didn't bother even trying.
He reclined the seat back to its normal position. He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes and rubbed away the sleep the best he could.
It was the middle of the night. The worst part was, and Darryl hated it, that he had a discomforting feeling that someone was watching him. His heart's pace quickened. He felt unsafe, mostly due to the ominous and eerie darkness that encircled him, trapping him.
He fumbled around for where the keyhole was and turned the key that was already placed in it. The car came to life, the sounds of its engine filling up Darryl's ears. He took it out of brake. He then pressed lightly, gradually increasing, on the gas pedal. He made sure to turn on the badly-needed brights before pulling onto the empty road.
A few minutes later, a figure jumped into view. Darryl tried to stop, but he still hit it. He swerved to the side, off of the road, and hit a big tree. His body lurched forward from the sudden stop. He hit his head on the steering wheel before blacking out.
