The Lost And The Wicked

Chapter 7

Hello, Here is Chapter 7!!!

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CHAPTER 7

The long web-veined arm stops. Sweat pours down my body as the claw strokes the space an inch in front of my nose. It moves its hand around for a few more seconds. Then abruptly the creature draws its hand back.

“Oh, where are my poor children?” It wails once again. Shivers course through me.

It scampers away, but even after the footsteps of the creature are long gone, I remain frozen with Duchess by my side.

For how long I remain awake, jumping at any sound I hear, I cannot say. All I know is that sometime in the night I doze off into sleep.

When I wake up, the sun has already begun its ascent into the sky. Dozens of dust particles flow through the light rays that shoot through the cracked window.

Despite the sunny morning, my mind wanders back to that thing I saw last night. I shake the thought away. Whatever it was, I need to let it go and concentrate on saving the Driftwood. Everything else is trivial.

I get up and scavenge the store. Those kids from yesterday probably took whatever was left. Fortunately, I’m not looking for human food.

After a few minutes of searching my eyes settle on two red bags of dry kibble, Doggie O’s.

Sweat seeps down my body as I drag the large bags to the front of the store. I open both of them and pour them inside a long box. Throughout this, Duchess stares at me curiously. She probably thinks I’m crazy.

After I’m done, I strap on my backpack and head for the door. As I expect, she limps behind me, but this time I can’t take her with me. In her current condition she’s going to slow me down. Besides, she needs to rest in order to heal her wounds.

 “You need to stay here, Duchess.” I point at the food. “Look, you have more than enough to last you a month, and there’s plenty of water outside. I’ll be back in a few days to check up on you, got it?” She looks at me with sad eyes as she lays herself down. “Bye,” I tell her as I trudge out the door.

As I leave, a twinge of guilt gnaws at my insides. Somehow, though, I know she’ll be all right. After all, she’s a survivor like me.

≈≈≈

The last drop of water from my canteen drops on my dry tongue. I should have saved some for later, but I’m too thirsty. I don’t recall Earth being this hot back when I was a little girl.

My communicator reads 2:17 P.M. That’s half a day of searching without running into a single soul. And now I’ve made it to the edge of the city. Before me lies a barren desert. The only color that breaks through the sea of yellow sand is the occasional green cactus or brittle bush.

Those kids back at the store mentioned a hideout. Exploring the city has proved futile; maybe here I’ll have better results. At least that’s what I hope as I grab my hair into a ponytail and take a step into the desert.

≈≈≈

The time is now 4:32 P.M and I have yet to run into anyone or anything. I’m not scared of getting lost, since I’ve been leaving a trail of rocks for the last two or so hours.

The heat has gone down a bit, but my throat remains dry and my stomach growls. All I had to eat today was a bag of lemon-lime potato chips, hardly a full balanced meal. Yet, I’m satisfied. The last six years of eating space rations has prepared me for this.