Driven Too Far

|| SEVEN ||

It has been two days since I had been removed from the camp I was brought to. For at least a day I had a bed, somewhere safe to sleep. It's really... different being alone and out here. I used to have Jada, we used to talk and talk till we ran out of topics. Now its just me and the eerie silence, some times I can hear shuffling or things moving, I hope its just the wind or my mind playing tricks...

Rolling over on a dirty mattress I had managed to find, I start to think back to the solid walls. The safety, the people, maybe if I was given more time inside the walls I could've made friends; I could've probably befriended the doctor. I feel terrible for Sebastian... but it's not like anything could've worked. We didn't know each other, I'm a walking disaster, we've both lost everything we love and I really don't think seeking comfort in each other would be a good idea. Especially now the world is broken, certain luxuries don't exist anymore. Clothes are uncommon in the houses or stores, contraceptives are all gone; would be a terrible and painful experience to have a child in this mess. Games, television, media, electronics.. all gone.

"Wish I could just rewind.." I mumble to no one, mindlessly pulling at the strings in the mattress. So many days, so many memories I would cry to relive again. I'd love to see my dad and mum together, having a meal together as we all watched television. To run around the park with my dog again, see him bouncing full of energy. Go back and see my friends... extended family. I hope someone else has survived as long as I have. At least one person that I can say I love.

"Maybe I'm just better off alone.." with that thought in mind I drifted off to sleep, my machete close by...

• ~ •

"Shit, shit, shit," I quickly ran around a corner, heading straight for a narrow pathway between the buildings. Behind me I could hear them, they were catching up to me. "Fucking move!" I yelled to myself, forcing my legs to work harder. Dead end. Fuck.

The sound of something hitting the wall hard caught my attention. One of the corpses had hit the wall in an attempt to follow me. One down.. 3 to go. Looking at the fallen body my eyes moved towards the 3 that pushed each other in order to get to me. They hadn't given up their meal yet. Quickly looking around I noticed a garbage bin in the corner, a good jump away was a fire escape. Maybe I could make the jump if the bin doesn't give way. Sighing as I quickly made my way on top of the bin I managed to jump and swing onto the fire escape.. just before a corpse jumped for my leg.

"That was close..." below me I could hear them pushing and shoving, trying to figure out how to claim their meal. I sat on the fire escape for a few minutes before deciding to stand and climb my way up the many floors. Maybe I could scavenge the building of supplies, maybe find food or even medicine; if I was lucky enough. Soon enough i was inside the building and walking around with my machete in hand, everything was quiet. Silence was all that stood between me and the chaos outside, almost seemed like nothing terrible had happened to the world. I could simply walk these halls and pretend I was on a late night stroll, the families and elderly couples sleeping peacefully at the late hours. It was a reality I wish I could go back to.

I was now inside the last room on this floor, the walls inside the apartment were covered with dirt, crayon marks and even spoiled food. I guess it's good to assume a family once lived here, a toddler once walking these halls trying to figure out how to move and speak, throwing food and coloured pencils around; creating a mess for their parents. Sighing at the thought I slowly walked around till I came to the kitchen, so far I've had very little luck. Everything inside the fridges had gone off and were spoiled. Cabinets and pantry's had little to nothing, even canned foods were scarce.

Stuffing what I could find into my bag, cans and water bottles, I moved away from the kitchen to cover more ground. Maybe I can find some clothing.. if no one else has taken anything yet. There are three rooms in this apartment, one is a bathroom which I had discovered, couldn't find any medicine sadly. Another room housed a tiny bed and toys, shirts and pants littered around the room. I placed my hand on my chest while trying to stop my mind from feeling in bad thoughts of the child's whereabouts.

Slowly stepping out of the room I hurried to the final room with hopes of finding some sort of clothes that I could use. Maybe even some pads or liners if I'm blessed enough. Opening the door was a hard task, something was stuck behind the door, stopping my attempts at entering the room. Grunting I pushed and pushed till finally, on my fourth attempt I managed to open the door wide enough for me to slip through. Leaning over and taking deep breaths it took awhile for my body to realise it could calm down, turning my head to the side I noticed a wooden dresser was the object that once blocked me out. Sighing I straightened my back and stood up, ready to look around the final room... but I didn't expect to see something so shocking as I took a step forward.