𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 | Gally | BOOK 2

Chapter Ten

I wanted to deny the fact that I was still alive once I peeled my eyes open. The warmth and glare from the openings of my strange cement tent blinded me. My feet had been buried under a soft layer of sand that must've crept in through the night. My scalp itched and I shook out the bits of sand that remained entangled in my hair and thin clothes.

As I dumped the flow of sand out from my useless shoes, I noticed a faint groan come from outside. I wasn't sure how long it'd been there, but it didn't sound human. A series of coughs and weak wheezes followed as the moans of the being continued.

Carefully, I peered out of one of the ends of my small shelter. The endless stretch of sand and sun reminded me of how dry my throat had been and that I hadn't actually remembered eating anything since the day we escaped the maze. I looked around some more, trying to block out the gnawing hunger in my stomach.

To the right of me, a steep hill of sand inclined towards the sky. My footprints had ben erased from the storm the night before, but I was sure that's where I stumbled onto the wall from. The reflection of the sand was almost as blinding as the sun it's self. I gazed over the top of the hill, and a small figure came up from behind the edge. With difficulty, I tried to make out who they were. The groans got louder the closer they came, they must've been the source.

As they got closer, the person stumbled down the hill. Their movements were strange and inhuman-like. Their arms thrashed around them and their legs wobbled as if they would snap off at any time. The clothes on their body were completely ripped to shreds, something was definitely wrong. Suddenly, they stopped and looked around, like they noticed something off too. I stepped out from the small shelter a little more, trying to get a closer look.

The person's behaviour was alien like. Once I stepped out, the stopped all together, and their head took a sharp turn, facing right at me. The veins in their face were bulging and blue and their chin was stained with black slobber. It was the kind of faced I'd seen in the Glade too many times before. Before I moved, the monster-like being let out a rough roar then charged right towards me.

I fled the shelter I slept in and tried my best to run through the deep sand. My feet kept getting stuck, like they wanted me to fall. I swiftly looked back on the person behind me, they'd already made it to the bottom of the hill and past the concrete walls.

I continued to stumble through the sand as my throat and lungs choked on the dry desert air. It was like my body forgot how to function or run. The beastly sounds of this zombie-person seemed to be the only noise in the entire wasteland. Their moans became more angry and determined as they got closer. I glanced back once again, only to see them a few feet away, thrashing their claw-like hands at me.

Suddenly, my foot missed the ground and took a step into the open air. A rush of anxiety swept through my body as I felt myself falling forward down a steeper hill of sand. My arms flew up to my face as my body rolled and tumbled down the hill. Sand made it's way into every nook and cranny of my body. A wave of dry, salty sand formed in my mouth and filled up my ears. I couldn't see the other person fall with me, but a subtle shriek came from some direction, which hopefully meant they didn't expect the sudden drop either.

My body's momentum slowed as I started to just slide down the hill with more ease. Once the ground was a bit flatter, I quickly stood up and almost fell once again out of disorientation. I tried to run, but I was nauseous and stumbling all over the place. I looked back at the creature who continued to roll.

I hadn't noticed as I was rolling, but another lone-standing wall of concrete stood vertically at the bottom of the hill. I was lucky to have missed it, but the other person continued to violently spool down the sand, straight into the direction of the wall. Out of instinct, I shut my eyes, and heard the sound of flesh hammering into the solid wall. I waited, not daring to go back and check, but thought I was safe when no sounds came from that direction. Their noise had stopped, they were probably dead, or at least knocked out. Either scenario was good enough for me.

When the dizziness in my head had finally calmed down, I shook out the grains of sand in my clothes once again. Before continuing forward, I turned around and was startled by the landscape in front of me. Not to far from where I stood, the ruins of a city, once probably bustling with life, was less than a mile from me. Only the bare skeletons of buildings and highways remained, but it was the only option I had.