My last stop is the garage, and I step through the door and look around, but I can’t find a trusty tire iron and am afraid to open the car lest a long-forgotten car alarm alert everyone to my presence. Instead, I grab a few screwdrivers and leave. This last house is the final barrier to the outside, and I realize I just exited the front door without fanfare.
It shouldn’t have been that easy, but maybe that was Shepherd’s aim. He created so much fear that no one thought to just walk the fuck out the backside. I marvel for a moment that I just exited the community without incident before jumping into action.
I’m not sure if they will bother to search for me or what Enzo will say about my absence. Maybe he’ll lie to protect himself. Either way, I can’t afford to wait around and find out. I know the barricade is guarded in various spots throughout, so I need to move away from the downtown area before deciding on any direction.
There are more houses in front of me, and I decide the easiest route is through them. This is not the safest plan because if these homes have not been cleared out, I may be zombie dinner, but it keeps me off the street as much as possible until I’m clear of the barricade and can move freely.
My best bet is to travel at night where no one can see me for now. However, I have to get clear of the area first because I’m too close for comfort. I cross the street quickly and enter the next home. Luckily, the houses in the area have been scavenged for food, so the doors are unlocked and the homes empty. Once through, I make my way through the backyard, up and over the fence, and into the next several times before I’m forced to stop and hunker down when I hear the distinct rumble of a car.
It passes by the house in which I stand, and I drop to my face, immediately wincing when I hit the floor because apparently, I am no GI Jane. Crab walking back to the front-facing window, I peer out the curtain slowly and spy a car full of men from the community. I recognize one of them with ginger hair as Mike or Matt, no, Mathew. He was with David and the women when we were first brought back to this shithole.
They continue down the road, and I exhale heavily, dropping my head into my hands. That was close, but I need to keep going because I know they will be coming up the next row in a few minutes. I can get over the fence and into the next house and wait for them to pass or wait here.
My urgent need to get as far away as possible inspires me to scale the next fence and breach the new house. It’s as quiet as all the rest, the air musty with disuse and equally cool. I venture past the back door and down the hall to a front room decorated with dainty furniture and covered with large flowers before I drop to the floor. The curtains are frilly lace and don’t cover the windows, so I hope I didn’t just reveal myself, but after a few tense minutes, I hear the rumble of the car coming up the street and stay low.
My heart clenches when it stops and idles, and I tense, ready for action. I don’t know what I can do, but I’m willing to do what it takes to survive. If you’re eager to kill me for loving someone, then I’m ready to kill you to defend myself.
The door to the home opens, and I smash my face to the floor in defeat. Fight it is. It’s quiet for a moment, and I slowly raise my head, meeting Mathew’s blue eyes. His red hair glows brightly in the sun, his face shadowed by the way the rays shine down through the door.
He stares at me for a moment before turning around, closing the door behind him, and calling out, “Nothing here.”
Dropping my head back to the floor with a thud, I stay where I am until the car fades into nothing before my breathing finally evens out. Mathew spared me, but I don’t have time to contemplate it too much because they’re actively searching the area, and I’m a sitting duck.
With a sigh, I heave my trembling limbs into action and race across the street, entering the front door of the next house and closing it behind me.
I know I have to stop and stay hidden for a while because exposing myself is dangerous, but I have this primal urge to get as far away as possible. Instead, I search this new house for anything of use and decide I’ll hunker down until it’s dark outside.
Upstairs I stop at a bedroom lovingly decorated with fairies and forest themes, the purple walls and bedspread bright in the waning light. I ignore the bleak feeling in my chest because I can only imagine what happened to the poor child who lived here. Spying a backpack lying on the floor, I snag it up before leaving the room quickly.
The backpack is dark, serviceable, and filled with high school level books, pointing to more than one child in this once lovely suburban home.
After I remove the items, I search the garage for more weapons and fist pump the air when I find a tire iron laying out on a bench. I set it aside with my screwdrivers and continue my search, relieved to find a compass, sleeping bag, water filter tablets, and a jug of water hidden in a bin, labeled under camping supplies. I scrounge around for another bottle I can use to filter the water.
Purifying water is relatively simple, even if the tiny pills seem too small for such a big job. I follow the instructions to the letter, afraid to fuck up something that supposedly should be easy, but again, before all this, I wasn’t exactly a survivalist. After mixing the pills with the water and waiting half an hour, I sniff the jug experimentally before shrugging.
I have to drink to survive. After about eight ounces, I force myself to stop because I have to preserve what’s left until I find more. To occupy my time with thoughts other than that I just somehow poisoned myself, I secure my new finds into my bag and carry it with me into the living room.
Hunkering down by the front window, I’m relieved that at least the people that lived in this house believed in dark, heavy curtains.
It’s late, my eyes are heavy, and I struggle to remain awake, snapping them open every time they pull closed over the next few hours. I’m exhausted but too afraid to let go of my vigil until eventually, the fatigue wins out, and my eyes drop closed against their will.
???
I wake with a start, disoriented at first before slowly the day’s events close in, and the ache in my chest resumes. For a moment, I’m breathless as I rub the discomfort away, but I can’t focus on Cole right now, so I will the pain back with every fiber of my being.
I’m in no shape to be running for my life, especially because I haven’t fully regained my strength after a week or more in the hole. My brain is dizzy from fatigue, but I welcome the numbness that washes over me as I lay on the ground and shut everything out.
It’s dark outside and time to make my move. I have to get as far away as possible before the sun rises and it’s too dangerous to be out in the open again. I don’t know how far they will go to search for me, so I have to be vigilant until I am well clear of the area.
But I also need to determine a direction and take it because being on my own means no backup in an emergency, no companionship during the bleak days. I am now solely responsible for wherever I end up, which could be worse than where I just left. Perhaps staying on my own makes sense for a while.
Since it’s dark out, I skip the house to backyard to house routine and walk cautiously down the sidewalk. It’s super quiet, and the stars shine brightly overhead, guiding my way, but I’ll need to keep an eye out for a flashlight for cloudy nights.
I can’t keep to the highway for long because the main checkpoint will most definitely include Shepherd’s henchman. So, despite my unease, I force my weary limbs up the hill behind the small town and slip into the trees.
Now that the heavy boughs cover my head, it's really fucking dark, but I stick to the tree line as much as possible as I follow the road. Since it’s an uphill trek before it evens out, I’m sweating when I reach the top, only to pause at an amusement park that sits above.
From here, I can see the faint lights of various homes and the occasional bob of a flashlight. Above me, a series of tracks circle my head, part of a massive rollercoaster that will never be used again.