The Scavenged PT. 1

My eyes slowly opend, they felt dry almost as if somone put sand into them while I had been asleep, realising my bed had been a hard, craked, chilling cement floor I decided it was time to wake up. Setting up slowly, takeing a quick glance around, noticing the room I was in seemed to be pitch black. While giving my eyes adaquate time to adjust to the darkness before me, I attempted many times but all seemed fruitless at being able to remove the pain plaugeing the back of my head. Looking to my left I noticed a little girl cureld up stareing blankly at me, she wasint blinking or moving. "A-are you o-ok?" I managed to mutter quietly, but after receving no response I looked around trying my best to survey the area.

Upon glancing towards her I noticed her eyes were cold and hard as if her gaze projected ice cold daggers that pierced through my soul. Quickly looking away from her, my next thoughts were how did I get here? where am I? I sevearly doubted that those questions would ever be answerd. I decided it would be smart to attempt to figure out where I was atleaset, so I slowly stood up looking over what seemed to be a table that had been pushed or pulled to block us into the corner. Did this young girl save me? I wondered, she was deffiantely smart being able to survive alone for as long as she has. Suddenly a loud crash sounded from across the room that seemed to be plates falling to the floor or something that sounded simmalar.

The stunning sound of snaraling and snorting and other unsetteling noises echoed within the room. I quickly droped to one knee and peered over the top of the table, I spotted a few shaded figures moving back and forth franticly in the darkness. my hand instinctively shot towards the holster that I always kept around my waist. searching with my fingers came to the clasp that kept it sealed but, I felt nothin no grip of the handgun, no weight, my thoughts only grew dimmer by the minute as I quickly began loosing all hope in getting out of this situation. The snaraling sounded like it was slowly growing nearer.

Almost as if my life was flashing before my eyes, I thought about all time I had spent running and hiding from the dangers of this new world and wondered maybe it was time to retire just to lay down and accept the fact that fate wanted to screw me here and now. All that nonsence ended with a quick glance behind me, where I spotted the shape of the little girl, her eyes bright and wide open, scared out of her mind. I felt as though I needed to protect her to keep her safe it was a reason for me to keep enduing. I grabed her by the arm quickly and led her under the table as silently as possible. We then started slowly crawling trying to be as quiet as possible but dragging the little girls weight behind me was proving to be a complicated task.

She had her cold eyes just locked onto me, I stood up after passing through the doorway, pulling the girl through I attempted to close the door as quietly as possible, but the adrinaline pumping through my body made me react fast and clumsily I slammed the door shut. As soon as it made contact with the sill, loud screaming and nasty noises emmited from behind the closed door. As those things reacted violently to the sound, loud pounding footsteps screeches and snaraling seemed to be all that this world has came to. Ever since the whole damnd world went to hell and people started changing into these things, terrible ugly things with razor sharp broken teeth but they were blind like bats,exactly like bats, taller than any man, and deffiantely stronger. I had to watch as another survivour was torn apart limb by limb then the thing devoured the whole carcass leaveing not even a scrap of clothing on the ground.

The footfalls grew closer and closer to catching us. I had a thought of just letting go of the girls arm letting her stand there to take the fall as I would quietly make my escape. Something inside of me wouldint let me loosen my grip on her small fragile arm. The hallway we had been running down must have been an office rooms litterd both sides of the hall, without light it was just as dark as the other room I had awoken in. On the left was a door five feet ahead of us and it was slightly ajar so it wouldint make as much noise opening it, maybe if we hid in that room the things would run by, still expectig us to be ahead of them.

That idea seemed better than throwing this girl to them and saying your welcome for the quick service come agin. My arm outstreatched grasping for the handle and this time I didnt come away empty handed. The door quickly and silently opend. Thank god for hinges that had been well kept before all this. I quickly shut the door and turned around as a light shined brightly into my eyes. I threw my arms up into the air giving up expecting that somone was shining a tacticle light into my eyes and was about to blow my brains aginst the door but i noticed as the light clicked off it was the little girl she had my handgun i slowly made my way towards her but a loud bang sounded as she quickly fired, suddenly a sharp searing pain exploaded in my right shoulder i fell back aginst the door as the girl fired agin, her fragile arms being thrown up into the air as if she wasint even trying to fight the recoil of the handgun that seemed so large within her tiny hands. a sharp pain streaked across my cheek i reached up feeling a gash thanking that she couldint keep the gun aimed at me due to the recoil of the first shot. i quickly lunged forward grabbing the gun and shoving it to the right then put my elbow under hers and quickly lifted up enough to get a gasp out of her and she released the gun. but the effort of the short struggle as small as it was made my freshly wounded shoulder sting with pain i felt blood trickling down my arm as darkness seemed to only get darker. i felt the blood coming from my cheek where the bullet had grazed past. but the pain was the least of my worries. banging at the door and loud screems of anger and rage emmited from multiple things as they were trying to bash and claw their way into the room. as glad as i was to have my trusty handgun back i knew the ammo in the clip wasint even close enough to kill two of the things. i looked around as i tore a pice of shirt off to wrap my shoulder with to stop the bleeding and noitced that we were in a large womens restroom and the only place to hide were the stalls or a small storage closet hidden away in the corner of the room. after what the girl just pulled i had half the mind to let her lay there on the ground whimpering but a voice in my head told me how screwd that would be so i pulled her to the utility closet and pushed her inside and shut the door and brased it with a piece of wood i quickly slid into a stall landing on something slimy and wet but i dared to look down. the door caved in just as i shut the door to the stall i had chosen to hide in. the smell in this small confined space was making me want to vomit my mind connected the smell to the sloshig wet slick substance on the floor and vomit found its way to the back of my throat. i swalloed as quietly as possible trying not to make any noise because if i stayed quiet the things wouldint know i was here they couldint see they only had bad hearing. the snaraling and footsteps had gotten less and less energetic which was a sign a good one to, meaning that they were quickly loosing interest in the chase. i was worried about my bleeding. i had to get out of here and get back to the safehouse and get patched up by the doc. i must have passed out because i didin remember the things leaving the room. as i stood up i felt lightheaded and threw up getting dizzy. i slowly made my way to the closet i had left the girl in. the wood was still braced under the doorknob keeping it secure just the way i had left it. before moving the wood i considerd just leaving the girl in there due to the fact that she had just tried killing me with my own gun. but i considerd the facts that maybe she was in shock or had been abused by the last human that had found her, that is the way life is now so it wouldint suprise me at all. i spun around quickly using the tac flashlight on my handgun to look at my surroundings. i had to find something to restrain the girls hands with so that she wouldint try killing me agin. i found a old discarded lether belt when i bent over to grab it a rat scurried across the floor making my stomach jump inside of my body. i stood back up after my fingers wrapped around the belt, and in an instant moment it was as though my body felt like a weight had been dropped on my shoulders, the amount of blood that i had lost was making me weak and lightheaded. i slowly made my way to the closet and removed the wood as quietly as i possibly could trying not to make any noise fearing i would attract more unwanted attention, but even trying as hard as i could the wood scraped across the ground. i froze as still as possible holding my breath, listening but the only sounds that i could hear was my heart pounding in my ears and the young girl wimpering soulessly in the dark room. i was hesatint to open the door as the searing pain reminded me of what this young girl is capable of. my eyes squinted shut as the light from my flashlight became unbarable amplified by the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. The thoughts of leaving this girl traped in the closet as punishment for what she had done, but i couldint bear to think of the repercusions it would have on me, the guilt and sadness of not helping this poor young girl. i clenched my teeth as i slowly opend the door feeling my strength seep away, every small subtle move seemed to be a chore for me. even breathing was becoming unbarable, the ammount of blood i was loosing wasint good. the door swung open, almost as immediatly as the door opend, the young girl came rushing out and huged me tightly around the waist weeping uncontrolably. i picked her up with what small amount of strenght i had and carried her out of the bathroom and into the hallway. i looked left to the way we were chased from and thought about how there was no exit through there that wasint barricaded. i then glanced to the right and started sprinting in that direction passing door after door finnaly i stoped running and had to put the girl down and lean aginst the wall for support. slumped over looking at my shoes, my vision blurring, my head pounding. i looked up slowly and seen the rnd of the hallway a door a metal door, marked with an exit sign and pocked with multiple bullet holes that were filtering streams of light through te metal door. i grabed the girl by the arm and slowly made my way down the hall using the wall as support. suddenly loud screems echoed from down the hall behind me and loud footfalls beating like drums off the floor. i glanced behind me and seen atleast four or five of those things chasing us. looking forward i seen the door almost within reach but suddenly my arm pulled taught and i looked and seen the woung girl being pulled back by one of the things. i unholsterd my handgun and unloaded four hollowpoints into the things face and it loosend its grasp as it slid to the floor knoking the others behind it off balance. i reachd the door first with the little girl sliding through it at the last second with almost no time left as i slammed the big heavy door shut on one of the things face. i secured the door and put my handgun up to one of the holes that was about chest high and unloaded the rest of my clip, getting a sickening thunk as every bullet made contact making blood spray out from the hole covering my face and shirt but the pounding on the door didint stop. i braced it with a metal pole that was sitting next to the door. after doing so i spun around realising that we were standing on a rusty fire escape that was creaking and swaying in the wind. and the pole i used must have been a ring from the ladder that would normally alow access to the upper levels of the fire escape, upon looking down i noticed we were on the third floor and the way down didint seem sturdy by was a damn better chance of survival compared to going back into that building. my vision still blurred amd hazy i clammberd down the ladder of the last level and lost my grip halfway down. feeling myself plummet quickly down and then a sharp pain as i landed in an open dumpster filled with deteriating garbage bags and other old things. i slowly stood up not even caring to wipe the gunk off my arms and face, i looked to the left and seen i was in an allyway that ended in that direction stoped by the brick base of a building. to the right only a few feet away was the overgrown road craked by years of uncontrolled weeds and grass pushing up and destroying the roads and sidewalks. and moss covering buildings and other things garbage lay strewn every where paper flutterd through the air the smell of years of loss and devotion to survival and death hung over the city like a thick smog. i climed out of the slick slime filled dumpster and sighed a big breath of relief as my shoes made contact with the craked pavement and strands of grass and a large puddel of water. i swore slightly under my breath thinking about how the city has basicly became a trash coverd swamp and about how my shoes are now soaked with dirty water. i unslung my survival pack that hung with a single strap off my shoulder and opend it, searching for my bandages and a bottle of pain killers as well as my flask. within a few seconds of rummaging i found it all and i took a sip from the flask and reliahed in the burning sensation as it contents slid down my throat. i unrolled the bandages and cut a slightly lengthy pice then removed the pice of torn cloth off my wound and cleaned it with the bandage. after most of the caked blood was removed i tor another pice of bandage off and wettend it slightly with the alchohol from my flask and then quickly wraped it around my wound clenching my teeth as the searing pain flooded through my body. after i opend my eyes i quickly packed my things back into my bag and pulled out my wallet and peeked into it counting 500 bucks. then quickly stufin it into the hidden compartment in my bag, i stuck my hand into the bag searching for that metal feeling i so enjoyed then i felt it brush my fingertips and i grasped it quickly pulling out a mag and patting it gently aginst the palm of my hand to clean the lint and other things off it, after doin so it felt lighter than a full mag after further inspection i realised it only had 4 bullets in it. i quickly ejected my spent clip from the bottom of the grip on my hand gun and then quickly slid the other home releasing the lock and making sure to chamber the first round. i thought how that few ammount of bullets wouldit last me and it deffinately wouldint kill any of those monstrosities unless i was lucky enough to score headshots with every bullet. i knew i needed to go to the safe zone to trade my cash for a box or two of ammuniton as well as sum rations and water because i was running dangerously low on both. i looked up noticing the young girl had been watching my intently the whole time. i smiled at her and waved but she sat there. still with no emotion within her eyes. as if they were pools of emptiness, sadness, and loss.
the trip back to what i called civilazation was for the first tim the longest trip iv ever taken, my head was spinning my vision blured and my shoulder was burning with sharp pain. the bandage i had aplied was bled through and the strain of pulling the girl along behind me was becoming more and more tedious. walking down this abandoned road filled with rusted cars, so old that the tires had rottetd to mush in the water that coverd most of the ground. the road was completely submerged in water in some places making this a concrete marsh with cattales growing and weeds and moss covering almost everything. my footfalls echoed loudly when i walked on a spot of concreat or asphalt that wasint wet and coverd in water. i hadint noticed how loud a pair of people can be trudging through a marsh, and honestly im glad this route is frequently traveld so their isint any of those things lurcking around or we would have surely been chased down and eaten alive. i knew that i wouldint be able to kill more than one even if im lucky enough to kill one, my vision was blured beyond belife and before i knew what had happend i droped to my knees, weak and drained of life. looking up i noticed the girl just stareing at me with open eyes. "emotionless empty things" i tried to murmer but i couldint make out any words it all came out jumbled and choked. i fell face first onto the concreat slab, stealing one last look. two pairs of black worn combat boots slamming towards me at a quickend pace, as all sound ceased and light had faded from my vision, darkening untill all was utter blackness.