Silent Horizons

Chapter 4

Current Day

They clambered out of the building as quietly as possible. It had been hard to get up initially and as they were discovering, even more difficult to get down. What was left of the stairs had been long destroyed. Blown up by the bombs, the fighting, or by time. Together they climbed down the half cracked and loose steps. They both slipped a fair share and were thankful to have each other to hold on to. With their bags full of dishes and weapons, they weren't as quiet as they wanted to be and with each noise they flinched in terror. Too much noise, too much noise, it will hear and come back! Was what sang in every bone in his body.

Full blown panic was just beginning to rise within him when they saw what was left of the door. There it was, standing at the end of the hallway of stairs, beckoning them to go through.

They both stopped and with their backs to the doorjamb they peeked out onto the street. One looking on the left and the other to the right. The rubble and broken-down cars stared back at them in silence, filling them with an ominous feeling. Nodding to each other, they exited the building and went the way the Roamer had appeared from.

Looking down, he saw the remnants of its trek through the city. The disgusting viscous footprints were almost fully dry. He would never get used to the trails they left. It always gave him a stomach clenching feeling, bile to rising to his throat. Whether it was anxiety or disgust, he wasn't sure. Regardless they gave the prints a wide berth and set off on the street.

Walking past the destroyed buildings, he wondered which city they were in. When it first began, he had been in Seattle. For a silly little business trip, he thought to himself mirthlessly. He had been working tirelessly, pulling late shifts, and working overtime to impress his boss for a coveted promotion.

"This trip is what is going to make it or break it," he'd said to his wife as she sat on the bed watching him pack his suitcase. Natasha looked so small sitting on the bed, with her arms wrapped around her knees hugging her chest. He could see in her eyes she was sad he was leaving. They'd been having trouble in the previous days, and it was tense between them.

Their daughter was having difficulties at school. Bullying the teachers said. Every night she'd come home crying, and the ensuing morning was always a struggle. Kicking and screaming she would beg for them not to send her to school. His wife wanted him to stay and help her, but he just wanted to flee. The truth was, it broke his heart to see his little girl suffering and selfishly, he thought Natasha was just better at dealing with it. Instead of fighting him, she'd kissed him on the cheek and wished him luck.

"I'm proud of you," she'd whispered as she held him.

Natasha's fatigue was obvious, but she was a strong woman who would've never halted his dreams even if it was at her own detriment. He'd always admired that about her. Looking back at it, he couldn't remember if he ever explicitly told her how much he appreciated her.

Now, that was his biggest regret. Too many words left unsaid drifted in his mind like tumbleweeds in the wind.

When They had arrived, he couldn't make it home in time. The government had immediately shut everything down. Air travel, car rentals, and public transit. He'd tried it all, but it was too late. It had been a year since, and he'd never stopped moving.

Funny how when you put your mind to it, you can walk endlessly to get nowhere. For all he knew, he had made it to Canada by now. A lonely and regretful soul, blindly marching for nothing and no one.

He shook his head to clear out the depressing thoughts and hurried along to catch up to the woman. At least with her he wasn't alone like before. Onwards they walked, scanning each building and road for threats. Marching in as companiable silence as possible considering the circumstances, they progressed through the desolate arteries of a once thriving metropolis. Two colourful specks in sea of grey desolation.