Lurk

Prologue

“Andrew, you don’t have to go through with this!”

“Come on Andy, you’ll never make it to the checkpoint by yourself...”

The voices – they came from two people he’d grown accustomed to over the passing weeks. Or was it months – years, even? Damn it, Andrew silently cussed. There’s no hope left if I can’t even remember what fucking day it is.

But he’d ventured too far now... and seen too much of glorious freedom to just let it slip away. I can make it, he thought. Just keep sharp, and remember everything he taught you.

The cold winter winds slashed his ears, pleading a quick return to where it was safe and warm. As he furthered through the dying forestland, the scene became growingly darker and more frightening than he could comprehend.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Each desecrating footstep through the broken twigs and branches echoed out like a crow’s call. Those voices that he cared for, they were fading. Good, he thought. They took their own advice.

The rags which once might’ve resembled clothes stuck into his dry flesh in these harsh conditions, the closest thing to warmth he would get for a long time. “I’m coming, Ma.”

He picked up the pace, remembering exactly what was at stake. How long was this post-apocalyptic graveyard? Home was so far away from here, and he knew it all too well. But what had become of Glasgow since he left? If it’s like this shit-tip, I’d rather be dead.

The blanket of night was soon to fall on the forest, a blessing from the Devil. That’s what he called it, thought Andrew, digressing within the realms of his own mind to a happier place. When he thought back to those days, where safety hadn’t been a deprivation, a little fire of hope ignited in his mind. “If he can do it, so can I. Just remember the rules of the road.”

The rules of the road... After hours of aimless recital, all twenty-three were imprinted in Andrew’s memory like a bad smell. In fact, he was certain that over the past few weeks, he’d been forced to learn more than when the university hadn’t been reduced to rubble. You can never escape school, he smirked. Damn it Dad, you were right.

“That’s right, Andrew... you definitely don’t have to go through with this...”

He stopped dead. Like a bad chill, the smug and condescending whine of the Lurkers was unmistakeable. They would descend on him like the sunlight, wiping away all pain once and for all if he didn’t act fast.

What had that crazy SOB advised? Sure, they’ll talk to you every now and then. But like any family member you’re trying to avoid, all you’ve got to do is avoid their calls and run. Did that even count as a valid lesson? I thought his guidance was overrated, Andrew thought, but this is just bullshit.

As he waded through the woods, pumping his arms for acceleration, the voices continued to sneer and cackle. Untraceable, they travelled and bounced from one side of the shrubs to the other, like a call-and-response system.

“Andrew, we are so very hungry... starving, as a matter of fact...”

Andrew smiled. They’ll also make up crap about hunger, but don’t believe a word of it. I’ve seen them pricks face-on, and there’s no way that they have intestines. Perhaps some of his advice wouldn’t go unused?

With each whisper and shout, Andrew felt himself pick up more and more speed. He knew deep down that what they were saying was just to get inside his head, but it was working. It wasn’t what they were saying, so much as it was the way they were saying it. They were animals, and it wouldn’t take much for one of their beastly kind to pounce on him.