"I may have saved her from the monsters that crawl through the dark, but she saved me from the worst monster of all. She rescued me from who I would have become without her, the monster that would have easily conquered my body."
* * *
Reese Chambler...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
˜˜˜
MY HEART SINKS further into my chest with each slow, tired step I take. The setting sun to my left pours from between the trees, lighting the paved road in front of me in sporadic patches. My stomach churns and rumbles with hunger, bubbling up to the inside of my throat, which is already thick with thirst. The baby in my pack stopped crying long ago and is just limply slumped in the backpack with its arms dangling out of the opened zipper. It has been slipping in and out of unpleasant slumber, something I am sure is filled with horrible nightmares that don't end when it wakes up.
Fortunately, it's probably too little to remember any of this anyway. I, on the other hand, will always have the image of my dead sister haunting my dreams.
A fresh wave of hot tears pour down my cheeks. I don't even bother to wonder about my mother's fate because I couldn't bare anymore heartache. My aunt Tara is strong, but I can only imagine she met with the same end as my mother and sister. I didn't see her or anyone I recognized in the aftermath of the battle.
My family wasn't cut out to survive this world. We had been sheltered in our apartment ever since it all started. Though I always pushed to stay alive, deep down, I always knew we would eventually get swallowed up by the earth much too soon. I just never thought I'd be the only one left behind to suffer through it.
The poisonous thoughts surge from my brain to the rest of my body, slowing down the circulation of blood. My feet drag on even slower as hopeless tears hit the warm pavement.
I am not cut out for this world. My family is gone, I am alone.
My feet flop over and finally stop. My rolled ankles are screaming from the long and seemingly pointless march. I breathe in deeply, my heart feeling heavier than it ever has before. The multiple thoughts in my mind all quiet as one protrudes out.
Why am I even still walking?There is no point anymore, so where do I think I am heading to?
I should know that there is nothing out there, nothing but misery and death.
Death, the idea sounds so lovely right now. As scary as it may be, death has got to be better than living in a world without Meghan.
The large pocket knife that my aunt Tara gave me for my tenth birthday swishes as I flick it open. I look down at the gleaming blade as it smirks up at me, taunting me, reminding me that I will never see my aunt again. I don't want to die, that much is true, but living without my baby sister here to keep me sane sounds unbearable. I just love her so much, she was my source of happiness, she had been ever since my dad left us.
I continue to stare at the knife in my hand, rotating my wrist back and forth so the blade reflects the light from the sun. On and off, like an SOS signal.
A sudden shriek startles me and causes me to drop the knife in surprise.
My burning yet unblinking eyes wildly look around to find the source of the loud noise, and that's when I remember the small weight on my back. I sink to the ground as I place the pack upright on the pavement in front of me. The hot surface of the road scorches my knee caps, but the burning sensation is no match for the pain I feel within.
