When All is Lost

Chapter 17

I was utterly alone.

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I waited. I waited for hours before I came to the realization that I would have to find the church without Ian or Ray and hope to meet them there. A few problems arose as I came to that conclusion.

The first was that I had no idea which direction I had run in. For all I knew, I could have gone right past the church, or I could have gone in the complete opposite direction. That thought led me to my second conclusion.

Where the hell is east?

I could use a GPS or a map just fine for directions. Never once in my life had I ever needed to follow directions as abstract as east or use nature as my guide. As I looked up at the sky for the millionth time, I tried to track the sun.

The sun sets in the west. Right?

I tried to remember basic knowledge, but I was overwhelmed. It made me realize how much I'd actually been counting on Ian for guidance. It also made me wonder how he'd done it. Had he known to use the sun and stars? Or had he already known the streets?

Has he been here before?

All my questions had to wait. I had to focus on the sun for the short time I could. As the day progressed and the sky filled up with clouds, I had the sinking feeling I wasn't going to be able to test my skills with tracking the North Star.

Stepping out from my hiding place was daunting and I was intimidated. There was no one to back me up if I ran into those people again. The last time I had been so alone I had nearly died.

I raised my free hand to my collarbone and felt the start of my raised scar under my shirt. I had stopped wearing bandages, but that was more because I didn't want to waste more fabric on making them. A few places along the scar were still scabby, especially towards the center of my chest where the slash had been the deepest.

I lowered my hand again and placed it on the gun so both hands were gripping it firmly and double-checked that the safety was off. Listening again for sounds of life, I heard nothing other than my own rumbling belly and chattering teeth. I set my shoulders back and left my safe zone, doing my best to keep my back to the setting sun.

My eyes scanned my surroundings as I carefully began my walk down a long, main street. A small café to my right had all of its windows smashed. A little further down a body lay with its face towards the sky in the middle of the road. I kept moving; my feet crunching on the snow with each step.

I approached a crossroad and saw the zigzag patterns of shoe treads heading in multiple directions, one of them being the direction I needed to go in. I took a deep breath and walked on, making a mental note to memorize the shoe treads of Ian's and Ray's if I found them again.

When I find them.

There had been no yelling or screaming or any sort of loud sounds during my time hiding. I had no reason to believe the worst had occurred. I had to find the church. If it was empty when I got there, I would reassess. Until then, I wouldn't let myself worry. I couldn't.

My gaze danced all around me. I searched the skyline for signs of a spire, checked the street and its alleys for signs of life, and examined the treads in the snow for any telling patterns. At one point, I saw where new treads had joined the few others in the center of the street. One of the treads was very, very small. I gasped in surprise at the footprints left behind by child-sized feet. My eyes followed the trail and I could see that they, along with a much bigger pair of footprints, had come out from a small shop not far from me. My stomach flipped and I hurried along, wanting to split away from the child's prints as soon as possible. I took the next turn.