Maybe

Chapter 3

present day

      I miss her. I miss the girl who always woke up with a smile on her face. I don't remember the last time I smiled. I miss the girl who had dreams for her future. I barely had hope that I would love for the next hour. I miss the girl who knew that she was safe and loved and always protected. It was my job now to keep myself safe, and I found myself wondering what the point was almost every day.
      I was forced to leave my house in the dead of night almost a month ago. My dad had never returned and I blamed myself for that. I felt guilty that I had left so easily. If only I had waited a few more hours, maybe he was down the road fighting to make it back, praying that I would wait for him. There was no time now to think about the past, or cry for the ones that I have lost, the time for crying was over. Before I left my house I gathered all the things that I might need in order to survive. I stuffed pounds of ammo into my dark green backpack along with a spare rifle that I slung over my shoulder in case anything would ever happen to my small handgun. I ran for my life deeper into the woods and I didn't stop until I was tripping over my own feet. That's where I made camp. That's where I have been living for the past month. My camp consisted of a weak fort made of branches, a small pile of canned food that I have picked off from left over camps, and a small fire pit that I refused to light for more than 10 minutes a day in fear of being found.
      I am convinced that I am the only one left alive on this forsaken earth. I woke up in my small makeshift tent just before dawn. The morning fog hung heavy around me and I shivered as I pulled my jacket closer around my body. Even though I had lost my watch about a week before in a hand to hand combat with a walker, I was sure that I hadn't gotten more than 3 hours of sleep. This was my favorite part of the day. The world was light enough to get some work done while the heavy fog concealed you so that you weren't a walking target. I stiffly sat up and stretched my legs. I crawled out of my fort on the rough rocks and tree bark that scattered the floor. I looked around making sure the coast was clear before I stood up and stretched my stuff joints. I immediately went over to my dwindling supply pile as I sifted through the cans in search of water. I knew that I was running out of water a few days ago, dreading the idea of leaving my camp unattended in search of a stream. When I stood from the pile empty handed, I knew that I had no other choice. The conditions weren't horrible, I had the fog to cover me a little and the fact that I was blessed with a light tread didn't hurt. I sighed and walked back over to my fort. I reached in and pulled out a box of ammo along with my rifle and my 9mm. I sat down on the forest floor and carefully loaded each one. I also loaded a few more magazines and stuffed them in my pockets before adding the rest of my ammo stash to my backpack. I stood up and took one last look at my sad camp. You never knew in this apocalyptic world if you were going to make it back to your camp at the end of the day, and it felt like leaving a part of me here. If there were any survivors, someone was bound to find my camp and take it as a sign from God that they were meant to live to the next day. I just saw it as a coincidence.
      I slung my heavy pack over my shoulder along with my rifle and picked up my handgun. I racked a bullet into place. If you came across a walker, you didn't want the sound of you racking a gun to make them spot you, I learned this from experience.
      I had been a Girl Scout back in the day, an I pride myself in the fact that I know how to survive in the wild. I was pretty confident in my abilities to find a lake or stream, but after walking for a few hours, my sights landed on a grocery store.

"Well, that was too easy." I thought to myself

      I stood on the edge of the forest and the main highway. I didn't recognize the highway or any of the street signs which made me think that I must have run farther than I had anticipated a month ago. I checked my surroundings for any walkers and when I knew the coast was clear I put my gun in ready position with my arms straight and the gun pointed at the floor. I crossed halfway into the main freeway and easily hopped over the middle separation. I ran the rest of the way until I made it to the front of the store. I turned around. The annoying thing about being alone is, you have no one to watch your back. The road was deserted with cars lying unattended in the middle. It seemed that the whole world had been covered in a layer of dirt and grime, including me. I turned back to face the door and tried to push it open. The thing was too rusted to easily get open so I forced my shoulder on the frame and it popped open with little resistance. It was obvious survivors had looted the store, but I checked anyway for any bottles of water. I worked my way up and down the aisles checking every inch of them. I walked up the last aisle slowly losing hope until a shiny object poking out from under the shelves caught my attention. I stooped down on my knees to force the object out when I was thrown back on my butt in surprise as I heard a gun go off. I quickly looked around me to find my handgun when I spotted it about 10 feet away from me. I quietly slid on the floor and wrapped my hands around it. This was a survivor, I was sure of it.