Survival of the Fittest

Chapter 4

After cleaning myself up, Kyla and I stockpile on weapons. She arms herself with daggers, pistols, and a bow and arrow; the weapons of a true warrior. Looking at my options, I'm almost convinced to stay behind. I don't know how to use any of these. Thinking of my sister, I push aside my fear and grab my own dagger. I've used knives before, in the kitchen. How different can they be? I look over and see Kyla smirking at me.

"What's so funny?" I ask defensively.

"You don't look too well. Have you ever fought before?" She ask coyly.

"When it comes to fight or flight...I usually respond with flight. The closest thing to combat I've experienced is when I was forced to take karate." Kyla just shakes her head and walks away, beckoning for me to follow her.

"I'm Charlie by the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself," I blurt out.

"Pleasure," Kyla replies distractedly. We make our way down a dimly lit hallway until we reach a heavy steel door covered in a half dozen different locks. She begins to undo them, each loose bolt and chain making my heart hammer harder. She pauses on the final one and looks at me.

"Before we go out there, remember to stay close to me and do exactly as I say." Without waiting for a response, she turns the last lock and swings the door open. I'm met by a brilliant ray of sunshine. I have to shield my eyes in order to follow Kyla. She slams the door shut and puts a heavy lock on the curved handle. We make our way through the deserted streets, sticking to the shadows. We stop at an intersection to make sure the coast is clear.

"Where exactly did you leave your sister?" Kyla ask, just now thinking to ask that.

"At a supermarket about two miles north of where you found me," I reply, sounding like a real explorer, not. Suddenly curious, I ask, "Why exactly did you agree to help me?"

She looks over at me and I can see her struggle to find what to say. After a long moment she finally says, "I know what it's like to lose everything." With that she goes back to silence.

We make a left and continue on our way. The streets are quiet, I'm grateful to avoid a fight but anxious because the suspense for one is maddening. We walk in silence for awhile before coming across the alley of my attack.

"So how did you jump from so high up? You should have broken something?" My mind wanders to the thought of her ninja skills.

"You ask a lot of questions. I don't have superpowers if that is what you're implying. I scaled down the side using railings and such, you were just too out of it." This girl never fails at sarcasm.

Seeing that I won't be getting anymore answers from her, we continue on our way. I start to see some familiar things. Broken store windows, a tree that somehow got split in half, a burnt car, another burnt car. We eventually make it to the street that I left Raegan. I look around and spot the little shop I'd last seen her.

"She should be over there," I feel like hurling from the anticipation. I take a deep breath and head towards the store, barging through the doorway. Looking around it appears that the little shop is empty. No. No, no, no, no, no. I can't believe this. It can't be empty. She has to be here. I run around the shop, even looking in drawers hoping she shrunk. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My breaths come in short waves and I can feel tears pooling in my eyes.

"I checked around back, there's no sign that anyone has been here recently," Kyla has entered the shop behind me. "We can check some of the shops around but we have to be careful. You never know where hell unleashed its beasts."

With a few deep breaths, I pull myself together and set off to look through the various stores around the street. After carefully picking our way through some of the buildings, I come across a little bed and breakfast. Now where would a little girl go if she had been left alone at night? I get Kyla's attention and motion that I'm going in. She darts over to peek through the windows and gives me a nod of approval. I try the back door but it won't budge. Peering into the little window, I can see a chair leaning against the door, holding it closed. Raegan is definitely here. Kyla whistles to get my attention, walking to the side I see that she found a loose window and has pried it open. We silently slip in and slowly make our way through the interior. The bottom floor is clear of life so we quietly ascend the stairs. When we reach the landing, we see a long hallway of doors. Great. One big guessing game.

"How about you take the left side, I'll take the right side," she compromises.

"Yeah. Split up. Just like the beginning of every horror movie," I mumble.

"We're living one big horror movie," she responds, "Let's get this over with."

. . .

I've looked through every room on my side of the hallway and have nearly lost hope. I only have one more door left. I creep the door open and slowly edge into the room.

"AHH!" I hear from inside just as my eyes land on a blur of motion rushing at me. I don't even have time to say anything. I lunge out of the way and catch the attacker in the knee, taking them down with me.

Once the commotion has died down, I get a look at the scoundrel. The scoundrel appears to be my sister. "Oh my - Raegan!" I yell, before wrapping her in a bear hug.

"What's going on?" I hear Kyla say from the doorway, "Oh, lovely, you found her."

Raegan pulls away to gawk at this stranger. She turns and looks at me, "Who's that?" she ask quietly, like Kyla isn't standing two feet away.

"Rae, this is Kyla. She saved my life. Kyla, this is Rae, my bratty little sister," I introduce the two. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"What happened?" Raegan ask, "You were supposed to come right back."

"I know. Things got complicated," I respond softly, "but it's okay now. I won't let you out of my sight."

"Charlie, I hate to break up the reunion but the sun is starting to set. We can't be out past dark," Kyla motions in the direction of the window where the sun is indeed setting. She ushers us out of the door and we make our way back to her hideout.