Chasing Extinction
The oak leaf litter, muddled browns and rich blacks, muffled Audra’s footsteps. But the bare trees did little to shield her approach as her short, lithe frame climbed through the Georgian brush. Pearl skin and speckled green eyes flashed underneath a thin hood which she adjusted over her hair. Although summer’s coppery highlights were fading back to their chocolaty auburn, it remained in sharp contrast to the colors of a bleak winter.
Audra felt the outline of the scrawled letter through her threadbare jacket. She’d have to remember to put it in her pack if it rained. She hadn’t delivered mail in a long while. Not since a simpler time. But, it allowed her to do the one thing she could do.
Run.
Darting through the forest was Audra’s specialty and priceless in this world where escaping a zombie’s bite meant you lived another day. Audra’s life had centered around running. First, running for Lysent Corporation as she tried to secure a cure for her bitten sister. Then, she ran for Osprey Point to secure a cure for everyone.
Both failures on her account.
Audra wasn’t sure why she should be running anymore. It was all for naught, just lies she had believed. Just lies she had told herself.
Audra’s stomach grumbled.
Winter wasn’t a lie.
She surveyed the ground for something to settle the churning in her gut. Tracks of a nearby animal to hunt was asking for too much. She’d dig up some acorns buried by squirrels or dandelion roots sleeping through the winter — anything to make her salivate and lie to her stomach that food was on the way.
She should have packed rations for her journey, but splitting their stores between Osprey Point and their new quarantine location had made it startlingly clear there was not enough food for either group’s winter. As they divvied up their fall harvest of hickory nuts, chicory roots, and the like, it was clear winter foraging would be a daily task.
She couldn’t take from their supplies.
But, she had also forgotten the difficulties of blazing a trail. This wasn’t walking through her well-worn paths around Osprey Point or Lysent rail lines. This was navigating to a town far from the Lysent network with no clear route. Audra had forgotten how much energy it took to keep in the right direction and hike through the brush. Maybe she’d risk taking the roads back. But unfamiliar roads meant unfamiliar people and possible traps. Easy moving might turn into easy dying.
Audra moved from maple tree to maple tree, pulling the shriveled winged seeds from branches, shaking off the cobwebs. Flavors would differ from tree to tree, but winter declared they would all be bitter. Still, snapping the wing off and popping the seed pod into her mouth — it was better than nothing.
Audra recalled Gordon’s directions to find the town. It had to be close. Maybe not close enough. Or maybe she was lost. The sky’s grey whiteness vaguely lit the forest, but also hid the time from her. She pushed forward. The cool day would lead to a cold night she wouldn’t want to suffer in her flimsy summer tent. She needed walls. Shelter.
While she was sure the letter would find its way in, she wasn’t so sure if she’d be allowed to accompany it. Audra and Osprey Point no longer had anything of value to offer. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she just wanted to find the small town before the sun tumbled from its hidden perch.
* * *
Audra all but stumbled upon her destination. She had been sure she was lost, but the small main street with its defunct traffic light popped up in the wood. A few shops barely justified it being called a town before. Now, it was tired and ghostly. It would be like any other small hub for farming neighbors, except for the giant chain grocery store just on the outskirts which had seen its demise before the world’s end. Audra imagined that the store had gone out of business just as quickly as it had popped up, leaving a parking lot that would never be filled and a building much too large for anyone to utilize. Until now.
The curb against the road had been stacked with overturned grocery carts, creating a barrier of materialistic waste from the droves. Every defense against the zoms risked drawing the attention of marauders. This wall of coated metal carts was a shiny beacon for those looking to take. Audra refused to underestimate them and took caution as she scooted through the opening in the carts.
A few feet onto the concrete parking lot were parked cars, lined bumper to bumper. The path to the green sedan in the center looked well-traveled. Audra found the driver’s door to be unlocked and most of the interior gutted. Audra slid through to the other side, where she opened the passenger door and slipped out. There, another line-up of cars, this time an opening between two of them. She looked over the row to find more vehicles, all positioned purposefully.
Settled dust on hoods and roofs indicated the residents carefully walked around them for their ingress and egress. Maybe to shed doubt on the store’s occupancy, or perhaps to keep scent trails intact. It was a maze or a queue, really — a way to slow small groups of wanderers. It wouldn’t stop a large herd though. They’d just flood over the cars.
Audra pulled a rag out of her bag. It wasn’t white but it would have to do. She didn’t want to be mistaken for the sick. Holding it over her head, she walked the circuitous path.
When in Rome.
As she finally reached the store front on the other end of the parking lot, she heard a throat clear above her. She looked up to see a long rifle pointed at her from the roof, steadied on a rusty security camera. 50/50 the rifle was loaded. 20/80 he could shoot and wasn’t just up there for show. Behind the rifle was a ruddy face with a bulbous nose.
Audra waved her little raggedy flag once more.
“I’m Audra. I’ve got mail for someone inside.”
* * *
Continue the Chase
Chasing Extinction is available as an ebook on Amazon.com, and in paperback on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.