Day Two

So here I sit, blank page before me. Bright sunlight streaming in the window, cup of coffee in hand and no idea where to go from here...we left our survivor escaping the grocery store. Shall we see where she goes?

Slinking down the alley I stay alert for any movement. No way could any runners have missed the sounds of a gunshot.  Something just isn't right. Getting back to my hole in the wall is priority one. I take advantage of the silence and scurry back toward my temporary home. 
The good thing about this apocalypse is that there seem to be few runners. In the movies I always wondered at the never ending hordes of zombies. Luckily there seem to be less runners. Lots of dead folks though. I did mention the smells didn't I?
When all this came down I lived in a small apartment. Alone. Not even a plant to keep me company. I knew my neighbors by sight but I had no real friends in the building. My friends were all back home. Living the same lives their parents and grandparents had lived before them. I had decided at a young age I would escape that grind. So at the first opportunity I left. I found a job, a place to live and made a few acquaintances and even fewer friends. Solitary by nature I wasn't about to let just anyone get too close. Crowds make me itchy. Any more than three people is a crowd to me. Anyway, when the crap hit the fan I was alone and alone I have remained. As soon as I realized what was happening I left the apartment. Too closed in for me. I wanted space around me so I could see what was coming. I packed as much survival gear as I could into my car and started driving. Didn't really get that far what with all of the closed roads and traffic jams. When I couldn't drive any further, I started hiking. Out of simple reflex I headed toward home. Some misguided sentimentality or nostalgia for family perhaps. I ran into my first runner about 50 miles out in the middle of nowhere. The only thing that saved me was my own clumsiness. I heard footsteps behind me and I started to run. And promptly tripped and fell flat on my face. The runner fell over me. I managed to shoot it before it could get back up. That was my first kill. It wasn't like in the movies. There is nothing glamorous or exciting about killing a living thing. I shot it. It died. I puked. And then I walked on. Feels like I have walked a million miles since then. I've been afraid to stay too long in one place. I start to feel itchy and I move on. I have seen other survivors but I stay out of sight. A woman alone doesn't just have to worry about the runners. There are other things that go bump in the night. I have seen other survivors from a distance. There is a group just over on the next street. Militia types. Lots of camo and big guns. All men. If there are women I haven't seen any. A very good reason to stay hidden. I am hoping they move on soon. Then I can just travel on my way. 

I slip back into my bolt hole, peering behind me to make sure I wasn't followed. When I first got to this town I scouted around to find a good place to hole up. Since I like to read the local library seemed a good place. A small brick building off the main street. Not too many doors. Windows already boarded over. There are transom windows left unbarred so plenty of sunlight. Seemed like someone had the good sense to lock it down. I broke in and barricaded the doors from the inside. When I leave I bar them from the outside. So far no one or no thing as bothered me. 
Setting my booty down on the circulation desk I scout the rooms. Nothing disturbed. Sighing I settle down with my can opener and a fresh bottle of water. Yum, cold peas. Oh well, it could be worse. My last scavenge I came back with asparagus. I despise asparagus. That was not a good week. 
Finishing my cold dinner I toss my debris in the big garbage can I had pulled in off the street. No sense in keeping a nasty house even during the apocalypse. 
Dusk is falling. Another night to endure. The runners are out during the day but there are other things out at night. Things that shriek and howl. Things that hunt. Predators seeking prey. The runners I can somewhat understand, a virus or chemical or whatever it was caused humans to go crazy and crave human flesh. What I don't understand are the animals. Domesticated animals have whatever it is too. And they hunt only at night. In packs. There is nothing natural about a pack of dogs and cats running together. Hunting together. 
The howls are starting. I set up my perimeter alarms (cans tied onto string) and settle in for the night, one hand on my gun. What I wouldn't give for a good nights sleep. All over town I hear shrieks and squeals, barking and howling. Closing my eyes I will myself to sleep. 

And there I think I'll stop. For now.