I ignored the building to the side of it. The busted main doors indicated probably the same treatment. Despite being visible, I stuck to the middle of the road, in the afternoon sunlight. Bright and hot, yet it did little to dispel the chill within.
Would my entire life be about fear and struggling to survive? As I passed a broken window with a stripped mannequin hanging out of it, a pang of loneliness decided to remind me that not only would my life be hard bit it would be spent alone.
Because no one was out there. Or if they were, they hid like me.
Yet, I had a small hope as I sauntered that maybe someone, who wasn’t an asshole rapist or a human turned monster, would see me. Man. Woman. At this point, I’d have killed to have even a cat as a companion. I had food for it stashed near my current place. Just in case things ever got super desperate.
The afternoon light suddenly dimmed as a cloud passed over. Where had it come from?
I frowned. When I’d left there’d not been a single cloud in the sky. It was okay. The monsters still wouldn’t come out.
I hoped.
My feet moved faster. I’d have to go farther.
The next block had some lower-rise buildings, only three stories. Not ideal for supplies, however, I didn’t see many broken windows. The lobby doors remained closed, and locked. The panes of glass intact if dirty. I peered through them, but there wasn’t enough visibility to see shit.
I pulled the door, wincing at metallic rattling. This was the part I hated.
The hammer and chisel came out of the loops from the utility belt I wore. My knapsack was for a set of clothes and essentials. I never left home without an emergency kit.
Placing the chisel against the seam with the bolt, I whacked it. Fast and hard. Don’t waste time. The longer I banged, the bigger target I painted. Noise drew attention. It had been months since I’d had to fight, and I wasn’t eager to break that streak. Some days I felt bad about what I had to do to Corey, but then I remembered the hungry gleam in his eye and the knife in his hand, his grin as he said, Meat is meat.
Humans weren’t meat. When he died, I left him for the monsters. I’d eat dog food before stooping to that level.
The inside of the building felt like a tomb. Yet I doubted any of the deep pockets of shadows held any corpses. The air didn’t feel of death. Nor did it appear trashed. I might have lucked out.
The apartment building I’d entered held a very standard kind of layout. Stairs going down to two basement units, the laundry and utility area for building management only. Up, I found four apartments, doors all closed. The window outside gave enough illumination to show the hallway intact. Such a good sign and a good thing, too, as that one cloud suddenly multiplied. I was losing daylight fast. I might have to hunker down somewhere and ride out the night. It wouldn’t be the first time.
It saved my life more than once. My second year in, I’d gone on a recon mission for Sally, Derek, and Sloane. Got caught by a storm and spent the night in a mattress store. When I went back to our camp, it was to find them gone, only blood left behind.
As the afternoon light waned, the stairwell darkened, and I tensed, wondering if something watched me.
On the second landing, seeing more signs of locked doors, I decided I’d gone far enough. I tried the handle of the first apartment door, just in case it would cooperate.
It didn’t budge. I’d have to deal with the lock. I pulled out my hammer and chisel, a girl’s best friends, and made quick work of the lock. If I chose to stay here, a hardware store would provide a replacement. For tonight, I’d barricade the opening.
Bang. Bang. It took more shots than I liked to break my way in. I gave a fearful glance down the hall to the stairwell, half expecting to see a snarling face coming at me.
Nothing stirred.
I closed the door and immediately slid a small table nearby to hold it shut. I’d need heavier stuff. Something wide enough to wedge between the door and the wall a few feet in front of it. Maybe the fridge would be on wheels that worked.
My nose wrinkled as I moved from the tight entrance into the apartment. Something had died here. Not as long ago as I would have liked judging by the ripeness. It didn’t bode well for scavenging, a fact reinforced by the empty cupboards. I even shone my light inside them to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
Exiting the kitchen with my flashlight, the kind you could charge by shaking it hard and fast, I aimed it around and saw the signs someone had used this apartment as a base. There was litter all over. Food wrappers mostly. A toppled pile of porn magazines, stains on the couch that I didn’t plan to touch.
Nothing usable jumped out of me, and I almost turned around to leave. Maybe I should find a different apartment. Maybe the person living here hadn’t rifled through them all.
I should be thorough, though, hence why I went into the bedroom and found the body. It lay on the bed, most of the decay having progressed past the wet stage. A dried husk remained that would keep evaporating over time until it was only bones.
It didn’t appear as if he’d been killed, more likely died in his sleep from the drugs he took. The nightstand held a plethora of needles and pill bottles. I had a full bottle of opioids in my pack and antibiotics. Just in case.
Exiting the bedroom, I shone my light one last time around. Would I die alone like this person had? Would it be despair that got me as I finally cracked at the fact I’d never eat fast food again. I missed the Big Mac. And those crunchy salty fries. Soft serve ice cream. Unburned popcorn because it was fucking hard to make without a goddamned microwave.
The flashlight remained in my hand as I entered the hall, not bothering to close the door behind me. I aimed the beam at the next door. As I neared, I saw the signs of abuse by the handle.
I entered to find it ransacked. Along with the next.
Fuck.
I didn’t realize I’d hissed it aloud until I heard it. Not as if anyone heard me. This place was long abandoned. I began to head back down the hall, to the stairs, only to pause. I hurriedly shut off my light and listened.
Creak. The noise came from the stairs, and I bolted for the nearest open apartment. I shut and leaned against the door, ear pressed to it.
At first, I heard nothing. Perhaps it was just the building shifting. Still, it didn’t hurt to be cautious. I kept my cheek against the portal and had just about decided it was when safe when the hair on my body zapped to attention.
I held my breath and listened.
Huff. Huff. Grr. Ha.
Part growl, part cackle, and such bad news.
How long before it tracked me down? The door was busted and needed barricading. Possible, I thought as I glanced around. Only problem being it would leave me trapped in here.
I could confront it in the hall. My gloves meant my grip wasn’t slippery on my gun. Kill it and I’d be able to use the stairs.
What if it wasn’t alone?
Something brushed up against the door. A nail scratched over it, and I wanted to whimper.
It knew I was on the other side. I didn’t dare move, not even to blink as I waited to see what it would do. With a thump it cackled and moved away.
I should exit now and kill it. Make my escape. Be brave.
Then my brain reminded me of the last time I fought a monster. I’d barely survived. The slash that had healed and left a thick scar throbbed in reply.
What if I could find another way out?
The window I stumbled to opened easier than expected, a piece of luck I wouldn’t waste. Breathing hotly behind my mask, I slipped outside, the overcast sky still better than the shadowy apartment. My feet barely gripped the thin limestone ledge that ran decoratively around the building. Five years ago, my idea of climbing was the social ladder. Now? I was Spiderwoman without the webs.