Stage One: Hope in Darkness

Office Nightmare (Annabelle)

The alleys were the best way to travel through the city. The safest way. Yet they were also dangerous. Safe because the main streets are where the walkers tended to congregate, the alleys were less open. Easier to slip through the city unseen. Dangerous because they were small, with less space to maneuver. If the walkers found you it would be hard to get away. If you got pinned....well...the walkers went away well fed.

So far I had managed to move through the city unheard and unseen. Avoiding the walkers was becoming a time consuming task. Maybe I should have gone around. It's too late to change my mind now. I had made the decision now it was time to follow through. Hours spent already winding through the maze of concrete. Even if I could find my way back to the forest it was highly unlikely I could do it without being seen.

Hypervigilance was sapping my strength. Keeping myself alert to every sound and movement. Expanding my circle of awareness, pushing it to its limits. All of my senses felt raw. Every sight, sound, smell, taste and touch felt amplified to the extreme. The shadows stretched off of every object, too dark. My eyes watched those shadows like they were snakes ready to strike out with a venomous bite. My nose scented for that distinct putrid smell of rotting flesh. The smells coming off the dumpsters in the allies were clouding my nose. The smell of decaying garbage seemed stuck to the inside of my nose. My ears strained to hear the scraping of feet or that inhuman groan. Every sound felt as if it grated on my ears. The breeze flapping the tattered remains of the fabric of a discarded couch sounded like a bomb going off.

The stress was getting to be too much for my body. My body was running on high octane. I had burned through all my strength and was running off fumes. I need to rest. Finding a safe place in the city to stay even just to take a small nap was a hard task. But I needed to find one, I couldn't keep pushing forward like this. I kept my eyes peeled for a safe place. One with both a front and back way out. As few windows as possible, strong doors. Last as certainly not last was it needed to be walker free both inside and outside its immediate vicinity. In the city that was a lot to ask for.

My vision becomes unfocused, the world around me a blurred mess. I needed to find that place now. I had to take a chance on one of these buildings or I was going to pass out on the street. A heavy metal door stood up ahead in the alley. Looks sturdy, let's just hope it is clear inside. I pulled the door open quickly. It was dark inside. I waited just inside the doorway with Hannibal as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. My eyes made out shapes in the gloom, desks. Must be some kind of office. Computers sat at every desk, some broken. Smashed on the floor. Everyone left in a hurry. I hoped they had all made it outside. That would mean no walkers for me to deal with. I pull out my bow and an arrow, better safe than sorry. The room was not very big. Brick walls, one window set high in the wall on the alley side.

This seemed to be some kind of back room. There was another door across the room from where I stood, that must lead to the front. Another way to escape if it came to it. There was also a door to my left. I took a deep breath before moving to the door and opening it. White porcelain greeted me. A bathroom. Every movie cliche about zombies in the bathroom popped into my head. Oh shit one is definitely going to pop out at me. I moved slowly, opening one of the stalls cautiously. There were three of them. First one, empty. Second, empty. I stood in front of the last stall. Get ready Annabelle. This was the moment of truth. I opened the door more forcefully than I meant to. The door slamming into the wall. Empty. Relief coursed through me.

I moved back into the office space, I started pushing the desk up against the doors. Barricading us in. I collapsed on the floor when I was done. I pulled out jerky and water. Feeding Hannibal and nibbling on some. Hannibal and I ate in silence, we always did. The adrenaline started to wear off. Exhaustion was pulling at me. I leaned against the wall, bow in hand. My body was forcing me to take a power nap. I closed my eyes, sleep came quickly. Darkness closed in and my limbs fell limp.