Scourge

Chapter 2

From our walk, I learned that we're in North Carolina. She's not from this specific area, but from the state. Now it's just District Five. We stopped at an abandoned gas station.

"Let's see if we can find supplies."

Frost hums in agreement and looks around. I get a really good look at her. She's short and skinny. Too skinny. And she looks young.

"How old are you?"

"Older than you think."

"Really? You look young."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Whatever it means to you. A compliment wasn't my goal though."

"Asshole, I'm seventeen."

I'm nineteen. Holy shit, what are the odds I find another teenager still alive and not in one of the shelters?

Frostbite purses her lips and starts rummaging through shelves. There aren't many supplies in the station, but expired cans of beans is better than digging through trash cans for wet bread.

"We need to hurry, they'll catch up."

"Who?"

"The agents. They've been following me since I left home."

She goes in the back and brings out old clothes. I catch onto her idea. They've seen me a million times by now. And I'm also dirty. New clothes wouldn't hurt. I hide in a corner and change. I must've been skinnier than I thought, because the clothes are closer to her size but also aren't too tight on me. Shortly after I turn the corner, she emerges. The khakis and black tee are baggy on her, but not so much that it is a trip hazard. She fumbles with her fingers before running them through her hair. I didn't realize it before. How pretty she actually is.

"Frost."

She pauses. Her eyes bore through my soul and look me up and down. I'm not usually one to be self conscious, but I have a pretty girl staring at me for the first time in five months. And I haven't been eating like I used to, but I'm sure I still have some aspects of my athletic physique. She finally looks down and clears her throat.

"Let's get moving."

She attempts to lift my duffle bag before it drags her down and she hands it back to me. She gives me the look of damn, what'd you put in here? I laugh it off and take it from her. As soon as we leave the building, I can feel something wrong. It's silent outside, but there's almost a faint buzzing noise. Not the buzz of an insect, more like the buzz of activity. Human activity.

"Hypothetical question."

Frost raises a brow.

"Okay, shoot."

"If I needed the fastest way out of the city or off the streets, what's the best route from here?"

She stops and ponders for a moment. Her eyes follow the tree line off into the distance before she motioning for me to follow.

"Every city in North Carolina has a countryside, we just gotta keep moving."

I let her lead the way, trying to avoid getting a foot stuck in a pothole. She stumbles a few times with her limp, but I can tell that we were almost there. The area is barren, almost country life. Even before The Falling, this area seems as if it's always been empty. Rusted cars that reek of roadkill are everywhere. The longer we walk, the duller my suspicion gets. Until I finally hear the synthetic crackling of a speaker coming to life.

"CITIZENS OF DISTRICT FIVE: WE WILL BE CONDUCTING A CITY SWEEP OF THE AREA. REMAIN IN YOUR HOMES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."

We turn towards each other. She whips around like she is ready to run, but I grab her arm and hold a finger up to my mouth. They're looking for something. Some local governments reclassified cities and states and referred to them as districts. When a third of the population perishes in less than half a year, a lot changes. Especially crime rates. They installed city intercoms and performed routine sweeps to deter criminals from doing anything. And they worked. I mean, there's no one to commit a crime on if everyone's inside. But they only ever announce it if it's a serious threat. I keep my eyes peeled for anything out of place. In my peripherals, I see a light. More like a flash of light. A muzzle flash. Then something whizzes past my ear.

"Run!"

I don't know who said it, but we both took off for the trees. More bullets are raining on us. A vase with dying flowers explodes into shards as I run past. Frostbite has a hard time keeping up, so I reach for her arm to pull her along. She immediately yanks it back and picks up the pace. And it's a good thing she does, because next I hear the dogs. Damn, why do they want us so bad?

She slows again. We are almost to the trees, but she will trip in the uneven grass if I don't help her. I run up to her side and pick her up, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other under her knees. I've never heard someone scream so loud. She is punching at my chest and kicking the air, almost hitting me a few times.

"I swear to god if you don't put me down right now-"

"Frost stop it-"

A patch of field beside me blows up with flying bullets and forces both of us to the ground.

"Crawl."

She shuffles her way down the hill and into the trees, never putting weight on her palms or knees. I follow closely behind her, dragging the duffel bag behind me to cover our tracks. Once I am sure we are far enough, I stand and look for mud.

"What was that back there?"

She stands and straightens herself, pulling a strand of hair out of her mouth before glaring at me.

"You kicked me! I was trying to help you!" I try to keep my voice down.

She crosses her arms and turns away from me.

"You were slowing us down."

Huffs.

"Damn it, say something!"

"I don't need your help."

She draws her hand back and slaps me. Ouch. That will leave a mark.

"Okay, I deserved that."

I pick up the bag and hold the spot she hit. I couldn't say anything back. She's too heated right now to reason with anything. I hear a stream of water up ahead. Maybe I can make mud.

I sit by the river and scoop some water to pour into the dirt, stirring it with a stick. Then start rubbing the mud on my arms and face. I offer her a handful but she won't even look at me. I stand up and get closer.

"The search dogs won't find us if we cover our scent."

I barely speak above a whisper. I almost thought she didn't hear me, but she takes the mud from me and rubs it into her hair. We look like garbage when we finish. I smile at how silly she looks but rush into the water when I hear the dogs again. I grab a branch floating on the surface and use it to cover our faces. We can see them, but they can't see us.

"We just missed him, he left his bag behind. Come on, let's head back and regroup."

I sigh with relief when they leave, although they took my bag. I will need to gather more supplies.

"It's safe now."

I move the branch. Our new clothes were now ruined, but at least we're still alive. We crawl up the ditch and head east.

"Do you think any of these homes are completely abandoned? We might be able to find supplies."

She shrugs.

We walk for almost two miles before we find an ugly yellow home. It's completely taken over by vines and some of the windows are busted. The paint on the sides are beginning to peel off, and the shingles are damaged. But it's a lot safer than streets and tunnels. It takes a lot of force, but we are able to bust the door open. The place is teaming with cockroaches and ants, but that's something I've learned to get used to. Frost looks uneasy.

She pulls up a damaged rocking chair and sits at the edge. It tilts forward but she readjusts and balance its uneven legs. She pulls off her worn ankle boots and winces. Pus on her ankles. Her sores are breaking. I know the signs. She's dying.

"Frostbite, let me help."

Then she starts coughing.