The City of Wanderers - No Peaceful North Part One

Prologue

The prairies of Western Canada during winter was not a place anyone would want to find themselves stranded in. Cold, strong winds blowing snow everywhere and making it impossible to tell the ground from the sky. If not prepared, the cold could easily kill someone out there. Thankfully for Erin O'Leary she had made her way to the town of Beaverlodge, Alberta.
The town appeared to be abandoned, or at the very least did not have any power. The sun had just gone down by the time Erin had made her way to an old motel. To her surprise, the door was open but it didn't seem like anyone else was inside. First thing she did upon entering was immediately lay down on a couch in the lobby, she was completely out of energy. It was dark and quiet, the only thing Erin could hear was the wind outside over her own heartbeat.
Despite not intending to, Erin slept until the sun had risen enough to brighten up the room. It felt like she blinked and suddenly it was morning. Her entire body was aching as she stretched, taking her black hood and mask off, revealing her bright red hair and face full of freckles. She had warmed up enough to the point her skin was no longer very red in some places. Even though her legs were still incredibly sore, Erin got back on her feet to look around for any supplies, since she assumed she would be staying there for a while. She made her way to the front desk and noticed a letter written on a branded sheet of paper that read:
Dear traveller,
I have left this place open for shelter if anyone is still travelling to or from Grande Prairie these days. I have decided to leave as everyone in this town is either dead, left ages ago or are infected. Take whatever you need. All I ask is you leave some for others too. We are all in this together. Maybe someday I can return to my hometown of Beaverlodge, but for now I am headed for Paradise.
Considering everything was covered in dust and there was no vandalism, Erin assumed she was the first traveller to enter in a long time. She was from Paradise too, formerly known as Calgary. The largest city in Alberta and one of the largest in all of Canada still. Erin hoped nothing bad happened to whoever owned the motel as the people in Paradise aren't the nicest to outsiders.
Erin wandered around more, hoping to find something to eat or drink. Each room was unlocked and accessible from both inside and outside. In one room she found coffee grounds and bottled water. If she could find a way to get hot water, it could warm her up and also give a needed energy boost. Though there was no power or gas in the building so she couldn't use a kettle or stove. Since the wind had died down outside and it was no longer snowing, she figured she could try starting a fire outside. Erin would then spend the next few minutes gathering things she could burn easily, like paper, chemicals with flammable labels and tearing off the wooden siding of the building outside. The place likely needed it to be redone anyways if it was easy to rip off.
In a more sheltered spot using a stove lighter she found, Erin lit a small fire. Once it was hot enough, she put a small pot full of water on it. While she waited for it to boil, she noticed something moving in the distance along the road. It appeared to be a person but they were moving very strangely. Leaning to one side, arms dangling and only moving a few steps before pausing for a few seconds. Erin hoped it was just someone who was either drunk or tweaking and not a wanderer, though it was likely the ladder. She had never seen a wanderer in-person before, the security in Paradise did a great job at keeping them out of sight. All she knew is that they were highly contagious and were attracted to noise.
Once the water started to boil, Erin grabbed the pot handle and lifted it off the fire only to drop it as the handle was quite hot. The pot falling on the concrete made quite a loud noise that echoed off the outside walls.
"Shit." Erin muttered when she then used her sleeve to pick up the pot and pour what remained of the water into her mug. She then looked back to see if the wanderer had reacted at all to the noise and saw they were wandering towards her. Quickly, she kicked snow onto the fire to put it out and went inside with the pot and mug, locking the door behind her and closing the curtains. Erin sat down on the bed and did her best to enjoy her coffee. It didn't taste great at all but she couldn't afford to be picky when living in the post-apocalypse. It warmed her up at least, which was what she really wanted. As she laid down again she started hearing scratching at her door. She knew it was the wanderer trying to get in. They were trying to use the doorknob but the door was locked. Knowing they likely weren't gonna leave until they found Erin, she grabbed the pot that was still warm and chose not to think twice about what she was about to do.
She unlocked and then kicked open the door, knocking the wanderer to the ground. Erin readied herself to start hitting them with the pot only to watch them struggle to get back up. She kinda felt bad for them. Eventually they stopped struggling and just laid in the snow. Erin crouched down next to them and managed to get a better look at their face. They still had all their hair, their skin only had some discolouration, their eyes had visible cataracts and their clothes were still in good condition. They had only recently turned and seemed to be quite young as well, a teenager most likely.
"I know you probably don't mean to hurt me, it's not your fault." Erin quietly started speaking to the wanderer, who started reaching out for her and made a gasping sound. Erin moved back a bit more so they couldn't touch her. They then started making noises as if they were trying to speak.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" Erin asked the wanderer as they said "Mother."
"Oh my god, are they still alive?" Erin thought to herself as she saw a black truck driving towards her. It didn't appear to be one that belonged to Paradise as it had a British Columbia licence plate. She stood up as someone got out and saw her with the wanderer on the ground. He was an older guy wearing a police uniform, though had all the badges, flags and labels removed.
"Are you alright?" The man asked Erin, who responded with "No, not really."
"You hurt?" The man asked her again as he was then standing right next to the wanderer, who was still on the ground.
"Also no, just cold, tired, sore and starving." Erin answered as the man lifted the wanderer off the ground and around his shoulders.
"Don't worry, you won't have to deal with this one. That's my job." The man told Erin as she also told him "I think that one is still alive."
As he headed to the back of his truck, the man responded "Many recent turners are, there may still be a chance to save this one."
Erin thought there was no cure and that once someone started showing symptoms they were already done for. Maybe there had been more developments. Erin chose not to say anything else though, instead she watched the man put the wanderer in the back of his truck, which was all cushioned on the bottom.
"Are you from here? You're not where the locals usually are." The man then asked Erin, who answered with "No I- I got stranded here. My truck broke down and I followed the road until I made it here."
"You certainly look like you were out braving that wonderful November weather." The man commented before introducing himself "Anyways, name's Lawrence. I'm with the Peace River Peacekeepers."
He then asked Erin "Where were you headed anyways? I could probably take you there if it's on the way to Fort Saint John."
Erin had no idea where she even was. She'd never been further north of Edmonton before. Though she had heard of the Peace River Peacekeepers before, they had a similar name to her father's group and rumoured to be led by a wanderer. Such a thing couldn't be possible.
"Uh, sure. If it's not abandoned." Erin accepted Lawrence's offer, still wondering if that was a good idea. She was likely being hunted, but surely she's gone far enough away from Paradise for them to no longer bother.
"You'll be safer in Fort Saint John than here." Lawrence told Erin before adding "I'll give you a ride, just hop in."
"You don't even know who I am and yet you trust me enough to do this?" Erin decided to ask Lawrence, who stopped in his tracks and asked back "Well, who are you then?"
"My name is Erin and I'm on the run from Paradise." Erin confessed to Lawrence, who looked at her for a few seconds before asking her once again "Is your last name 'O'Leary'?"
Erin only nodded in response as Lawrence then told her "Then you should come with me, our leader would love to speak to you. She's been conspiring against Paradise for a while and you could be useful."
Erin didn't say anything else, she just silently agreed to it. Anything to be safe and away from Paradise. She just hoped that the rest of her family made it out alive. Last she heard, her mother and younger brother headed east for the city of Pacifica. The supposed safe haven on the Pacific.