A New Day in the Sanctuary

Beginnings

Hazel POV:

I was running through a nasty thunderstorm; looking where ever I could for shelter. It was the middle of the night and I hadn't a clue where I might be. Everything was coated in darkness and the rain was pelting me relentlessly but as lightning lit up the sky, I stopped to see a large sign "Willow Street Steam Generation Plant" as well as what looked like a large factory with a couple of small warehouse buildings surrounding it. "Worth a shot," I said to myself and started running through the rain again, soaking wet head to toe, with everything I had in the world in my backpack. I didn't want to go directly into the main part of the factory just yet, so I decided to start at one of the surrounding warehouses. I got inside, looked around briefly, then I slapped the door to attract any walkers that may be lurking in dark corners.

 Once I was sure there was nothing around, I bent over, putting my hands on my knees and started breathing deeply to steady my nerves and catch my breath. I stood up straight to see my surroundings. It was just a dingy, dirty abandoned factory warehouse. A very small warehouse at that. There was a small desk in a corner with a folding chair, a small file cabinet next to the desk, small metal trashcan and papers scattered everywhere; the desk, floor, falling out of the filing cabinet. On the other side of the small warehouse, there was a large double-doored cabinet. This place looked like it hadn't been touched in a couple of years; everything was thick with dust.

I took a moment to look for any useful supplies. I came up with a few items that would help me a long the way; paper to serve as kindling for a fire, a couple of cans of food stowed away in the cabinet, most likely an employee's emergency lunch from before the fall and I also found a large, metal drill bit standing up in a corner that I immediately realized would serve as my new favorite weapon. It was a large, industrial sized piece that looked about three feet long. I picked it up, turning it over in my hand. It was pretty heavy. I had to use both hands to pick it up. Completely solid metal. Looking at the end of the drill bit, I smiled from ear to ear; this was the perfect weapon for impaling walkers. 

Things may be looking up for me after all.   

12 Hours Earlier:

I lost my last home and group for that matter about a week ago to scavengers that had robbed our small home that we had created inside of a rest stop along one of the main highways in the area. They killed every last man, woman and child; brutally at that. It was hard; some of those people I had been with since the beginning, since the fall of civilization. None of them were blood family, but in this world, they were all that I had.

I was out hunting for the group for the better part of the day, all I could find were about seven squirrels, no deer or hogs. I had the squirrels slung over my shoulder along with the bow and quiver full of freshly made arrows that I had caught them with. I was walking toward the tree line closest to the rest stop and stopped suddenly, upon hearing unfamiliar voices. They didn't see me, I quickly climbed up the closest tree to wait in until they left. It amazes me how often I've done this to get out of trouble and no one looks up to find me. I watched them pack up the last of whatever they had taken from us, drive away and waited a couple of minutes to make sure there wasn't anyone lagging behind. As I jumped from my hiding spot, my bow hit the ground first and my dumbass landed on it. "Damn it," I breathed out quietly. I left the broken bow on the ground as I went in to investigate what the strangers had done, but it didn't take long to see. 

 I walked through the bodies, praying to find someone alive, hoping that someone was able to get away to hide from these monsters. I was plunging my knife into their skulls so that they don't come back as walkers. They didn't deserve that; no one did. In our group, we made a pact in the beginning that if we could prevent it, we don't let our own turn. It was something honored above anything else.