All That's Left

Prologue: Those Days Are Over

     I can't hear anything...my ears are ringing so much that it hurts. Two hands latch onto my shoulders through the chaos, forcing my eyes open to meet my terrified cousin's wide eyed gaze. Her mouth is moving...but I can't hear shit. Her ocean eyes snap past me, widening further before she grabs my wrist and yanks me behind her. Her grabbing me somehow snaps my hearing back on full blast. I blink twice before my eyes widen. It's so loud...I can hear voices and gunfire surrounding us like oxygen itself. She breaks into a sprint, and so do I. This building is about to come completely crashing down...and if we don't move fast we won't make it. Sabrina's usual bright blonde hair is stained with ash and blood, her pale skin not too far off from. We met this group five days ago...five days ago damnit and they couldn't even last a full week. Sabrina tightens her grip on my wrist like she's giving me a warning. I look up, my gaze finding a window about twenty feet in front of us. We're on the second floor. This is gonna hurt. 

     I clench my jaw, both of us crossing our arms in an "X" form as we go crashing through the glass. My wrist slips out of her grip  as we go tumbling into the pavement below us with pained grunts and groans. Fuck. I think I just sprained my ankle. I slowly sit up, my eyes landing on the burning, crumbling building in front of us. Our safe house to be specific. I grab my bag with one hand, pushing myself to my feet and slinging it over my shoulder. "We gotta get moving." My voice comes out hoarse, my curtain bangs sliding over my eyes. "Yeah...shelter would be a good place to start." Brina says dryly, the sound of her sneakers sliding against the pavement filling my ears as she gets up to her feet.  I click my tongue, "Yeah, or a fucking car.". 

     That makes Brina cackle, her head tipping back as we both make our way toward the fence surrounding us, "We haven't seen a running car in ages.". Even if her laugh is weak, it still doesn't fail to make me smile. She really is the only person I can trust. Since all the shit went down...it's just been us two. We had a car when this all first went to hell...but we lived in Texas. People already drive terribly in Texas. Add the apocalypse to the mix? Let's just say that the car did not last very long. 

     Honestly, the last couple months haven't been all that bad for us. But this last group had to go and fuck it all up. That bitch Callie wouldn't listen to anything Brina or I tried to say and it ended up being her downfall. Idiots...all tried to boss the two of us around just because we were the two youngest people there. "Oh, you two are like the age of my daughter!" Guess what, I don't care. Karen, you were too busy aimlessly shooting your gun and attracting walkers because you don't know what the fuck you're doing.  We genuinely should've just walked away when Sabrina told me. And it's on me. I think I just missed having a group...but that hope is long gone at this point. Brina is all I've got.

     I look at Brina as I hop down the other side of the fence, letting out a sigh, "I'm starving.". She groans, rolling her head in a circle as we start aimlessly walking, "Fuck, don't remind me.". Now that we're in the light I can get a good look at her. Her blood and ash-stained curls are more frizzy now considering everything that just happened. Her bright blue eyes shine past all the dirt, blood, and soot on her pale face. I imagine I don't look much better. I stifle a laugh, a small limp in my step, "We look like shit.". Sabrina chuckles, wiping her sweaty palms on her t-shirt, "I don't know...the bloody look isn't too bad on you.". I snort, running a hand through my hair. Bullshit. 

     We walk blindly into an abandoned, torn to hell city, one of us occasionally commenting to the other. Last I checked...we were in Casper, Wyoming. First time I've ever been here. When this all first started...things were honestly pretty shitty in the world already. But not apocalypse shitty. Brina and I went to Oklahoma first, then we passed through Kansas, stayed in Colorado for a little and now we're here. This started when I was twenty. I'm twenty-two now. Sabrina is twenty-four...she may be my cousin but she's basically my big sister. My gaze flickers to a sign hanging by a goddamn thread off the side of a building. My eyes narrow, "Ranch...Outfitters...". I slowly look at Brina, my brow slightly raised.

     Without having to say another word we both start walking side by side towards the torn-up building. Multiple, low growls and groans fill my ears faintly behind us, and my eyes immediately shut tight. Shit. We both quickly turn over our shoulders, our eyes widening when we see just how many walkers there are. It's a swarm of them...like the size of a concert crowd. "Are they fucking migrating or something?" Brina asks hastily, taking a shaky step back. I clench my jaw, turning over my shoulder to look for something. I can't run right now...and I don't have to ask to know Sabrina isn't in good shape either. My eyes land on a walker stuck underneath a broken slab from the roof above it. I groan, turning to re-meet Brina's gaze, "Remember that thing we swore we'd never do again because of how gross it was?". She blinks before she whines loud, "Aw fuck...no man...I don't want to do this shit again.".

     I sigh sharply, grabbing the butterfly knife off of my belt as I make a beeline for the motherfucker. I stand over it, just staring at the way it's clawing and gripping the pavement but unable to move anything else. I stomp it's head into the concrete a couple of times, tilting my head slightly to the side to check if it's still moving. Nope. I crouch down, flipping the knife open before slicing into it's back. I smear its insides on my body before I stand back up. I step to the side, checking to see how far the swarm is while Brina takes her turn. My gaze travels to a window on our right, meeting my eye contact in the reflection. God, I do look like shit.

     My pale skin is covered in blood and dirt, and now walker guts. The smell is awful, but after two years of the world forcing it into my life...I've gotten used to it. My freckles peek out around my eyes underneath all of that mess, the sun making my eyes look more hazel in the light. I push my brown hair behind my shoulders, my gaze flickering to Brina as she gets up to her feet with a groan, "Seriously, I never want to do this again.". 

     "That's what we said last time," I say with a raised brow, about to reach up to touch my face but then remembering. Right. Walker guts. I shake it off, nodding my head, "C'mon.". 

     We walked and occasionally hid for about two days. Given our circumstances, we ended up passing out strictly from exhaustion  and hunger. This better not be it...I refuse to go out because I was tired. No way. Sabrina and I have survived this long...I can't let this be how we die.

     I'll do anything.