The Flares

We Should Have Followed The Rules

"I'm tired of walking. It's too hot." Pointing out the obvious, Gwen began to lag behind as she succumbed to the drastic temperature. We've been travelling together for three days now, and despite a few altercations in which some infected lost their heads, we were doing fairly well together.

"I know it's hot. Let's just walk to that city over there, and we'll find somewhere to rest, alright?" Stephanie offered, and Gwen accepted with a weary breath. The area around us had been thinning out from its idyllic suburban exterior and was slowly being replaced with the sight of rapidly growing buildings. Some of the man made structures had been completely leveled by the quakes that no doubt shook the city, and a few of them had fallen against another without completely collapsing due to the tight space between them.

"Is it worth it to go there? Doesn't look like any stores could have survived that. Maybe we should travel around it." Stephanie looked off towards the mass of buildings piled together, then turned to me for a response, as though I had the correct answer. It was really great that my opinion mattered somewhat to her, but I wasn't very sure of myself to begin with.

"Through it. We still need another backpack for some more water." We were headed onto a bridge that lead into the city. It wasn't large or long, so it was mostly unaffected by the quakes, aside from fallen support beams that previously towered over it, but it was littered from end to end with stalled vehicles that died with the EMP waves from the Flares.

With Stephanie carrying the backpack, I was able to handle an axe freely. It took a lot of strength for me to part with the golf club, but the tape would eventually fail to support the scissors and I'd be left with a blunt weapon. Besides, there was something oddly alluring about the hefty weight of the axe I wielded.

"Keep up Gwen, otherwise I'm gonna have to rethink that switchblade." Stephanie threatened and paused to allow Gwen to catch up to her. "No way!" She retorted. "Who's gonna save us when they kill Jasper?!" She asked exasperatedly.

"Your never ending faith in me is really an ego booster." I shot back with a cynical smirk, turning to face them. Gwen stuck her tongue out at me and I returned my view to the orgy of stationary vehicles ahead of us. What I'd give to hear the roar of an engine, and be able to drive around instead of violating my legs by walking all over. My driving skills are about as good as my gunman skills, but it's not as if I have to worry about murdering pedestrians. Living ones, anyways.

"Okay, give it here." I kept an arm outstretched, and Gwen happily handed me her single strap backpack full of clothes, and let out a deep breath as though cinder blocks had been on her shoulders. "Just ten minutes." She offered, and then uncapped another bottle of soda, determined not to be a burden for too long.

"Its alright. It's not really that heavy." I responded gleefully, giving her a cheery look. She narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out again. "If you wanna show off you can keep it longer."

I shrugged my shoulders and put on a more competitive face, crossing my arms defensively. "Challenge accepted."

"Hey Jasper, come check this out." Stephanie called out to me hesitantly, as though she was unsure whether she wanted me to come or not. She was standing beside a black car, all the doors shut and windows rolled up. I went to her side and noticed that Gwen went in the opposite direction, as if knowing that whatever it was, Stephanie didn't want her to look. I suddenly felt less perceptive than an eight year old girl.

"What's up?" I responded in the lowest volume I could, then found myself squinting past the dirt stained window into the car. "I think it's an infected. Snapper, or whatever you call it."

I tried to clear view of it, and I found the body lying still in the drivers seat. The grey skin, the bulging veins - seemed fairly normal. The only noticeable difference to me was the face. It was like the bud of a flower had opened up to reveal a mass of deep red and brown flesh. I'd never seen them in this state before.