Crazy Like Me

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After months of travel, Ruby had found an abandoned warehouse. It was surrounded by a high chain link fence and had not been opened for a long time. She had carefully searched for any signs of occupants. The only thing she found was the two security guard who had once worked there, only now they were walkers. Her gun had run out of ammunition weeks before so she had to improvise.

She had her hunting knives and found herself with too much time on her hands. The world had ended, so it wasn't like she had much to do, other than hunt for food, supplies and shelter. She had stopped for a quick hunt along the way and found a thick, broken tree branch with a rounded knot on the top. One night while not being able to sleep she had sat on the roof of an old gas station and whittled the branch down enough to fit comfortably in her hands without leaving splinters. She used electrical tape to wrap the handle and now uses it as a club.

She used a pair of cutters to cut a hole in the fence of the warehouse and used the club to take out the two walkers. After checking the grounds and inside of the place for anymore she felt safe enough to set up a residence. She found boxes of non-perishable food items, cases of bottled water, clothes, shoes, toiletries, beer, walkie talkies, batteries, flashlights, candles, makeup, jewelry, and much more. There was an old couch in the office and a fully functional bathroom complete with a shower. It was finally a safe place for her to stay in. She never thought that her life could get any worse than the one she had lived before the fucking apocalypse. She had been running from that life when the rest of the world went to hell.

She had been in the warehouse for a few months now. It kept her safe, fed and clothed but she felt as if she were going crazy. No living being around for miles. She had scavenged before finding the place and in one of the homes she had found an iPod. She used it often for some comfort. Just to hear a human voice. She had come to enjoy the music.

I'm fucking going insane.. I can't stand not having anything to occupy my time.. Maybe I'll dig through more of those fucking boxes down there..

She stood on the balcony that overlooks the main floor of the place, where the workers would have been. The boxes were stacked high on either side of long conveyor belts. She had unpacked tons of them in her time here.

Maybe I'll go through some of the clothes and shit and at least make myself look civilized. I used to be an attractive girl. Maybe that bitch is still somewhere under all of these rags.

She walked down the metal stairs and over to the boxes of clothes. She smiled to herself a little for the first time in months. She had found a black leather jacket, some black shorts, a black knitted top, some black high heeled boots, a hair brush, some make up, dark lipstick, eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow.

I need a shower first. I'll put this shit on, fix this mess of hair and put on some fucking makeup. Maybe then I'll at least feel human again. Not that anyone will see it. But I will when I look in the mirror.

She took a long shower, making sure to wash her hair good. The shampoo and body wash that she had found smelled like fruits and flowers. Smells that she realized that she had missed from her life pre apocalypse. It took some time to brush out all of the tangles in her long dark hair but once it was done she smiled at what she saw in the mirror. She dressed in the new clothes loving the color black. Black was her favorite color besides red. She couldn't really see what she looked like so she decided to stand on the toilet to get a better look.

Wow.. Now that is a girl I haven't seen looking back at me in a long ass time. Now lets do this makeup.

She got down and walked back to the office to get the makeup and decided to grab the iPod too. She put the earbuds in and scanned through the songs until she found one that she could relate to. As the music started to play in her ears she began putting the makeup on. With each stroke of the brush and swipe of lipstick she could see the girl she once knew coming back to life. When she was finished she took a step back to look at herself.