Cold Dawn

Chapter 7

Her heart was thundering in her chest as she dragged in a deep lungful of air. She had run flat out for the past ten minutes. The greenery of the trees rushed past in a blur, a sharp sting hit her cheek making her eyes water but she did not stop.

She could faintly make out something grey up ahead and she pushed herself onwards. The grey seemed like an oasis in a green ocean and all her hopes were pinned on that asphalt. She burst through the trees like a rocket and skidded to a stop, relieved she had made it this far.

As her heart rate began to decrease and her breathing slowly returned to normal she took in the mile long empty road. Aware of how silent it seemed. She cast a glance back at the way she had come, expecting the zombies to have followed her. But the woods showed no sign of anything, dead or alive.

She prayed silently that Ben had made it okay. The man had given her a safe refuge which she had badly needed at the time. She almost believed that he was heaven sent. Knowing that if he was safe, he would meet her at their designated meet up. She hitched up the small back pack and made her way quietly along the road.

The silence always unnerved her. It put her on edge, she began to wish for any signs of life. A bird cry or a dog barking anything. She felt as though she was being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her gut twisted in fear. Unable to stop herself she ran.  She looked back but did not see anyone approaching, this made her slow down until she was jogging.

Still jogging she headed along the road, constantly checking the woods that lined it. If there was anything lurking in there she had to have her wits about her. She was so engrossed in the task of look out that she never realised she had almost passed the cottage that Ben told her about. She stopped and gently jogged back to the hint of blue she saw peeking between a pair of large alpine trees.

She looked around hoping to see Ben, but he was not there. A sinking feeling told her he might not have made it. Not wanting to give up hope she decided to climb the nearest tree and see if she could spot him. She ignored the cottage for the time being as her only goal was to find Ben.

She grasped the lower branch and pulled herself up, the branches were thick and sturdy and held her weight. Grateful but ever cautious she climbed onto the next one and the next until she had reached halfway to the top. She sat closer to the trunk of the tree and looked out. It was a beautiful sight to see. The fields that ran parallel with the woods were various shades of green, there were no other houses that she could see.

Leaning against the tree trunk she felt safe above ground. She hoped that wherever Ben was he was safe too.

“Get down from there before you break your bloody neck!” a voice shouted startling her out of her nap. She almost lost her balance and nearly toppled out of the tree. She looked in the direction of where the voice had come from to find a slightly bald white haired old man glaring at her.

“Didn’t ya hear me? I said get outta that tree.”

Shocked at his tone she shook her head.

“Girl, you got five minutes to get down from there or there will be trouble.” His tone brooked no argument from her as she did as she was told. She scurried down, scraping her knees against the bark. As she jumped down from the lowest branch and landed in front of him, he stepped back looking at her intently, as if he was trying to figure something out.

“What were you doing up there?”

“Looking for my friend,” she said scuffing the toe of her wellingtons against the hard ground.

The old man made her feel as if she was nine years old and had been caught doing something wrong.

“Well then young lady, he won’t be up a tree now will he.”

The girl shrugged her shoulders, not willing to give any more answers.

“You best follow me. It’s not safe out here.”

“But my friend. . .”

“Will no doubt come to the cottage if they can’t find you.” He said gruffly cutting her off.

She paused unsure of what to do. Ben had said he would meet her here, but even though he had been nice to her. She could not be sure of the old man.

Realising that she was not following him he stopped.

“Well come on girl. I haven’t got all day.” And he carried on walking towards the cottage.

She opened the backpack and saw the knife Ben had given her, feeling a little better she pulled it out and tucked it into the waist of her pants, hoping that the old man would not see. Feeling a little more confident now that she was armed, she warily followed the old man up the beaten path.

The cottage was quite big for just one person. The blue paint on closer inspection was faded and peeling. The two large windows at the front were not boarded up, instead they were lined with pretty white floral curtains. Why would someone not board their windows up? The flimsy glass would not stop an onslaught of zombies.

She pondered this as she went inside, careful of where the man was. As she took in her surroundings she felt an overwhelming rush of déjà vu that confused her. The living room was lined with bookcases, with rows upon rows of books. A large worn brown leather settee dominated the room and a small table with a crystal lamp was placed next to it. A memory came to her, as she sat on the leather settee.

“Now why don’t you try this one? It’s Alice In Wonderland, one of your mother’s favourites when she was your age.” A blue book was handed to her, her small hands gripped the book as she stared down at the picture of a little girl dresses in blue, her blonde hair held away from her face with a black head band. A white rabbit peeked out behind the girl as a big grin appeared above the drawing of the girl.

The memory disappeared as quickly as it had come leaving her feeling confused and somehow sad. The voice belonged to the old man that she knew for sure. But how? Who was he?

“Here you go.” He said handing her a mug of hot chocolate. His prescence startled her, but she accepted the mug.

“Who are you? I know you.” She said.

The old man sighed and sat down next to her. He rubbed his eyes, before turning to her.

“I’m your granddad.”