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Sticks crunched underneath Valerie’s boots. She hunched over a large rock, vomiting onto the nearby grass. The berries she had that night upset her stomach, she guessed. It was a bit difficult to navigate what was edible in a place like this, where heavy greenery shrouded the place and creatures she didn’t even know existed roamed about. Valeria wasn't quite sure when her day-to-day life ended. If she had to guess, then almost three months ago. These.. Things started to appear. It resembled a dog, almost, crawling on all fours with a sunken face and eerie red eyes. Most of their mouths were horribly disfigured and it had strange spikes littering its body. Rumors ranged from the government allegedly letting them loose, to them being summoned by a ritual. Valerie didn’t quite believe that one, granted that she had only heard it from loonies. There weren't many of them left out there - people who were still sane. Or people in general.
Those things fed off anything they could get their claws on, ranging from animals to humans.
Valerie could hear the faint voice of Isla approaching her, muttering something about needing to restock on food so soon. She paused her complaining as soon as she caught sight of her, eyebrows rising just slightly. She holstered her handgun back at her hip. “The berries.” Valerie responded, clipped. Isla made a small noise of acknowledgement as she set down their bag and fished out a small flask. Worn down and rusty, but still usable. She handed it to her. “You better hope those only make you sick.” Isla had been kind enough last night to go to bed hungry and let Valerie eat since they hardly had any food left, and even the handful of those godforsaken berries weren’t enough to make her feel full. Unknowingly, she saved herself a morning of nausea and vomiting. The young woman took a mouthful of water before handing it back to her. Isla kept a hand on her arm, steadying her as she straightened, swaying.
Rifling through the bag once more, the brunette woman pulled out a tattered map, brows furrowing. Valeria peered over to look at the piece of paper. There was some nonsensical scribbling over some parts, but a small town name was circled. Minot. A well known settlement arranged by the government where whatever survivors could come and take shelter. From what they knew, there was a camp like this in every country. A safe haven from these creatures. “Can’t believe I’ll be getting a proper night’s rest soon enough.” Valerie commented as they started to walk north. “The food will still be stale.” Isla commented, pushing away a branch so it wouldn’t hit her face. “I’ll take stale food over another month of getting to this place.” A month, Isla faintly thought, A month since she last met Valerie, a month of tempting fate every time they took a step.
Traveling in the night time was the safest option they had, even if those crawlers - as Isla had taken to calling them much to Valeria’s ridicule - still stalked the forest, it was much easier to hide within greenery or wherever they happened to be. After what Isla guessed was almost an hour of walking, accompanied by Valeria’s complaints every time a branch slapped her and a few stops to hide when they heard that familiar clicking and tittering of those walkers, the forest seemed to thin and they were soon met with what looked like a run down city. If you could even call it that anymore. Shattered windows, some remains of bodies, and cars that looked like “the creatures played jump rope on” as Valerie so kindly added, followed by a small huff of laughter from Isla. They were only a few hours walk away from Minot, and it looked like whatever vehicles still worked were taken long ago. The black haired woman never strayed too far from Isla.
That would be a foolish move, proved and tested by Valerie after she had split up with her younger brother at the beginning of the ordeal. And what did that result in? Hearing the piercing shriek from just a bit away and coming back to see the decapitated head of Nero, face mangled and bloodied, eyes staring up the beating down sun. Valeria almost visibly sobered at the memory, returning her attention back to Isla, who was trying to start one of the poor cars that looked in just a slightly better shape than the others. All that came from it was sputtering and squealing. Isla got up with a small sigh of defeat, some of the loose stuffing tumbling down from the seat. She had hoped that if it started then it would not only take them to Minot quicker, but also give their legs a much deserved break.
“We should go see if they have any leftover food, Isla.” Valerie raised a hesitant hand to the other woman’s arm at seeing the disappointed glint in her eyes. Hunger. Exhaustion. Dejection. “Just a little longer and we can rest.” There was a long moment of silence before, finally, a sigh and a small ”Okay.” Their footsteps were quiet against the pavement, the two straining their ears for any clicking sound. Anything that resembled the wet chewing of flesh. Then, suddenly.
“Dont you think that it's a bit.. Strange that there’s food still here?” Isla stopped from where she placed a can into the bag
“What do you mean?”
“So many people must've passed through, and not one of them thought to check the shops?” the woman grasped Valerie’s wrist, eyes lit with concern.
“Isla, I need you to stop being so paranoid.” Valerie chastised. Despite the annoyance in her tone, her fingers were gentle as she unfurled her fingers from her wrist. “We should be happy that we get to eat in the first place.”
With some reluctance on Isla’s end, she had her first meal after days, even if it was a rusted can of cold tomato soup. But as they sat huddled together in a small storage room after checking it thoroughly, Valerie could see the furrowed brows in the dark space. She paused from where she was sipping at the gross thing. Food was food, no matter how gross, and it was scarce.
“What if they drop off food for people coming through?” She suggested, earning Isla’s attention. “Just in case, you know, someone has been traveling here for a while like us and doesn't have enough supplies.”
“Valerie, don’t be stupid.” the other woman sharply snapped, quickly putting an end to their conversation. Neither of them spoke as they packed up and gathered whatever supplies they could find. The place was clearly raided by walkers, mangled body parts that had long decomposed and signs of struggle littered all over the small shop. Isla felt a hint of guilt tugging faintly in her chest for being so snappy with Valerie, but as they made their way carefully about the buildings, her pride held her back from apologizing. She should have listened to her worries instead of making up silly excuses that would make her feel better. Isla was crouched behind a large green garbage dump, surveying the area and listening carefully for any signs of the creatures. None, she noted. The woman turned her head to signal Valerie to move, only to feel her body go cold as she saw a flicker of movement in the small nook leading to another alleyway. Valerie could see the immediate panic in her eyes as they landed on something behind her shoulder.
Tick. Tick.
Isla was rooted to the grimy concrete for a split second before she suddenly grasped Valerie’s wrist and ran. As fast as both of their legs allowed them to. She didn’t care if it alerted the other crawlers, they needed to get away from this thing as soon as possible. But those disturbingly thin legs were faster, and Isla soon tumbled down to the ground, a sharp cry ringing through her ears. The crawler had managed to catch Valerie by the leg with its pointed teeth, and was actively tearing through the flesh. Isla’s vision was blurry as she reached with fumbling hands for the handgun at her hip. Loud gunshots pierced the once calm town, followed by an inhuman shriek that managed to make her blood become cold once again. Green ichor splattered across their skin. Isla didn’t feel like she was in her own body as she helped the panicked, crying Valerie up, hand trembling violently around her body.
The cry would alert the other crawlers, and then the both of them would stand no chance. She had to grasp at every strand of restraint possible not to vomit at the sight of the black-haired woman’s dangling leg, severed midway to her calf. Grunting with effort, Isla struggled to walk any significant distance. The bag was too heavy, Valerie’s noises were bound to attract crawlers, and her thoughts were crashing into one another. In the sheer chaos of the moment, she abandoned the bag, keeping only the scrap of a map, and put all of her effort into getting as far away from the town as possible. Better keep the person who had helped her make it this far and who she bonded so closely with over a bag with supplies. With an ichor stained hand holding a map and another supporting a limping woman, Isla navigated her way through the cracked roads littered with busted cars. Not too far away, there was the sound of multiple inhumane screams.
As soon as she found one in a somewhat decent shape, she guided Valerie into the backseat, following along. “I need you to be quiet - very quiet.” Isla whispered, voice trembling as she ripped off a large chunk off of her shirt. They had no water, no bandages, nothing since she dropped their bag. But she was hopeful that as soon as they made it to the settlement they’d care for her as best they could and she would be fine. No infection would surely happen. Making the half-conscious Valerie press both hands to her own mouth to stifle any cries, she tied a tight knot against the wound to try and stem the bleeding. Somewhere deep in her chest she could feel the realization that she would lose too much blood by the time they got to the camp had started to sink.
Carefully, she hauled the both of them out of the car and made their way north. If only she knew that when she got there, there would be no people bustling about, no settlement, no people willing to receive Valerie and treat her. Instead they’d only find fresh remains, destroyed buildings, and a place swarming with these strange creatures. “And when we get there, they’ll serve you all the warm food you could possibly want.” Isla said under her breath, straining. She just needed to keep Valerie awake for just a little longer. With a gentle hand, she smoothed back the woman’s black strands that were damp with sweat from her forehead before continuing down the street. It reeked of metal beside her.