Hiding from life

Chapter 1 sore

I try to focus on the tapping of my boots against the hard pavement. I look down at Charlie who is walking with me while glancing up at me to make sure he is staying at pace with me. I pat his head. “You’re a good boy. We’ll take a break soon.”

After a while of walking, Charlie and I both are tired. Charlie is panting and has drool hanging from the sides of his mouth. I’m sticky with sweat and my mouth is dry. Each time I swallow its like blades going down my throat. I look behind me then around me. I sit down and take a deep breath in to sigh but it sends a burning sensation down my throat from my dry mouth and my heavy breathing. I’ve been walking for days. My feet hurt, my legs hurt. Everything hurts. I lay down in the soft grass, yet some of the blade of grass still poke the back of my neck a bit. Charlie lays down on the cool grass which is still a bit wet from last nights rain.

My eyes start to get heavy as I haven’t slept for a while, and when I do it doesn’t last for more than a few hours before I get scared and walk some more. I struggle to not let myself fall asleep. But eventually I can’t fight it. I fall asleep. I open my eyes. I stare up into the night sky. I look over at Charlie who is sat up on alert. I look back up into the sky. After a bit I sit up and look at my feet. My shoes have holes at the toes. It’s probably about time I scavenge for some new shoes. They are making my feet hurt from how small they are.

I get up and tug on Charlies collar. “Come on boy. Let’s go try to find a pair of shoes.” Charlie stays sat but I give him a second before deciding to ask him again. Eventually he gets up and follows me. It wasn’t long before I came across a store that sells shoes surprisingly. I push open the door. I stop before entering. I take a step back and let the door close. My knife had broken so I look around. I grab a piece of wood thats kinda sharp at the end. I’ll use this until I can fix my knife or get a new one. I push open the door and it closes behind me with a click. I look to my right. I unhook Charlie’s collar. “Stay beside me. I put his collar in my backpack and start walking around the shoe store to clear out the place. I see a dead cop on the floor. Must’ve been trying to tend to the walkers in the beginning. I kneel down next to him. I look for his gun holster and unclip it. I take out the gun.

I set down the sharp piece of wood to examine the gun. I check the clip to see how much ammo is left. There is about half a clip left. Its better than nothing. I stand up and continue walking. After scanning through the store for people or walkers, I head to the back of the store. There are a whole lote of boxes. Some boxes have been rotted through. I kneel down in front of one of the boxes. I open the cardboard flaps. The two pieces of cardboard rubbing against each other. I see its a box full of caned goods. “Hell yeah” I whisper to myself. I go to grab a can of beans and Chef Boyardee. I turn around to put them in my backpack but I’m faced by a teenager, around my age, standing there holding a loaded gun at my head. I tense up. “Set the cans down and all your weapons.” She says in a stern voice. I start wondering how she snuck past Charlie without him alerting me. “I’d be careful. I have a guard dog!” She rolles her eyes. “Yeah. I already delt with him.” My heart drops to my stomach and my legs get weak. “What do you mean? What the hell did you do to my dog!” She walks behind one of the shelves and I hear her grabbing things off the shelves. I’m sat there imagining what condition my dog could be in right now. How can any functional human being be so heartless as to hurt a dog? I look over at her. “Is my dog alive?” She doesn’t answer. She just keeps collecting things off the shelves and putting them in her duffel bag. She looks strong. she’s wearing a black undershirt and black shorts that has a chain hanging off of the shorts. She has muscles too. I look back at the door. My heart is pounding. Tears fill my eyes. I’ve always had a very good imagination. I can picture things very realistically and graphic. So the thought of what condition my dog is in scares me.

I remember that i have that gun that i took from the officer. I look at her and when she turns her back I run up. She quickly stands up and turns around. She takes her gun out and points is at me. I stop abruptly. Wow, shes good. She picks up her duffel back and walks over to the door. I watch her as she does so. She opens the door and waits for me to walk over. I walk over and walk out the door quickly. Charlie runs over to me. He has a muzzle on that is way too small. He can’t even open his mouth. I get down on one knee and hug him while I scratch his back. “Oh god, I was so worried. Good boy.” The girl walks over and looks at me. “I’m not evil. Not to animals at least.” I look at her. “Well, you muzzled him. And made it way too tight.” She sighs. “I muzzled him so he wouldn’t bite. And I made it tight to be couldn’t bark.” I look back at Charlie. “Fair.” I take the muzzle off and hand it to her. “Clementine.” I say introducing myself. “Bellatrix. But you can call me Bella.” I nod and we move on.

I look at her. “You got a group?” Her gaze follows me as I stand up. “No. I don’t need one.” I look to the side. “Have you ever had one?” She nods. “This far into an apocalypse anyone has. But I’ve learned they just slow you down.” She pauses for a second. “I know what pase i go at. And not everyone can follow that. So I don’t waste time searching for people who can.” I nod. She’s smart. And she’s made it so far. “How long have you been without a group?” She answers fairly fast. “Two years.” Wow, how can anyone go so long boing solo? “I mean, I’ve stuck around with people. But I won’t slow down for them. So if they can’t move as fast as me then it’s on them if they leave or not.” I nod. In the passed I’ve slowed down for people. I could probably be so much farther if I hadn’t. But I’m still alive. So I’m not going to wish for something if I don’t know where I might have ended up. Butterfly affect.

After a bit we come to a agreement to split the stuff in the store. I look to my right at the freezer and fridge section. “It’s too bad we can’t just have a jug of milk. Fuck. That would be so refreshing.” Bellatrix looks over at me. “Milk? Thats your go to? I would rather a good glass of orange juice.” I laugh. “You’d rather have orange juice over milk?” I say smiling. She nods. I nod back. I walk to a different aisle to get what I originally came here for. I find a pair of black boots. They seem to be made out of good material. They’ll last me. I take of the shoes I have on. I feel the tension in my feet finally relax. I sigh. I slide on the boots and smile. They feel so much better. I walk back to the aisle Bella is in.

I sling my backpack over my right shoulder. “Well, my backpack is full.” She looks over and stands up. “Okay. I think I got everything I need.” I nod. I rehook Charlie’s leash and hold it. I look up at her as if to ask if she’s ready to go. She nods. We start walking to the exit. “So, do you wanna stick together?” She thinks about it. Not as if looking for an answer, but more as if trying to figure out how to say it nicely. “I don’t think I’m ready for a group.” I understood what she was trying to say but i still decided to add a stupid remark. “It’s not really a group if it’s just two people.” She glances at me, “I want to work alone.” I decide to leave it at that. She opens the door and holds it for me and Charlie. I nod as a thank you. A group of walkers is coming our way. I go to take out my knife but forget its broken. Shit. I take out the gun I took from the dead cop while she takes out a Desert Eagle pistol. It’s a pretty, light pink shade.

She takes shelter behind an old piece of wood so I do the same. I take cover behind a tree. I hold up the gun and take the first shoot at a walker.

First chapter done 😅