Stage One: Hope in Darkness

Home Gone (Annabelle)

The last of the people from the camp dragged an injured person into the back of the truck. I watched the area around them extra carefully as they tended to them. I waited and watched their backs until they started up the truck and drove off. I had done all that I could for them now. If I stayed I would just bring trouble down on them. Good luck whoever you are. Now I really had to go, I had pushed my luck as far as it could go by staying this long. Two whistles had Hannibal following me. I restrapped my rifle to his back as we walked. When it was secured tightly to him we picked up pace.

We diverted away from the house. Seeing it now would only make me upset. Have to move fast to avoid the ones after me. No staying in one place for long. It's okay, you've done this before. You can do it again. Everything is going to be okay. With those words swirling through my head, my mind trying to cope and comfort, we shift through the trees. Avoiding all the pools of light that make it through the thick canopy above. We progress with the stealth of a cool mist, slipping silently into a space with no warning.

Last I knew his base was south, going that way was out of the question then. Barely escaped that place with my life and my voice had been left permanently damaged. One hand fingering the scarf that covered those scars. No way in hell I was going back to that torturous hell. North it was then, it was almost fall. I had a waterproof jacket in my bag, but it would not do much good for the kind of cold that would be coming. The cold and then the snow would impede my movements. I would have to find someplace to hole up before winter. Being out in the open would be suicide. Just the thought of frost bitten fingers and toes, the sickness that would come with them. Cold, numb, pale, and hard appendages. Blue waxy skin, like the skin of a pixy from fantasy books. Though frostbite was no fairytale. The farther I could get before the snow hit the better.

We will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Scavenging on the way would weigh me down. We will just have to look for things when we get wherever it is we are going. My sewing skills were paltery but if push came to shove I knew Hannibal and I could hunt for enough pelts to keep me warm. Hannibal had his fur, I eyed that thick, fluffy, black coating with a little envy. So warm and lovely. I found myself longing not for the first time to be a wolf. They couldn't get infected, had sharp claws and teeth. The intelligence for cooperative game hunting, in fact they specialized in it. Hannibal was the best hunting partner. I couldn't howl like other wolves but we had made our own language to communicate. Wolves also had an emotional intelligence, studies had shown that when a pack member dies their cortisol levels rise. This indicated stress. They cared for one another, in a way some humans were incapable of. Wolves were also monogamous, mated pairs spending their lives together. Stop. That kind of thing was impossible, my pack was complete. Me and Hannibal. That was all we were and all we would be. Thinking of a love that I would never have was just torture.

It was three forty-five according to my watch. It would start getting dark at around nine. That meant I had a little over five hours to put as much distance between this place and myself as possible. Honestly I didn't even know if I should make camp tonight. Traveling at night was something I hated to do. It was too easy to get lost, or stumble on a tree root or something and hurt yourself. Then there was the obvious reason, darkness was hard to see through under the trees where even the light of the moon was scarce, that meant not seeing things until they got too close. A tree root would be the least of my worries with walkers about. Getting eaten in the dark would be rather unpleasant. Hannibal on the other hand, was a wolf. His night vision was far superior to mine, years of evolution because of their nocturnal activities. He could warn me of any oncoming enemies.

Something told me that was exactly what was going to happen tonight. Far too amped to sleep anyways. It would be a waste not to use that time that I would be awake to continue my journey. Sleep would be necessary at some point though, I had to keep my wits about me. I had to at least try and get some rest.