Walking in the woods...

Bodies scatter the ground, dotting the hill side, strung up from trees, in holes in the ground. Corps everywhere. The smell is unbearable, death hangs thick in the fog, turning my stomach. I gag, a foul taste gathering in my mouth. I struggle to regain myself. This is not the time to fall apart. I need to find someplace safe.

The only thing any where close to me is trees and hills. If I get up, I might not be able to get down. In the far side of the clearing there's a rock...a big one. That means sharp pieces. Spears, arrows, knife, my mind begins to run wild, thinking of the things I could do, build, hunt. 'Stop it!' I yell at myself, I pick the worst times to lose myself.

I sprint across the field, looking around furiously as I do so. No one is moving. Yet. I dive behind the large rock, which is gigantic when I'm closer.

Gold mine, some one has been chopping away at this bolder, leaving small shavings and chucks that would be perfect to craft with. I pull a crown royal bag out of my pocket and gather as many pieces I can. 'Got to keep moving.' I peek over the side of the hill. Nothing. At all. It's an empty clearing, no trees, no dead bodies, no monsters. How strange. No movement behind me, and nothing on the hill. Time to scoot. I shove the bag into the side pocket on my back pack.

Just pass the clearing I find a small creek. The water runs down hill, out of a cave like structure. Must be a spring inside. The water looks clean. I continue to follow the creek until it opens wider, into a river, only a mile away. No bodies here either.

I double back, traveling through the trees. As I walk I start to wonder about the bodies in the field. One localized war, it looks like. Poor people. I wonder how many were family, real family, from before. I wonder if they were from a camp close. I wonder if it was monsters or people. I shake the thought from my mind. Of course it was the monsters, people wouldn't kill people in days of this darkness...would they?

The camp is quite when I get to the tree line. I slip my flash light out of my belt loop, flicking it on and off three times, and wait. 'One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three-', a flash then two, three. I move from the trees, making my way to animal trailer. I'm greeted by two men, Samuel and Omar.

Sam, the younger of the two, pulls me into a hug as soon as I make it through the wire. He's taller than I am, by more than a foot, close to 6'2". His shaggy, blond, hair curls from the days sweat, and his blue eyes sparkle, just as I left them this morning. "I'm glad you made it back, let's get you unpacked." He says.

"Okay, but then we need to call a meeting." I need to share the war...wither It was monsters or humans, we can't take the chance. Before another word can be exchanged I'm attacked from below. I look down and find my three year old, Ally, holding onto me. I rip her of the ground and hold her close to my chest. She wraps her little arms around me, holding me close.

"I love you, mommy." She whispers in my ear.

"I love you too, baby." I whisper back.