After The End

It was warm that afternoon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze tickled the treetops. A perfect day for a picnic. It was quiet, with nobody around in what used to be a small park.

A young woman was seated on a bench, her eyes almost closed. It appeared she was asleep, except for the rapid movement of her hands. A pair of silvery needles flashed in the sun as she deftly wrapped the cool blue yarn around them, the stitches ingrained in her muscle memory by this point. Yes, it was probably a bad idea, but occasionally, a moment of normalcy was necessary between towns. A few more minutes passed lazily, the scarf she had been making gaining a few more inches, before she stood, brushing off the back of her old jeans just in case. Quickly, she made her way back to the dark gray minivan she travelled in- hardly the most glamorous of vehicles, but she had found it abandoned a short while ago with a full tank of gas, so she didn't have too many qualms about style.

That actually showed looking at her- like most other people traversing the landscape, she was dressed solely for practicality. Her black sweater didn't fit her slim frame particularly well, but she welcomed the warmth when the wind started blowing, and she expected it would become even more necessary once summer was over. Sitting on the passenger seat of the van were a few assorted knit items she had made before the disaster, in various colours and materials. Frowning, she turned the key, looking down at the wheel. She was nearly out of gas, which was a problem. Food was also in rather short supply- while she had selected the minivan mostly to fit cargo, there wasn't much in there at the moment beyond her suitcase. Sighing, she started driving along the deserted road, cars abandoned on either side.

As if by divine providence, but probably due to decent city planning, there was a nearby gas station and mini mart. Nothing too fancy, of course, but it looked almost as if it hadn't been ransacked. The emergency generator was still going, powering the gas pumps and some dim fluorescent lights inside the store. Quickly, Susan got out of the car, her large black boots landing firmly on the ground, and filled the minivan's tank before hurrying inside.

The front shelves were fairly destroyed, but she wasn't too interested in chips and chocolate bars. One of the things she had managed to save was a small propane stove from her camping trips and a few canisters of fuel, so she planned to search for some sort of canned goods, preferably in bulk. Silently, she sneaked down the aisle towards where she assumed the stockroom would be, adjusting the bun of mousy brown hair that resided at the base of her neck.

Behind her, she heard a sudden motion. Quickly, she glanced back, but the configuration of the shelves prevented her from seeing the entrance. To be safe, she sped up her steps towards the back room, a rather worried expression coming over her thin face as she glanced over her shoulder. Luckily, she managed to make it, closing the door silently behind her and looking around. Admittedly, there was a chance it was another survivor, but with what she had seen of some of the people still around, it was far too risky to be spotted.

A young man, dirty blonde hair and in his early twenties, resided in the office that adjoined the back room of the mart. He fiddled with some wiring that had been hidden under a panel of flooring below a desk. The wires were part of the safe system that also resided underneath the desk. The man obviously wanted inside the steel container but was beginning to get frustrated with the system. He clearly knew what he was doing although the system itself was a hard one to crack. With a grunt of irritation the man continued to fiddle with the copper pieces until finally with a soft beep the screen on the safes lock lit up with the bold letters OPEN. The man grinned with success but his triumph was short lived as he heard what he thought to be a sound coming from outside the office. Quickly he sat up from under the desk and looked at the security camera monitor. Sure enough he saw a humanoid creature prowling through the aisles obviously looking for something.

Grabbing the circuitry off the back of the safes lock system he threw it into his backpack along with everything contained within the safe without prejudice for what he was grabbing. His bag already had a few things in it and was growing heavier with each stop he made. Slinging the bag over his shoulders he ran out the office door. Right as he exited into the backroom a woman stood with her back against a door that lead to the main area of the market. She looked frightened and the man figured she was most likely trying to get away from the creature that resided in the front of the store. Although you could never tell who was savage and who wasn't the woman looked normal enough so he decided to take his chances. Motioning for her to follow him he went directly through a door into the alley way behind the mart. They jogged a good ways down the alley to get away from the mart before slowing to a walk. Hopefully this woman would be helpful somehow. Turning around he addressed her.

"Do you have any transport?" He asked quickly. They needed to get out of the immediate area before the thing found out they were there. A vehicle would make that task much easier but he had done it on foot before and could do it again.

There was a short pause- just a brief one, in which she considered whether or not to follow him out or take her chances with the interloper in the front of the store. After all, even normal people could be dangerous in times like these. After a very quick deliberation, he hurried after the man, trying to minimize the sound of her boots on the tiles. It wasn't too long before the sound of her pursuer faded into the distance, the thick steel door closing behind them.

As he slowed to a stop ahead of her, she nodded briskly, looking down the alley, "Yes. Sort of," she agreed softly, her voice sharp and hushed. "I mean, I had one, but it's parked out by the gas pumps there, and I'm not sure it's safe to risk getting seen..." She glanced back over her shoulder, knowing that there wasn't really much of a choice- walking for who knows how long without any of her belongings was sure to be more dangerous than a quick run to the van.

The man cursed himself under his breath. He figured that this would be the case considering the gas pumps where out front of the store. If you had a vehicle how could you resist the lure of free gas? He weighed the options for a minute and decided it would be well worth the risk to make a break for the car.

"Ok, We'll make a run for it. You drive obviously," He said to the newly met woman. Without a moments hesitation he turned away and jogged down the alley and around the corner. As he made his way down the side walk looking behind him every couple of moments to make sure the girl was behind him he slowed down to a sneak. He spotted the vehicle parked beside the pump out in front of the small town mart. In the windows he could see a shifting figure. Damn, whatever it was must have made its way to the front of the store.

Turning around he counted off to three and then ran as fast as he could for the car. His things in his back cracked against each other making a clacking noise as he sprinted. Kicking rocks as he came to a quick stop beside the passenger side door he tugged on the handle and yanked the door open, jumping inside. He felt something underneath him as he sat down and realized the woman had a pile of sewing equipment sitting in the passengers seat. He quickly grabbed large handfuls of yarn and other equipment and threw them into the back seat trying not to mess it up in the process. It wasn't his stuff after all. As he threw the last possession into the back seat the woman opened the door and jumped in also, quickly shoving her keys into the ignition. Past her shoulders the man saw the figure in the store stop and quickly make its way to the door. Just as the woman turned her keys the creature bolted out the front doors, running straight for their ride. It was what remained of a man, most likely a local from the town they were in. Screaming at them extremely loud it ran even faster as it realized they were trying to get away.

Shit.