Perhaps I'd made a wrong turn. One minute I'm heading back to the shelter, and the next I'm in the city. Where no mortal man dared to step foot, especially during the night. It's sad, really. Knowing that at one time, some time, this place was teeming with life. Now it's just a ghost town. The remains of what I think are skyscrapers still stand tall. At least they're still here. Monuments to a time forgotten so long ago. A playground also lies here. Rusted paint and broken pieces line the ground. I can almost hear the children who used to play here. Laughing and laughing while their parents watch. Maybe this is where they died. Doing what they love the most.
Not many of us will have that liberty, sadly. Most of us will die in the shelters or be killed by some type of abomination lurking around outside their homes. And those who live in the woods? They have it lucky. Not many of us can say we're completely safe. Not many of us can even take the risk to move. A sickening, inhuman snarl echoed throughout the empty streets. Stay calm, don't move. A large blob of biomass turned the corner. A sickening amalgamation of faces lay in its chest. Some human. Some animal. It couldn't see me. If I made a move, I would become one with it. And there it was. Staring at me, face to face. A loud groan erupted from all of it's mouths as it slithered away. I stood completely paralyzed until I was certain that it was gone. Until I couldn't hear the snarls and moans.
That was my cue to leave. I'd be damned if I stayed another second. When I took a step forward, loud screams filled the air. Large, blubbery masses fell from the windows and began to crawl towards me. I thought I was dead, that they would just absorb me like they did my brother. But no. They ignored me and slithered past. I let out a sigh of relief and turned my head to see a young woman running down the street. I grabbed her hand and I tried to quiet her down, but she screamed and screamed. I tossed her to the ground and she let out a louder yelp of pain. I could see the tears and I could hear the approaching blobs. I looked down at her and shook my head as they gathered around her. And then, in mere seconds, silence. No more screams. Just silence. I opened my eyes to see the blobs retreating back inside.
Her bright pink sweatshirt rested on the ground. Tears and biomass covered it, making it pretty much unusable. I walked away from the scene, constantly in a state of disbelief as I got home. To think that if she just stopped screaming and had stayed quiet for just a minute, she would've stayed alive. I would've brought her in and gave her a place to stay. But no. She had to kill herself. This whole incident reminds me of my daughter's death. She was young, so full of life, but couldn't stay quiet.
Survival of the fittest, I guess.