12. DYING

THIRD POV.

Riley fastened the bow on her shoulder as they made their way into the woods.

She couldn't understand why the people would leave the comfort of their houses to come and live in the woods. Anything could attack them there.

She did not have the energy to sleep with one eye open hoping that she could wake up in one piece the next morning.

It had been three days since she had started camping with them and every night she had volunteered to watch at night.

Was she scared of dying?

That was a question she didn't know the answer to anymore. Sometime back if someone asked her that she would have told them no but now she wasn't so sure.

Yet again maybe life would be simpler if she died. Did death exist anymore though? She knew what people turned into and she didn't want to turn.

"Can you walk a little faster we have a log of land to cover ", Glen said as she looked back at Rile.?

They were going sightseeing to see if they could see a house that hadn't been taken over where they could stay. It was way too cold in the woods and some people didn't so well in the cold.

Riley couldn't understand what they were doing outside when they knew they were sick. How had they survived this long?

The times required tough people and if you were not one of them then your life span wasn't that big.

She heard a squeak and they all stopped in their tracks to see what it was. She wasn't scared she just hoped that she wouldn't come in contact with those things.

It was an antelope. How was it even alive she could not remember the last time seen one of those. She drew her arrow and it shot straight at the neck.

Glen turned back to look at her with a smile on her face. She had just got them supper. They had reached almost the end of the forest and as they looked over they couldn't see any house which means it was a dead end.

"There is nothing here I even start to wonder how you even found this place ?", Riley asked Glen.

"I and my friends used to come up here camping and it was always safe so when he'll break loose I know where to come that was if things hadn't changed ", Glen said as they sat down.

She took. the water bottle from her side and took a swig from it and handed it to Riley.

"Have you ever come face to face with them ?", Riley asked her.

"With what, do you just call them that ?", Glen asked her chuckling.

"Yes I don't know what to call them, it's not like we were ever taught about these creatures ", Riley said frowning.

Life had changed so much. The first day the world had gone to shit she had hoped that maybe she was in a nightmare or it was just a game and she would wake up the next day with things back to normal.

She was wrong things had gotten worse after that.

"How old are you ?", Glen asked her.

"Am sixteen, you ?", she asked her.

"Twenty ", Glen said.

"You look way older ", Riley said chuckling.

"Me, why would you think that ?", Glen asked her as they lay down staring at the sky.

"I don't know you just have this aura that screams power like everyone at camp listens to you you're like the leader there so I thought you would be older ", Riley said as they both fell silent.

All they wanted was a moment of silence. Where they didn't have to think about how things were crumbling and everything they knew was disappearing.

The silence didn't last for long. They could hear grunts and they let out a frustrated sigh as they stood up.

"I hate this ", said Riley as she aimed her bow at one of the creature's heads.

It fell with a thud and she made her way to the body and pulled out the arrow. She turned and there were more coming.

There were like five of them but she was already used to them. She couldn't keep count of the number of heads she had smashed.

She drew her arrow and shot another one. Glen took her gun out and shot two more. There was a bang and she hoped that those were the only ones around.

Riley took the arrows out and as she was turning the remaining one was already on her. She tried to shoot it with her bow but she couldn't move as it was on top of her.

She could see her life flashing in Infront if her eyes. She took the gun that was latched on her side pocket and shot it in the mouth.

The smell was disgusting and all she felt like doing was puking out her guts. She pushed the body off her and just lay there as tears rolled down her face.

"Come on let's go ", said Glen as she stretched her hand to help Riley up.

Riley took her hand and hoisted herself up. She wiped the blood that was splattered across her face but she could still smell it.

Glen gave her the water bottle and waited as she inspected the antelope that they had hunted. It had already been half eaten but they couldn't risk it by taking it back. They didn't know if the disease could be transmitted through saliva.

"You okay ?", Glen asked her as they walked back.

"Yep ", said Riley and the rest of the way were silent.

Glen knew that she wasn't okay. She could see it on her face. She had been shocked. No matter how many times she had killed them they steal freaked her out.

All she could think about was what if one day they got her and she couldn't kill them in time.

What then?