TRAIL

"Have you lost your fucking mind!?" Nora, we can't go look for her! Where would you even go!? She could be anywhere!" yelled William.

They had searched the entire building, from top to bottom. William had even gone into the restricted areas on the lower levels, to no avail. Lilian had left... or someone had taken her away. But if someone had such ill intentions, why didn't they do anything else? If they were able to go unnoticed all the way into the living quarters of the building, they could have killed or incapacitated all of them as well. If the girl had truly been kidnapped, was there some kind of unknown purpose to it? If she left on her own… why!?

Nobody knew the answers, and everyone was losing it. Especially Nora.

"William, don't make me repeat myself, I'm going!!" she said. She had already grabbed a backpack and hurriedly packed some supplies. "I'm not going to leave her out there to her fate…! I'm going, with or without you!!"

"You're only going to get yourself killed! This is probably what they planned for… Kidnapping her, luring us out so they can claim the place again!"

"I'm telling you, she wasn't kidnapped, she had to leave on her own! She was right beside me! Claire, you trust me, right!?"

"I-I…. Um…!" no words came from Claire's mouth. She recoiled against the wall, looking at them both with a horrified look on her face.

"Cut the crap!" William gesticulated wildly while trying to reason with Nora. "I refuse to let you go out there without a proper plan! Rushing will only make us easier targets for whoever is behind this!"

"Cut the crap!? It's easy for you to say that, isn't it!? It's not like she's your sister after all!" Nora's eyes were burning with something that William couldn't identify. Was it anger? Despair? He had never seen that look on her eyes before. But that didn't change the fact that he didn't like what she had just implied. Not one bit.

"Watch your mouth, Nora. I know how painful it is to lose a loved one. And trust me, I'm pretty sure I know it better than you do."

"Kuh…! Damn it…!! Shut up…!!" she was panting from exasperation. "You don't get it…! Fine, if you don't want to help me, then you can go to hell…!!" without saying another word, and with tears in her eyes, Nora bolted for the stairs.

"W-Wait, Nora…!!! Aren't you taking this t-too far…!!?" Claire yelled, but it was for nothing.

"Nora…!!" William was about to run after her. But should he? What was he going to achieve? More arguing? Provoking her further? He might be able to forcefully stop her, but would that help? From his point of view, that kind of hurried, panicked decision-making was anything but wise. If Lilian left during the night, she was nearly guaranteed to have encountered some nocturnal shamblers. Nobody survives the night out in the streets. However, he understood that Nora wanted to go as fast as possible. What stopped him from stopping her?

'Amanda… If that were you…'

His rational side told him to stop her. His emotional side told him to go with her. He did nothing.

Claire dropped to her knees, as Nora's footsteps sounded further and further away, until only silence remained.

…

"What are you going to do…?" he asked Claire.

"..." she stared at the floor, unresponsive.

Upon receiving no answer for a while, William walked away, dubious. It was unlikely for him to hesitate, he needed to pull himself together. It was undeniable, at that precise moment both Nora and Lilian were in danger. Something had to be done. Just as he was approaching the stairs, Claire's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Can you… Can you trust us, even if it's just this once…?"

"What…?" he turned around to face her. She was looking at him, but the look on her face was completely different than the horror that took hold of her a minute ago. Her new expression denoted nothing but sadness.

"Lilian wasn't kidnapped… And I think Nora knows exactly how to find her…"

"What do you mean? Has she done this before…?"

Claire looked away for a fraction of a second, as if measuring her words.

"Y-Yeah… I think I know where they're going. Please, you have to believe me…"

"Listen, every passing day I find it harder and harder to trust you all. You say nothing. You leave me in the dark while something eats at you from within… Now the brat goes missing, and you apparently knew such a thing could happen…? And Nora, lashing out like that and not even stopping to think. Damn it… What's the fucking deal!? If it didn't directly affect our odds of making it out of this mess alive, I wouldn't give a goddamn fuck! But I'm getting tired of secrets already…!"

"I know… Damn, I know…! We both do…!" Claire's face contorted as she curled up against the wall, visibly shaky. "I wish we could just tell you…! But… it's not that simple, damn it…!!"

'You wish you could tell me…? Why the hell does that sound so ominous…?'

"P-Please, don't get mad at Nora… I'm convinced she didn't mean to start a fight with you. Her emotions are taking hold of her… We'll explain everything, I promise. I'll talk with Nora about it…! But right now, we really need to go find her…!!"

"Hmmm…"

'Ah, damn it…'

******

[Tick, tock, tick, tock… The clock is ticking. You know it, don't you?]

'Shut up...! I don't want to listen to you anymore.'

[Oh? But you always need someone to listen to, someone to follow around. What are you going to do otherwise? You're out here, in the middle of nowhere, running around like a headless chicken. Alone.]

'I'm not alone anymore…!'

It didn't matter how much she tried to tell herself otherwise, it was a fact that Nora was entirely on her own at that moment. But she couldn't turn back. Finding Lilian was more important. Her little sister was the main pillar keeping her life together, the one thing she had devoted to protect. What if…?

Nora shook her head and kept going. The worst-case scenario was something she'd rather not contemplate at all.

She did her best to remember her trip with William. How to go up and down buildings, how to use the environment to cross alleys from the safety of the rooftops… She made her way across the building blocks, with her eyes set on the streets below. It was highly unlikely Lilian had the audacity to climb up to avoid the ground level. If she was still alive, she'd probably be somewhere down there.

As she went further ahead, the streets gradually filled with shamblers, until Nora spotted a big crowd immobile in the middle of a street junction. Her attention was too focused on scouring every inch of the area. She didn't even see the floor coming when she tripped and slammed headfirst against it.

"Kyaah…!"

She stopped for a second, although she didn't want to. Sweat drenched her clothes. She was panting so much she struggled to catch a proper breath. Her legs hurt like hell. She hadn't kept track of how much distance she had covered, but it had to be considerable. She had left the shelter about an hour ago.

'Come on… Move… Move…!'

With a bit of effort, she got up and kept running. But, what for? After all, the trail she was following was nothing but a hunch, and it just so happened to end right there. She had no more clues.

'What now…? Lilian, where are you!?'

Nora started wandering around the building block, keeping her eyes on the surrounding streets, looking for something that kept her hopes alight.

Fortunately, it was obvious William's group had previously explored that entire area before. Ropes allowing access between uneven roofing, wooden planks or ladders secured over gaps... Nora didn't know how to navigate the place on her own, so the makeshift infrastructure was more than welcome.

…

She ran to the handrail and peeked over the edge. Her head swung from side to side, her eyes combing the sidewalks and the surrounding buildings.

In front of her was the street parallel to the one she had been following over almost the entirety of the past half hour. She saw what remained of a once bustling shopping district. Grocery stores, clothing stores, what looked like a book store… All of them seemed to be dark and empty inside. The shattered remains of the window displays littering the ground, abandoned cars all over the road, random garbage strewn around… It would be easy to hide in a place like that.

'Damn it, she could be hidden anywhere…!'

All it would take was for Lilian to have wandered off into an arbitrary building. Just like that, such a simple decision, and Nora would never find her. But she believed on her instincts, she trusted that she knew her little sister well enough to be able to track her down.

"Huh…? What's… that…?" her eyes stopped on something located about fifty meters left from her position, in the sidewalk at the other side of the street.

It was a big structure. She didn't really know that area of the city too much, but she recognized the place. A subway station. There was something right in front of the entrance.

'No way…!!' Were her eyes deceiving her…?

It looked like a human with a small frame, wearing a black hoodie and dark pants. From that distance it was difficult to be sure, but there weren't many people around that matched that description. And Nora happened to be looking for one of them.

"Lilian…!? Is that you, Lilian…!!? Lilian…!!!" she shouted down the street in the general direction of the figure, cupping her hands around her mouth.

The shape seemed to turn around, very slowly.

******

Was big sister calling for her? She turned around, trying to identify the source of the voice. It was difficult to hear it over all the other voices.

The day was looking great. Not a single cloud could possibly block the big, shiny sphere of light in the sky. Its radiance permeated everything around her, warm and fuzzy. It made her want to just stare at it and bask in the feeling.

The houses around her were as gray and monotonous as always. If anything, they seemed to be slightly more monotonous than she remembered them to be. Nobody else seemed bothered by it though. There was nobody around, but their voices sounded loud and clear in her ears. Everyone went about their business and daily routines, the city bustling with activity, like it had always been.

But they were so noisy. It made it very difficult to locate big sister. She looked around, squinting as she dragged her eyes over the nearby streets and buildings.

She finally spotted her. She was waving at her from a rooftop, but she was too far away to tell what she was saying.

'Norie!' she was finally there. She saw her. Everything should be okay.

She wanted to go and meet her, but someone else was asking for help. She turned around and faced the dark entrance in front of her. Wide stairs led down into the bowels of the building. It was dark. Very dark. So dark it made her want to run away.

She hated darkness. It made her feel insecure, vulnerable. Whenever big sister and Clairie slept at night, she envied them. She couldn't sleep well. She felt as if something bad would happen if she did. She'd remain on edge, eyes wide open, looking out for dangers yet unseen. Sometimes she felt the urge to get up and leave. But she couldn't leave big sister's side. She felt safe with her, even in the dark.

*Waaaaah! Waaaaah! Waaaaah!*

The baby kept crying bitterly. It was coming from somewhere in the darkness below. She had followed its cries from very far away. It needed help, and nobody was noticing. Why would anyone ignore a crying baby? Such bad people!

"It's okay… I'm gonna help you soon, kay…?" she mumbled to herself, still staring at the ominous entrance.

She'd never dare to go down there on her own, but now that big sister was coming, it would be okay. She didn't fear the darkness with Norie around.

Very slowly, she started descending the steps, disappearing into the shadows.

******

Nora's ankle made a weird twist when she flew down the ladder and landed on the sidewalk.

"Ugggh…!!"

Was it sprained? It didn't feel like it, she could still walk, but it hurt like hell. She couldn't afford to waste time, she needed to hurry up before it was too late. She crossed the street and started sprinting at full speed towards the subway entrance. She might be drawing unwanted attention to herself. There might have been shamblers hidden in the vicinity, lurking in the nearby buildings, watching her every move. She didn't care.

'Why…? Why? Why!? Lilian, why are you going down there…!? Come back!! Please…!!'

If her sister happened to stumble upon a wandering shambler indoors, it'd be over. Nora had heard from William in greater detail. Darkness made them faster, more vicious. Their senses grew sharper the longer they remained in the dark, their behavior becoming increasingly violent. The transition from day to night is what caused them to eventually form those massive nocturnal hordes. Their activity levels would subside during the day, but those who got stuck indoors would remain in such a state of aggression indefinitely.

She noticed her heartbeat rapidly ramping up as she got closer to the subway station. Her exhaustion seemed to fade away after each hurried breath she took. A sense of utmost urgency had taken hold of her, her legs were moving almost on their own. She only wanted to catch up to Lilian as fast as possible.

…

Nora gulped. The station was engulfed in darkness. It was like the maws of a hungry beast, waiting for her to make her move before closing in for the kill. But Lilian was down there. She had definitely seen her walk down those stairs.

'O-Okay… Um… Did I grab that…?' she grabbed her backpack and rummaged through it.

After a while, it became clear enough. The flashlight was nowhere to be found. When William told her to prepare properly before rushing out, he was probably trying to avoid predicaments like that.

"Ah, damn…!"

After staring at the dark entrance for some seconds, Nora made her way down the steps. Her footsteps started to echo more and more the deeper she went, until she disappeared into the bowels of the building.