The mental image of the dead guy with the dog eating him is all I need to make up my mind. I’m leaving this place. Pretty soon, everything that’s left in the stores and in people’s fridges will go off, and there will be no food left. Not to mention that soon the city will smell like an open grave pit. The countryside will have more food. In the meantime, I’ll sleep in empty apartments during the day and travel at night until I leave the city. And I’m never letting go of my gun and my knife.

It’s been three nights since I left the store and the city behind me. Two nights ago, I stole a backpack from a dead teenager. I’m ashamed for stealing from the dead, but I couldn’t walk around the city with a bag of dog biscuits, the knife and the gun. It’s a new all-time low for me.

I am exiting what I think used to be the industrial zone. To my right and slightly behind me, several low buildings are either smoking or ablaze. With no one to look after and maintain the industrial facilities, it makes sense. I make sure to stay as far away from them as possible. Just in case light does kill. Further up the highway, something blows up in a small orange ball of flame. I’ll have to walk around that too when I get there. No unnecessary risks. I made it this far on pure luck. From now on I have to think things through and be careful.

The highway is packed with clusters of piled up cars and trucks. At places, the air smells of burning rubber and spilled gas. Which is a nice change from the smell of decomposing bodies coming from the vehicles. I don’t want to look inside for survivors or food. I know I won’t be able to see much, but I doubt I can stomach what my mind will create for what I can’t see.

Half an hour later, the horizon to my left is just starting to brighten. A shape like a roof blocks part of the sky over there. A house perhaps, or a factory of sorts. Whatever it is, it’s shelter. I’ll spend the day there and carry on tomorrow. Who knows? There may still be something edible inside.

The closer I get the clearer it becomes it’s a house. Pebbles crunch under my feet. The ground is gently sloping towards it, as if it invites me closer. But one can’t be too careful. I take out my gun and head towards it. Dawn is slowly creeping in from the east in washed out greys and yellows. There are a few scattered clouds, but nothing to indicate a storm. It will be winter soon, and I’ll need to plan ahead for that too.

Something hits me on my stomach. I take a step back and point the gun in the general direction the blow came from.

“Go away,” someone yells. It’s a child’s voice.

“Easy there kid. I’m not going to hur—”

Something hits the inside of my shin. Rocks. He’s throwing rocks at me. Another one lands a few yards to my left.

“Hey, cut it out.”

A gun racks behind my head. My body goes numb. The gun’s cold barrel presses on the back of my neck. “You shouldn’t have come here,” a woman says.

I raise my hands up slowly and let the gun swivel loose on my finger. Not that they can see it. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m not here to steal from you either. If I could help it, I wouldn’t have stopped here at all. I’m headed that way,” I say and vaguely point to where the highway goes. I slowly turn around and face her. “But day is coming soon, and I’m not sure if there is another shelter down the road nor that I can reach it in time. Those still in the city say that light kills.”

“It does.” She moves the barrel of the gun to the centre of my body. One shot from that and I’ll be in pieces. “It certainly does,” she says. Her voice falters a little as she speaks. Maybe she has lost someone in this mess. Her husband perhaps or …

“All I want is a place to spend the day. I’ll be out of your way tomorrow night.” She adjusts her grip on the shotgun as if my words infuriate her. “Lady, if I wanted you dead, I would have shot you and your kid. I don’t want to do that. I left the city not only because there’s no food there, but because it’s crawling with people eager to kill each other.” I have a feeling she’ll do anything to protect her kid. And that includes killing me in cold blood.

She says nothing at first, then, “give me your gun.” I comply, but she doesn’t lower hers. My mind races to my knife in my backpack. Stupid. Here I am, thinking of how to avoid making any mistakes and how best to survive, and I end up leaving my knife in my bag.

“You try anything funny with me or my boy, you die,” she says.

“Fair enough.” For all I know, she and her boy may have already turned to cannibalism. “I’ve got some dog food in my bag. I’m willing to share if you’re hungry.” Only one way to find out. How could I have been so stupid?

“Slowly,” she says and adjusts her balance now that her kid joins her.

I rummage through my backpack pretending to look for the doggie treats, but I’m looking for the knife. Got it! I take out a handful of dog biscuits with my other hand, and offer them some. If they eat them then maybe they’re not cannibals. If not … “Gesture of good will,” I say and try to read her next move from the way she carries herself. “For safe shelter through this day.”

She prevents her kid from taking any of the peace offering, but she takes one. She smells it and nibbles it. She puts a hand on her son’s back to assure him it’s okay, and the kid hungrily snatches a few. Probably not cannibals. I take the knife without her seeing me, and turn the blade upward along my forearm. Better safe than sorry.

“The bag stays with me,” I say. “I don’t steal from you, and you don’t steal from me. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Can we get inside now, please? It’s getting awfully bright out here.”

“You sleep in the closet room and you don’t come out until I come and get you.” she says.

“As long as it’s dark.”

The closet room is small and smells of mothballs and fabric but it’s dry and, most importantly, dark. I opt to sleep in the space between the door and the wall. That way if she and her kid choose to have a go at me, I’ll surprise them with my knife. I hope it doesn’t come to this.

There’s knocking on my door. “Time to go, mister.” I’ve been awake for hours now, but I didn’t know if it was day or night. If I’m to turn nocturnal, I’m going to have to get used to sleeping through the day.

I open the closet door and scan around me. Their outline is barely visible in the last fading slivers of twilight behind them. I get my backpack and feel my way around until I reach the front door of the house. “Thanks. Can I have my gun now?”

She hands it to me, handle first. “I wouldn’t use it if I were you. The flash from the shot may be enough to kill you.”

“But you were going to shoot me earlier.”

“No. But my husband would.” There’s a sharp breath intake as if she’s trying to compose herself. She gulps loudly.

“Where is he?” I can’t help it. The words are out, even though I can guess. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

She turns her head and gazes outside. “He was getting ready to take my daughter and my older son to the movies. He went to the car first,” she says and points with her chin at something outside. Probably the car, though I can’t see anything. “The kids must have walked in front of the headlights when it happened. If that’s the case, then I think my husband must have gone out to save them. Tom was like that. Family first. Anything for the family.” She rubs her forehead as if talking about him brings her a headache, then sighs and eventually presses her son close to her. “I heard the screams. The howls. My son and I were in the basement, getting some stuff out for his school party. We were listening to music on the radio. I held on to him, and hid.” She sniffles for a moment. I don’t say anything, but I have the feeling she glares at me, as if I’ve said—or thought—something judgemental. “That’s right. I left my two kids and my husband out on their own.” Her voice breaks. “I should have helped them. I should have—”

“You would have died with them. Both of you.”

She answers with a sharp intake of air, then she clears her throat. In my mind’s eye I see her trying to compose herself, keeping her chin high. She knows she doesn’t only have to appear strong to people like me, but she actually has to be strong for what’s to come. Not only for her but for her kid. “The guy on the radio said we should avoid light. So we live in the basement ever since.”

“You can’t stay here any longer.”

“It’s my home.”

“It’ll be your grave once those in the city run out of food. Some have already turned to cannibalism. The rest will do the same soon. There’s no food left back there. There are others who rape, kill, and loot just for a can of food. They’ll be here soon. It’s best if they don’t find you. Your kid deserves better.”

“Don’t tell me what my kid deserves. You asked for shelter. I gave it to you. Now get lost.”

“Listen to me.”

“We are not leaving. End of story.”

How long will they last on their own? A week? A month? Eventually, either Raiders will find the house or the cannibals will. “Are there any buildings along the freeway? Any farms?”

“Some industrial units. A bit to the north. About an hour’s drive, maybe less, so you should be there before the next morning.”

I nod, though I doubt she can see me, and head back to the freeway. “Thanks again. Stay safe.”

“If you show your face around here again, I’ll kill you.”

“No, you won’t,” I mutter to myself. “I have no intention of coming back here, and you won’t be around for much longer.”

I’ve been walking for most of the night and still no sign of any buildings. Either I have walked past them, or they’re further down the road, in which case I may not make it there in time. It’s cold and the dog food doesn’t provide me with enough energy. Not to mention it’s running out. I can’t help but think that I may have made a mistake by venturing out like this. But the alternative was either ending up in someone else’s stomach, starvation, or turning to cannibalism.

At some point, I stumble on an off ramp, which in turn leads to an access road. Perhaps it will take me to the industrial units the woman mentioned.

A few minutes later, the familiar smell of rotting flesh hits me before I run into what I think is a truck. It must be the driver that smells. The access road ends to a check point with a gate and a small guard booth next to it. I climb over the gate and am about to enter the small structure when I get a whiff of putrescence. The guard most likely.

There’s rustling in the undergrowth. A pair of shimmering eyes stare at me from the undergrowth. A rabbit? A mouse? Before I have a chance to take a step closer, the animal vanishes. Interesting. I could try catching one of those. There may be more. But first I need to make sure the building is safe and dark to spend the day here.

It appears I’m in some kind of loading area with numerous trucks parked. The apocalypse struck as they were getting ready to load. It takes me a while before I find the entrance to the building, but when I do, a sense of calm and safety surrounds me. It’s almost as if this place has been waiting for me since those working here died. And they are a lot, judging by the smell. As far as I can tell, there are no windows in this part of the building. My footsteps echo faintly between shelves, decomposing bodies, and brick walls.

My first thought is to take the gun out, but the woman’s words about the flash being enough to kill me make me think again. My gun may be the most useless thing on me right now. And the most dangerous. I take my knife out and carry on exploring.

The place I’m in is massive and lined with rows of shelves. I’m in some sort of a warehouse. The offices are at the opposite side of the room. Two of them have no window access. I’ll spend the day there.

The shelves to the right side are toppled over with boxes scattered on the floor. I open one of them. There are cans inside with easy-to-open tops. A tingle speeds from my spine all the way to my fingertips. Could it be?

I peel away the top of one of the cans and …

Tuna! It’s food!

I collapse on the floor laughing and crying at the same time. I open another can from another box. Meatballs in sauce! It’s a food canning factory. There’s food all around me! I can live here. Between that and the animals outside, I can survive the apocalypse. For now.

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Congratulations! You navigated your character through a hostile environment and managed to find a place where the chances of survival are high enough for your character to survive. That was the whole point of this short, interactive story.

As far as interactive stories go, this was much simpler than most. I intentionally designed it like this to avoid overwhelming you with too many decisions, but also because I didn’t want to bore you. Most of the choices would lead to death. The idea was to give you a little extra. Hopefully, something you haven’t seen before, something a little different than most authors offer. It was meant to serve as a small glimpse of how the world in my novel, The Darkening, really is, and the hardships the survivors there are facing on a daily basis.

If you enjoyed this story, or if you want to know more about the world of The Darkening and what brought the apocalypse, you may want to wait a couple of days until I send you the sample chapters from my novel The Darkening.

Thank you for sticking all the way to the end with this!

 

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