Snippet #2117817

Christian took a deep breath and ran his hand across his face. The image of the place he once called safe -the place that could have remained safe if care had been taken- burning to the ground made him both furious and bitter. He stood quietly, readjusted and carefully made his way into the rubbish-strew alleyway. He tried to be as silent as possible, not wanting to attract any attention that would result in his mauling and/or death. The streets were eerily quiet, unnaturally so. Not even the wildlife or the wind made a noise; as if all of nature's beauty had deserted the planet. It was unsettling. And it made Christian's hairs on his neck prickle. He could hear his own unsteady heartbeat, the sound of his throat retracting as he swallowed.

And then the sound of sobbing been abruptly cut short. He froze and leant into the shadows, eyes narrowed. Is it one of them? He thought, mind boggling. If it was, then the tables had turned again. If they could made human noises, emotion-driven sounds, than the threat they posed increased ten fold. Traps could be set, perhaps this was one. His skin was tight and mouth dry. He needed to know how close it was, for he was without a weapon and wasn't great at fighting anyway - not without an Xbox controller anyway. He started edging forward, light widening as the alley's opening drew closer. He pressed himself against the heavily graffitied bricks, and slipped his hand into his pocket and took out his Swiss army knife. With a flick of the wrist, the widest blade appeared and Christian snuck the tip beyond the wall, angled slightly so as to see what was there.

A woman reflected in the blade. Christian's frowned as he stared at her, and realised he knew her. Not personally, but he had seen her before. Recently. I think she... I think she helped at the refuge... What was her name? Started with a H... Or was it a M? He withdrew the knife and thought for a moment. Was she infected? Christian then heard her apologise to someone, no-one, anyone. She couldn't be infected for two reasons. First, when infected the cognitive faculties of a human were essentially destroyed. And two, she was feeling sad - and Christian knew it was because she had ran too, just like him. He chewed the inside of his cheek and nodded an affirmation to himself before taking a small step out into the grey street.

"You a'right?" Christian muttered, looking around him to ensure safety.