Zak
It is an odd feeling when someone has been trapped for so long to know that they are finally free. He knew it and yet, Zak still felt as though he were a prisoner. Every second was filled with terror, wondering if they were following him; if he was truly free. He didn't linger on the subject too long because for every feeling he felt there was also pain. It shot through his body whenever he took a step, the aches in his muscles made him feel weak and his lungs burned, starved of the oxygen they needed.
How long had he been running? Zak wasn't sure. He had run day and night, stopping only when he came across a puddle that was clean enough to drink from or a stream where he could bathe. He tried to count the nights that had passed since the armored vehicle had turned over on the side of the road and found that he could not recall a single moment. The only thing Zak could recall was the fleeting horror he felt with every step and when the boy found that he could not run any longer; he collapsed.
Pain filled every cell in his body, his lungs felt as if they were going to burst at any second and he rolled onto his side, curling into a ball beside the road. Zak closed his eyes, it felt as if he were going insane. Maybe it was a trick? Maybe he was still there, in that place in some sort of coma?
Fog touched the ground, the stars giving way to the sun. It was early morning and the chill bit through Zak's thin clothes. Two red eyes poked through the fog rolling on the ground, the pair blinked, the body they belonged to sitting up and looking around. With the arrival of the sun, Zak could see that he had gone from abandoned city to forest. There was large metal sign with an inscription in it, but from where he sat Zak could not see what it said. The boy stood on shaky feet, pushing forward to read what the sign said. "Welcome to Erjykove," he mumbled once he was close enough. Zak straightened and ran a hand through his white hair, "Erjykove?" It sounded imaginary, as if he had somehow stumbled upon a fantasy kingdom in the middle of America. Maybe he had died and had come upon Heaven?
Zak continued to trek forward, hoping to stumble upon a secluded cabin he could break into and take a shower in. Zak couldn't take the chance of going to the hospital, where they could possibly alert the government of his presence.