When I wake up this time, I'm almost too familiar with my surroundings. The sun is still down, and it's black as night. I glance at my watch: It's five in the morning. I struggle to pull myself up and eat some breakfast. I guess it would be better if I traveled with the camouflage of the night. I pull the blanket over my arms because of the coldness, and I start walking. I almost forget my backpack, but then I go back and get it.
I keep walking in the direction of the checkpoint city, hoping so badly they'll have something to help. My gear jostles around in my bag as I jog slightly, but I just ignore it. In the darkness, several times I almost trip over the rocks on my pathway, but I always catch myself right before I fall. I decide that looking down at my feet is a bad idea since one can never expect what they will run into nowadays. It seems my path gets wider as I walk along it, and I worry about what might be ahead.
As the sun comes up, I have to squint to be able to see. The blinding light blocks my view and I have to sit down. I can feel the heat rising, which is unusual in this time of spring. I take the blanket off my shoulders and pack it back into my backpack. I rummage through my things for some more food, as I'm tired after walking this far. I can't find any food and I start to panic.
An animal must have stolen my food when I was asleep. My face turns red with anger and I get up off the ground. The anger gives me a new drive, a new point of view. It's a dog eat dog world now, and everyone's fighting to survive. Truth hits me like a punch in the stomach, and I realize that's exactly what I did to my family. I grit my teeth and pick up my backpack. I sling it over my shoulder and take off running.
I run as fast as I can, pushing my legs to the breaking point. All I can feel is the searing pain of my feet against hard rock and the hurt of my throat as I breathe in the dusty air. I keep running, moving forwards at quite a fast pace. My feet hurt so bad, but I know I can't stop now. Putting one foot in front of another, I try focusing on what could be in front of me. They could have a cure...
Surely by now I have The Plague, and surely I was slowly going to die. I look up for a moment, and I trip over a rock. It sends me toppling to the ground, landing in a pile of dust and rocks. I groan and I can feel the tears start from my eyes as I try to sit up. I touch my hand to my face, and it comes back covered with shiny scarlet blood. I let out a yelp of pain when I try standing up, and fall back to the ground.
The tears sting my eyes and I try to blink them away. They come anyways, rolling down my cheeks in little streams of pain. My vision is blurred from the tears blinding me, and I roll onto my side. I let out a small shriek of pain when my stomach hits a rock. The edges around my sight turn black as I cry out in pain and frustration. The black spreads throughout my vision and I stop fighting it. I welcome the warm darkness, and slowly I lose consciousness.
ns 15.158.61.7da2
