Chapter 5

Red Dawn - chapter 5. The story continues. NO #TRIGGERWARNING THIS CHAPTER

Chapter 5

Skin red with heat and exhaustion, eyes droopy and their minds controlled by their subconscious. The sun’s hot rays burned down on their necks and shoulders; sweat dripping from their fingertips and chins: the heat was slowly devouring them.

It was the late afternoon and they had long lost the zombies at the cliff, but they now stumbled into the hot dry sun of the open plains. It was plain bushland; dry brown grass that was at least a meter tall, Bindi’s stuck to their pants and shoes and even stretched up against their legs - only god knows how they got into their pants. There were no trees or large rocks just the dry endless grass and miles of dry red dirt.

The occasional mice or rat ran through the grass, often they would hear the sound of hissing or a squeak in the distance: it never spooked them. They were all to use to the sounds of the animals eating each other, or them trying to protect their territory and it wouldn’t be the first time they got attacked by a snake or any other animal for territorial reasons.

Milly - who leaded at the front - took a large swing of her canteen and wiped her mouth of any of the remaining water. She let out a large breathe and attached her canteen to her belt, as she let go of the canteen her hand brushed another object that rested on her waist. She unattached it from her belt and brought it into her sight of vision.

It was a small cloth doll. It was stain with blood on its head and was terribly dirty and was even missing an arm, but she rubbed her thumb over the fabric despite its horrid appearance. She keep walking with it held out in front of her as she felt the stinging in her eyes as tears threatened to fall. She never took notice - as she was engrossed in the doll - of Tommy and Felix giving her looks of concern but in despite of that, keep their mouths shut as they knew of the importance of that doll was to her.

She held onto the doll as she walked, she didn’t feel the need to let it go or the desire.

A soft breeze blew through the grass and picked up the dark locks of Milly’s hair. She held the doll tightly as the wind blew through her. She let out a breath along with the wind current and clipped the doll back to her belt. Letting her head down Milly looked over the ground and stopped as she noticed the large black huntsman spider crawl across over the ground - it was so unnatural.

As she watched the spider she felt a shadow overcast on her. Tommy had walked past and Felix was coming up on her right side and gently tapped her arm as a way of say ‘come on’. They kept their steady pace over the grass landscape and keep control of how much they drank from each canteen.

The whole time they had walked there had not been a single tree to provide them with shade or shelter to rest at. Walking ahead of Felix and Milly Tommy pulled his jacket off his arms and wrapped it around his waist while letting out a sigh of relief of the sudden coolness as a gust of wind blew through. Running his hands through his hair he ruffled it of sweat and ran them over his face and wiped them over his shirt, not wanting the sweat on his hands.

Felix and Milly walked behind Tommy with their jackets still on - sleeves rolled up however. They were all breathing heavily and when Felix tripped on his own feet it took both Milly and Tommy to help him up as their arms were exhausted and Felix’s legs also exhausted. They stood in a circle/triangle together and look over each other as they breathed rapidly - their lungs struggling to get the air into their system.

Tommy grabs Felix’s shoulder as Felix grabs his knees and leans over to catch his breath. The whole way Felix had been carrying the bag " he grabbed it from Tommy after they were a few minutes away from the cliff face. By now it would weigh at least a few kilos.

“Do you want me to take the bag for a while?” Tommy questioned. He struggled forming the sentence but felt that Felix need to take this break without the bag.

Felix didn’t say anything for a bit and looked like he wanted to hold his hand up in answer but couldn’t find the energy. Tommy took that as his answer and told Milly to help get the bag off Felix’s back.

Pulling the straps, the bag slide from Felix’s back and Tommy chucked it onto his back and looked down at Felix to see how he was holding up. He placed a light hand on his back just as he stood up straight - his face red and sweat running down his skin. Grabbing the strap of the bag Tommy turned and started head back in the direction of- well, anywhere.

They keep walking until the sun started to become unbearable - several hours later - and Tommy’s leg started to become extremely painful to walk on - as much as he tried to deny it. This time Milly took the bag without any complaints and wouldn’t take any sort of comments from either of them, being as they had both carried the bag and she hadn’t.

The hours pasted and the sun was now sitting on the borderline of the horizon. Tommy’s shoulders and chest were furiously red, while Milly and Felix - who wore their jackets the whole day - only had red faces from both the sun and the exhaustion. But even with their sun burning from the heat of the day, they didn’t stop for the night.

It wasn’t until the sun had nearly completely set into the horizon did they come across the first tree that they had seen since the cliff jump.

When they reached it, the sun was so close to being completely gone.

Dropping the bag onto the ground, Milly leaned against it and dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Brushing the hair from her face she watched the stars appear in the sky and the blue turn to black. Tommy and Felix dropped to the ground in complete and utter exhaustion, as the sun dipped lower over the horizon.

Tommy fell back onto his spine, letting out a puff as he landed back.

After a few minutes Milly stood - her legs nearly giving out on her - and turned to the leafless tree she had just minutes ago been leaning on. She reached up and grabbed the closet branch and pulled herself up. Felix and Tommy just watched from their spots on the ground, as she placed her foot onto another branch and brought herself higher.

Letting out a huff of exhaustion, Milly pulls herself up one more branch before turning and looking down at the two boys. Her chest heaves for oxygen as she breaks off a few branches and throws them down onto the ground near the boys.

Looking at the pile then to Milly, the boys just stay seated where they are - looking up at her. Milly throws down another thick branch, then notices the stares she’s getting from the boys. She widens her eyes and throws her arm out towards the pile of sticks and branches as if to say ‘hello? Sticks, wood = fire.’

Catching her drift of thought, Felix slowly stood up and went over to the sticks and branches. He tried to put them all into a proper pile and surround them with stones that sat laying around the tree. The stones were to act as a fire wall to make sure it did travel onto the grass - that didn’t however stop it from flying onto the grass.

Just as Milly threw down one more branch and jumped down from the tree, Felix grabbed the matchbox from the bag - getting a shock as Milly hit the ground. Scratching the match against the side of the box, it burst a light and Felix held it down near the bottom where crushed grass laid.

Dropping the match in the grass as it caught a flame. The wood cracked at the flames speed to travel up the arms of the sticks and legs of the branches.

The moon dragged itself through the sky as the sun set over the horizon and the sky turned black and purple, and the bright red and yellow flames remained creating the last remaining light in the area. They stayed their laying against the tree and on the grass, just watching the stars and the grass blow along with the flames in the wind.

The flames looked as if they were dancing over the sky as they followed the wind and released its ash shards into the sky.

Looking over Milly and Tommy, Felix stood up from his spot and turned his attention to the tree that as just before controlled by Milly. Going over to Tommy Felix leans down and taps him on the chest, waking him from his half-sleeping state.

“Tonight’s cold. Keep each other warm.” Felix said as he went over to the tree and grabbed the lower branch.

Tommy just groaned but didn’t make any further complaints about the decision - as he got a glare from Felix. Falling down next to Milly, Tommy doesn’t say anything as he drops his head onto her shoulder and dozes off quickly. Milly just looks at him in shock and surprise, never would she expect him to comply without much more of an argument. She held the gun closely to her chest as she slowly drifted off into the world sleep.

Pulling himself to the top of the tree, Felix makes himself comfortable on the tree top and holds his gun in his lap as he looks over the horizon of endless grass, with the flames burning brightly into the sky just below him.

Hours pasted and the flames burned out, all was left was the slowly and lazy crack of the wood as the embers eat away at their insides. It was barely a light but it still provided in seeing anything that moved when close by.

Felix’s eyes didn’t droob throughout the whole night, and while he still felt fully awake his body felt heavy and absolutely shattered. Leaning back against the tree Felix let out a sigh as he watched the skies stars shine and waver in the darkness.

Just as his head dropped to the side and his eyelids fell slightly from boredom, he took notice of a distant light.

He could tell from the darkness of the sky and the still burning embers that it wasn’t sunlight. He was curious but at the same time felt compelled to go the opposite way of the light. Turning on the branch that he stayed seat on he moved until his legs hung over the side of the branch and were hanging in the open air.

The light flickered then shone again, it was only small and Felix took notice of the position and promised himself to remember where the light was for the morning, because if it was civilisation then they may just stand a chance in this hell whole they've spent their whole lives in.

Watching the light Felix didn’t let his eyes travel anywhere else, as the sky started to turn shades of pink and red, as the morning sun rose over the horizon.

It was morning.

~

The embers on the wood had dead, as dirt was kicked onto its surface. They stood around the dying fire, Milly and Tommy looking awake and well, while Felix - who stayed awake the whole night - looked almost as dead as a corpse. Milly held the bag over her shoulder - her gun in the other - and looked over at the wavering in exhaustion Felix.

“Which way was that light that you mentioned?” Milly asked, her shoulder dropping her gun to her hand as she pulled her arm through the other strap and then her gun over the top.

Felix just looked at her for a second before his brain finally clicked into place of what she was saying.

“That way.” He points. He brings his hand back to his face to rub his eyes when they look in that direction.

“Right-o.” Tommy states, as he pull his jacket over his sore shoulders - he wasn’t risking another burn.

Pulling their hoods over their heads, they set off towards the lights direction - Felix hoping that he wasn’t just seeing things.

Author's Note

I haven't edited this one much, so there might be a mistakes. So please tell me, so i can fix them. Not too much happens this chapter i was going to make it longer, but i didn't see how to continue without starting another chapter.

There is an Aussie word in there somewhere, so if you find a word you don't understand tell me, cause i don't know where it is.

Reviews

[MightyMouse]

As with the previous chapter, fires are more complicating than that. Maybe have them pack some pine needles into their bag to help aide in starting the fire later. And have the first few sticks she pulls from the tree be kind of dead and just hanging there because starting fresh sticks is nearly impossible. They have too much water in them and it puts the fire out. This chapter is lacking in more details than your other ones, so be sure to keep that in mind when you edit it.

[PenguinEmpiress]

I remember writing this one! Yea I had a bit of a writers block, even though I knew what I was writing half the time. I did envision a dead tree, I think. But yea, you're right this chapter is lacking what the others have because there was just nothing to write besides "it was a barren empty landscape, with nothing but a single dead tree" I think I just got lazy, though. I'll get onto fixing it once I can.

[MightyMouse]

Lol, we all have those days.