"You have to push harder this time. If you want the higher scores, you have to push harder. Keep your fingers straight! Point your goddamn toes! You're old enough not to be making these mistakes." A figure stood ten meters off the ground, toes wiggling over the edge of the blue platform they stood on. Ten metres below a man shouted, yelling and teaching from the distance beneath her. "Push harder. Keep straight. You won't make so much of a splash if you concentrate!" The figure moved back over the board and placed her hands down flat onto the surface. To hands pushed down, legs slowly lifting above her head. Shakily, she raised her legs completely, balancing over an over all 15 metre drop. "Push hard off you arms and bring your legs in as soon as you lift off." The man yelled again, with the girl straightened her legs and pointed her toes. Elbows bent and her body pushed off the board.
Wind sped immediately past her ears as she twisted and turned. She could hear his voice still, though the words were less clear. Soon however, she heard the sound of water rushing against her, hearing its noiseless and echoy presence in her ears. The girl turned in the water and rose slowly to the surface, pushing the clear liquid out the way with her hands. Her head broke the surface of the water and everything had changed. The swimming pool was no longer a pristine white, blue and green. Now it was dirty, overgrowing with plants and mould. She turned in the water and looked towards her coach as he shifted and changed. Panicking, the girl hurried towards the side of the pool and lifted herself out. The Runner opposite screamed a hideous noise and hurried his way towards her, running with a white rage that couldn't be described. The girl looked down at her clothes, it wasn't a swimsuit anymore. In her right arm stood her bow, the other an arrow. The girl stepped back as the runner made it to her side of the pool, foaming and gurgling. A exhale of breath and the girl let an arrow loose, it landing just underneath his chin. Enough to kill him. She walked overly slowly, ready to hurt him again if he hadn't died. The coach gurgled and moaned, reaching for her as he slowly died. His hand reached out for her's and she immediately tugged it back. However, the grip was too strong. Looking down at the man, he'd changed.
"Run. Dont die."
"Wake up." Andrew said, shaking her shoulder. "Emilie wake up. We're moving." The girl who'd spent most of the night sleeping off a two day exhaustion slowly came too and stood slowly from the tree she slept against. Around her, people were waking and packing up their belongings. It was a long trip, but the promise of sanctuary was too great. They'd heard over the radio of a place in Montreal, a huge self sustaining town, with doctors, farms, schools, beds, and no infected. However, the distance they had to cover was far too much. She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed up her bag. "If we keep along the highway, we should reach state lines soon enough. We'll be in Wyoming by dusk, so long as we keep up a pace." Andrew added, the familiar hand of his wife holding his shoulder gently.
It was no lie that the group was failing. They'd lost three in the last week and one of them had been left without warning, without a note. People felt bad of course but that was how things went. If someone got sick, they'd be left behind. If someone coughed, or complained on a bad headache, they'd be shot. It was no mystery that the infected were still alive, the pained screams upon death were clear. The group had seen one too many kill themselves over the noise. Emilie pulled her quiver around her belt and set about helping the others pack their belongings back up and get ready for what would be an intensely long work.
"We'll eat around ten. We should have a good few hours more of distance between us and the university then. I'd rather not stop for breakfast here. At least on the highway we can see them."
Mary moved through the group and stopped Emilie in her tracks.
"Don't dwell on it. He was a good man but none of us could have helped him." The older woman smiled, soon pulling her into a hug and holding her close. The previous few days had been eventful. The lack of resources and real medicine had dropped to a minimum. The idea of raiding the nearest town had been too far away, however the university campus had been a clever idea. Only the place was filled with more infected than anyone had thought. A team of five had gone in, and only three had come out. One good man, who went by the name Nick, had gotten himself trapped and eaten. The other, a good man, who'd been there since the beginning. The man who'd brought them all together. Milo had been his name. With no sign of escape, he'd taken up a torch and turned down the opposite hallway, giving Emilie and her two remaining team members a chance of escape. It was something Emilie would probably never get over.
