The view was actually quite spectacular, what was once a packed metropolis now nothing more than a jungle of dilapidated buildings and the ghosts of the past. Numerous buildings towered high, exposed metal glimmering in the evening sun and the evidence of the bombs that killed everyone still quite clear. Perched atop what had once been the headquarters of some newspaper company the slim figure of a woman was hardly noticeable, her feet dangling off the edge as she sat scraping the last morsels from a tin of tuna, pausing occasionally to survey her surroundings as she considered the eerie beauty of the landscape before her.
She casually tossed the empty tin over the edge of the building, watching it plummet to the ground before she pulled a chipped canteen from her bag and took several deep swigs of water. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and she sat for a moment before pulling down her hood to reveal shoulder length dirty blonde hair that was slightly tangled. Her features were small and petite, though her deep emerald eyes had what could be called a feral glint in them as they darted around her surroundings. Her skin was marred with smears of dirt and it was clear that she had been through much. Her current expression was somewhat blank, her mind running with countless thoughts of what she should do next, where she should go. After several minutes the relative silence of the evening was suddenly shattered, the unmistakable sounds of distant gunfire reaching her ears as several flocks of birds shot into the air startled by the noise.
In a split second she had stood and once more her hair was hidden behind her hood and she was moving back towards the doorway that lead down into the building she had spent the last few hours searching - somewhat fruitlessly. Her mind now fixated on moving and finding somewhere less exposed, somewhere safe, somewhere she could sleep without fear of being discovered. She had a few little 'dens' littered around the city, but none were particularly close and her feet and legs already ached from all the walking she had done. Charlotte moved through the building silently and made her way to the street, pausing and listening every few minutes as she headed in the opposite direction to the gunshots she had heard. Her heart was pounding slightly and she moved quicker than she normally would have, she had an uneasy feeling and couldn't quite place why. Every now and then she broke into a little run and she dodged around the wreckage of what had been a fire truck, now a mangled gray skeleton laying somewhat across what had once been a huge large four lane road.
Soon her panic subsided and she walked on for what must have been about half an hour before her ears prickled and a rather unfamiliar sound reached her ears. She paused and stood listening as intently as she could as she tried to place what she was hearing, the sound very slowly growing louder in the far distance. Suddenly it dawned on her, it was the deep rumbling sound of an engine, the sound of someone driving something that was getting steadily closer and closer. Breaking into a run Charlotte realised that she was walking along what had been the main interstate into the centre of the city, and that meant that it was quite likely that whoever it was would be coming this very way. Unfortunately there was no easy way to get off the road, not unless she wanted to drop several stories down onto the road below her and break both of her legs. As she ran her mind raced, frantically she tried to reach the exit road that would slope down into whatever neighbourhood she was over, she could just about see it from where she was and it was getting nearer and nearer.
As she got closer so did the approaching sound of a vehicle and she pushed herself to go faster and faster, her heart pounding as she panted in gulping deep breaths of air. Just as she reached the side road she swore as the unmistakable sight of headlights speeding towards her. Turning she sprinted down the exit road as fast as she could, though now thoroughly winded adrenaline surged through her as she pushed on. Halting for a brief moment she spared a glance behind her and her heart skipped a beat as she saw a truck swerving and heading directly towards her, the sound of loud music now mingled with the revving engine as she again ran as fast as she possibly could. Even though only a handful of seconds passed it felt like hours as she kept running and pushing herself, mingled shouts now reaching her ears as she glanced behind her again. The vehicle was definitely coming for her and she briefly saw that the hood had been spray painted with a large 'BA' and skull, a pickup truck that had several occupants, each of them eagerly jeering and pointing at her as one of the men in the rear aimed a rifle towards her and squeezed off a few shots.
She kept running as the gunfire narrowly missed her, flecks of debris shooting into the air as she leapt over a discarded pile of trash that several moments later the truck smashed through as it raced after her. She scrambled up the edged of an overturned bus and ran along its length as yet more bullets ricocheted past her. She got the distinct feeling that the man shooting at her was choosing not to hit her rather than simply missing and she tried to move even faster as she leapt from the end of the bus thudding into the road a little harder than she had planned and stumbling into the jagged edge of a rusted taxi as she did. She swore loudly as the metal cut into her thigh and pain shot through her leg, she swore again and pushed herself on, the truck briefly obscured from view as it swerved around the wreckage of the bus to reach her. She tried to keep sprinting, though couldn't suppress a cry as agony blossomed as she put her weight on her leg, she also felt thick warm blood seeping down pushing on regardless, her only thoughts being to somehow escape or hide. Her eyes shot around and fell upon the only piece of cover that was anywhere near her, what had once been a burger grill trailer sprawled in front of a large library. Not wasting anytime she hurled herself into the trailer and scrambled along the floor as she grabbed at her leg with one hand and pulled out her hunting knife with the other. The sound of screeching tires reached her ears as the truck with Blood Army thugs had evidently stopped now that she had suddenly vanished from sight, a few moments later the sound of voices and footsteps drifting over to her as she tried to suppress her heavy breathing and stay as silent as possible. Her mind raced as she tried to think about what she could do, it was only a matter of moments before they would surely find her. The only thing she knew is that she wouldn't be taken by them and she gripped tightly at the knife as she listened intently, preparing herself to strike the moment one of them would appear in the doorway. Each second felt like an eternity as she held her breath.
