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She’s practically a goddamn beacon.
She’s clearly never had to stay silent to be safe or concealed from anyone. In fact, I very much doubt she’s been out much in her life. She has that look about her.
“Duck,” I instruct as we move under the stilts and around a few corners. There, hidden behind rubbish and a tarp, is the entrance. It’s the only one I’m aware of other than the manned gate that’s miles away. Even after exploring the city, I haven’t found another. It’s almost like something tried to get out or someone tried to get in. I don’t know if either succeeded, but I’m guessing not since we didn’t have reports of escaped monsters, and it’s been here since I can remember.
“You’ll need to get to your knees and crawl now. Hold onto my foot. I’ll go slow, and it’s going to be cramped, so do not freak out and scream.”
“O-Okay,” she stutters as I drop to my knees in the wet dirt, pulling the rubbish aside before starting to crawl through. I feel her unsure hand on my boot and hear her disgusted sigh as she follows me, but luckily, she doesn’t complain or panic, and after a minute, we are through to the other side. Pushing her to the wall, I hold her in place. “Do not move, do not look, and do not make a sound,” I hiss before clambering back through the hole and tugging the rubbish into place with the string I attached. Once it’s secure, I shuffle out and flip my hair back, searching the area for any signs of monsters or people.
As usual, there’s nothing but the abandoned city…apart from the shiny new rock left on the pile near the hole. I shiver when I see it—the only sign of life. I don’t know who puts them there or why, but I turn away from it. If it weren’t for the noises I hear at night, I might not even believe that the rumours of monsters were true. It’s not like I’ve ever seen one in all the time I’ve been here. Even as a child when I found the hole, I don’t remember seeing anything, but then again, one time when I was late getting back, I swear I could feel eyes watching me. It was enough to send a shiver of fear down my spine and earn some respect for the once bustling metropolis that stands decaying and alone.
Pulling Talia’s blindfold down, I step back and she gasps, taking in the city with wide eyes. I turn and look at it like I’ve never seen it before, trying to see it through her eyes.
The once gleaming skyscrapers are now overgrown and forgotten. The windows are either broken, empty, or darkened by dust and time. Plants grow through the cracks in the buildings and the once perfect, concrete roads and paths. Debris, leftover cars, bikes, trains, and trams fill the roads in random intervals, as if they were just abandoned in a rush. I once found one that had a skeleton inside with a bloody path leading to it.
Houses and shops all sit open and empty. It’s eerie and creepy. Wildlife still exists, though, and I spot birds, some feral dogs, cats, and deer. There is also a zoo on the other side of the city, but I try to avoid that. Who knows if the animals stayed in their cages, the poor things, or if they starved? If not, they are roaming around somewhere, and sometimes, I swear I hear the roars of bears or lions. It’s probably my imagination, but still.
Some bags blow in the breeze, caught on bikes or just simply on the ground, tossed away in the hurry. Some banknotes fly past us in the breeze, old currency, and Talia gasps.
“In the hurry to escape, everything was left behind,” I explain as I look back at her. “Some tried to buy their way out of the wall, but it didn’t happen.” I nod to my left, then down to the dirty section of wall in the distance. “Down there is a mass grave of people. None of them were buried, just bodies piled on bodies. They are all decaying skeletons now, with claw marks and blood decorating the wall.”
“It’s so…quiet,” she whispers, looking at me.
I smirk. “It comes alive at night.” She’s right, though, it is quiet, and as always, I suck in a deep breath. Most might have found it scary to be here alone, knowing monsters are hidden somewhere, probably sleeping, but I find it freeing. There are no eyes, and there is no one to worry about.
Here…I am just free.
Ironic, isn’t it?
I look back at Talia to see her arms wrapped around herself as she squints both from the brightness of the sun and fear.
“Where to?”
She blinks, and I step in front of her, blocking her view.
“Where to?” I repeat.
“I, erm, I have a map.” She pulls out an old map of the city, showing the underground tube stations, tramlines, and roads. She unfolds it with shaky hands and thrusts it at me.
Taking it, I scan the area where there is a black X marked on the paper with some word at the side, including a code.
“Fucking hell,” I snap.
“What?”
“That’s in the middle of the city.”
“That’s a problem?” she asks worriedly, nibbling on her lip.
Folding the map, I shove it into my pocket. “Only if you like being alive,” I grumble. “I stay on the outskirts if I can. That deep in the city, there are too many big buildings and underground entrances, and too much darkness, which is where they like to lurk.”
“Oh,” is all she says.
Rolling back my shoulders, I yank out my shades and put them on. I took them from an old shop here a few years ago. “We better get moving.”
“We are still going?” She gulps.
“I need the money, and you need…well, whatever you need, so yeah, we are going, but we are going to need to move fast. No breaks and no stopping if you want to get there and back before night-time.”
