Excerpt: Follow the Light

I stopped at the river and filled a canteen I had picked up in the office buildings. Again, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye near the same spot as I had yesterday. I told myself to not think anything of it and get out of this place as soon as I could. But, I couldn’t. My head snapped up in that direction (I had been bending down to avoid finding something). There stood a boy. He couldn’t have been any older then I was, but he was so dirty that it was hard to tell for sure. He stared at me for a few seconds (maybe making sure I was for real? That surely was going through my head), then turned into the fake forest and disappeared from sight.

My heart was pounding. Who was he? Was he real? Were there more survivors out there as well? In a split second, I made the decision that this was the only chance I was going to get to find another, live, person. I dropped the quilt and sprinted after him.

I had never been great at navigation. Father had always said it was my weakest point. They always had tried to teach me how to track somebody, in the case I ever needed it, and how not to get lost. I was at least twenty meters past the river/stream when I stopped and listened. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to hear anything, but even the most skilled hunter makes the smallest noises when tracking prey. My head turned in every direction multiple times. I was looking to the left, scanning the upper trees, when I saw a slight movement to my right. Again, my head swiveled around.

And again, he stared for a few seconds. This time, though, when he turned to go, he was slower. As if taunting me to scream out. I was never good at holding back when someone taunted me. “Wait!” I shouted. “Come back!”

He waited for me to come closer before speaking. When he did, though, it sounded as if he hadn’t spoken in weeks, maybe months. How long had he been out here, wondering around by himself? Perhaps in the same situation as I was. Without a family, having barely survived. Living in this ghostly city, waiting for someone to come along? “Why are you here?” he asked.