Fortunately, we encountered nothing else as we came to the edge of the city. There were bits of blood and dried gore splattered here and there, but there was nothing that was truly horrifying.

The strange eeriness of an empty city, however, was the kind of thing that I discovered I did not like.

There was something about the echoing silence of an empty city that was far infinitely creepier than a quiet forest. Especially when I kept expecting to hear the usual sounds of a city. Engines, horns, even a door or two getting closed. I strained to hear those sounds.

All I heard was the sound of our footsteps and breathing.

This part of the city was mostly just housing. It was supposed to be a rather nice suburb, but the whole place looked abandoned. There was no sign of people. Most driveways were empty, and most homes had their front doors tightly closed.

It was strange as I thought of horror movies and how people usually left the doors swinging open. Then I remembered what Rowan had said earlier, that the military had come through and evacuated the city.

Guess they cleared this part of the city pretty quickly.

I did not think of it much more than that as we gradually moved into the denser residential area. There were still homes here, but there were a few taller buildings that had a few apartments. In the distance, I could see the larger apartment buildings. One of which was where I wanted to go.

Get to your apartment, he said. You’ll be safe, he said.

I complained in my head about my brother. It was the only thing I could do to try not to lose my mind in just how quiet the city was.

“We… should not… out at night.” Rowan was getting better at talking. They no longer sounded as breathless, although the raspiness was still there.

“You know, after what I’ve seen in the last day, I really agree.” I nodded in agreement. “My apartment isn’t far from here.”

Not that I felt comfortable about taking a nearly complete stranger to my apartment. I just felt a lot better about knowing that home was nearby. Worse comes to worst, I could just leave them out in the hallway.

I continued walking through the quiet street. Dragging Rowan along with me. A lot of the buildings looked relatively normal.

We were about four blocks from my apartment building when I had the strangest sense that we were being watched.

I cast a glance behind me but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Just the empty street full of abandoned houses.

That feeling just never went away. The hair on the back of my neck rising accompanied by goosebumps over most of my skin.

I looked around at the houses nearby. I still could not see a thing.

“Hey… Rowan…” I whispered low. “Do you see anything weird?”

Rowan’s head turned as if they were a bird or a dog cocking their head in confusion.

“No.” They said. “But… I think… something… following us.”

I did not respond. I just started walking faster. I tried to ignore the shuffling sound of Rowan’s feet on the pavement as I hurried down one of the side streets before dipping down an alleyway.

There were another four blocks between us and my apartment. As that feeling of being followed persisted, I took every shortcut I could think of. Paths that I would never have used during normal times quickly became our travel route.

We had traveled two more blocks when I glanced back and finally saw what was following us.

In the dim light, I could make out something darting behind one of the buildings. It was long, about half the length of a bus. Narrow and seemingly bare. I immediately realized that it was not the full thing but the tail of something.

I thought back to the wendigo-looking creature, but I did not remember it having a tail. Then I remembered the hare-creature and the two humans who had changed.

“There is a monster.” I whispered to Rowan.

They said nothing, but I felt their hand suddenly exert strength to grip my other shoulder. There was not much strength in the grip. It was just enough to convey a sense of panic.

“We’re almost at my place.” I continued as I broke out into a run.

We had reached the border between the suburban area and the larger metropolitan part of the city. The buildings were still only about four, maybe six floors high. Typical of small shopping centers and cheaper apartments.

I could hear the thing now. It was like it had given up on being stealthy when I started to run. The thudding of feet as I threw all that I could in escaping. I glanced back, but I still could not see where it was. The creature darted behind a building as I looked.

“The fuck?” I swore low. The damn thing was playing hide and seek. Like it knew we were terrified of it.

Up ahead, I could see my apartment building. The front door was still standing. That was probably the best bit of news I had ever encountered in my life.

We skidded to a stop in front of the door. I dropped the bat and nearly dropped Rowan when I rummaged through my jacket pocket for my keys.

There was a brief moment of panic as I considered that I might have put them in my backpack, but then I found them beneath the cracked phone. Breathing a sigh of relief, I fumbled and unlocked the door.

I did not even so much as blink as I dragged Rowan in with me and slammed the door behind me.

There was even less time to think as I ran straight for the stairwell.

My lungs were burning as I yanked open that door and dove inside. I hardly paid attention to what I was doing as I instinctively kicked that door closed from where I was lying on top of Rowan at the bottom of the stairs. There was a howl outside the building that seemed to flip some sort of switch inside me.

It was as if my mind had shut off and gone into full survival mode. I suddenly blanked out and only came to when we were standing inside my apartment.

The thud of my apartment door closing was what woke me out of my black out moment.

I took a shuddering breath before I staggered a few steps. I dropped Rowan to the floor as I flopped onto the couch. My heart was still racing. It thundered in my chest, and I wondered if this was how I was going to die. A heart attack from too much adrenaline.

“You… could have…” Rowan’s raspy voice echoed from the floor. “Dropped me…”

I stared at them as I tried to understand what they meant.

After all, I did just drop them.

“When… you were… running.” They continued.

“Oh…. Ohhh.” I immediately knew what they were talking about. Yet, the thought of dropping them never crossed my mind while I was fleeing.

I was not a hero. I would not have gone out of my way to save them while I was escaping a monster. It just, honestly, totally never crossed my mind. I felt a little embarrassed once I realized.

“Nah.” I said, idly waving my hand. I had enough common sense not to mention it.

“Thank… you…” Rowan managed to roll themselves onto their back. “For… not… dropping.”

“Sure.” I answered in a guilty tone before quickly changing the subject. “I don’t have much to eat here, but feel free to help yourself.”

“Not… like… I can… get it.” They answered, and the raspy noise that followed must have been a laugh.

“Right.” I nodded before getting to my feet. My legs felt like they had turned into jelly, but there were no new aches. Just the pain from when I had launched myself out of the car. Immediately, I was going to look for some of the over-the-counter painkillers I had in my bathroom.

I just stopped to take stock of my apartment.

My brother had the spare key and was supposed to come in every few days to water my plants and dust, but a quick glance at the very wilted looking plants made it clear he had fallen through on that deal. Not that I had a large collection of plants. Most were cacti that looked like they were still thriving. All the leafy ones were either dead or dying.

They had been the highlight of the tiny apartment. They covered my tv stand because I had yet to replace my broken one.

I walked to the kitchen to fetch water when I realized that Rowan might be thirsty.

Nothing else crossed my mind as I turned on the tap.

I stood there and stared at the faucet spout when nothing happened. There was not even the sound of gurgling or struggling pipes. Not a drop of water poured out of the tap.

“Awesome.” I mumbled as I looked out the window. The last rays of the sun were still cascading over the city and through the small window. It was enough to give some light. “Man, I hope I still have power.”

I was afraid that there would be no electricity either.

Glancing over at the refrigerator, I took a breath to prepare myself for that possibility before yanking open the door.

The reality that there was no power was just as crushing as no running water.

“God fucking damnit!” I swore as I slammed the fridge door.

Then I realized there had been a few bottles of water in the fridge, and I was hastily pulling the door back open. I did not count, but it was nearly a full twenty-four pack of water. While there was definitely not enough to last for a long time, I was still grateful that my slob of a brother had not raided the fridge completely.

I took one bottle for myself and another for Rowan.

Returning to the living room, I found them in the same place they had been when I had left them. I felt a little guilty as I realized I had just dropped them on the floor like a sack of potatoes and went about my business.

Rowan’s eyes were closed, and they looked like they were sleeping. I took a moment to get a better look at them. There was not much difference between their bare skin and what I had seen on the highway. Just a strange sort of red film was over most of the skinless places.

Is that a giant scab?

For some reason, that grossed me out far more than the parts that were missing skin. I tried not to think about it as I walked over to them. I leaned over and stared at the red stuff. I felt an urge to poke the healing skin.

Their eyes snapped open, and I nearly jumped a foot in the air in fright.

“I brought water.” I said quickly, and then I realized. “Your eyes…? Weren’t they gray?”

The eyes that were peering up at me were no longer just gray. It was like the color was slowly bleeding back into them with the faint tinge of green.

“My eyes… are green.” Rowan said.

“Oh. Well… they are… a nice shade?” I said in a helpless tone.

“He plucked them.” Rowan continued. “And…-”

“You can stop right there.” I said, interrupting them before they said anything else. I had a fairly good idea of what the crazy guy had done with Rowan’s eyes. I just did not want to hear it out loud. “I brought water.”

Rowan looked up at me helplessly.

“Right.” I mumbled before I lifted them and moved them to the couch. “Probably more comfortable here.”

“Thank you.”

“Here.” I said as I unscrewed the cover of the bottle and held it to their mouth.

The loud gulps echoed through the apartment as I considered the fact that Rowan might have been without water for far longer than I had. Whatever strength they had, they used it to chase the bottle when I moved it away from them.

“Hey, easy.” I said as I put the cover back on the bottle. “No clue how long you’ve been without water, but you need to drink more slowly.”

They quirked an eyebrow at me.

“I do… uh…” I paused and realized I definitely would not be going on any hiking trips any time soon. “I used to do a lot of hikes. If you drink too much when you’re dehydrated, you can make yourself really sick. And I have the feeling the hospital isn’t working right now.”

“Oh.” Rowan said. “Just… one more?”

“Yeah, sure.” I said with a sigh before giving them another drink of water. Once they were done, I put the cover back on and put it on my little coffee table. “I’ll leave it there.”

“Thanks.” Rowan answered my statement.

I knew they could not reach it unless their body healed further, but I did not feel like carting the water off to the room with me. Not that leaving it there was all that much nicer.

“Anyway, I’ll be in my room.” I said as I strode away to my bedroom. It was a lot smaller than the living room. Just enough room for my bed, a dresser, and a few wall shelves. Probably the most notable thing was the trophies I had on the headboard of my bed.

Now that I was calm, and in my apartment, I was questioning what I was supposed to do.

My brother had said to get to my apartment. That I would be safer there, but it suddenly made very little sense to me.

There was no electricity. No water. No food.

Sure, I’m not on the ground floor or out at night, but I think I’m fucked.

Muttering to myself, I looked over at my bed and nearly laughed in frustration.

The blankets were definitely not how I left them when I went on my trip. I remembered that I had pulled almost all my clothes out of my closet to find the best outfits for hiking. All that clothing was now piled on the floor at the foot of the bed. And my favorite cashmere blanket was missing.

The sight was so utterly normal that my laughing turned into crying.

I rubbed my face as I strode to the bed and belly-flopped on the mattress. There was an audible crunch as I landed on something hard.

“What?” I said between hysterical sobs.

Rolling over, I discovered my laptop half under the blankets.

“Oh… my god…” I felt a sense of renewed hope as I sat up and hastily propped it open. There was a crack going across the right of the screen, but otherwise, it looked fine. “Please, please, please.”

I repeated to myself as I hit the power button and hoped the thing still had a functioning battery. I also hoped that I had not crushed the screen to the point of uselessness.

Everything was dead silent in the room as I waited, holding my breath. When the thing suddenly showed off the start-up screen, it took every muscle in my body not to shout in victory. It booted slowly, but once it started up, I glanced down at the corner of the screen.

“Forty-seven percent! Hell yeah!” I fist pumped in the air like this was an amazing triumph.

The triumph was short-lived. The little symbol next to the battery was almost crushing. Where there should have been bars for the internet, there was only that little circle that indicated “no internet”.

I closed the laptop and then tossed it to the side of the bed before I started to cry again. I could not help but feel utterly defeated. There was no means for me to reach my brother and inform him about the complete desolation of the city. That everything had gone to hell so fast that I still did not understand how.

My face dropped into my hands, and I just quietly sobbed until I heard a new noise.

I jerked my head up and quickly realized that it was not coming from the living room where Rowan was. It was coming from my bedroom window. The sound was like a light tapping. Like something against the glass. My eyes became glued to the curtain while I debated what to do.

I knew there were metal bars on part of the window. Enough that anything bigger than myself would have a hard time getting in or out. I thought for a moment and decided to grab the heaviest trophy off the headboard- this had been the purpose of putting them there in the first place- and slowly walked towards the window.

I yanked open the curtain with one hand and found myself staring into a black abyss. There was no setting sun. No building across the alleyway.

There was just a big blackness.

“The… fuck?”

Then the big blackness shifted, and ten red things appeared. Narrow slits at the center of each one immediately focused on me.

“Oh. My. Fuck.” I said in a very tiny squeak as I realized they were eyes.

It was the wendigo-creature.