“SUFFER” was painted on the wall in blood. It was dry now and barely visible. 

“Wow,” Lila said through a breath. She looked down at the body once more.

creek went the barn door.

Lila turned around in a flash. She pointed her gun and flashlight to the door. Her breathing turned heavy.

She spotted a person moving outside around the barn.

“Who’s there?!” Lila said in a commanding voice. She tried following the person with her flashlight as they moved around, but they were too quick for her to catch. “Answer me or I’ll shoot!”

The person’s footprints persisted around to the back of the barn. Lila ran out and turned the corner. With her flashlight she found a person peeking into the barn. They turned to Lila with a surprised look.

BANG 

Lila shot the person’s leg and they collapsed to the dirt. 

Lila caught a glimpse of the person’s face. It was an old man with a long beard. They had some sort of cloak on that covered their person.

Lila stepped to the man and aimed the flashlight and gun to their face.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Lila said coldly.

The man held his hands up to Lila and was shivering. His shot leg squirmed slightly in pain.

“Well?” Lila asked more forcefully. The man looked like a deer staring into a bright light. He slowly reached his hand into his coat.

Lila kept her finger on the trigger and watched.

From the coat, the man pulled out a notepad.

Lila’s eyebrows twitched as she watched the man flip through the pages. Once he found the page, he turned the notepad to Lila.

“I’m David. I can't speak,” the pad said.

Lila moved the light away so she could see his skin tones more clearly. “David?” she said.

He lifted himself up with his arms, still frightened by Lila.

“It’s Lila,” Lila said. Her eyes were wide as she took in the moment.

David’s eyes widened too and his scruffy beard formed a smile.

Lila started to form a smile but remembered David was shot in the leg. “I’m sorry!” she said. “We need to get inside.” She helped him onto his good leg and he put his arm over Lila. He hopped into the barn and Lila helped him rest on a pile of hay. She dug into her pack and tended to the wound.

David lowered his head onto the hay and rested. As Lila began to work on his leg, he would finch at the pain occasionally. He began to write on his pad.

“It’s good to see you,” he wrote.

“It’s good to see you too David,” Lila said with a smile. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to shoot you,” she added.

David wrote on his pad, “You didn't know. It’s okay.”

“Alright then David,” Lila said. She looked down at the wound as she rubbed a damp cloth on it. She hesitated on her next words. 

“I doubt you have anyone to look after you, right?” she looked up at David, worried.

He wrote on his pad. “No, but don't worry about me.”

“Well David, you worried about me. I need to worry about you,” Lila said. She tightly tied a bandage around the leg and sat beside David to rest.

“David. Have you seen my brother at all?” Lila asked.

David shook his head and wrote in his pad, “Maybe, what does he look like?” he asked.

After reading this, Lila turned her head away with a dampened smile, “I- I don't know. I haven't seen him in…forever.” She looked up around the barn and went through her memories. The last thing she remembers was that day where he killed four men and a child in front of a village. Hugo was covered in blood. She remembered how Hugo’s hand felt as she held it. The blood dripped down his arm and onto hers. A shiver went down her spine and she shook her head.

“...So why did you come here?” Lila asked. She tilted her head to David.

David began flipping through his pad. Some of the first pages were wrinkly and hard as if they had touched water at one point. He flipped to one of those pages and turned the pad to Lila.

The date on the top was smudged and unreadable.

The rest of the page read. “I finally used the suit today. The large group of people that Carmen was a part of drove into Fresno to meet up with the Fresno gang. I was worried it was a trap and I was right. I hid in the sewer and came out when they started firring. I killed everyone who I thought was bad, but I may have accidentally kill some of the wrong people. I did not see Carmen or her kids so I had to assume they were safe somewhere. After I knew all the good guys were gone, I left the suit and headed back into the sewer. My suit was starting to fail on me so I had too. I am currently in the sewer, I’m waiting to hear if anything happens outside.”

When Lila finished reading, she leaned back and looked at David. 

David turned the page, “The bodies started turning into chewers so I left. Back in my house now. I hope everyone is okay. I’m waiting for anyone to come by but I’m worried that it won't be the right people. I think I’ll go over to scout for any survivors.”

David turned several more pages. “Today I found someone at the barn. His skin looked weird like they had just walked through fire. It was sort of melted, had burns everywhere. He chained some guy to the wall and cut off his legs and was torturing him. I watched for a while. The guy wrote ‘SUFFER’ on the wall. Eventually he left. He said something but I couldn't hear him. The man walked to Fresno and he hasn't returned.”

David flipped forward again. “The guy has not come back. I don't think he will. The man tied to the wall turned into a chewer last night. I’m not going to kill it, I don't know what I should do. What if that guy comes back? I’ll just have to wait and see.”

“So you’ve been watching this place since?” Lila asked.

David nodded ‘yes’.

“Oh. I don't know if that was my brother. I don't think he has skin like you said,” Lila asked.

David wrote in his pad, “Why did you come here?”

“Carmen-” Lila paused and her eyes looked to David. He lit up at the sound of Carmen’s name. “Yes, she’s alive,” Lila smirked.

David nodded happily.

“She told me she got a radio message from my brother. It said to come see him in San Francisco,” Lila said.

David wrote in his pad, “You sure it was him?”

“I wouldn't be here if it wasn't convincing,” Lila added. “So I’m on my way now.” Lila looked at David’s wound. “I’m gonna stay here though; to make sure you're okay.”

David shook his head ‘no’ with his hand out.

“Yes, I’m gonna stay,” Lila said more sternly.

David began to quickly scribble in his pad, “No, find your brother. Don't let me hold you back.”

As Lila read this she shook her head. She looked at David in the eye and raised her eyebrows, “David. I shot you. I’m gonna make it better.”

David’s mustache and beard formed an upset frown.

“Now come on, eat,” Lila said. She opened her backpack and took out some rations. The two ate that night and rested until morning.

Lila was sat up against the wall of the barn when she woke up. The sunlight beamed between the cracks in the barn roof. She leaned forward to stretch with squinted eyes.

CLINK

There was a chain around her neck and it tugged her back when she leaned. Her eyes burst open and she found herself in the place where the body used to be. Looking over, the body was swept aside. Its bones were now in a pile in the corner or the barn. David was nowhere to be seen. Her backpack was leaning against a post almost out of sight, but she could see it poking out. 

Lila squirmed around, pulling at the chain and reaching for anything she could find, but everything was out of reach.

“UGH!” she said with pure frustration, almost tired out.

Before her, just out of her range, was a barrel with a note pinned to it.

The note said, “I’m sorry Lila, but I’m not letting myself hold you back from finding your brother. I’m no longer worth the time. You’re not trapped. The key is in your reach, but by the time you read this I will be gone. See you next time, little one.”

Tears began to form in Lila’s eyes and she sat back down. She held her legs close to her chest as the emotion flowed through her body. Lightly, she sobbed and shivered, alone and chained to the wall. She half expected somebody, anybody, to walk through the door.

After a moment, Lila moved her hand away from herself and felt the floor of the barn. She moved the hay and dirt around, looking for the key. After making several broad strokes across the floor around her, her heartbeat started to pick up. She had cleared and searched a full half circle on the ground against the barn wall and still found no key. 

“No,” Lila said. She moved her hands across the floor again and scanned it with her eyes. Still she found no key. “NO!” she said with a shrill voice. She pulled at the chain but it did not break loose. With nothing within reach, she sat back down against the barn wall and starred off into her thoughts.

“I die here,” she said, breathless. The day moved on and all she did was stare at the note David had left for her.

“See you next time, little one,” Lila said to herself. “I’m not little,” she said with lifeless eyes.

Three days passed. Lila was skinny. Her mouth was dry and her bottom ached from sitting on the wooden floor.

“I’m not little,” she said with a dry voice. She coughed at every other breath. 

A rat scurried by and her stomach grumbled. She licked her lips but even her tongue was dry.

Hours passed and Lila saw it as just another day now. Helpless and near death.

RNNNNNGGG

Motors revved in the distance and grew louder. They came from the north. Getting closer, it was two individual vehicles, but Lila didn’t know what kind of vehicles they were. They seemed too small to be cars.

They pulled up to the barn and stopped just outside the door.

Two people walked up to the barn door and pushed it open. They had crudely made helmets with spikes and metal. Their figures indicated it was a man and a woman, both were relatively fit. They wore full padded-leather clothing.

The male entered the barn with a certain strut in his step. He immediately saw Lila and walked to her. He led his head high and bounced with each step. The woman entered with the same type of energy.

He saw Lila’s clear lack of muscle and squatted down beside her. “Wow,” he said. His voice was muffled through his helmet. Lila could almost see his eyes under the tinted glass. “She is beautiful.”

“I can see,” said the woman.

The man put his hand on Lila’s chin and turned her head to the side. Lila did not resist.

“What do you think,” said the man, “Knock her teeth out or gag her?”

“I’m feeling gag this time,” said the woman.

BANG BANG

Lila had pulled out her gun from her pants and shot both of them dead.

Now with the gun in her hand, she looked at the chain and pointed it to one of the links.

BANG

The chain broke apart, but Lila still had a piece stuck to her neck. She put the gun to her neck with her finger on the trigger. “Wait,” she said. She put the gun down and searched the floor for the key. With this new angle of the floor, she spotted a shine through the cracks of the floorboards. Getting close to it, it was the key but it was stuck between the floorboards as if it fell down there by accident.

A bitter grumble rumbled inside Lila. “AGh!” she said. She ripped the helmet off of the man and began to slam it against his body.

SLAM

SLANK

BUMP

Desperation grew with each impact. Her grunts turned into cries. 

SLAM

THUMP

CLUNK

The man’s torso was now a pile of bone and flesh. Lila’s stomach grumbled. Her eyes widened on the sight. She kneeled down and took a handful of the flesh. She opened her mouth to take a bite but the memory of when Hugo bit into that man’s ear flashed before Lila’s eyes.

The flesh fell from her hand. Lila scurried across the barn to her backpack and she drank her water and ate her rations. Her stomach was full by the time she finished. She laid on the pile of hay that David rested on and drifted to sleep.

Lila woke up with a back ache in her neck. She moved her hand to rub it but was interrupted by the metal chain.

Now, finally somewhat nourished and energized, Lila took a second to think. “Okay,” Lila sighed. She glanced around the barn for anything of use. Only the sound of a rat could be heard, it was eating something. Lila looked over to the pile of flesh and saw a rat nibbling at it.

BANG

Lila shot the rat with her gun. Its head was blown clean off.

“Yesss,” Lila said. She walked over to the rat. The chain dangled under her neck. With a knife, Lila cut the rat open and removed one of the bones in its leg. She carved the bone into a lock pick and let herself out.

CLANK

The chain dropped to the ground after being unlocked and the sense of freedom energized Lila. She looted the bodies for anything of use. They had another gun, some keys, and other miscellaneous items. She pocketed everything, took her backpack and walked outside.

The sun was setting. Lila took in its orange glow, as she hasn't seen the sunset on this side of Ahwahnee ever. Beside the barn door were two heavy duty ATV’s. 

“Woah,” Lila said. She looked into one and took everything in its storage containers. She sat in the other and tried to turn it on.

Lila tried each of the keys she found. “No. No. No…No. Damit.” She put the keys down and looked under the wheel. Examining the wires, they were not connected to the ignition. “Makes sense.” She put the only two exposed wires together and the engine started. “Alright! Let's do this!”

Lila put her foot on the gas and the ATV drove forward into the barn. It broke the wood but the ATV was fine.

“Uh. How do I do this?” she said to herself.

Lila looked at the controls and the steering handles. On the right handle was the gear shift. “Huh,” she said. She twisted the knob to ‘R’ and pressed the gas. The ATV drove back a few feet and Lila was almost thrown off, but she held on.

“Okay, I can do this,” she said to herself.

She changed the gear to forward and turned the ATV around. Looking back at the barn, Lila spoke, “See you later.” She opened her mouth to say something else but felt weird to continue talking to herself. 

She hit the gas and drove north-west, avoiding Fresno then following the road signs to San Francisco. The air was fresh and still. Many of the towns along the way were abandoned, broken down, or completely overrun. Lila did not waste her time in any of them. The ATV turned what could have been a 3-day trip into a several-hour trip at most.

As the wind blew through her hair, she felt alive. This was the fastest she had traveled in a long time.

—

Fear crept throughout her body. Lila closed her eyes because everywhere she looked was scary. The other kids beside her were just as afraid. They held onto each other tightly. The wind made her hair fly in all different directions.

The rapid thumping of the helicopter blades barely drowned out their cries.

Lila peaked through her hands, she was flying over the mountains. The old man was in the driver's seat with his giant gun beside him. He kept speaking but none of his words were audible.

The helicopter began to lower to the ground and it landed with a light THUD.

In flashes, Lila saw people come in cars from all around. People tried grabbing her and the other kids. One half of the car people shot and killed the other car people, and all of the kids and the old man were taken into their cars and driven away.

—

Lila gripped the handles of the ATV harder. She tensed her muscles and focused on the road.

“Almost there,” she thought to herself.

Driving along the freeway, she weaved between the abandoned cars. Most of which were looted and stripped for parts. Large ferns have taken over most of the city. 

She passed a sign labeled ‘San Jose,’ and continued north along the water. It was gloomy today. Clouds covered the sky.

Driving over some hills, she caught a glimpse of the city. Many buildings were knocked over or burnt down, but the tallest one looked like a very tall and skinny pyramid. It seemed alive with lights flickering throughout the building. Lila took in the Golden Gate Bridge. “Wow,” she said. It was still standing, looking no different than the photos she’s seen.

She drove into the city, nearing the giant skinny pyramid. As she got closer the streets had a new type of unpleasant smell. It was some sort of smoke. She coughed when she breathed it in and some strange figures appeared deeper into the mist.

Lila took one of her knives and got in a ready stance. As the figures got closer, Lila’s stomach dropped.

It was two people. Their bodies were practically made of charcoal, their eyes were borderline blood red, but they walked and moved like people.

One spoke with a dry and weak voice; “Hhhhe-lloooooo.”

The other spoke too, “Wwweelllcomeeee.”

“What’s…what’s going on?” Lila asked, lowering her knives.

The two things paused for a moment. Lila heard them breathing through their mouths and from deeper into the smoke, coughs could be heard.

The two things spoke. “Breeeaaaathhheeee,” they said.

From deeper into the smoke a wave of more things like the first two started to appear. Lila could hear their collective raspy breaths and it pushed the smoke to engulf her. 

Her head started to twitch. She started to shiver and took a step back. She glanced to her ATV but it was already a step too far and the wave was creeping steadily.

Lila clenched her teeth and with her knife she stabbed the thing on the left from under it’s jaw, but Lila’s arm didn't stop. It didn't even feel like a person. She looked again and the head of the thing crumbled like dust and charcoal.

Watching the ashes fall, she looked to the other thing. She formed a fist and pushed the thing straight through the chest. It collapsed without resistance. Lila raised her fists and walked into the wave. 

WHOP

WHAP

THWOP

She punched her way to the pyramid, leaving a cloud of ash and smoke behind her. As she got closer, the things had a little more resistance. They were less ash and more charcoal and solid.

At the base of the pyramid she found the entrance to the building. At the entrance were two more charcoal things. Inside a bright and warm light could be seen, and it illuminated the surrounding streets.

“Whhatt do you waaaannnnt?” said one of the two things. They both seemed to shiver at what Lila had just done.

Lila coughed roughly. She put her shirt over her mouth. “Where…cough…is…cough…HUGO?” she said with a deep rumble. Her eyes were red.

“Whhooo isss Huuuugoo?” said one of the charcoal things.

“Let her in!” said a muffled voice behind the door. The doors swung open, flooding the streets with light. Behind was a woman with a gas mask over her face. She took Lila by the hand and pulled her into the pyramid. 

“What- cough,” Lila said. They placed a mask onto Lila that pumped air into her system. She was thrown onto a stretcher next to the machine.

“Wait,” Lila said, but she was fading in and out of consciousness. Around her were several more things, but their skin was less chard and more fleshy between the cracks. Their eyes looked somewhat less bloodshot.

“Get her to the higher floors,” said one of them.

Lila was rushed down a hall and around a corner. There, they entered into an elevator shaft but were manually cranked upwards. Lila was too tired to move, so she stayed on the stretcher. The air got better as they got higher. Around halfway up the shaft, they brought her into the floor and to a room with an open window.

“Where am I?” Lila asked.

But they all left the room before Lila could speak again. She fell asleep beside that open window.

The next morning. Lila sat up. She was exactly the same as she was last night except for the smoke in her lungs. She could breathe again. 

Taking a deep breath in, Lila coughed loudly. Mucus and slime dripped from her face. She bent over to let it drip to the floor and glanced around the room. Beside her on a counter was some medical supplies along with tissues and napkins. She took some and wiped her face.

After cleaning up, she took a breath of fresh air. Her bag was with her, but she was unsure if she even had it coming up the elevator shaft.

She put the backpack on and walked out into the hall. In the hall, more of the charred people were sitting in chairs. They seemed to be anxious as some of them were shaking their legs and staring at the floor. When Lila walked out, they all looked at her and stood up.

“What’s going on?” Lila asked. The first charred person to stand up was the same one who pulled Lila into the building. 

“We know why you're here,” they said with a raspy voice. “He’ll explain everything to you.”

Lila’s eyes narrowed on the person. They led Lila through the building to the bottom floor. Instead of going to the front doors. They went around the back to some garages. In that garage, Lila’s ATV was there.

“Go to the bridge,” said the charred person.

Lila nodded hesitantly but still sat on the vehicle.

The charred person grabbed a rope and pulled on it with all their weight. The garage door opened and Lila drove out into the streets. She held her breath until she left the smoke.

Driving out onto the bridge, Lila spotted someone sitting on a folding chair, facing the ocean. Beside them was an empty chair.

Lila drove up to a few yards away. The person on the chair seemed also charred, but their skin seemed different. It was sort of melted and had burns everywhere. They were practically disfigured. Blood dripped from the cracks between their skin and blood had dried around their mouth.

Lila walked up to them and stood in front of the empty chair. “Hugo?” she asked.

The person turned their head slowly. She could hear the scrapping of the dry skin of his neck. A smile crept onto his face, his skin cracked like he hadn't moved that way in decades.

“It's nice to see you, Lila,” he said. He began to cough loudly and blood spurted from his throat. His head tilted over.

“Hugo?” Lila said. She stepped forward and looked at Hugo’s face. His eyes were red and lifeless. Blood poured from his mouth.

Lila fell to her knees with her hand on Hugo’s arm. Her stomach dropped as she watched the blood stop dripping. To get up Lila moved her arm that held onto Hugo and Hugo’s arm rolled over. It dangled off the side of the chair and a bloody note fell to the road. Lila picked it up and read.

“I’m sorry I abandoned you. I killed the man who threatened to rape you, but after, all I felt was guilt. I-”

Lila skipped ahead, “Spent all these years regretting my actions. When my cough came, I decided to call out for you for the chance you may respond. Goodbye Lila. I love you.”

Lila folded the paper and tossed it into the ocean.