[ONE-SHOT]Border Hopping and Corpse Dodging

[Ketic]

Wyoming\\Utah [ Manila ]

The sun seemed to burn across everything as it began to rise. The previously dark landscape lit up and light caught on a beat up red truck as it chugged down the road. A young woman slouched drowsily behind the wheel; her dark greasy hair framed a dirty but obviously feminine face. She had been driving all night and her eyes squinted heavily against the sun's rays. Wyoming had been uneventful, thankfully, and now she had reached her destination. Utah.

The small town of Manila wondrous sight to behold. It wasn't grand and it didn't have any skyscrapers, but it was a place to rest and that was good enough. Amber glanced up as she passed a roadsign.
'Welcome to Manila,
Population 325'

She smirked. More like 0. Her hair tickled at her face as Amber rolled down her window but she ignored it. A deep breath entered her lungs and she smiled. There was no overpowering stench of the dead; at least not yet anyway. Amber took the first left she could and glanced nervously at the scattered trailers on the fringes of the town. Green eyes scanned the area as the truck reached the actual town. Amber shut off the engine and sighed, mentally preparing herself. The 24 year old glanced at her bag and made a decision. She picked through it until her hand closed on the small red pocket knife near the bottom. Feeling a bit more secure, even though she knew when it came down to it the knife wouldn't do much, Amber hopped out of the truck.

Her feet made too loud of a sound as she walked down dirt road. Amber swerved off the road and cut across a knee-high field of grass. The grass was still green but it was browning at the tips due to the summer heat. The faint breeze swung the tall stalks and the girl was grateful for any sound that wasn't her racing heartbeat.

Amber reached the backyard of a red house and she gripped the pocketknife tight. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and her heart stopped. The smell was strong, rough, abrasive, foul, and definitely unmistakable. Shit. Amber flicked her thumb and a small sound came from the pocket knife as the blade clicked position. Her green eyes flicked around alertly, completely devoid of the drowsiness they had held earlier. She reached the back patio and tried to quiet her breathing. No sound came from the house but that didn't mean it wasn't teeming with the diseased.

Wood creaked as she stepped slowly onto the patio. The back door was agape and as Amber pushed it open further, gritting her teeth against the squeaking of its un-oiled hinges, the reek of the dead was like a smack to her face. Amber's right hand moved of its own accord as it swung to cover her nose and mouth. She moved forward on the balls of her feet and braced herself as she approached a door on her right. It opened quietly without squeaking and to Amber's relief the room was completely empty. Not even any furniture.

She quickly deemed the first floor clear and crept up the stairs to the second floor. The smell was even stronger up here. Alarm bells went off in the girl's head as she noticed that all the doors hanging open except for one. Amber cleared all of the rooms and then approached the one with the closed door. Libera nos a malo. The prayer sounded empty in her head and Amber immediately regretted thinking it. Stupid. Mustering her strength Amber kicked the door open and stepped into the bedroom. Bile rose in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes right away. On the bed was the corpse of a young man, no, a boy. A hole through his head festered and Amber couldn't help but look away. Her eyes caught a message written on the wall in large black marker. Forgive us. Amber was out of the room and closing the door before she knew her legs had moved.

After promising herself she didn't need to check anywhere else upstairs Amber made her way back to her truck. Her backpack was where she had left it and she sighed in relief as its familiar weight settled on her back. Amber tarried, looking at a few flowers that were scattered around the field. After picking one she sighed. She didn't want to go back into that house but sleeping in the open was out of the question; too tired to clear another area, Amber reluctantly settled for the room closest to the back patio.

The chicken soup was cold but it tasted like the best thing ever to Amber. After not eating for a full day the thing she wanted most was to eat it quickly, but Amber ate slow and deliberately. The can sat empty on the floor and Amber glanced longingly at her bag. I have to save the rest.

Her shoes made more noise inside, seeming to echo off the walls as Amber made her way to the bathroom. She wiped off the mirror with her sleeve and then took off her jacket. Grimacing, the girl also took off her shirt. I'm a mess. The grimace on her face made her look even worse and Amber sighed. Her spare shirt was thinner and she donned it gratefully in the mid-morning heat. A small hope kindled as the faucet rumbled when she tried it, but no water came. Damn. Amber made her way back to the room with her backpack and stuffed her jacket and dirty shirt into it. She shifted it around until the garments were on top of the water and cans, then she took off her shoes and laid her head on the makeshift pillow.