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[taranaprasad-blog]

talizorahwrites:

           "Not that kind of guy.” 

           A simple statement, eyes cautiously watching as she turned herself towards the kid. His hand moved towards the machete dangling against his side, a single step taken towards the child. Only when he knew she only warned him did he relax – as much as he could that was – his focus moving towards their surrounding. 

           Meanwhile, the kid looked at the woman, doe eyed and nervously holding onto the bottle as he nodded, then focused on filling it with water. These kind of circumstances weren’t right for a kid his age. Ever since Kaidan had met him, he had been sheltered and held back. Shy and scared. He doubted the kid would ever fire the gun he gave him, but he could hope that when it came down to it, it’d save his life if he couldn’t.

          “Half an hour if we’re lucky.”  Kaidan replied. 

           Staying near the river for shelter would be dangerous. It would be a place where others would come to collect water. During rainy weather, fish would be easier to catch, but that wasn’t something Kaidan would risk. They still had some reserves left, it would do until they would hit the next city or town. 

          “You ready, kid?” He asked the boy, taking out a compass from his pocket.  He had no idea how far from the border they were, but he was going to stick to the plan the others had made. They would meet them, if they were still alive. 

@ellaxwrites​

          Bag dropped to the dirt now that Tarana was certain she was in no imminent danger, buttons of the drenched shirt quickly undone. He was right, she needed to get somewhere where she could dry her clothes--and everything else that had been submerged in the water while she was busy disappearing from camp. But, for now, keeping herself dry was more of a priority.

          Wringing out the soaked fabric, Tarana sighed, tying it to the bottom of the strap of her bag. Maybe all the walking to find shelter would help the process if it didn’t immediately start raining. 

          “Okay,” was her simple reply, swinging the bag back over her shoulder, taking a moment to look up at the sky. Eyes focused on the clouds, assessing where pockets of quiet would be while the storm rolled in. Index finger drifted over tongue, subsequently perched in the air to wait for the slightest hint of wind. 

          There. Just a slight whisper.

          “With the way the wind’s going, the storm should be coming from that,” Tarana pointed east, “direction.” 

          If she moved fast enough she could stay far enough ahead of it to find shelter with enough time to catch an animal or two for dinner if she didn’t feel like eating more of the MREs she’d taken from camp. Though, starting a fire while who the hell knew was around during a storm would probably attract more unwanted visitors than she needed.

          Another night of military meatloaf.

          Taking steps west, Tarana kept her face toward the man and child. “Well, thanks for the tip--I’m this way.”

[taranaprasad-blog]

talizorahwrites:

           “Then you are a friend, for now.” the man replied, hues piercing hers until he eased his grip upon the  already lowered weapon held in his hand. He wished for no more unnecessary bloodshed, yet that didn’t mean he would completely trust her not to harm him, or better said, harm the kid. 

           “You alone, or with a group?” 

           Kaidan asked her, turning towards the kid behind him to hand him the empty bottles he’d been carrying, nodding towards the river. But before he let the kid leave, he grabbed him by the wrist just as he was to put away the gun. Without giving him a lecture but with a stern look, he flicked on the safety on the kid’s gun, then allowing him to proceed to put it away again, once more focusing on the woman himself for a split moment, just to make sure her motives hadn’t turned hostile.

           “There’s a storm coming.” 

Eyes were cast at the sky, which barely showed a dark cloud clinging to a vast colour of blue. Experience told him otherwise. “I suggest you seek shelter, and a place to dry your clothes.”

         Slim fingers adjusted, allowing the knife to settle, blade concealed in its sheath once more. For now, at least. No need for a child to witness the worst humanity had to offer so soon--if they hadn’t already, that is. The world was quickly deteriorating into a wasteland and the infection hadn’t spread to the ends of the globe. Yet. 

         “Alone.” 

         At least she was now. The rag-tag team of hunters she’d taken up with had imploded not two hours earlier and she was hardly ready to die for power grabs. It was better to be alone anyway. 

         “Don’t take that as an invitation to kill and loot me, either,” she warned. 

         Tarana watched at the child walked toward the river to gather water. Reflexively, she turned. 

         “Hey, careful. The current is strong.” She hadn’t meant to react, but--it was a child. She’d always been protective of her brother and it translated to the present. 

         “How long?” she questioned, turning back to the stranger, wondering if he’d come from somewhere. Perhaps shelter was in the direction from whence he emerged. Or perhaps it was more nothing. 

[taranaprasad-blog]

talizorahwrites:

       The world had gone to shit. He was thousands of miles away from home and though he had already accepted the fact that his family and friends were probably already dead the man still had to remind himself that he had to survive for a possible better future. Today however was a day where he had hoped to be able to just hunt for food and take it easy. 

       Today was no such day. 

       With heavy steps, Kaidan moved through green and dirt, hand clutching onto the rifle in his hand, the backpack on his back creating an uncomfortable warmth as he gave no pause to think and slow down for the child that followed him on his heel, though glanced over his shoulder every now and then. 

Gunfire echoed through the trees, mixed with the paced breathing of man and child until he recognised the sound of streaming water, something the two of them needed by now. 

       “All right kid, lets take a –” 

       An audible cough disturbed his speech, causing darkeyes to sweep the area. By now he was at least glad the kid knew well enough what to do when a certain situation asked for it. As Kaidan moved towards the river bed, rifle in his hands steady and aimed, serving as a shield for the nervous child behind him, a gun in hand he had taught him to hold and how to use, they were met with a female voice. 

       Brown hues studied the woman’s features as he stepped into her sight, slightly lowering his gun though never his guard. “Friend or foe?” he asked, his American accent thickly laced with his voice, fingers repositioning their grip on the rifle.

      Muscles remained tense, wishing her more deadly weapons--from a distance at least--weren’t soaked from the dive in the river. She wouldn’t be able to get into her bag quickly enough for it to matter anyway. Tarana had to hope she still had her wits about her even as the weight of river water weighed down the hem of her shirt.

      Summer sunlight glared down into brown irises as a figure came into view. Tarana lifted her hand blade of her knife in between fingers ready to throw if needed. The glare dissipated and Tarana could make out the silhouette of a man being followed by something-- what was that?

      A kid. 

      Air shot through teeth, filling lungs as Tarana realized there was a child behind the man. What the hell were they doing out here alone in the first place? They looked safe enough, but she could hardly be sure having never seen an infected person up close. Kind of. Not those zombie-ish types, at least. Granted, the infection had stayed further south, but--as always--the media lied. 

      These people may not be safe. 

      “Guess that depends,” she finally responded, gentle English lilt cradling an Iranian accent. “I’m not going to kill you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

[taranaprasad-blog]

@talizorahwrites

        Vision obscured by the veil of debris and soot floating in the depths of the river, stirred up by movement at the riverbed--Tarana’s movement. Lungs expanded to capacity; diaphragm holding air as best it could as ebony tresses finally fell beneath the line of sight. She was running. Hunters were not supposed to run from danger--they ran toward it--but Tarana had noticed the seeds of fatal infighting hours ago and did not want to be around to be a casualty of men bickering. Their team was hardly worth the trouble anyway. She’d never get back to her brother.

        She needed to find him.

        A quarter mile away from the site, Tarana surfaced, gasping for air.

         Immediately silenced by the sound of muffled gunfire, Tarana dove back down hoping the light current would take her further at a pace she couldn’t manage on her own. The water stung her eyes as she swam, but Tarana hardly cared. Not now.

        She surfaced again.

        Dragging herself toward the bank of the river, soaked fingers grasped onto any semblance of structure as the water drained from ears and removed its film from her cornea. Pulling herself onto the bank, Tarana coughed far too audibly, but couldn’t stop a second wave of diaphragmatic spasms as nimble fingers shoved the strap of a worn backpack over her shoulder.

        Chocolate irises shot up as a soft rustling was heard in the distance. There weren’t enough trees left to keep her from sight, so quick reflexes snatched the hunting knife from her boot. The infection couldn’t have gotten this far north so quickly, they said, but the media often lied.

        Tarana stood tall. “Show yourself,” she commanded into the bleak distance. 

[taranaprasad-blog]

[taranaprasad-blog]

Infection Spread: The South

[taranaprasad-blog]

You don't ask people with knives in their stomachs what would make them happy; happiness is no longer the point. It's all about survival; it's all about whether you pull the knife out and bleed to death or keep it in...

[taranaprasad-blog]