Day 12

Making it over the fence and hauling as much as I could I had only a shotgun and a backpack half full since most of the contents had fallen out in the scuffle and fence scene. I wasn't about to turn around and go back no way no how. As i made my way into the woods I turned and could see the "thing" under the fence getting up and coming for me, definite fuel to keep me moving. I felt bad for what happened to Scrapper he just never could see it coming , hell I almost went ahead of him. Then he would've been in the woods right now and I would be back there as a buffet. I kept my pace even , I had not seen a "thing" do anything short of a fast walk and the pace I was on would be enough to make up distance and not loose my air. Towing does a lot of things but keeping you in good shape is not the big one.

I ran for most of the night and the cool air was starting to take a toll on me. I must have been a good 3 miles from where Scrapper was now so I started to slow my pace and wonder where I was logistically. I mean I knew my way around on the streets but to just run in a panic into the woods wasn't going to get me any closer to my brothers house and I had no clue even what direction I was heading in anymore. I sat down and tried to calculate where I was in conjunction with where the shed would have been facing and where it was to the main route from there. It was hopeless as I couldn't honestly say where the shed was from where I was and from there it was all guess work.

Checking the back pack I was comforted with the site of ammo, at least that didn't fall out but the food did as well as some heat packs I always had in the tow truck. Getting to some form of shelter was going to be a task I needed to accomplish soon as well as maybe some food. I took a good scan of the area trying to determine the way to some sort of civilization and once again I was in a hopeless wreck of a situation. It almost crossed my mind to head back to the shed, maybe those things had left , maybe I could get the rest of the stuff and take the truck now....Still didn't want to go back not for anything.

I turned and headed up the big hill to my left thinking maybe I could get a better view of my surroundings and maybe spy a house or a road. I wouldn't dare walk down the road but I would walk parallel to one if I could. The top of the hill wasn't an easy feat as I was trying to keep the noise to an all time low and it was pitch black out. I reached the peak of the hill and right on the other side was a small dirt road with some cars on it half wrecked with their doors open. I waited for a few minutes ducking down and just watching and listening for something anything to catch my attention. Not hearing anything I made my way down the hill slowly and tried not to make any noise more than walking in the woods does.

When I reached the bottom of the hill I had hopes the cars would be key in the ignition and full tank of gas useful , but they were dead as a doornail, apparently the lights were left on and for how long who knows. I made a quick check of each car and found a few canned goods, it looked like the people in these cars were making a run for it and got blocked in here. Only one body was there it looked to be a woman maybe 40 and she wasn't in good shape at all, I wondered if the people she was with if any were around or if they were "things". I didn't know if they change into them as I had not seen this "transformation" or if the "things" I had been seeing were all infected somehow or sick in some way. Answers were still hard to come across and the questions in my head were stacking up. I turned away from the vehicles and made my way down the road figuring at the first sight of anyone or any trouble I would haul off to the side of the woods and take cover but walking on pavement was a lot quieter than trudging in the woods .

I started to think about the whole Scrapper event and was actually mad at him. I had a truck was making good time and on my way to my destination and then he walked in front of me and the next thing you know I'm here walking again. It was childish I took him up on the offer for some food and did so willingly but my head was tripping balls and I wasn't making too much in the way of clear sense. I just knew at this moment I was blaming the late Scrapper for my predicament, and wrongly so. Walking in the middle of nowhere with the stress of a world collapsing I guess I could take a few liberties with the evening. But in the end I had to feel bad for the guy it could have just as easily been me.

Down the road some more and I finally came up to a main road. I must have walked a good three miles on this road after all the woods hiking and I just needed to see some sort of civilization. Maybe I went with Scrapper in the end for food just to have another person to talk with, maybe it made it all seem saner, less surreal to be with someone eating shooting the breeze. But now I was at the end of the side road that lead to the middle of no where and I was having to make an executive decision. Should I go left or right? To my right was a hill and who knows what on the other side and to my left was a turn and who know what after that but this road was a double yellow and must lead somewhere. I turned to my right and started towards the hill, I came from somewhere to the left and would hate to walk ten miles to find the left leads to the shoppers area and square one so right it is and hopefully something more than I had seen.