As some of you know, my Steem-Pocalypse adventure has ended, at least for this season, and honestly I was pretty sad. I really started to like the story and, like a lot of you, I wanted to see where it was going. So, for people like @essentialoilmom, @dwells, and a couple of others have shown special interest in the story, I have decided that I am going to continue the it as if I was still playing the game. I wont post them on the Steem-Pocalypse post each day but I will tag it under steem-pocalypse. I also really wanted to thank @papa-pepper for making the competition. It is really fun and I am really looking forward to the next season. Also thank you @essentialoilmom and @dwells for all the support. You guys are the best. (They actually have a vlog where they discuss the decision in the competition. If anyone is interested here is the link. https://steemit.com/steem-pocalypse/@dwells/episode-9-steem-pocalypse-season-5-round-table-discussion)
If you've liked the story so far stay tuned and see what happens. Here it is:
Damn it, I thought. They are still following me. I could hear the men pause for a moment and then more screams and gunshots coming in my direction. “KAI!” I screamed, breathlessly. “What am I supposed to do now?” Of course no answer. She was gone and part of me started to wonder if she was even there in the first place. I pushed my body as far as I could and gained a little space between the men behind me. It wasn’t much but it was enough. Scanning my surroundings, I saw a large tree that had fallen over. The roots stuck up just enough to leave a small space underneath. I quickly crawled in.
After a minute, the men came to the tree. One was a tall burly man. He had a beard that stretched to his chest. The other was slightly smaller. The smaller man was in the front and waved a hand up as they approached my hiding spot. He was staring at the ground and after he got directly in front of me, he kneeled down, examining the dirt and leaves. He turned his head and looked in my direction. I ducked as far as I could. The roots grabbed at my hair like tiny fingers. Bugs began to crawl on my face. I held my breath. The smaller man looked up at the bigger man and then back at my hiding spot. The bearded man began to walk in this direction and was almost to it when a stick broke in the distance. They both almost immediately turned their heads in that direction. They looked at each other again and then they were off. I lay there in the hiding spot for another minute and watched them run.
After I could no longer see them, I crawled out of the hole and swatted the bugs off my face. I started running back in the direction I had come. When I came to the spot I was at before I ran right, I carefully climbed over the fence. I saw that there was blood and torn clothing hanging from it, which must’ve come from other survivors who decided to go over instead of left or right.
It didn’t take me long to get to a safe distance away, since the men were still searching by the fence. Eventually my pace slowed and I could feel all the running and adrenaline catching up with me. The world started to spin. I bent over, vomited, and fell on my back. I could see spots of blue through the trees above like blue sprinkles on the top of a green cake. By lungs burned with each breath and I could feel myself starting to slip. White light flashed with each painful breath. The real world began to fade.
I don’t know how long I was passed out on that bed of rotting leaves but when I woke I felt a million times better. I sat up and looked around. Everything looked as it had for the last 5 days. Then there was something else. A sound that I hadn’t heard in a very long time, a loud roaring that got louder every few seconds, an intense swooshing sound. I got to my feet and started towards it.
I broke out of the wood and there in front of me was the ocean. It stretched for as far as I could see. I walked about half way down the beach and looked in either direction. It seemed to stretch forever. The sounds of the waves made me want to just lie down and stay there until the end comes, getting lost in the soothing music of nature, but after everything that’s happened I couldn’t let that happen. I saw some rocks that lined the edge of the water and a uplifting thought occurred to me, maybe I can find some fresh crab. I had the beans but if I could get some fresh meat to eat that could stop me from turning into the people that I’ve been running from this entire time. If there was nothing there, then I’ll just move on but, man, wouldn’t it be nice to have some real food.