Alone: A collection of Short Stories Read Free

appearance or mind. His flesh was torn
around his face and neck, revealing sinews of damaged muscle and
jawbone. Dried blood was congealed around the wound. Fresh blood ran
down his chin, covering the little skin that had remained. He was a
creature, and he was hungry, tearing at the wooden barriers and
growling in frustration for the scent of food inside. Mr. Jenkins
didn't hesitate when he saw his son. There had been nothing that
Cheri could do to stop him. Mr. Jenkins didn't want to be human
either. He left her too.
    Now she was alone.
Alone, except for the creatures out on the street. The rotten
corpses with empty eyes that wandered looking for another meal,
another victim. Their growling and calling had frozen her heart in
terror at first. Now it was nothing more than a background noise.
    Cheri refused to be the
next victim of those... things. She was determined that she would
choose how she died. Here, alone in the general store from
starvation if that was what it took. Not by their hand, and not as
one of them. She would make her own choice because that was all she
had.
    She knew how to survive.
She had to ration what she could find in the store. More looters had
arrived the day that Mr. Jenkins had left. She had hidden then, let
them take what they wanted. She had pushed her teeth into the flesh
of her own arm to fight the sobs, to stay silent and undetected, and
hoped that they left something for her. They didn't leave her much.
She had hidden what was left behind the counter with a blanket and
some firewood.
    The fire wasn't a good
idea. Smoke attracted the creatures. Bringing them to the boards on
the windows. Making them scratch and bang and call out to her.
Trying to make her go out to them, to go outside to her death. Sound
did that too. Any sound. So she sat in silence, freezing in the cold
of the building. Stiff from being as still as she could be. Waiting
for help that might never come. Hoping that someday soon that it
would.
    Cheri pulled the blanket
closer to her. Wrapping it tighter around her bare legs that were
uncovered by the skirt of her uniform. It didn't make much
difference. Hunger made her colder than anything else. She had no
idea now how long it had been. Maybe a week, or just a few days. The
time had become a blur as the hours had merged into each other. She
had counted at first, but it made her tired. She couldn't afford to
sleep because it would mean that she was unguarded if the creatures
found a way in. But the exhaustion made her weak. Sometimes she
couldn't help it. Her consciousness slipped away and she lost a
little time. Minutes, or hours, or days. She didn't know. There was
no sense of time any more.
    A movement behind the
office door startled her. Breaking her thoughts and making her
instantly alert. She was sure that the office was secure. It only
had one small window, which was covered with some wood broken from a
delivery box, and no external door. There was no way that a creature
had gotten into there. She told herself it was a rat, or a mouse,
but her body stayed stiff with fear as she listened.
    Another scratching sound
made her jump again. Cheri's skin prickled in terror. The new sound
was louder. More definite. She heard one of the wooden planks drop
to the concrete floor, followed by the other. The window was now
uncovered, she was sure. The office door was made from weak, cheap
wood. She had nowhere to hide. This was her end, and she had no
strength to fight it. Only enough to drop down low and roll against
the corner of the counter. Hoping that maybe the creature, the
intruder would miss her scent and go back off into the night.
    She could barely breathe
as she heard another bump, and a groan as the visitor pulled itself
through the opening and onto the office floor. Another as it knocked
into the heavy desk that Mr. Jenkins had once used to complete his
papers and orders. It shifted slightly. In the heavy silence the
creaking noise echoed, mixed with another pained