Marnie hated the zip on that bag. It was old even before the Apostate, and stubborn even before that. But with less than half of her right hand to use, Marnie despised it even more. It wasn't even like she would just find something to replace it. Eventually, it did close, but not before the imprint of the zip was firmly embedded in to her thumb. "Stupid thing," she grumbled under her breath, before heading out of the old apartment block, and in to the street. She needed to head towards the centre of town, that was where Central Park had been, obviously. Now it was just a slightly more green wilderness within the world. 

She'd never seen it in real life before. She'd lived in Florida when she first emigrated, and had always lived too far south for a trip to New York to be a reasonable idea. She and Francis had always talked about it, for their honeymoon, for their first anniversary, their fifth anniversary, and then the baby had came, so the money had gone. 

It didn't seem like much now. It was just ugly and wild, like everything else. She heard a crackle from the trees around her, and she quickly froze, stuffing her weaker hand in to her back pocket to hide her weakness. She didn't dare make a noise, as the last time she had ignored something like that, it had been one of the Children of God, her companion had died and she'd lost most of her hand. It felt odd thinking of that. Most likely, that was why she didn't.

But she had to focus now, no letting her mind wander. There might be something lingering, watching her. It could be a person, or an animal, or even a Child of God, the damn things. They didn't qualify as humans any more.