עָדָה
(Adah + Levi + Darius) "
Right, then." Adah clasped her hands together as things calmed down, and Levi drifted into a deep sleep. With a grunt, she stood up and began sifting through her meager belongings, tossing the now-empty flask and purse in her messenger bag of paraphernalia. As she made her way along the diagonal incline of the roof, she got a raised eyebrow from Darius, who had taken a break from the morbidity to enjoy a cigarette.
"
The hell you going?"
Allowing her long hair to fall to one side as she tilted her head toward the man, she gave a snarky grin in response, "
Geez, mom. I don't know, out?" She slung the hunting rifle over her shoulder.
The man blew out a stream of smoke, turning from her to face forward. Facing the sky above and the walking death below. "
Now?" The moans of freshly roused shamblers underscored their conversation.
Adah's smile faded a little as she followed Darius' gaze-- half-looking at the crowd of the infected masses, all clamoring for whatever made the noise of a man having nearly a foot of glass torn out of his shoulder. She shuddered.
It was like the most corrupted version of a painting she had seen once. Some asshole's mansion, an art collector-- most affluent Californians collected some kind of art, something about this state made those
with want to capture beauty-- she didn't remember his name, but she remembered the art he claimed was his. He had bought it from someone who hadn't painted it, but they were his he had kept saying--
this beauty is mine-- Adah had remembered that much about this man. Anyway, she remembered his paintings vividly, and one in particular stuck out to her now. It was from one of the French revolutions, depicting a sunset from one of the palaces-- some royals ate a brilliant dinner while millions of peasants crowded, sick, dying and hungry below. She could see her, where she stood now, above the seemingly dead and hungry masses, in the painting.
Adah sighed. She wondered what the people below her felt? Why did they seem to cannibalize without thought? "
How did everything get fucked so fast?"
Darius chuckled hard enough to cough up some smoke, "
Asked the drug-dealer of the terrorist."
"
Former dealer," She corrected quickly, "
I thought you said you were a guerrilla? I didn't know you were an eco-terrorist too..."
"
I dabbled," He took a slow drag, "
and I wouldn't be so quick to abandon the world."
"
You think?"
"
No one stands to profit from this, kiddo." He explained, squinting through the cloud of smoke encompassing his face, "
I think we'll be seeing the agents of capitalism soon enough."
"
The military?"
He nodded, and Adah's smile completely faded. The two were quiet for a time after that, with only the sound of the dead and dying to keep them company. Martial law wasn't preferable to this-- she could survive this, she was smarter than the shamblers and faster than any violent looters... Adah breathed in. She was getting ahead of herself. Of course things weren't going to get that bad-- they would get better sooner than later. What mattered right now was getting off this damn roof for a minute. Alone time would clear her head.
"
Again," She cleared her throat, mostly in a vain attempt to clear the air, "
Right, then." Now to get down. She could jump roofs if \needed-- they weren't
that far apart, but that came with its entire own department of risks she'd rather not take. She waled on the other side of the roof, hoping to see that the shamblers hadn't gotten past the week fencing, and that they were mostly hanging around the front of the house...
"
I figure I can't stop you," Darius announced, interrupting Adah's search for a place to drop down into the alley, "
But I also figure I should remind you how cold it gets at night," He looked up at the pre-twilight sky, "
You don't got much longer 'till it's completely dark, that's when shit really hit the fan." He gestured toward his backpack, "
Take off that thin, bright shirt and wear one of my hoodies."
"
But I like this blouse..." She pouted, "
But you're right-- all black is a good look on me, anyway, thanks Mom." As she slipped on the hoodie, she spoke more, "
I'm going to go see if can find us something with actual nutritional value to eat-- we'll need it if the goal is to get to the mountains... right?"
Darius gave a neutral grunt.
Adah rolled her eyes as she set all her gear in place, she rolled up the sleeves on the over-sized hoodie. She sat on the edge of the roof now, her feet dangling just over an almost clear alley. She pulled out her phone-- 67%-- she'd need it's flashlight if things got hairy fast. Putting in an earbud and setting her playlist to shuffle, she prepared for the drop-- right onto the head of the only inhabitant of the alley.
The shambler's head was crushed under the weight of Adah's calculated fall as her music began.
"When you walk without ease
on these streets where you were raised
I had a really bad dream
It lasted 20 years, 7 months and 27 days
Alone, I'm alone
And I never, ever.. had no one ever"
