“Hello?”
Beams of light sliced the darkness, and she shrank into the corner, shivering. Hopefully they’d not see her, move on, and she could get back to eking out her existence on whatever she could forage at night time, and the small creatures that fell into the crude traps she lay near the entrance to the cold, dark, cave system.
Maybe, she thought, as footsteps echoed, getting louder and closer, that was what’d drawn them into the depths, that she’d been careless and left signs, indicators of her existence. Whatever had got them here, they weren’t leaving.
The trespasser halted. She wasn’t sure how many there were, but even one would be a problem – he’d lead others here, there’d be a search party, people would come, and…
And she’d have to move on, her life upended again.
If she could get out.
The only sound was her heart beating so loudly she was sure they’d hear. She couldn’t hold her breath for much longer either, and if they didn’t go soon… well, she didn’t want to think about that.
“There’s definitely been someone here recently,” the same voice that had been calling said, his voice low. “The fire’s ashes are still warm.”
“Can’t have gotten very far,” came a reply. This voice sounded harsh, brittle, like it could split a snowflake with a harsh consonant, or open a razor-thin wound on a vein and watch you bleed out, smirking as you died.
“Huh,” the first one grunted. “I’ll get the dogs. It’d be good to… rescue someone today.”
The men receded, and she exhaled slowly, releasing the tension, before adrenalin made her shake, hard.
Time to go.
Carefully, she packed her few meagre belongings into an old, tatty, tote bag, the writing worn off, apart from one word, barely visible: Martyr. Her flints, of course, for starting fires, the saucepan she’d salvaged from the post-detonation rubble, and the knife and handheld whetstone. Looking around one last time, she tried to feel something, anything, but could only conjure a dullness that seemed appropriate to the place she was leaving behind.
She stepped toward rear of the cave – with any luck they’d not found the other exit – and slipped into a crack barely wide enough to crawl through, just as the torch beams returned, accompanied by loud snarling.
“Damn dogs got a scent,” the first voice said, excited, hungry. “We’ll eat well tonight.”
“Only if they’re untainted,” said the second. “If they’re like us and the radiation’s gotten to ‘em? We’ll just have some… sport.”
“Must be clean,” muttered the first. “Why’d they be hiding here if not?”
“Take them filthy mutts back to the entrance,” the second voice spat. “Let ’em earn their bones tonight.”
*
An hour later she finally emerged, a mile from the main entrance. It wasn’t a huge head start, but the wind direction was in her favour and the forest scents should help to shield her.
She drew the knife and began to walk.
