Chapter 1:

Sunlight filtered through leaves so thick, it looked green as it hit the ground. A warm wind swept through the forest, an odd sickly sweet smell with it. A vicious snarl broke the silence and Aurora raced through trees. She jumped over a log and slid behind a tree, clutching her bow as she watched the wolf run past her.

That damned dog got my rabbit!

With a heavy sigh the young woman swung her bow on her back and headed toward her next trap. While there were birds chirping high above, the forest seemed too quiet. None of the usual little animals were playing in the underwood and Aurora was on edge. She had four more traps to check and reset for the day. They were all two miles from her camp, a mile apart from each other. On her walk she filled her bag with dandelions, comfrey leaves and roots, and mushrooms.

As Aurora passed another empty trap she froze. Incoherent muttering filled the forest and footsteps shambled toward her. She knelt behind a huge tree, barely breathing. A man with a deep red flower planted firmly in his stomach and thorns poking out of his arm growled and muttered to himself. He didn’t seem to notice Aurora as she notched an arrow and aimed.

A little robin fluttered past the man, and before she could blink a vine ripped from the man’s left arm and shot into the bird. The vine pulsed as the bird tried in vain to pull away, thrashing violently, and after a few seconds it went still. The man continued muttering and stumbling forward as if he was completely unaware, and the vine tucked itself neatly back into his back.

Aurora breathed shakily and kept her arrow aimed at the man. He continued forward, though now it sounded like he was crying. The girl waited until she could only faintly hear him, and quietly rushed over to the bird. It lay dead, a hole in its stomach and completely drained of blood. Gently, she dug a little hole and placed the robin inside.

“Goodnight little buddy,” she whispered. After she brushed the leaves and dirt back over the bird she continued on. The woods got louder the further she walked, a sign that that was the only zombie around.

A zombie is a person that has been infected with something that makes them want to eat people. Aurora’s dad had told her as he showed her how to make an arrow. They normally just stumble around and try to eat people they smell or hear. These things are kind of similar. They are ‘infected’ with The Weed, and after a while they lose themselves and just stumble around until they eventually starve to death.

They are going to try and eat me!? Aurora had cried.

Her dad chuckled and adjusted the feather in her arrow. No they won’t try to eat you, but they are very dangerous. Always, no matter what, protect your neck. If they get one of those seeds in you you’ll turn into one of them.

The young girl rubbed the back of her neck and shuddered.

They also can drink your blood with those vines, like a vampire.

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What’s a vampire?

Her dad rolled his eyes. Good lord we need to find you some more movies.

Aurora smiled at the memory, a sharp pang in her heart. She tried to ignore it and instead focused on hunting for more mushrooms. When she finally got to her next trap, a squirrel lay dead! She let out a little giggle and stepped forward, when a flash of brown and black caught her attention.

A wolf stepped from the brush, thin and teeth bared. Saliva poured from its jaws and it stepped toward the squirrel.

“No!” Aurora grabbed her bow and swung at the wolf. “You stole my rabbit, and I haven’t eaten meat in at least two weeks! I can’t survive off of fucking roots and leaves.”

The wolf growled and took another step. Without thinking, Aurora took a mushroom from her bag and threw it at him. He took a few steps back, eyes glued to the squirrel, and ears pinned back. With a vicious smirk the girl started hurling all of her mushrooms at him, edging closer and closer to the protein she desperately needed. The second she got within a foot, the wolf lunged at her, biting the bow she held.

Aurora yelped and smashed his head with her other fist, and the two separated.

“I’m not giving you my squirrel. I caught it, it’s mine,” she spat. “Go trap your own.”

She took another step and the wolf growled, mouth open and every fang shining.

“Oh fuck you.” She leaned against a tree and sunk into the moss. The wolf crouched close to the ground and stuck its neck out as far as it would go, trying to grab the squirrel.

“No!” Aurora tossed a rock and it bounced off his fluffy back, sending him scrambling. “I can see you even if you crouch like that. You should give up, I ain’t leaving.” The wolf sat down and the girl sighed. “Well if you're not going to leave either we might as well make introductions. My name is Aurora, what’s your’s?”

The wolf panted.

“Nothing huh? Figures.” She ripped a leaf up subconsciously, pulling her knees to her chest. “Well I’m not just going to call you dog. You need a name. How about Stalker cause you won’t leave me alone.”

The woods were quiet as they usually were, with birds chirping and bugs crawling. Aurora loved the soft melody of the woods, but it normally came with a creeping sense of loneliness. Now she sat fiddling with leaves or grass, listening to the song of the wood, with the accompaniment of panting and little whines.

“Where’s your family? Do you have one? Or are you like me? You know my parents had a dog named Havoc but I don’t really remember him. He ran off when the sirens started and we had to leave him. Of course I was four at the time, but I’ve always wanted a dog.”

The newly named Stalker simply watched and growled threateningly whenever the girl would move. That’s how hours passed, both making moves toward the squirrel and the other fighting them. When evening came Aurora made a campfire and roasted what mushrooms she could salvage. She tossed a couple toward the wolf and he devoured them.

“You're starving too… I feel for you dog, but I can’t put your life over mine you know? You wouldn’t do that for me.”

Evening turned to night, and the girl blinked sleepily, the crackling of the fire luring her to sleep. Crunching woke her, and she sat upright, gasping in horror.

“You stupid, stupid dog!” Angry tears filled Aurora’s and she loaded an arrow and aimed at the dog. Blood coated his mouth and he still chewed a leg of the squirrel. “You think I won’t kill you and eat you!?”

I hear you… I can…. Hears you

Both girl and wolf froze, hearts beating in unison. Strange laughter filled the silent woods.

I’m hungry.. So hungry. THey are coming… those people with the vines.

The words devolved into gibberish and Aurora aimed her bow wildly, seeing nothing but trees and the glow of Stalker’s eyes.