Break!

Shielding her eyes from the sun, she peaked out from her exit and glanced around, inspecting for movement. No suspicions, looks clear. Leaning down, she dropped her backpack and unzipped, pulling out a bag of soggy meat contained in a tight zip lock bag. Holding her breath, she opened it and pulled out a rough chunk of meat before tossing it outside. The sound of its wet splatter made her stomach turn, but she held strong and waiting. Something moved, she gasped and held back. Looking up, she saw a crow tilt its head to her before cawing. She managed a sigh of relief, shaking her head before scooting down to the ground, using the overturned food truck as her platform to climb down from. Upon landing on the ruined streets, she scooped up the soggy meat back into the zipped bag before lightly jogging forward.

It had been too many days since she found herself lost and alone, far too many. She would look at the buildings standing tall and proud casting shadows above her and it would remind her of the pretty signs they displayed along the main street as she struggled not to lose her parents from pedestrian traffic. She was four or five at the time, back when the world as coordinated and the biggest concern was whether or not she would make any friends at school.

It had happened so fast, she had her babysitter looking after her when it happened. First came the panicking down at the streets, then the car accidents. Traffic was blocked, police were ignored, innocents gunned down along with the infected. Her babysitter took her to where daddy worked, but he wasn't there. Next thing she knew, people were fighting and her babysitter pushed her into the bank vault promising to return. She never did.

That vault, it's become her new home since then. Every night she would carefully walk down the street to one of several food markets, dig around for leftover meals, then quietly retreat before nightfall. So much free time on her hands has given her the freedom to explore when she was safe, passing by unique looking sculptures and fancy large hotels. Her favorite hotel would have to be the one with the castle on the outside, like a fantasy of hers come to life. Unfortunately it was a long distance from where she slept, and the golden rule was not to enter unlit buildings at all. No shadows, no shade, no chance of sneaking around her.

In time, she had arrived to her favorite local supermarket, particularly due to the emergency generators powering on inside. Those solar panels on the rooftop sure come in handy. She calmly introduced herself inside, tossing her bag aside and searching for an outlet to plug her phone. No signal, no internet, but still good for one thing she thought with a smirk. Twelve percent, plenty of time to kill. Scrolling through her music library, she settled on one of her favorite songs to play, "Break" by South Korean rapper Beenzino. She never understood the lyrics but felt like the music, the beat, the rhythm alone told the words to her. Bobbing her head to the drums, she smiled and began dancing sporadically down the aisle, pushing a shopping cart and inspecting which food hasn't expired yet. In a time like this, canned goods are your best friend.

Unfortunately, the fresh veggies hadn't been fresh in years. Most of the bread had gotten moldy, some of the milk began to stink. Candies, junk food, and canned food seemed to have the longest expiration date which did wonders to her malnourished body. She held a bag of Cheetos firmly, staring at the best-by date as she recalled her mother scolding at her for eating this junk. Back then, she hated eating green food. Now, she found herself missing the crunch of carrots and the taste of sweet juicy apples.

She stopped when she came upon the makeup aisle, finding a vanity mirror with her reflection toward it. Looking back, she saw a larger glass revealing her body image. The sight made her heart sink, did she really look that pale and thin? You could count the ribs on her chest...

She gasped, something toppled over in the freezer room. Quickly she turned her music off, holding her breath as she stared at the metal door in the back. Something was moving around, squirming, rummaging, growling. The door had been left ajar, pushed open enough for it to squeeze through. She could hear it more clearly the closer she got, her flashlight in hand. Whatever lay inside, it was hungry. Holding her breath, she pulled the door shut and placed the secure latch over it, leaning against the cool metal and brushing the sweat off her brow.

She squealed loudly when she turned her head to catch a pack of infected dogs munching hungrily with their heads deep in her backpack. It fell over and the gross meat slid forward, prompting the three dogs to scuffle and compete for their prize. Their naked fleshy look, putrid stench, frantic jumpy movements and instinctive reactions combined are what made her call them scufflebutts. Horribly deformed canines with no visible eyes, no tails. Just an awkward, reddish-brown body with bits of their identity such as their ears falling off.

One scufflebutt raised its stump for a head, the only senses still functional in them appeared to be hearing and smell. And taste according to those satisfying grumbles they're sharing. An ugly worm thing squirmed from its lower body before slipping back inside the canine. She covered her mouth, finding the sight of it revolting. As she began stepping to the side, her foot landed on the frost-covered tile beside the freezer and she slipped to the ground hitting her head. The noise made all three scufflebutts freeze and look to her direction, the leader of the pack emitting a low growl.

Suddenly it charged forward.