Still Red

[K-Robe]

(Renee Murphy continued from Swan Song)

Renee sat outside of the store, her pants getting dirtied up by the blowing sand and dust that seemed to be everywhere in this goddamn place. Her eyes were still red from all the crying she'd done in that day. Too much crying for her liking, but there wasn't much she was liking anymore. She nursed her MP5, sliding a finger across it slowly from end to end, starting at the stock then ending at the barrel. End to end.

Sighing, she gripped the handle and stood up. She was so tired of this bullshit. Her heart had felt like it wanted to blow itself out of her chest. Sam was dead. Dead, gone forever. That same word that one would use to describe a victim of a car crash or someone who fell off a bridge. Somehow, it didn't seem like it fit Sam.

And she still hadn't found Rebecca. That was priority one, wasn't it? Find the person that killed her only remaining friend. The one person she didn't want to lose in this place. Even so, Renee had to admit. She knew this was coming. She knew that at some point, Sam was going to die. And if he didn't, then she'd be the one to die.

Renee sighed again. She needed to clear her head. She entered the grocery store, hoping to look for... something. Anything, really. Perhaps there were supplies in there or something?

Predictably, the shelves were entirely bare. The place was covered in dust, grime, and dirt. Completely empty. Less predictably, there was a dead body there. An arrow was sticking out of its head.

"Oh God," Renee muttered. "How many goddamn people do you need to kill, Clark?"

Renee walked over to the body and turned it over. She recognized who it was. Vienna Gogh. An arrow was still sticking out of the back of her head. Vienna felt cold. She must have been killed quite a while ago. Renee didn't recall hearing her name recently.

Still, the logistics of the situation didn't really impair the the moribidity of it all. There was the fact that brain matter had leaked out of the back of her head. There was the fact that her head was covered in dried blood that had bled out of the wound. And, of course, there was the fact that there was a fucking arrow sticking out of the back of her fucking head.

Renee started inhaling deeply for a second. She closed her eyes as if that would help.

It's okay. It's okay. Not the first time you'd seen someone like this. Julia was like this, too. She was lying on the ground, too, an axe in her neck. You even closed her eyes out of respect, remember?

Renee turned away and grabbed Vienna's bag. She gingerly pulled it from her back and exited the store, grasping it. Rummaging through it, she took whatever could reasonably fit into her own rucksack. Some food, some water, another first aid kit. No weapons, incidentally.

She let the bag drop to the ground after looting it. Renee spent the next few minutes munching on some bread while sitting outside the store. She downed it with some of that mineral water. She rubbed her forehead and took in a deep breath. Collecting herself, Renee began marching down the street. She'd find Rebecca and put this right. She hoped that somehow, this would be enough.

Renee laughed at the thought. As if anything would be enough at this point. Just living would be "enough" too, wouldn't it?

(Renee Murphy continued elsewhere...)