Chapter 18
They picked their way through the corpse of the city.
The road was a canyon of abandoned cars – windows shattered, doors hanging open, interiors stripped bare, the sharp scent of stale gasoline and upholstery rot hanging in the air.
Buildings leaned precariously, walls scorched or crumbling, gaping windows like empty eye sockets. Dust coated everything, kicked up in little puffs with each step, tickling Elias's throat.
They walked in silence, the girl trailing a few steps behind Elias, her small form tense, eyes darting nervously to every shadowy movement.
Elias kept his senses alert, scanning the ruins, and the crowbar was his friend.
Questions swirled in his mind:
Where had this kid come from? How did she survive alone? What unspeakable thing had happened to her parents? What is her name?
He glanced back. She flinched slightly, shrinking into her oversized pink hoodie. The wariness in her eyes was a physical barrier.
Thinking of the meager supplies in his pack, he remembered the single, slightly melted chocolate bar he'd found days ago. He stopped, unzipped his backpack, and pulled it out.
"Here, kid," he said, keeping his voice low but gentle, holding out the chocolate bar. "Have this."
The girl eyed the chocolate bar, then Elias's face. And slowly, she reached out and took it.
She tore the wrapper open with surprising speed and took a small, tentative bite.
"My mom said not to take snacks from a stranger," she mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate, her voice small but clear.
Elias couldn't help a quiet, raspy chuckle. The innocent word from a lost world was both heartbreaking and strangely comforting.
She was naïve, clinging to a rule that no longer applied. He knew the truth about her parents would crush that innocence. For now, he'd meet her where she was.
"Your mother's right," he agreed, starting to walk again, slower this time so she could keep pace. "You shouldn't take snacks from a stranger. So, let's fix that. What's your name? I'm Elias Heart."
The girl swallowed her chocolate, a tiny smear on her cheek. "I'm Joy, mister."
"My mom said I was always smiling and happy when I was a baby, so she named me Joy." She finished the chocolate bar, carefully folding the wrapper and tucking it into her pocket.
"So, Joy," Elias asked, his eyes constantly scanning the desolate street ahead and the looming ruins on either side. "Where did you come from? And… what happened to your parents?"
Joy's steps faltered. Her shoulders slumped, and she stared down at her worn sneakers.
Silence stretched, thick and heavy, punctuated only by their footsteps. Elias waited, giving her space.
Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, she started speaking. "We… we came from a place. Like a big gym? An indoor basketball court." It was a shelter.
Her words came slowly. "People said it was safe there. We waited there… for the policeman to come and take us away." Just like the mall, Elias thought grimly.
"But…" Joy continued, her voice trembling slightly. "At night… the sniffing things… they smelled us inside."
She shuddered. "A lot of them came. Scratching at the doors, making some weird noise. We thought we were safe… the doors were blocked…"
She took a shaky breath. "But they knew we were there. They… they told the flying thingy." Joy's eyes widened with remembered terror.
"The flying monsters were shouting, really loudly. Then… the giant came." Her voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "The one with no head. It just… walked right up… and smashed the whole wall. Like it was nothing! Just… boom! And everything fell."
Elias pictured it vividly: the fragile barricade, the sudden, shattering impact of the giant's fist, the rain of concrete and steel, the screams. Joy flinched as if hearing the memory.
"The court… it was all open then." Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back fiercely.
"The flying thingy… they look." She mimed a slashing motion. "They dive down, whoosh!"
The harpies sleep inside the spike mountain when it's day. And they commanded the giant what to do.
She swallowed hard. "The monsters… they came rushing in. There were so many of them." Her small fists clenched.
"Mom and Dad… they grabbed me. We ran out of the gym. Out a little door in the back. But the monsters saw us. They chased after us." Her voice hitched.
"We ran past that store… the one you found me in. Dad… he pushed me inside the little closet. He said, 'Hide! Be quiet!' Then… then he and Mom… they ran the other way. Making lots of noise. To lead the sniffing things away."
A single tear escaped, tracing a clean line through the grime on her cheek. "They didn't come back."
She fell silent, the weight of her story hanging heavy in the dusty air. She stared straight ahead now, her small face set, but Elias saw the tremor in her chin.
Joy must have been left there recently.
They walked on the streets in silence, the only sound the crunch of debris under their feet.