The Beginning of the End || Bloodlines Vol. 1 ✔️ Complete

VIII • Wipe Out

Daphne picked up a dirt bike from a rural home near Campbellton. She wasn't about to continue her travels on it, considering she wanted to have supplies in the SUV, but she'd always wanted to try a two-wheeled rocket.

"If the apocalypse isn't the time to try new things, then what is?" she muttered as she sat in the middle of Highway 11. She checked the strap on her helmet—despite her super-healing thing, she wasn't keen on having a smashed-open head—and took a deep breath.

She knew the mechanics of a motorcycle, and having driven standard transmission cars all her life, knew how the gears would work. She'd also ridden a bicycle, so how hard could this be?

She kicked the starter, and the little beast roared to life. A wide grin erupted on her face at the rumbling engine beneath her. She eased the throttle open, and as the bike picked up a little bit of speed, lifted her foot from the ground.

It wasn't as difficult to balance as she'd thought, and when she hit about fifty, it was easier to keep it steady. She eased it faster, the wind whipping against her bare arms.

This must be what it feels like to fly. She stayed at a respectable eighty kilometres, though it felt more like a hundred and fifty while being so exposed on top of the vehicle. She leaned slightly to the left with the gentle slope of the curving highway, and bent forward a little, finding it easier to move with the bike that way.

When she reached Glencoe, she slowed to a stop at a little gas station and hit the kickstand, hopping out of the seat. She stretched her arms above her head, and then rubbed her thighs for a moment.

"Yeah, definitely won't be riding this thing across the country," she muttered. She wasn't sore, but she could see how after extended riding she'd end up bowlegged and stiff. But she definitely wanted to bring it with her, for some fun.

The store was locked, but the front door was glass. She found an unlocked car around the side and dug around in the trunk until she found the tire iron nestled next to the spare tire.

She swung at the door, and a spiderweb pattern crackled across it. She closed her eyes and turned her head, and then jabbed at it with the tip of the metal. At the sound of shattering, she turned back and then reached in to unlock the door.

"Caw!" said the crow.

"I got you, don't worry." She waved a flippant hand and dropped the tire iron before heading inside. She looked around as her shoes crunched on the broken glass, and let out an squeak of excitement when she spied a bag of Ketchup Doritos on the chip shelf. They were her favourite chips, but only came out once a year at Canada Day. It was rare anyone had them longer than a few months, let alone the following spring, unless they'd come in early and the shop owner had started stocking them.

She didn't think too much on it, grabbing the bag and tearing into it. As soon as the ambrosia hit her tongue, she moaned with satisfaction, munching on the crispy treat. She passed an old dead hot dog display with some green-looking meat and snatched up a bag of peanuts from beside the cash register.

"Buddy, you'll never guess what I found," she declared as she emerged. "These are the best fucking chips on the planet. I know you care more about the peanuts, though." She tossed a handful on the pavement, and her ebony-feathered friend swooped down to pick apart the shells as Daphne crunched away at her prize.

She peered around at her surroundings, and then spotted a sign across the road that boasted Sugarloaf Bike Park with an arrow pointing back down the highway.

She smiled through a mouthful of ketchup and cheese, and tossed the rest of the peanuts to her buddy.

***