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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷on route to wyoming
THE INCESSANT CLINKING OF METAL TEETERS THROUGH THE STALE AIR, tainting the otherwise silent atmosphere of the abandoned gas station. The unique trio of survivors had followed the long, broken roads until they'd stumbled upon the decaying building, stopping just outside it so Joel could syphon gas. The other pair had journeyed inside the building, with Ellie rushing for the bathroom. In the absence of company, Cassie had chosen to search through what little remains inside the building. In hopes something — anything at all — may lie hidden within the station's office, she had dedicated herself to picking the door's lock.
After minutes spent waging war upon the lock, it clicks open at last. A spark of victory ignites within Cassie, though this temporary enjoyment is hastily snuffed out by the hands of caution. Gingerly pressing an ear against the cold metal of the door, she intently listens for even the slightest whispers of life within the room. But no echo of danger reaches her ears. Still, her calloused hand unsheathes her knife before she reaches for the door, easing it open.
A grimace contorts Cassie's features as she steps beyond the threshold of the room, her nostrils assaulted by a pungent, yet familiar smell. The odour of death was strung throughout the airwaves, cursing those who dare step into its domain. Before her eyes could readjust to the darkness of the room, she knew the sight before her wouldn't exactly be pleasant; though she doubted there was much that could truly unnerve her anymore. Unfortunately, she was right — her heartbeat remains sturdy as her eyes befall the sight of a limp body, hung from a beam in the roof.
The body was fresh; at least, fresh compared to the landfills of corpses that littered their world. It was recent enough that maggots still bothered to inhabit the body, still finding use within its early stages of decomposition. While the body's flesh had begun to wither, they were still identifiable; still obviously human. Though she searched, Cassie couldn't find any bites, nor scratches upon the person's flesh, leading her to conclude this hadn't been an act of desperation — to kill the fungus, before it destroys you.
Cassie's curiosity isn't left to dwell much longer, for her eyes catch onto something sprawled upon a nearby wall. With what she could only assume was a sick concoction of mud and blood, the words 'no light' are painted upon the brick — left as the dying legacy of a person who no longer was. Her brows twitching closer with intrigue, Cassie's gaze shifts back upon the corpse; only now noticing the firefly emblem dangling down against their chest. Stepping closer, she takes the cheap metal into her hands, readjusting it so she can read the name etched into it.
Engraved upon it was a name she'd never heard before, and one she'd promptly forget. The name of the woman, whom she may once have considered an ally, was doomed to be yet another memory washed away by the gentlest of winds. Their name, while floating temporarily around Cassie's calloused mind, would soon be no more than wisps of a dying thought; their very existence forgotten quicker than a heartbeat.
