I’ve walked through these streets many times. They only manage to remind me that everyone is gone. My sister disappeared five years ago, and my parents are six feet under. Dani and I never found their killer. The silence slowly drove me mad as flashes of them dead in the house came back.
In the distance I see smoke and some people around a fire. My old worn-out shoes crunch under the gravel-like concrete. These roads can’t even be driven on and cars aren’t used, so what’s the point in fixing them? Once the oil and gas mines dried up the states went into chaos.
“What’s a young lady like yourself doing out here?” A grungy old hobo asked.
“None of your business, Gerry. I walk past you guys every day.”
“Dakota, why don’t you join us tonight? It’s s’posed to be gettin’ colder.”
“I’m almost home. If I have to, I can run. ‘Sides Dani might show up.”
“She ain’t comin’ back, girly. She been gone five years to this very day. She ain’t meetin’ you at the park or at your little shack. You got no one but us left.”
“Thank the president for that, then. I’m leaving tomorrow for good. You won’t see me walking past anymore. Goodbye, Gerry.”
“It’s been a nice knowin’ ya.”
“You too. If I find any of them, I’ll come back someday.”
“And we’ll be waitin’, same spot, same time, every day.”
I continued walking as the sun dipped under the horizon. As the moon popped up, I walked through the creaking door to my little shack. I grab my black duffel bag and fill it with clothes and nonperishable food. I write down a note for the state people on a piece of paper. If Dani were to come back, I wrote another for her. Then, I headed back into the silence of the outside. Thoughts about Dani plagued my mind as the moon climbed higher in the sky. Stars shone brightly, but couldn’t compare to the beauty and luminescence of the moon.
         Around five in the morning, I stopped for a short nap and some breakfast. By seven I was up and moving toward the closest town. Travelers heading toward the cities talked with me, and I asked about any of my friends. They said they hadn’t seen a perky, short blonde girl. I guess I was on my own when it came to finding them.
         I made it to the city around noon and headed in towards the businesses. One shop had televisions playing different news channels. I happened to look at one and saw blonde hair,
but when I looked closer it wasn’t Dani. I continued walking through the shops and streets, coming to a stop in front of a police department. I never trusted them; they never found our parents’ killer. I walked in anyway, coming toward the front desk. The officer on duty looked up, looked back down to his papers before popping his head back up like a prairie dog.
         “Don’t move,” he said calmly but urgently.
         “Wh-what’s going on?”
         “Put your hands up in the air,” two officers shouted as they tackled me to the ground, despite having my hands in the air.
         I kicked as hard as I could and managed to roll out from underneath to get to my feet. Five cops circled around me as I watched them in a fighting stance. I heard the officer behind me jump, and I slid to the left to avoid him. They all attacked me at once and easily subdued me. Three officers worked together to handcuff and lift me. Before they could do anything else, a girl burst in with short blonde hair just like Dani’s, but it obviously wasn’t her. She seemed to glide effortlessly across the ten foot gap and knocked out two cops before heading toward me. Two of the cops holding me, ran after her leaving a scrawny guy holding me. I headbutt him just as the girl opens her mouth to yell.
         “Run Dakota! I’ll hold them off!”
         I did exactly what the stranger told me to do; I ran.