The days had turned into a blur. In the beginning, she had been persistent in fighting. She knew she would get out or her brothers would find her. But minutes began to feel like years. Her hope melted away like snow on a warm day, except she didn’t get the benefits of the warmth. She was in a very cold and dark room. Her ears rang from the silence. It made her enjoy the very subtle sound of water dripping in the distance. She never could find it though, but that was because she had quit searching. Instead she just sat, hugging her legs to her chest, and waiting. ‘You forgot my kid, Audrey...’ She looked up, despite the pitch black she could see Amanda coming in her direction. She frowned. ‘You just skipped town and didn’t tell anyone. What the hell were you thinking? I thought you were better than that...’ Audrey leaned in, burying her face in her knees. She let out a soft cry, shaking her head. ‘They won’t come for you. You abandoned them all before. Why would they expect different now?’ It was still Amanda that she was imagining. Part of her knew this wasn’t real, it was in her head, but the other part of her was so twisted and broken that she wasn’t entirely sure. They thought she abandoned them so why would they be looking for her? Why wouldn’t they just abandon her? She closed her eyes determined to attempt to sleep, hoping that it would be the end. Maybe she would wake up in her bed if she willed it enough...
Light shined into the room and Audrey let out a small gasp, recoiling from it. It had been a while since she had seen any real light. It hurt her eyes and she was almost afraid of it. What was going to come out of that light? She kept her eyes closed, clinging to her legs and waiting. She didn’t know how long she had sat there, but the light began to dim. It didn’t go out though. That struck her as odd. She lifted her head, squinting slightly but not nearly as much as she needed to earlier. Up above in the ceiling there was a door standing open and beyond that door was the sky... It was painted the most beautiful colors of orange and pink as the sun began to fade for the day. She smiled weakly to herself as she lost herself in the beautiful comfort of the sky. It took her a moment to realize what that meant. The door was open and the sky was before her.
It was hard to stand to her feet. It took her a moment and she had to lean against the wall to gather strength. She started forward, reaching for a ladder and taking one step at a time. She wanted to hurry, expecting the door to slam closed before she reached it, but she couldn’t rush. She didn’t have the strength to hurry. She reached the door and pulled herself up out of it. She looked around, taking a deep breath. She smiled, letting out a small sob. Tears welled in her eyes. She had made it... There was trees and sky... She was free. She didn’t know which direction to go, which direction would lead to town, or if she was even near town. She couldn’t stay here though. She needed to put as much space between her and that fallout shelter as possible.
The sun had finally set and she found herself completely in the dark again. With darkness came more cold and she had begun to cough. It would surprise her to find out she had gotten some form of infection, but she wasn’t willing to give up. She had to keep moving. She found where the trees ended and stopped, leaning against one. A light caught her attention and she glanced in the direction to see a car. It wasn’t the smartest move, but she needed to get someone’s attention. She pushed off the tree, bounding forward and waving her hands. There was the squeal of tires and the car came to a frantic stop, just barely stopping before it hit her. “What the hell are you doing?” The man yelled as he moved to get out of the car. He frowned gently, looking her over and stepping forward. “—okay, it’s okay. Let’s... let’s get you some help.” She took a step back, not wanting to be touched or even ushered into a car by a stranger. She put her hand to her ear, silently asking for a phone.