Lila's New Zealand Odyssey

I know I’m going to die. They are behind me and closing in.

I refuse to look back but I can hear them, their breathing is ragged, their movements loud and clumsy. They must be hungry, that’s why they’re chasing me. I don’t know if they’re human or animals but they are monsters.

I am running out of energy and don’t know where I am. I’ve been walking for hours and it’s getting dark. I can barely see my feet as they leave the ground and hit the dirt. My lungs are burning, my eyes are stinging with sweat and tears. I just want to rest but I can’t, I can’t stop running.

They’re getting closer. I think about turning around to look at them but I can’t, I can’t give up. I have to keep running. I have to survive. There is no going back.

I can’t run anymore. My legs won’t move. It’s over. I fall to the ground, my hands and knees scraping against the earth. I can taste blood in my mouth.

When I close my eyes, I see them. I see them looking down at me, at my trembling body. They are tall, human like in shape but their bodies are covered in fur and their faces are monsters. They have pointed ears and long sharp teeth. Their eyes are pitch black and they stand there watching me, observing. One of them gets on all-fours and crawls towards me. It’s sniffing my hair and face. I open my eyes and try to scream but nothing comes out.

It leans down, its face right above mine. Its saliva drips onto my cheeks and chin. It begins to lick me and then bites into my neck. I feel the skin break and then warm liquid run down my skin. I feel my head go limp, my body go numb. I can’t even scream anymore.

There is silence but then I smell something. I smell a fire. I hear people talking and laughing. I hear music. I open my eyes again and see a camp. I am lying outside a tent. I hear the voice again.

“Look, she’s waking up.” A man says. He’s tall, skinny with white blonde hair. He kneels down next to me and peers into my eyes. He smiles and his teeth are straight and white. “She’s awake.”

“You’re safe now.” A woman says. She’s sitting across from the man, next to a fire. Her hair is long and curly and her skin is dark. She has a baby in her arms, sleeping.

“Who are you? Why am I here?” I ask them.

“We’re travellers. We found you on the road, you were covered in blood. We cleaned you up and gave you food.” The woman says.

I look down at my body and realize I’m wearing new clothes. I feel my neck and see that it is healed. I sit up and stretch. “Thank you. I’m Lila.”

“We know.” The man says. “We’ve heard stories about you. You are a legend.”

Lila. That’s my name. I had forgotten. I don’t understand.

“How do you know my name?” I ask them.

“We know everything.” The woman says. “We know about your boyfriend, we know about your brother, we know about your mother.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We know about the man who attacked you, we know about the fire, we know about the radiation. We know about the death.” The man says.

“You know about my memories.” I say. It makes sense now. They know about my past because I have told them about it. But how? “You are travellers.”

“Yes.” The man says. “We travel through the country and tell stories.”

“You tell the stories of those who died.” I say.

“Yes.” The man says. “And you are one of our best.”

He opens his arms and I get up. I walk across the ground and he hugs me. I hug him back and feel his bones pressed against my body.

“Thank you.” I say. “Thank you for giving me hope.”