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strength—releasing some of my worry
upon the animated object.
    We
weren’t driving at a fast rate, but nonetheless it was steady and constant—safe.
My hair whipped me in the face from the wind flying through the doorless side.
    After
fifteen minutes, the road came to an end. A dirt path on my left appeared as a
possible entrance leading somewhere. Also straight ahead of me was a dirt trail
worn between overgrown foliage and it didn’t look to lead anywhere in
particular, probably closer to the perimeter.
    I
had to make a decision. Left or straight. Right would take me nowhere except the
perimeter, and there was no type of clearing for me to drive through; the right
side was completely dense with thick trees and vines, and god knows what else.
    I
peered back to my left. Barely visible was a burgundy piece of material flowing
back and fourth in the wind. The mini flag was attached to the end of a stick, poking
a few feet taller than the ground.
    I
filled my lungs with a deep breath and turned left.
    After
a few more yards another piece of material, the same as before, flapped in the
wind. However, this time they were on both sides of the dirt path. I drove carefully,
following in between the marked flags guiding my path and counted fifty of them
before…before seeing the first body.
    He
was lying in the middle of the road; I almost hit his distorted limbs. I dodged
around him just in time, not hard with the rate of speed I was driving, and I
knew for sure I didn’t need to check if he was dead or not. The body was mangled
beyond repair. His flesh had been torn with large parts scraped from all over
his naked, exposed skin. Vines covered him, but I hardly noticed them through the
blood and the dark night. I continued driving along, fearfully scanning my eyes
along the nasty skids trailing behind him. My headlights and eyes followed the
path. The car suddenly jerked, my head heaved backwards, and my senses vanished
then came back with a jolt of realization that my hands were gripping the wheel
too tightly. I quickly released my fingers, but kept my hands in place. I had
never seen a dead body. My grandparents died when I was young—old age. I’ve
attended funerals, the few there were. Any families that had chosen execution
were euthanized in the most humane way possible, without any onlookers, and then
laid to rest prior to everyone paying their respects.
    The
left side of my brain, the more logical part of me, screamed TURN AROUND ,
and while I considered my options, I spotted a few more bodies lying near each other,
lining both sides of the road. They weren’t torn and shredded like the one
prior, but their torsos and faces had been riddled with punctures. Not
punctures. Gunshot holes. Blood soaked the ground around them. Hands sprawled
out to the side, feet disheveled over one another, torsos turned in conflicting
ways—not normal. Pools of blood adjoined underneath each, coming together into two
large pools, making the entire scene impossible to miss.
    Immediately,
I began turning the wheel to the right, forcing the car to the far side of the
dirt path, giving me enough space to turn around while I still could. Out of
nowhere, the car hummed to a complete stop. I shook the translucent wheel and
pressed whatever buttons I could find. I stomped my feet against the floorboard
like an angry, scared child, but it didn’t matter. This car wasn’t going
anywhere. It was dead. Great.
    The
power was nearly depleted; the only thing still working were the headlights and
a few interior lights. I brought my eyes up and realized the lights were shining
onto a form, no…a structure, something resembling a house in the near distance.
    It
wasn’t like any of the ones in the Colony. Most of the houses there were built
from stone and rock. This one was encased with long pieces of material, same as
the flags, and as my eyes adjusted to the dark night, I realized the structure
was only the start of dozens more like it—varying in