Breaking the Habit

Danni sighed as she walked out of her house, the door closing silently behind her. It scared her, but she ignored it. There was
so much to be done. There were so many people to make up to, that she had better get started. Sighing, she knew that it was
gonna be a long walk to the city, and decided she was going to go straight on through the night, and no stopping unless an
emergency. Danni gripped the bow and arrow tightly in her hands, and kept her eyes peeled for any sign of danger. There was
no one she could trust, since she didn’t know anyone. Danni had been an only child.

She lived with her parents, who always fought but would never get a divorce. Her father complained a divorce would ruin his
image, while Danni’s mother could care less about anything. With a soft sigh, Danni pushed the memories from her mind. They
weren’t going to anything but annoy her, and make her miss her parents. That was the last thing she needed. Trying to decide
what to do, Danni continued on her walk to the city. She lived 4 1/2 hours away from it, and had no idea what the city was like.
Her parents had told her the place was a mess, and now she would find out.

Nothing even remotely eventful happened as she walked the 4 1/2 hours from her house, to the city, nothing at all. That all
changed, the moment she stepped in the city. There were flashing lights, screams, kids running all over the place. There were
people chasing little kids, people getting beat up, and other things. Danni wondered what was making these kids act this way,
and while part of her wanted to find out, she surely wasn’t gonna put herself in a dangerous position just because her curiosity
was peaked. With a sigh, she continued to walk through the city.

Danni had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she would soon find out. After going through most of the city, and
checking out each and every sector, for several days, Danni decided to try and find a tribe to stay with. She needed some
friends, and would eventually need some protection, if the rumors were true. Some of the rumors that were floating around
in the country, was that there was a power struggle going on here in the city. Several tribes of kids were fighting against
one another, for complete and utter control of the city. Danni paused.

She had heard the sound of footsteps behind her, but had thought nothing of it at first. Now, well, now they were right
behind her, and Danni was not gonna take chances. She quickly spun around, clutching the bow and arrow tighter than
before, and faced the person who had been following her. Keeping her weapon on the person, Danni asked, “Who're you,
and what do you want?” The guy held his hands up in surrender, and stared at her silently. “Well, who are you?!” Danni
demanded, not in the mood for games, and this guy certainly did look like a player.

When the guy spoke, she was surprised at how soft his voice was. “My name’s Bray, I’m a Mall rat, are you lost?” Danni
stared at the guy. She shook her head no a moment later, and started to walk away, when he grabbed her arm. “Wait, do I
know you from somewhere?” Bray asked. Danni wheels around quickly, and tore her arm from his grip. It was only a matter
of time before people began to recognize who she was. “I’m Danni.” She said softly. The guy only stared at her, but when he
spoke a few moments later, his words chilled her. “Danni Dugas, right?”

Danni didn’t say anything. She just turned around, and started running back in the direction she had come from. Bray, not
knowing what else to do, he ran after the girl. It was 3 days later, and Danni was back right where she had started, in her
old neighborhood. Only this time, someone was following her, again. Danni turned around, and saw that it was that guy,
Bray. However, as she kicked open the front door to her house, and then ran upstairs, Danni knew that Bray had followed.
She ran to her room, and locked the door, and sitting on the floor, began to cry silently.

Bray kicked open the door to her room, with a surprising amount of anger and force, and it scared Danni so much, that she
stopped crying, Bray walked into the room, took a seat on the floor next to Danni, and began speaking softly to her. “Look
Danni. I know you know who I am. We went to middle school together, and started high school together, before the damn
virus wrecked things. So why are you running from me?” Bray asked her softly. Danni wiped her eyes quickly. “You know
about my father, and how selfish he and his group of friends were, wanting to find an anti-aging cure.”

Bray nodded. “Well, instead of getting an anti-aging cure, they got the virus instead, and it’s my family’s fault everyone
lost their families.” She cried. Bray sighed. “You can’t hide out in your room for the rest of your life. Besides, even if you
think it is, it’s not your fault, any of this. You didn’t create the virus, the adults did.” “But the adults are dead, Bray, and
I’m not! So who do you think they're gonna blame for this mess, me!” Bray ran an infuriated hand through his hair. “They
won’t blame you!” He shouted back at Danni.

Danni couldn’t hear him, though; she was trapped in the past, and the present, and knew that there was only one way
to escape from both things. She ran back down the hall, and into her parent’s room, she closed and locked the door to
the room, and went into the closet, pulling down a box, and the key to go with it. Danni unlocked the box, and took out
the gun from inside the box. She let the gun sit in her hand for a moment, before saying, “I’m breaking the habit, Bray. I
don’t want to be like my father! He was a killer!” Moments later, there was the sound of a gun going off, and when Bray
finally broke down the door, it was too late. Danni was dead.

The End.