I finally accepted that the only way to justify what I did was to leave, leave and never return again. I only took my essentials, my identification, and a picture of her. I remembered all of our late night talks and how we always came up with plans for a possible zombie apocalypse. Her fantasies were always more eccentric than mine, and usually involved helping as many people as she could. She wanted everyone to help each other, she wanted to be a hero, all I wanted was to survive. Mine was simple, I return to the land and become one with my surroundings. I hunt, I gather, and I survive with only what I came with. I don't talk, look to help anyone, or for that instance look for anyone at all. I survive all by the way of my hands, and now it was time to do just that, I had no other choice.

Dressed in a thick old mustard brown work jacket, dark denim jeans, and a pair of worn leather Georgia boots I go to her garage to retrieve my bicycle. She had convinced me into purchasing one so I could accompany her on her weekly biking expeditions.

“Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn’t take my bike, it might raise suspicions." I whispered to myself

If anyone came looking for me, my bike missing may be an issue, these people are powerful and relentless. I had to go to a place where they would have to really dig deep to find me. We always talked about places within our proximity that we could get to quickly. I always settled on the same place, the Okefenokee swamp. It was perfect, swampy, murky, and predators big enough to ward off the men chasing us. Well, just me now, seeing her go was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but now I had no time to waste, I had to leave and I had to leave now!

I grabbed my bag, my license, and the gold chain she had gotten me for my last birthday, it was the only thing I had left that meant something to me. I hopped on her bike and began my six and half hour trek across South Georgia backroads to my final destination. Along the way memories of her are what kept fueling me. How had it come to this, us losing everything? What went wrong? Why hadn’t she believed me? I knew they were coming, I just never thought they would take her, and to have to witness it and just sit knowing I can’t help as they took her from me, this is their fault not mine.

I eventually made my way into Ware County, ditched my bike and made my descent into the swamp. I instantly noticed the shift in the earth beneath my feet, going from solid ground to swampy mush grounds of the Okefenokee. It felt as if I was sinking lower into the earth with each step I took, it was dark and cold, it was perfect. I continued to go deeper into the woods, my heart pumping at full speed, my senses were on high alert. The wet sounds of the ground beneath, the many insects, and bushes rustling from larger predators. The deeper I got, the less afraid I became, and I was returning home. I made my way to a large body of water set in the middle of the swamp, around it were soft wet grounds. About forty feet to my west I saw a dirt mound rising from the swamp waters around me. A small island of sorts, maybe left behind by a family of alligators. No matter the cause, this would be my new home.

I began by removing debris and pine straw from out of my way, I did not stop until it was bare earth beneath me and I could see the ground clearly. I searched for wood nearby using my boots as testers for the wood to see how firm they were. The pieces that were too shabby were tossed into the fire wood pile. The cypress tree I discovered had a curvature at the base that would allow me to crawl up in, and this is where I began to build my shelter. Limbs tied together to form three walls and roof to keep me sheltered from the rain and wind. I used hanging spanish moss for a makeshift door, and with that my new home was complete. I crawled from out, I stripped all of my clothes off and took in the morning sun that had now begun to open its eyes. I stood barefoot atop of my kingdom, my feet slowly sinking into the earth beneath me, I could feel myself becoming one with the earth again. No more worry, no more pain, they could no longer harm me. My only regret is that I could not save her, but I’ll live the rest of my days cherishing our memories together. I spread my arms as wide as I could, raised my head to the sky, and let out a scream to my new brethren. In return, the swamp sang back to me crickets, frogs, and alligators. I could hear them all speaking to me, they would protect me, I no longer had to worry what would happen if they found me.

To be continued, let me know if you're interested in part two. It gets pretty twisted and dark....