A World Fallen

Kylie against the car. He pulls at the door handle again. It's not moving. She points to the other side of the car.
"The other-"
Her insides tumble over. She grips her gut. She doesn't feel so good now. Whatever food is in her comes rushing back out. She vomits and collapses back to her knees. In between gasps for air she forces her thoughts out.
"Try...the...other...side..."
Markus pounds his fist on the roof, becoming angry with himself. All he could think about was getting to Patrick. It didn't occur to him there are two rear doors. He races to the other side of the car and rips at the handle. The door flies open. He tugs at the car seat. He doesn't need to pull it out, he just needs to turn it so that he can get Patrick from it. His son isn't moving, he's not crying, he's not making any sounds. He tries not to let this overtake him, but he's becoming more and more anxious with each passing second. The car seat will not move.
He gets into the car and places his feet on the back of the driver's seat and pushes as hard as he can. He pulls the car seat and it wiggles. He pushes against the driver's seat again, and the car seat comes to him. He rolls it back upright. He places his hand on Patrick's chest. He's still breathing. Markus bursts into tears. He unbuckles his son and takes him from the car.
He hurries back to Kylie, who already has her arms stretched out to receive her son. She holds him firmly against her chest as she lays back against the car. Markus kisses her forehead and wraps his arms around her. They're alive, and at this moment, that's all that matters.

CHAPTER EIGHT
It’s been days since she’s eaten, five to be exact, and two for Mikey. She rationed what they had, and once it became clear there was nothing to hunt in this area she stopped eating. An attempt to stretch food out for Mikey for as long as possible, with the hope she would be able to find something before it ran out. That hasn’t happened.
She watched the people chopping the tree from a safe distance. She kept herself, and Mikey, hidden. They’re not very aware, or maybe she’s become great at hiding. She’s never followed people this long before. She prefers to keep distance from all others, save for Mikey. Following them makes her uncomfortable, but Mikey is hungry. There is no other choice. They have to have a camp somewhere. There has to be food at this camp. There has to be.
She’s not a thief. She’s never stolen from people. She considers taking Mikey from the commune they were a part of as rescuing him. Those people were bad people who did unforgivable things.
They’ve been trailing the tree choppers for hours. They appear to know where they’re going. This is a good sign. She has no idea how she’s going to pull this off. All she knows is that Mikey needs to eat and she will not fail at providing for him. Not now, not ever. She will do whatever it takes to ensure his survival.
She’s close enough to hear the people ahead of them speaking to each other. They seem to know one another well. They don’t seem like bad people. That only makes this harder. Her and Mikey have been in this area for a while and she hasn’t come across one animal. There aren't any abandoned shops to raid, or any buildings at all for that matter. “There’s no telling how long they’ve been out here. How long will it take them to restock what I steal?” She can’t let these thoughts fester. She’s doing what she has to do.
The day has dwindled down to night. Their pace has slowed substantially over the past twenty minutes. They must be close to their destination. A hour or so ago they made their way out of the woods and onto a road. This has made tailing them more difficult. Her and Mikey have remained in the woods, near the tree line. It’s thick here. Traversing the terrain has been tasking, not making any noise has been more so. She’s surprised how well Mikey is handling it. This has been the longest he’s ever gone without speaking. She’s impressed.
Her stomach growls. It feels like this is the hungriest she’s ever been, but she can't really be sure of that. She tries to shake it, but her ability to do that ceased a long time ago. All she can think about is eating. Their targets cross the road and enter the woods on the other side. Damnit. Now they have to cross too. “Do these people know they’re being followed now? Did something tip them off? What if they’re waiting just inside the tree line for us to arrive?” Damnit.
No choice. They have to follow suit. Quickly, though quietly, she and Mikey cross the road and enter the woods. She stops, giving Mikey the hold still signal. She can’t see them. Damnit. Wait, she can her something. It’s faint, but it’s there. It’s a voice. She grabs Mikey’s hand and moves swiftly, but cautiously. The voices are becoming louder again. It’s the tree choppers. She’s certain. She scans around the environment, finding only green and brown for a long moment, then, finally, she sees one of them. She continues to pan her head around. There the other two are. They’ve picked up their pace again. They have to be closing in on their destination.
As she continues forward she can see a splotch of orange brightness breaking through the thick woods. It’s not far from the upcoming tree line. The people approach the edge of the woods and exit the brush. She signals for Mikey to lay down, and he promptly does as requested. She moves to the perimeter of the woods.
She can see the people again, and there are