Aftermath

To hear the crunch under her stumbling footsteps echo through the fallen buildings from the explosions that occurred just months before gave her a shudder. Her hiding was the result of waiting for the fallout to settle. She was tired and hurt from nursing the wounded and was ready to find her family. The explosions had displaced so many people, including herself. She now needed to find those closest to her. She could only hope they would still be alive. Were they displaced as she was, or worse? Finding them was all she could think about, or at least… it.

It was difficult to navigate through the harsh environment. Sunbeams called days were peeking through the dust that covered the ceiling once called a sky. At nightfall it was impossible to travel. Those that weren’t so lucky owned the nights; the ones from ground zero. They had changed, they were enraged, hungry, and they weren’t… normal. She paused, gained her bearings… left, no right… wait, everything is different. She squinted, straining her eyes, hoping to find anything that would help direct her. Everything decimated, all that remained was just rubble.

Soon she caught a glimmer in the distance. She limped forward, hoping it wasn’t a trap. Her thoughts engulfed her from the day everything changed as she scaled a small mountain of concrete. Her mother and she had a heated argument over something she no longer could remember. She only remembered the sadness on her mom’s face and bits of words said. It was all meaningless now. She remembered her brother’s face as she turned to say goodbye, which was more like, I’m outta here. The shrugging arm wave, storming out and slamming of the screened door was overwhelming for her to remember. She could feel her tears well up and the lump in her throat. Not now, she murmured. Finding the place and keeping clear-minded was necessary. Her life depended on it.

The pile she was now crawling down proved not as difficult as she thought. The shimmering, though in view, still seemed far away. Then, in one fell swoop, she lost her footing, tumbling as in an avalanche of dust and rock till she came to a halt at the bottom of a crater. Blood seeping, she sat stunned, in pain, pants in a tattered puddle around her leg. Great, she thought, shaking her head, checking her injuries. Any hint of uncovered blood and she would never make it. She paused as she looked around. The silence was deafening as the sun appeared to fall from the sky. The haze was getting darker. This wasn’t good. She had to find shelter now! Climbing to the top of this massive hole would prove to be the climb of her life.

Her fingers gripped into the rocks as she drug herself to the top. She could feel the pain from the fall settling in, another step up, and her foot slid. Rocks tumbled down where she had just been. As she kept reaching upward, she could hear her brother’s voice... keep moving, you’ve got this! Keep going! Tears she had been holding back were now drooling down her cheeks, meshing into a muddy mess. She paused, wiping them away, as her brother’s laughter rang in her ears. She missed their talks. Dusk had fallen, and the lack of sounds emboldened her to move faster. Time was running out. Climbing, she could see the lip of a flat wall just above her. On her last stretch to the top, she grasped the metal protruding out. She scrambled up, rolled onto the rock, laid there only for a few seconds, chest hurting, trying to catch her breath. Time to find shelter.

She carefully climbed down the mound and heard a grumbling in the distance. They were coming. Frantically, she searched and found an opening between some wall slabs. She ran, ducked into the makeshift cave, and then surveyed her surroundings. On the ground, was a thick piece of tin, pulled out, it was perfect to create a door covering the opening. The darkness ahead would be long and difficult.

She took her backpack off and opened it to have ready for the night. Water, along with her UV light, rationed food, and bandages were set to the side for the night. Leaned now against the farthest back wall, away from the opening she needed to care for her wounds. At any hint of an open wound, her hiding place would become her grave. After looking over herself, she found a gash on her thigh that she washed and bandaged. Other minor scrapes, she washed clean and placed the bloody scraps deep in her backpack. Finished, she leaned back against the wall once again and braced for the unknown. After a short time, she heard the rustling of the crushed cement just outside. She held her breath. She could hear the gurgles and groans of them. Her heart was racing so hard her chest hurt, and she could once again feel the lump in her throat. Eyes closed, her thoughts ran back to that day. After she had left her family’s home, she drove to her boyfriend’s house. He met her at the door and she explained what happened, the argument. His arms surrounding her in comfort, along with his scent, brought back loving memories. His smell lingered even now. She missed him as well. She missed everything. A sound right outside of the makeshift tin door startled her into opening her eyes wide. She shook. Did she do enough to hide herself? The scratching, the howling, all the sounds outside were a nonstop, deafening echo. She wanted her bed, her warm bed, in her mother’s home. She wanted to feel her mother’s arms around her.

Suddenly taken aback, she heard what appeared to be someone crying. There was a muted delay… then the ambush. The shrieks of the person were horrifying to hear, but there was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes again, even tighter than before, trying to block out the detrimental visuals and sounds that were occurring. They wouldn’t last long. She then heard her mother, never forget, I love you no matter what; you are enough. That day had seemed like such a normal day, then the argument, then her boyfriend holding her, then the blinding flash. The shock wave and being knocked out, waking up to nothing familiar, ears ringing. The sight of them. How quickly even they changed. The horror of witnessing them rip and tear into the injured around her and hearing the screams. Then, seeing them run after her. The only blessing was that death was quick. She waited, then remembered a hand that jerked her into a building by an unknown man and that same man shielding her from them, then disappearing right in front of her as the sun came up. They ran away. Why was she allowed to survive? That was when her search for her family really began.

All night, the surrounding sounds continued. She tried to sleep, but it wouldn’t happen. Her body ached from limiting her breathing and movements. The night waned. While dawn approached, the sounds of them faded away for another day. She questioned how anyone could create something so inhumane? Would there be a cure? Is the new normal always hiding, always being a survivor... or not? As the sounds dissipated, she finally drifted into a sleep and soon after jolted awake. She had to get moving. Time had slipped away. Her things packed up and throwing her backpack on her shoulder once again, she carefully slid the tin to the side, peering around. It seemed safe, so she stepped out.

It was darker today than days before. No rain had fallen since this all began. Now, it looked as though the sky would fall and rain was finally coming. The unusualness of this gave her concern for what was to come, so she had to be intently alert. Hope was all there was, hope they would stay hidden until she could find the place. She started out, leg hurting, but at least it wasn’t bleeding. She saw the slab that she had climbed onto the day before. A short distance to reach it, she stood on top to get her bearings. Finally, after several weeks of searching, she saw what she was looking for.

She found the place and began running with reckless abandonment, forgetting all around her. Her heart leaped. Could her family be there? They had to be. She had to see them, to say she was sorry and that she loved them. So close to the place while running, she didn’t see a hole in her path and tripped into it. She felt an excruciating pain seer up her leg and fell hard on the ground. In unbearable pain, her ankle broken, she sat up, looking around. Her backpack had fallen a few feet away from her, so she crawled over to retrieve some bandages. There wasn’t anymore. The house, as she scoured around, was to the right of her. If she could only get inside. As she lifted herself and bent down for her bag, she saw the shimmer. Drops of rain fell as she reached down to pick it up. Now found, in her hand, she held the one item she had lost and cherished the most, her heart-shaped locket given by her father. She now remembered the argument. Opening the locket were the engraved words that read:

“My sweet baby girl, you have my love, as you have my heart. Live in the moments I will never know, yet still walk within you. Cherish this second chance. Forever Loved, Dad”

Not able to hold back any longer, she sobbed. Her mom, who only wanted her to take care of what he gave and to live. She was angry, hurt and distraught that day after finding out the truth, not at her mom, but at her dad, for what he had done. She thought he left her when she needed him most, yet found he was with her all along, beating with her every breath. Now, she was thankful because she had a full understanding of his sacrifice.

The sky darkened, rain began falling harder. She made her way into the house, calling out for her family. There was no answer. She couldn’t imagine how their house was still standing, but glad it was. In the bathroom, she found medical supplies and a brace. They were old, but would do to help support her ankle. She was so tired and needed rest. The struggle to climb up the stairs to her bedroom was slow and arduous. Once there, she found it puzzling that everything was still in order, shrugged it off, just glad to be home.

She let her guard down as she got comfortable and snuggled in her own bed. The downpour soon lulled her to sleep. She didn’t realize as she slept she had also struck her head earlier. Blood was oozing. The rain continued to fall, the sky dark as night... they came out, no longer hiding. Startled awake, she heard the sounds of the panting and gnashing. Fear came over her. There were only two; her mom and brother. In one swift, unison move, she saw them, said; I love you; I’ve missed you and turned away. At that moment, she gasped. Her eyes went wide and then serenely closed. She exhaled and fell limp.

Lured by the darkened sky, her mom and brother footslogged outside into the dark, into the surging storm. Drenched, they gathered with others as they ‘awoke’. The deluge had been the answer to her question, but it came too late. Her mom and brother returned to the house, dazed and horrified at their hazy memories, went upstairs and found what remained of her. They wept as she lay there, as though asleep, still holding the opened heart-shaped locket.