Applied Knowledge

My dad taught me how to hold my breath for 3 minutes. He also taught me how to climb trees, make a fort, a fire, collect rainwater, and hunt. When I was 12, he said it would be best to pretend to be a boy, so I'm not taken. He died shortly after that; he left me with an old lady that had a small cabin in the woods, her name was Fran. She talked a lot about how things used to be, she said she was married and had 4 kids, but they all died. She taught me how to farm and make mustard gas. I was only with her for about a year before poachers found the cabin; she sacrificed herself so I could escape. She gave me a picture of her family, so their memory lives on; she also gave me a heart-shaped locket for good luck. She said her mother survived the Holocaust with it. I'm not sure what that meant, but I took it and ran. One of the poachers must have spotted me because they chased me through the trees. I knew there was a small creek up ahead; I did what my dad taught me. I slowly got in the water so I wouldn't create too many ripples; I waited to see the men in the distance, took a deep breath, and slowly submerged myself.

Here I am. My dad taught me how to hold my breath for 3 minutes. Then, he said to think of things that will distract me or things that make me happy, so I have a reason to keep fighting. I like thinking of my dad, everything he taught me, and all his stories; now I can think of Fran’s stories too.

My dad never really explained how the world got this way; Fran had a lot of different theories. I've been able to piece together that it had something to do with towers being attacked and nuclear war coming soon after. Fran said infrastructures fell, people got sick, then the rich and the governments went into hiding to escape radiation. My dad just liked talking about mom and our old life. I think he just wanted to keep them alive somehow. I don't remember; we started running when I was 6. He said I had a baby brother, and we used to play on the swing set in the backyard; I don't remember. He said I loved school and had a lot of friends, I don't remember, but I do wonder where my friends are now.

I know I'm approaching 3 minutes when my heart starts to race, and my chest starts to tighten up. My dad and Fran said that if I'm captured, and they realize I'm a girl, I'll be some kind of slave. I made sure to submerge myself near a tree so I'm not spotted. I slowly come up, only pocking the top of my head out to check the area. I let my nose up, and I can finally breathe; I need to be careful and make sure my breathing isn't too loud. I hear them come towards the water; I don't think I can hold my breath again, so I have to stay behind this tree. I put mud on my face and my head; I'm glad I barely have hair. I lean up against the edge with the top of my head outside the water.

I can hear 3 men right behind me. I think one of the guys is a new soldier; poachers capture males and force them to be soldiers for their army; they hope to reestablish order and civility to humanity. At least that's what they say; they still murder anyone or anything that isn't of use to them.

---

"We should go back; I don't see the little shit. We'll probably find him hiding in a tree on the way back to camp."

"He looked kinda scrawny. Why would we waste time breaking him in?"

"Because we're going to need a first line of defense if we're taking the rich ass holes down. The scrawny die so we don't have to."

Everyone nods in agreement, and we head back to the cabin. This old bitch doesn't have much we can take, but she farmed. If they hadn't killed her, we could have made her teach us. If they hadn’t burned the cabin and her field, we would have food. These people are barbaric; all this proves is that they don’t want to rebuild. They just want power.

Our way back is long, and all of these trees look the same. It's always exhausting walking back into camp, pretending to still care about the cause, hurting people to prove you're "one of them." Getting 13-year old's pregnant to create new soldiers to die for a man that doesn't really believe the shit he says. I remember my parents watching a show about cults; this feels like a cult. Blindly following orders in hopes that things will get better; I've been here 5 years; it will never get better.

---

I slowly get out of the water and head to a nearby town that's abandoned. There's a house on the edge that I might be able to sleep in and get warm. It should only take 2-3 hours to get there. I make sure I have my gun and my machete ready in case anything happens. I add more mud to my face and head to blend in, but it's starting to rain, and the dirt is coming off.

I finally make it to the edge of the woods where the house is, but something feels wrong, the door is open, and I remember closing it with a string on the top so I would know if anyone had been in there. I would sometimes come and pretend to have a house. I'll hide in the woods and keep a lookout for any movement inside. I start hearing things break, and two poachers come out of the house dragging another girl; if they take her, she'll be a slave. I've never had to save anyone before. My dad said to always look out for myself and never put myself in unnecessary danger.

My heart starts racing, and my mind won't stop thinking of all the things my dad and Fran taught me. I began to walk away with the girl's screams in the background. I started feeling sad for her; I wondered if anyone would save me if I were captured. I knew it was wrong to hope to be saved if I'm not willing to do the same at this moment.

I took out my rifle and shot one of the men; his lifeless body just dropped. I've never killed anyone before; it doesn't feel as horrible as I thought it would. Maybe it's because they didn't deserve to live, or I've seen enough death that causing it doesn't hurt. The other man drops the girl and looks around in confusion; I shoot again but only hit his shoulder. The girl punched him, grabbed his gun, and shot him in the head. I could tell she's killed before.

Shocked and confused, she’s looking towards the woods to try and figure out who helped her. She doesn’t know if she’s still in danger. She doesn’t know if she can trust me; I don’t know if I can trust her. I only know I don't want to be alone.