Shattered Hearts

-Hopelessness-

Today, like many days, is dark and gray. The smoke covers the sky; no one has seen the sun in years. Rain patters across the ground.

The sound of the rain stirs me from my light sleep and I shift uncomfortably in my hiding place. Stowed in my right arm is a lifeline, a small leather bag I scavenged years ago containing my rations of food, water, and basic supplies. Gripped in my left hand is my knife.

Sitting up with a quiet sigh, I sheath my knife into a small pocket in the side of my leather boot and pull out a strip of jerky, probably past it's expiration date, from the leather bag for breakfast before I continue my daily ritual.

Standing up I cautiously inspect my surroundings. I scan everything to make sure no other being is around. I don't want another run in with those things that were human at some point. I carefully pull my hood over my head as I slip through the shadows avoiding the, possibly acidic, rain as I head towards what I hope is still the next town.

-Extinguished Hope-

Everything has been destroyed over the past ten years. No building stands wholly intact, devastating impacts litter streets and wild, mutated, animals roam unabated. The virus attacked without prejudice and spread like wildfire. Only small pockets of people survived unaffected by its ravages. Those that survived blamed each other and fighting began. Chaos reigned; Bombs, gun fire, and bloodshed devastated the land, animals, and people. For some the only idealistic way to survive was to become better, stronger, and faster. These ideas are what truly cemented our downfall.

It began with the experiments on the animals who became distorted by their mutations, but had an uncanny ability to survive and thrive. Suddenly, the mutant animals were able to cross breed and multiply beyond control. They were fools to believe that it would do the same for us. Once it enters your bloodstream you lose all sense of yourself. Sure, your body gets stronger and faster but what it does to you will either end you or make you crave to spread the disease. It's like a vampire's venom that takes your mind first then your body. The only good thing about it, it seems, is that they can't procreate in the way of creating a child. They can only exist as a virus and its host. Many believe there may be an antidote floating around in this abysmal world, but as time drags on hope dwindles.

I still remember the time before the bombs found us, as my family huddled together along with a small community, hoping to survive the night. I did, but at the cost of everyone else. The building failed to stand as concrete fissured and glass exploded inwards and rained down on us. I should have died and thought that I had, but as light broke through the constant cloud of smoke and smog, I awoke. Scrambling out of the wreckage I could see blood and bodies everywhere. In my terror I scrambled backwards. Not careful with my footing I fell and my hands flew back to try to brace myself for the fall. I only succeeded in scraping up my hands.

My fall disturbed some of the wreckage to reveal my father. His empty eyes looking at the unknown and his outstretched hand laying in a pool of his own blood. I realized that where I fell was, in fact, a pool of his blood that seeped into my clothes. I screamed as I clutched at my face with my scratched and blood covered hands in my anguish. I wept in a ball for hours. Finally, as I shakily stood and stumbled forward I could see light shining on his outstretched hand. I didn't want to touch his cold, unmoving hand, but I didn't want to leave with nothing of my family because I knew I couldn't stay here. Carefully, I extracted a small, golden, key. A key that I still wear on a leather boot string tied to my neck.

-Shattering Hope-

Distracted by my inner thoughts I slipped on the rain slick rocks that littered the terrain, hissing as my ankle attempted to twist in an unnatural way. Irritated at myself, I corrected my footing. Directly before me is a dark tunnel that I wished to avoid, but as the rain picked up the dead trees and stones began to steam and hiss, providing the answer that I didn't want to be caught in this impending downpour. I grab any scraps of dry wood and run into the cave.

"Damnit, where is it!?" I exclaimed quietly, as I blindly dug through my bag for those cursed pieces of flint while wishing I had a lighter or flashlight instead. Batteries akin to the worth of gold now and any butane that might have been out there, is long past used.

Absent-mindedly thinking about better organizing my bag later, I'm finally able to get my hands on those precious flint pieces. I pat around for my the wood scavenged on the way in and grab one before shoving one end into the ground. "Okay..., Now for the fun part," I state as I strike the two pieces of flint together several times before getting a good enough spark to light a small ember, that I quickly cup and blow on to create my torch. With my small flicker of flame, that is steadily growing, I get out some strips of thin leather and bundle my other sticks together then tie them to my bag.

Once I'm ready, I picked up my torch and surveyed my surroundings. I growl frustratedly, "great, no end in sight." Desperately, I strain my eyes to see down the abysmally dark tunnel. My options are to wait for the acid rain to stop or continue deeper into the cave. I decided to see where it may lead. My torch bounced eerie, yellow and orange light on the walls.

As I walk I can hear what sounds like dripping. The noise makes me hopeful that I'll be able to refill my water bottle. As I round a bend in the cave I come across the source of the dripping. There in the middle is a small pond that had formed from dripping off the hanging stalactites. Seeing this, my heart speeds up in hope. As I approach it I pull out one of my sticks from my bundle so I can test the water without losing a finger. At the water's edge I gently push the stick into it and my elation is immediate. I drop to my knees into the rounded stones below and plunge my hands into the water, quickly bring them to my lips and gulp it down, feeling the coolness trickle all the way down my esophagus. I drink to my heart's content before refilling my water bottle.

Standing, I see my torch laying off to the side where I had stupidly dropped it in my haste. Walking over I scoop it up to continue my journey into the cave. After what had to be hours, I stopped in a smaller part of the cave to settle in for a rest along with another jerky meal. I made sure to set up my flint right beside me before extinguishing my torch. I leaned my head back, as I slowly chewed through the last bit of the jerky, and pulled out my knife that I pulled in close to me as I curled into a ball to sleep.

I awoke groggy and fumbled through relighting my torch. Once collected, I stand to continue walking. As I do so a strange, creeping thought strikes me like a viper and then wraps itself around me. I haven't seen anything living in this cave at all, no other person or the gross abomination of one, but also no animal for that matter. Once that settled it's coils around me, I knew I had to get out quickly. I turn back the way I came to leave, but stop. I heard the dripping of water I had left behind yesterday, but it was accompanied by another sound. Straining my ears, the new sound makes itself known. I hear the scrambling of hands and feet, clawing towards my direction.

"Shit!" I quietly curse as I once again turn back to head deeper into the cave. I can only hope that there is an exit at all now. I continue forward hastily knowing there's no stopping for rest, not until I get away otherwise my rest will be my demise.

I began to run through this seemingly never ending cave that twists and turns as I run staggering through doing my best to not hit the sharp rocks but with no time to look out for them. Suddenly, I come to a dead end and my heart stops. Looking around I noticed that there was a small trickle of light and looked up to see a small opening at the top of the cave and from the corner of my eye I noticed light being reflected back. I walk over and see a bit of gold peeking through the dirt and I pull it out to discover a small heart shaped locket. As I peer at it I hear them coming once again, but this time I am stuck. There are a few small ledges that appear to have been made by someone, possibly when the cave was still free from mutants, but the rest of the wall was smooth meaning no way to the small opening at the top.

I scrambled up one of the small ledges while clutching the small curious heart-shaped locket. I then stabbed my torch into the ground as I sat to evaluate the trinket. Turning it over in my hands my eyes catch the engraving on the back. It says "Here lies Hope." I gaped at it thinking there's no way. Touching my fingers to it gently as I trace over my name I whisper it aloud, "Hope."

I could be wrong but I want to try it anyway, as I grappled with the leather string around my neck to pull out the small gold key I have kept all this time. I wrap my fingers around the small key and insert it into the small keyhole on the heart shaped locket and twist. To my bewilderment it clicked open without hesitation. My eyes widen as I fully open it and lying inside is a small broken glass vile. Confused, I noticed a small strip of paper that in familiar handwriting reads "I send this to you in hopes you can replicate it in larger quantities than I am able. It can save those that haven't been turned and rid us of those who have. I had to send the key separately to hopefully keep it from falling into the wrong hands.~ Howard." I inhaled sharply and cried at my father's name.

Any hope there may have been from this was lost and with no escape from this cave I knew I couldn't allow myself to become one of those warped creatures. They were getting closer now and would only have to climb a little ways up to get me and they most certainly would. I decided I would end it as myself as I slowly reached for my knife. It would finish breaking my shattered heart, just like the tiny glass vial.

The end, I knew, was here. This is what it is and will always be unless humans understand that the key is to open our hearts and all band together as one. Until then, death and destruction will be endless and all hope will be lost just like the broken vile in this small heart shaped locket. Shuddering out my last few breaths I close the locket as I close my eyes for the last time.