The Dream

It’s 2079, the world is not what is once was. The environment has been destroyed, causing a domino effect leading to the infertility of both sexes, in all species. The human population has been reduced to less 10,000, worldwide. Those that live are all that is left and all that ever will be. One of the few in a virtually unlivable world is Khai. One of a last generation of children born three years before the "crash" of 2060; the last gasp of Earth which caused a cataclysmic event that dimmed the sun, dried up 95% of all water and killed off nearly all flora and natural wildlife worldwide. Through innocent, eyes she watched as society collapsed, riots ensued over now vital things like a bottle of aspirin or bread. Man turned against man in a desperate bid for survival. But survival for what? A nonexistent future? The last of the population came to that realization a decade post "crash", after all avenues to a solution were exhausted, man gave up. Not Khai though, she was unique. Born in NYC to loving parents, she was more aware than other babies, a fast learner, possessing an unmatched sense of empathy. When others were abandoning or even killing their parents to eliminate the burden of being slowed down or having to share the food rations they'd managed to scavenge, Khai never once turned her back on her parents. She remained with them until they died in 2072. Packing what belongings she could, she left the place she'd called home for 17 years and set out into a world she'd only known in short intervals when she went out for food and water. With her gas mask on, shotgun in hand, backpack strapped and a gold locket around her neck, Khai went out into what was left of the world. She often wondered if she’d been better off staying home, and dying so she could join her parents but something in Khai wouldn't let her submit to those negative thoughts. Whenever they started, she’d subconsciously stroke her gold locket to comfort herself. Given to her at birth by her parents, it was one of the few treasures she had and the only tangible thing of value that she hadn't sold.

One night, a man tried to rape her. In the midst of the struggle a dog attacked the man on top of Khai, dragging him away, giving her an opportunity to get her shotgun, it wasn't needed; the dog ripped the man's throat out and was licking up his blood. Frightened, Khai aimed her gun at the dog sure she'd have to kill him before he attacked her too. But the dog merely looked at her with curiosity. Khai tentatively stretched forth her hand, palm out and the dog reciprocated with a gentle lick. Khai was now a dog owner, she named him Fang. He was her friend and protector and saved her life several times over the past five years. Now 22 and traveling in the mid-west they found a small group of survivors who were going to a place called Solen (near Canada), a safe place where food and water was plentiful. Khai was doubtful, she'd heard of places like Solen before, only to find it was a trap to rob and murder people, or worse; eat them. Aaron, their leader, had been in radio communication with a small group who had found the safe haven. He sounded believable enough, just not enough for Khai but he did manage to convince her to stay the night. That night Khai had a dream, the same dream since childhood but never understood it’s meaning. Whatever she’d dreamt was enough to convince her to go along with Aaron and the group to his mythical oasis.

The plan was to fly there. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, fly? How can they do that when practically all the natural resources are gone? A couple of survivors found a way to make an alternative fuel that works on planes, they've been storing up said fuel for 2 years. If Plan A failed there was Plan B, which was to use the fuel on the 2 working trucks and go by road, which was more dangerous. Then there was the dreaded Plan C, which was to go on foot. An even longer and more dangerous journey than Plan B because at least with Plan B you had the protection of vehicles, with Plan C they would be exposed to the elements and worst of all people. For two days everyone was busy preparing. Khai was more short-tempered than usual, the reason why was discovered by Sylvia, one of 5 other females in Aaron's group of 15. Sylvia walked in on Khai in one of the restrooms of the industrial building the group was using as a headquarters/sanctuary. She saw Khai in the middle of changing her menstruation rag (don't get grossed out, maxi-pads and tampons weren’t easy to come by this far into the apocalypse). Why is this a revelation you ask? Well, nobody procreates anymore, part of that reason is women stopped ovulating; some females born prior to the "crash" were even born without a uterus. According to scientists at the time, men still produced sperm, the problem was 95% of it wasn’t viable. Couple bad sperm with no eggs and you got zero population growth; the end of life. So, a woman having her period means that she's producing eggs, which means she could potentially bear children if inseminated with viable sperm. Meaning maybe the human population isn’t doomed.

Khai heard Sylvia's gasp and freaked out. Khai had been hiding her cycle because her parents had cautioned her against telling anyone about her condition, for her own protection since as far as she knew she was the only woman capable of possible conception. She found Sylvia who’d ran out, in the cafeteria area. It was empty so she took the opportunity to try to explain her situation. Sylvia was astonished, she’d been a nurse during the "crash" and had witnessed the birthrate decline. At 51 Sylvia is considered an elder and her knowledge and experience was revered. Sylvia promised to keep her secret, for which Khai was grateful. The next day, the group boarded the plane; an old commercial airplane that was capable of long-distance travel. Aaron, a former pilot was flying it. Khai, along with Fang, sat with him in the cabin, partly out of curiosity (she'd never been on a plane), partly due to distrust and also because despite all that she was very attracted to him. He was good looking, but it wasn’t just that. He exuded strength, a born leader but wasn't afraid to take advice and help from others when needed. He seemed like a decent guy but appearances were deceiving; her mom always warned her.

During the flight, something went wrong and the plane crashed into a mountain. The plane split in half, killing 5 out of the 17 passengers. Aaron, Khai and Fang who'd been in the cabin were fine, that part of the plane hadn't been damaged much. Most of the impact occurred on the plane's side due to how it crashed. Once out of the plane, Aaron, Khai and Fang made a search for survivors. They found Sylvia and four others, who had some minor cuts and bruises but were otherwise okay. They found John, Liz, and Sam who had a sprained ankle. Fang found another passenger a few feet away in the snow, Chris, she was unconscious. Those well enough to walk searched the other half of the plane to recover provisions from the crash. They managed to recover some MRE's and a few cases of water, a lot was lost but they were grateful for what they’d managed to salvage. Stripping the wreckage of whatever was useful, they returned to the injured and set up a camp. They weren't in any condition to continue now, they needed to regroup. They started a fire, ate and tried to rest, with plans to continue on at sunup. Khai couldn't sleep, Fang seemed to have no trouble though, envious of his ability to sleep she got up and took a walk. A careful walk, they were on a snowy, treacherous mountain at night. On her walk, she found Aaron, who couldn’t sleep either. She started to turn back the way she came but he invited her to stay. They talked about their pasts, their families and what they hoped to find in Solen. Khai wasn't sure, she remained skeptical about it but couldn't deny the dream she'd had; the reason she was there. Aaron, however knew what he hoped to find; a home. Almost 30, he'd been barely out of his teens when the "crash" happened and watched helplessly as he lost everything he loved. He vowed to survive and thrive in spite of a destroyed planet. He had ambition, Khai just wanted to stay alive, she couldn't explain why. Aaron respected a strong survival instinct and he could tell Khai had that but he also admired her beauty and her wisdom, she was far from stupid. He kissed her and she kissed him back. She didn't know what she was doing since she'd never been kissed before but she followed his lead. It was the best kiss of her life. Okay, so she didn't have anything to compare it to, it was still good.

Sunup came, Khai hadn’t gotten any sleep, she woke up Fang and cleared camp. According to Aaron's compass they'd been fortunate to have crashed near Solen, making traveling on foot feasible. He gathered everyone and cautiously climbed down the mountain. Knowing they were close to their destination spurred the group to walk with a purpose. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough to get them there before nightfall. They made camp, planning start again at first light; they were close but didn't want to be on the road at night or get ambushed. Aaron, Khai and Fang sat together around a small fire, everyone else had gone to sleep. Aaron watched Khai hold her locket, deep in thought. He interrupted her subconscious habit, inquiring about her pendant. She explained it was a precious gift from her family that she always wore and how it gave her comfort and focus. He took her hand and kissed it, then they kissed and entered his tent. Khai was nervous, she was a virgin, she had some idea of what sex entailed due to her parents teaching her about reproduction but knew nothing about "making love". She stopped Aaron before he could continue and explained about her ability to ovulate. He was shocked and also thankful she’d told him; the fact that she could potentially be the key to humanity's salvation was mind blowing to say the least, they both needed time to think. Khai decided to tell him the dream she always dreamed.

She was walking through a mist, it was deep, dense but she continued on, her and Fang. Then she saw paradise. A place with a small body of water by normal standards, but it was clean, clear, cool and beautiful. And where there's water, there's life; there were trees and animals and insects. And people, good people who wanted more people, so that they could thrive and repair the world that was broken. They didn't know how but they knew they had to try. She saw welcoming her...and then she woke up. At sunup everyone continued the trek to Solen; excited but nervous of the unknown. They entered the town and saw no inhabitants but they did see what Khai saw in her dream; trees, insects and animals, like birds. It was beautiful. Then Khai saw them, a small but strong group, of young and old. Smiling they greeted the group with open arms. Khai knew then her dream wasn't a dream but a premonition, her own private glimpse into the future. Her future.