The Reaper

As I walked along the path the leaves crunched under my feet. I looked above me and all I could make out were fragments of yellow, red and orange, but it wasn’t the sun. Monstrous oak trees stretched their limbs to touch the sky. They reflected the sun’s rays and slowly floated to the forest floor. The path was wide and elaborate wooden houses were perched in the ever growing oak trees. They must have been man-made but it seemed like they had always existed, yet never aged. I know they must have been constructed after the bomb dropped. At the end of the path was my dwelling, the innermost home constructed in the forest. As I got closer to my home I saw Charlie. He was a tall bald man, round at the waist, aged about 45. He had become a close friend in the last few years but as I approached him I saw an expression on his face that was quite new to me. He was standing on the porch looking as though he was on the verge of tears, dreading my presence.

The house was about 10 feet in the air and a stairwell led to the porch. There was also a rope but that was mostly used when I wanted to make a hasty escape. I climbed the stairs and met Charlie who just stood there, shaking his head. His face was buried in his hands as he tried to compose himself. There was a deep sinking feeling that anchored in my stomach. I had asked Charlie to watch my little brother while I went to get food. I spoke first.

“What’s wrong?”

Charlie drew in a sharp breath before answering.

“It’s Michael,”

Michael was my three year old brother. Only the two of us remained now.

“Did he hit his head? Just tell him to rub it and blow kisses,”

Charlie’s face got dark.

“Michael is gone,” he answered in a voice just above a whisper. He was barely able to choke the words out.

“What do you mean gone? Did you check everywhere? He might just be hiding,”

Charlie formed his mouth to speak but I passed him because I knew Michael better and knew his favorite hiding places. As I walked through the doorway Charlie hovered over me.

“I wish you had let me tell you. You shouldn’t have found out like this,”

When I entered the room it became very clear to me. Michael was not hiding. He was gone. He had been stolen from my home.

“We were supposed to be safe here,” I whispered.

I knelt down on the floor. Resting right in front of me was the only clue as to what had happened to Michael. It was a black trail that ran across the living room, through the narrow hallway and out the back hatch. The substance must have been airborne at one point because it had not only settled on the floor but on the walls as well. It was rough like sand weathered by the desert sun and burned to the touch. It was very clear to me that Michael had been abducted by The Reaper. It was a sentient force that had taken shape after the bomb dropped. It had burned into existence after the bomb had rippled across our town and incinerated everything I had known as home. The bomb should have killed us all. Some say The Reaper was karmic retribution for the townspeople who had altered destiny. I don't know what it is or how it came to be but I do know it has stolen many from our community. The Reaper seemed to only attack certain survivors. I grabbed a backpack from my bedroom that was stocked with survival equipment. I swung the pack over my shoulder and headed for the door.

“What are you doing?” Charlie stood blocking the door.

“I’m getting my brother. He is alone and defenseless. I’ve spent the last two years protecting him and I’m not going to stop now,”

He stepped aside but followed me out to the porch.

He grabbed my wrist and spun me around.

“No one who faces The Reaper ever comes back,”

“Has anyone ever faced him who was not chosen by him?”

“Not that I can think of,”

“Then no one has ever been in my situation while facing him. Every bough must break”

Charlie looked at me with pity for he knew I was running to my death.

“Michael isn’t like all those other victims. Michael has me. That is one thing that will never change,”

I pulled away from Charlie, jumped off the porch, grabbed the rope and swung to the ground. As soon as my feet touched the forest floor I ran off down the path, my long brown hair whipping behind me.

I didn’t stop running until I reached the edge of the forest. This was not the first time I had ventured this far out of the woods but it would be the first time I left the safety of the trees. Directly in front of me the space shimmered. This was The Dome that protected the forest and all of its inhabitants. It was the latest in wildlife preservation technology. The Dome was created to protect the forest from natural disasters, so humans could still pass through its barriers, as could animals. It just so happened that The Dome was strong enough to save the forest from the nuclear strike. Beyond the shimmer of The Dome was darkness. Although the sun continued to shine, all life outside the forests had ceased to exist. The ground was charred, flattened, barren, cracking like the desert. There had been no rain since the bombs. Every building had been incinerated. The only place that was worth traveling to was The Crater. That was where the bomb had made contact with the ground. The Crater was as wide as a city block but rumor was that it wasn’t quite as deep.

I remember that day so clearly even though the sun had set on it over two years ago. My mom and dad had gone across town to visit my sister. That left Michael and I alone. This was not a rare occurrence, for both my parents worked a lot. When I wasn’t at school I was usually watching Michael. I don’t know what had drawn me to the forest that day but nonetheless I felt I was being summoned to the woods. I pulled on my red sweatshirt, wrapped up Michael in his favorite bumblebee blanket, scooped him up, and we headed for the door. Our lodging lay a mere ten feet from the edge of the forest. Though my parents didn’t own the forest, it was practically our backyard.

When we got a little deeper into the woods I put Michael down and let him run in the path. He looked so happy. I remember him toddling into a sunbeam. He looked back at me to make sure I was still there. The sun beam seemed to be absorbed by his dark brown skin. We spent hours in the forest that day. When the sun began to sink into the horizon, Michael and I began our trek back to the house. Our house had just became visible when I heard a siren go off. All of the lights in the town went out simultaneously. Everyone knew what this meant; a bomb was traveling overhead with the intent of decimating our little town. I started to run to the house. We needed to get to the cellar, the only place that was remotely safe during a raid. We were about five feet from the edge of the forest when a mob of men, women, and children came running towards us. I was about to run to the house when I heard this being shouted,

“The cellars aren't stable,”

Then another voice chimed,

“run deep in the forest,”.

I started to run back into the forest, and soon I strayed from the path. I knew where to go. At the heart of the forest was a tree so old no one in the town could remember when it had not been there. I reached the old oak tree and crouched at the base of the trunk. I wrapped Michael in his blanket and held him close. I sang him to sleep and awaited the blast. I didn’t see the rest of my family in the mass of fleeing people. Unless they somehow got to another wildlife reserve, they have been dead for years. I don’t remember the blast itself, I must have blacked out. I just know the forest saved me.

I had reached the base of The Crater. The acidic smoke that had formed into The Reaper boiled in the pit. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I had no way to fight The Reaper, and no way to retrieve Michael.

“Katherine,” a deep voice boomed.

Startled at the sound of my name, I lost my footing and fell over the edge of the Crater. I tumbled down the pit, scratching my face and hands on the rough wall. By the time I had stopped moving I was covered in dirt from the fall. I felt the effect of the smoke immediately. My throat tightened up and I was thrown into a coughing fit. I was doubled over in pain. The smoke affected people differently. Despite gasping for air, I had to push forward, Michael needed me. The faster I found Michael, the greater chance he and I had of surviving. I couldn’t see where I was walking. I rolled my ankle on a rock collapsed on the ground. I gasped and choked. I forced myself to my feet and walked forward. A small shape began to form a few feet in front of me.

“Michael,” I shouted, though I knew the sound would just dissipate in the acrid air.

I walked until I could reach my brother. He was knocked out cold but I could feel he still had a pulse. His close were just rags now, having been infected by the smoke. Though I could see they had been enough to protect his skin. I scooped him up, slung him over my back and began to climb up the hill, my body still seizing from coughing. Black smoke sailed through the air, seeking Michael. It didn't seem to notice me. Did it know I was there at all? I tried again to climb out of The Crater but the Reaper surrounded us. Black tendrils wound around Michael like vines. His eyes remained closed his breath quickened and he began to wheeze, the air was poison.

Again I tried to pull us up out of the Reaper's reach. I found that though I could move Michael remained suspended, held in place. I pulled with all my might but gained not an inch. I pulled and pulled at him but all my strength was worthless. What could I possibly do? I could never leave him but if I stayed here much longer I would never be able to leave. I could never give him up. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. I shuddered, sobbing, and my skin burned but I refused to let go. My tears landed on the black smoke and the tendril broke then mended itself. I continued to sob, there was nothing else to do. I rocked Michael back and forth and threw my head back. To my surprise a dark grey cloud passed over the sun and it began to pour. Every drop of rain met the reaper and disintegrated it just for a moment. I pulled Michael free and hoisted him onto my hip. The reaper rebuilt itself every time it fell apart but it was much slower and more clumsy. As I climbed it tried to latch on to Michael again and again but this time I was too fast for it. I reached the top and scurried away from the crater, placing my unconscious brother far away from the smoke. We both took a deep breath of the clean air. The whole sky turned grey and the rain beat down The Reaper until there was nothing left to reform, nothing left to resurrect. Until only fresh air and the sound of the beautiful storm remained.