The Shore Line

I've walked alone for a while now, my gasmask growing heavier with each step. Finally, I’ve reached the ocean. There’s no one else here, just me and my footsteps. The sea looked like razors, swallowing up the coastline. They grew and splattered themselves along the rocks before disappearing to where they came from. The rocky coast was littered with toxic-colored seaweeds that glowed an off-green. The wind was heavy and pushed against the layers under my coat. It was wet and salty, and it condensed and formed crystallized droplets across my hairline.

Once again, I found nothing. Just like everywhere else this place was cold and barren and harbored no hope for humanity. Life here, as I could see, was very scarce and sickly. I could tell the air was acidic, and without my mask, my lungs would burn. The ground crumbled into sand as I walked upon it, and blew high into the atmosphere.

Day after day I search, trying to find a safe zone where life might thrive, but as days turn to months and months turn to years, I was starting to lose hope. I realized long ago that this was our doing and now we are paying the price for everything we’ve done wrong. Humanity was one of the shortest-lived species on the globe, and yet in a blink of an eye we poisoned the soils with lead, turned our lakes into acid, and filled the air with lethal gasses. The rains were now filled with acid that dissolved buildings over time, and super storms rain triumphant over the globe. Most cities are now uninhabitable after being littered with nuclear debris that has poisoned more lives than I could ever count. It was clear from the start that we were doomed and that we deserved our extinction. Yet I kept looking for my haven. I didn’t know if I was selfish or just optimistic, but I wanted to live. I wanted to live to see mother nature rise up from the depths and conquer the world once again. I want to see a better tomorrow, if there is one.

There was now a storm rolling in from over the sea. The air sparked with great intensity that lit up everything for miles around. The thunder that followed shook the ground with so much force that my legs gave out. I stumbled to find my footing, as I headed for shelter in the cliffs. I’ve seen these kinds of storms before. They don’t last long but they are lethal, reaching high speed winds that could rip any exposed skin to shreds in an instant. The wind would soon pick up and send bits of debris flying across the terrain. I found a nook just in time. It was big enough for me to sit in with my pack where I could wait for the storm to pass. I began searching my pack and pulled out a water bottle and some ‘fig newtons’. I had only a bit of supplies left and would need to make my way to the ruins of a town or city to replenish soon.

“How long could I keep this up, thought?”. One day I might discover that there is no more food for me to scavenge. All the box stores will have to run out of supplies eventually, and every year it gets harder to find those resources. It seems like that will be the end of me, and with very few surviving forests and farms, I will eventually starve. That’s why I have to find a place that’s undamaged from the super storms and toxic gasses. It’s difficult, especially when the poison seems to seep its way into everything. I need to find somewhere where life can still thrive and flourish. A place where it’s safe to breath the air, and plant crops. If I could find that place, I would protect it from pollutions and create a safe haven for others like me: people who just want a second chance to start over again. I could do it. I have the seeds and the know-how. I have the ability; all I need is a chance.

The wind died down and the lightning flickered far over the horizon. It was time for me to move on now to the northern part of the coast. I lowered myself from the hovel in the cliff. While descending the slopes, I tripped on a patch of loose stones and rolled about six feet from the rocky embankment. My mask went flying a few inches in front of me as my body crashed into the sand. The salt in the air was thick and inflamed my eyes and stung my nostrils as I inhaled a small portion of air. I held my breath and crawled just enough to reached for my mask. As I picked it up and placed it back on my face, I caught a fate glint out of the corner of my eye. I secured my mask, and then I brushed sand out of the way from where I had seen the silvery light. Under the charcoal sand was a line of delicate silver chain. I picked the chain up with my finger and on the other end was a heart shaped locket. It looked untouched, and must have been made of a non-tarnishable metal to have survived these conditions. I turned it in my palm and it clicked open, inside was a fold of paper. I placed the pendant down and opened the fold. Inside was Morse code written in pen. The code was coordinates that said ‘five degrees south, eight degrees north, south California. Come, safe.’

I was shocked, and couldn’t believe my eyes. I pulled out my map and compass, which I kept protected in a plastic-covering to prevent it from being damaged. I checked the coordinates. I knew California was a city, but according to my map there was a large forested area. The only question was, was it actually safe? My gut screamed yes and I realized how tired I was of endlessly searching. “This could be destiny” I pondered as I put my gear away.

My mind wrapped itself with all the possibilities, good and bad. I sat on the shore contemplating until I finally picked myself off the sooty sand. “I’ve made my decision.” “I’ve walked more than half the continent in the last six years looking for a place to live and I have nothing to lose anymore. One day I will parish and the world will keep moving on with out me. If there is any chance this was real, I want to go for it.”

I decided that I would follow these coordinates in hope that there is a place for me. I threw my pack onto my back and walked up the coast, and decided to leave the locket on a branch of a petrified tree that over looked the shore line. The pebbles crumbled under the weight of my feet, and the sound of the waves faded into the distance. Just like before, I walked alone, but this time with hope as I made my way to my destiny.