With Love

Syd was so close to reaching the little tomato she had spotted, but it seemed to be eluding her grasp on purpose just to piss her off. Her perch was precarious as she stood on some abandoned apartment’s balcony railing, but it was the only clear way she saw to reach it. “Come on,” she muttered under her breath. She knew this was risky, being up here. Hell, even being in the city was risky right now. Or at least what’s left of it. Sundown is at best in 20 minutes and the Raiders would be out then, seeking to steal and destroy. But this was an opportunity she could not resist, there are only so many fresh things hanging on desperately to their lives. And she would have this one if it killed her, and she knew it might. Just as she finally grasped the little round morsel in her fingers, she heard the familiar clanging of the Raiders brigade. Her heart dropped to her stomach, and she quickly rolled off the railing and through a busted window into the dark apartment complex, taking care to be quiet. She knew they would be out, but she hadn’t expected them to be so close already. They must be starting earlier, she thought to herself. The clanging sound came closer, and she saw some lights flashing towards the window. Shit, they must see the hanging pot. She knew it would be dangerous to move but at this point it was looking like the only option, she crouched low and made her way to the back of the apartment, turning into a smaller room. Sparing a small glance around it seemed to once have been a bedroom to a young girl. I guess the Raiders had no use for these things, it makes sense why they are still here. It reminded her vaguely of her own room as a child, of days long lost to time and the state of things. Shaking her head slightly to rid herself of the memories, she crouched down now behind the little bed frame. She needed to focus on her situation. She wanted to know if they were gone, but she didn’t dare get close to the window. Things were dark and quiet, she found herself searching around the room with her eyes. A glint of gold just at the corner of the bed frame she was beside caught her gaze, so she picked it up. In her hand lay a small golden locket, shaped like a heart. Normally she didn’t pick things up that weren’t useful to her, but something told her she should open it. Inside was a photo of a man and a woman, and engraved in tiny letters were the words, “With Love, Mom & Dad” studying the locket intently she heard a loud bang and jolted so hard she hit her head on the wall. Her breath caught; she thought they had moved on from the window but then she heard the loud groan of the wrought iron balcony cringe under their weight. They had not left, and now they were climbing.

She had very few moments to process her options, on one hand if she got up to run, they could hear or see her and on the other hand if she didn’t make an exit quickly, she was done for. Taking a deep breath and preparing to dart as fast as she could through the rest of the apartment, she tried to steel her nerves. Almost as a reflex she put the necklace in her pocket before she almost leapt for the door, only to find herself staring right into the jaws of a Raider. She had never seen one this close before, and she was glad. The sight was harrowing to take in, its flesh was black and almost falling off the toothy, slack jaw expression and loose around its eye sockets that housed its white, dead eyes. The smell was staggering. It almost seemed surprised that she was there, which made sense since most of the population that managed to survive migrated to the shelters up north. Out of the corner of her eye there was a staircase and taking advantage of the thing’s slight bewilderment she took her chance and threw herself down the stairs to the right of it. She thudded down hard to the bottom and felt a sharp pain in her left arm but spared no time to look back and bolted out of the back of the apartment building. It was only a matter of seconds before they would be in pursuit. She was running faster than she ever had before, but she could hear them now. She needed to hide. Why am I even running, she thought to herself suddenly. I have nothing to live for anymore. Which was morbid, albeit true, she was simply surviving for surviving’s sake. Don’t be melodramatic Syd, this is not the way you want to go. Amongst her macabre thoughts she was beginning to lose her breath, her lungs were stinging, and she was brought back to her reality just in time to see the warning signs for a mine that was abandoned long before the Fall. Not ideal, but it could work. Speeding past the first couple of openings she saw a rather hidden one, maybe used as a storage area before, and she dove down it without looking. She must have slid 25 feet before thudding to a stop. Trying to listen, she crept out of the light of the hole. She heard some scuttling around, but she was fairly sure they had given up pursuit. She tried to steady her breathing, and eventually she drifted off within the dark of the cavern.

When she awoke, she was so sore she could barely stand, so she took a little while to try and stretch out otherwise climbing back up that hole was not going to happen. As she was staring at the earth walls from inside of the mine, she found herself thinking of the time before. Before everything went to hell in a handbasket, that is. At least that is what her mother would have said. Syd and her mother hadn’t always gotten along but she would give anything to see her again. She remembered the first case of the Rot announced on the news, around three years after the last plants withered. It started on your arms or legs or something, and then it ate away at you until there was nothing left. Must be why they were always so ravenous to consume. They had never really understood why it took some and not others, but it took them in other ways soon enough. Once it had consumed the human’s thought, all prey were fair game. Her parents included. She supposed maybe she is surviving for them to have not died for nothing. She felt the weight in her pocket, and it broke her train of thought for a moment. That’s right, the locket I stole. Well, it wasn’t really stolen, was it? No, merely found. She pulled it out and looked at it again, the photos inside. Someone’s parents. If they were from here there is a small chance they might still be around, at the shelters. Syd had not made the journey to the shelters with the small group of survivors, because she did not think that was much way to live. In a hole forever. Ironic, given that she was currently in a hole in the ground, hiding. It might take a day to get there if I am able to catch the train, there was a crossing not too far. She would attempt to return the locket. As she was attempting to climb back into daylight, she was bitterly reminded of how hard she landed on her arm the night before. There was a noticeable twinge in her elbow. Panting and sweating she made it to the top and rolled out into the open, catching her breath. She had a few miles to walk so she needed to get going to make it onto the train before dark. As she made her way there, she found herself wondering if this was a fool’s errand. What if the shelter had been overtaken already? By Raiders or just ill-meaning groups of people, even. She stopped for a moment. Doesn’t matter, keep going, there is nothing for you here either. That is true, she had long since given up trying to inhabit her old home, and she hasn’t seen anyone else around here since Nate. She didn’t want to think about him right now, but it was hard not to. She had only known him for a short while before he showed signs of the Rot. It’s a wonder he was able to stave it off for so long in the first place, eventually he too, succumbed. She met him long after everyone else had gone, possibly abandoned. He was around thirteen she thought. A deep ache spread through her chest when she allowed herself to call up his image. Just thirteen. The train came into sight, and she was lucky it was passing now or else she would have had to wait for the night train. She started to run so she could make it into one of the rear cars, she saw an opening that looked like it was housing straw or something. Of course, it must be something I’m allergic to; She thought to herself as she got to the tracks and leapt for the car, barely making it in time. She settled in as far from the hay as she could get, which was difficult since the car was full of hay. She suddenly remembered her tomato! She pulled it from her pocket, and it was slightly smushed, but still surprisingly good. She ate the little tomato and tried to sing songs and not think of the past until she arrived at the shelters. She saw the markers and hopped out of the still moving car and rolled down a hillside. Arriving at the shelters felt surreal to her. She never thought she would allow herself to come here and hide from reality, as grim as it had become. There were huge metal doors in a large hillside, outside were two gunmen. “Hello,” She stated meekly. “I’m from the last standing city in the east. I wonder if there might be rooms for me?” “Certainly.” Spoke one of the men curtly. “Always room, but we’ll have to search your belongings.” “I haven’t got many, search away,” As the men searched her pockets and small sack, they came across the locket. “Nifty little piece, isn’t it?” Remarked the guard, lifting it up. The other man looked shocked and reached to snatch the necklace from his hand. “Where did you get this?” He asked me hurriedly. “I found it in an abandoned building, sir.” He opened the locket as tears welled in his eyes, spilling over onto his jacket. “My Luna,” He sobbed. “The locket was my Luna’s,” “I’m very sorry,” I tried to sound sympathetic. “Was Luna your daughter?” “Yes” He replied through his sobs, “This photo here is my wife, Melinda. She was lost to the rot along with my Luna.” “I’m so sorry” I too began to tear up. “I lost my parents to Raiders after the Fall.” “My dear girl, you’ve come such a long way all alone. Thank you for bringing this here to me.” He hugged her suddenly and fiercely, she found herself leaning into it, and feeling the only sort of comfort she had felt for a long time. She couldn’t help but think that fate had hand in many things after all, and that it was a good thing she had picked up that locket. She understood that this was a community now, not just a hole in the ground. She felt warmth.