INTO NOTHING

INTO NOTHING

There was nothing. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing. Nothing but a desolate, flattened canopy of what used to be a town. Even the air was still; as though all the wind had been sucked out of the atmosphere. The only evidence of life was the steady, crunching of boots belonging to the young woman journeying down the crumbling, dirt road. The crisp, autumn air filled her lungs, and she exhaled in large puffs closely resembling cigarette smoke. A fleeting image flashed wistfully across her mind of her and another girl splayed on the grass, sharing a stolen cigarette between them. As they passed it back and forth, they also exchanged hopes, dreams, and the occasional sneaky kiss.

The woman gave her head a quick jerk, shaking the memory violently from her mind, and continued on her path through the silent ruins. Silence...it was a sound with which she had become very familiar. She hadn't seen another living soul since...well, since it happened.

She adjusted her straps quickly on her shoulders, and hastened her steps. Though she couldn't see anything, that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't something...or, hopefully, someone, to be seen.

It was hard to make sense of exactly where she was. Although she'd grown up in the town - and had at one point known it like the back of her hand - the complete destruction of everything she'd known had her more than slightly disoriented. However, it wasn't long before she turned onto a derelict street when she saw it; and the small, glimmering light that had kept her hopeful was extinguished. Although she had suspected deep in her heart what she would find, she still had to see it for herself.

The woman didn't realize it, but she had begun running as soon as it was in sight. Just as absently, when she reached it, she collapsed, not even registering the pain in her knees. For the first time in almost six months, the woman opened her mouth and let out a sound.

A desperate, anguished cry erupted from her hoarse throat. While not very powerful, it travelled far across the silence; and at this point, it was painfully clear, nobody was around to hear it.

For the first time, she cried.

She cried and cried, shoulders heaving, the physical evidence of her grief flowing freely from her eyes and nose. For once, since the entire event had happened, she allowed herself to mourn.

She grabbed wildly under her shirt, and clasped her hand around a small, silver pendant. She slipped it off, and clutched it with both hands to her chest, rocking herself back and forth. It was a long time before the woman finally stilled, and her sobs subsided into agonized silence.

She raised her now aching head, and through swollen, puffy eyes admired what was left of the sculpture in front of her. Even in it's near demolished state, it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. If only she'd noticed before...

She lowered her gaze to her now unclenched hands, and opened the heart shaped locket in her grasp. Inside were two pictures; one of her, and one of another, very attractive, red headed woman. She stared at the photo for a long time, gently running her dirty finger over the small inscription on the back;

FOREVER YOURS

EMMA + AIYSHA

"I'm so sorry I never appreciated your art." The words were raspy, and almost startled her. She didn't even recognize her own voice. "I'm sorry I ever fought with you about putting this," she looked briefly back up at the damaged sculpture, "on our front lawn. It's beautiful...just like you." Her voice cracked on the last word, and she stopped, taking almost a full minute to regain her composure.

"I made it, ya know. I made it through hell week, and I didn't even do the worst. Some guys needed crutches after..." She drifted off, thinking of all those she'd left behind.

"I...I don't understand, Em. I don't understand what happened. One minute, I was in the bunker and the next, I-I," Aiysha's voice trembled, and her head slightly shook, her brain still unable to make sense of the events of almost six months ago. "...there wasn't even a warning. I couldn't even open the door for the first two weeks, something had fallen and jammed it..." her voice trailed off again, and what felt like the last of the water in her body welled up in her eyes.

"I hope it was painless for you. I hope you didn't suffer, and I-… I hope…” she paused to swallow, “I hope you didn't see it coming...I know whatever it was...was bad. I haven't seen anyone… or, anything since it happened. Even the animals are all gone. The only other living thing I've found are bugs, and now that winter's coming..." Like a jump start to her brain, that thought clicked her back into gear. The time for emotions was over.

She wiped her face, took a precious swig of water from her canteen, and stood up.

"I'm trying to make my way to another military base. There's one further south that might have enough supplies to keep me going, and hopefully some better weather. I don't know if I'll make it, but..." Aiysha shrugged, "not a whole lotta options right now. With any luck there'll be other survivors." She once again adjusted the straps of her bag, slipped the locket back around her neck, and tucked it safely inside her shirt. She looked at the remains of where their house once stood, and gently touched the piece of twisted black metal that was once part of her wife's art.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here. I know you never wanted me to enlist, and maybe if I hadn't I could've done something..." She felt her eyes stinging again, and took a deep, steadying breath before continuing, "or at the very least, I woulda been here - with you - and we could've died together."

She dropped her hand from the broken sculpture, and stepped back.

"I'm sorry, I didn't bring flowers. Even if I'd planned on finding...this," her voice caught slightly, and she cleared her throat, "...there wouldn't have been anything for me to bring. Everything's dead." As the words were leaving her mouth, the emotion in her voice dissipated, and the stinging behind her eyes stopped. Like a flicked switch, her face hardened, and the aching in her heart ceased.

She turned around, and started to walk, leaving her home and pain behind her. Emma was nothing more than a memory now, and there was no point in wasting energy - or water - focusing on that. By the time she reached the end of the street, the sick knot in her stomach had already begun to loosen. Time to move on.

To what, exactly? She honestly didn't know. It hardly mattered at this point. Hopefully to something better than this. Until then, she would just keep walking, and walking; into the unknown.

Into nothing.