Post Apocalypse Part Two

. If you were going to accept charity from anyone, you’d want to make sure they weren’t trying to kill you first. If there were less people, there were more resources to go around. That meant that there was more for them. Ethics was clearly out of play here. I didn’t want to be in this overpriced loft anymore; I wanted to go back to the compound, where the people were familiar to me.

Max came back over and touched my shoulder. I shivered when he whispered in my ear, “Are you ok with this? Should I walk you home?” He stepped back and looked at me with those weird green brown eyes of his. What could I possibly say to that? The look on his face was too neutral for me to tell what he wanted me to do.

“I think I’m just going to go home. I’m pretty tired. I ran fifteen miles today.” I took off my hat and let my long ponytail fall down my back. I heard a small gasp come from Max, but I didn’t say anything. He probably wasn’t used to it still, seeing me look like an actual girl.

“Ok. Come on, I’ll walk you.” We headed back the way we came after Max told his parents he was leaving. It was dark outside now, to where the moonlight was the only thing illuminating our surroundings. I liked this time of night. There was always this weird kind of silence that shrouded our town in mystery. It wasn’t eerie, just peaceful. We climbed down the fire escape. Max hit the ground first. “Ok, be careful. Don’t—“ My hand slipped, and I fell through the air. He caught me right before I hit the ground, “fall.” He set me down while he chuckled.

“I was perfectly capable of catching myself, Max. You didn’t have to do that.” I brushed off my pants, a little flustered.

He crossed his arms, letting a sly grin spread across his face. “So that’s why I caught you huh? That’s why you slipped and fell?” I rubbed my face.

“Let’s just go.” I said.


Chapter 4:
Max

We walked in silence for a little bit. I think she was still mad about me catching her, because she didn’t want to admit that she would’ve smacked the ground if I hadn’t. What made her want to be so independent? Why couldn’t I be like that? In a way I envied her, and then I didn’t. I loved how she would rather do something by herself, that she didn’t need anybody to do anything for her. But then, everyone needs someone. How could she go through her life insisting that she didn’t? It was true that I hadn’t known her for very long but, I already knew that much about her. I was still pretty sure that she hated me…that she wanted nothing to do with me. Who was I to stand in the way of that?

I scuffed my shoes on the sidewalk, unsure of what to say. She didn’t look like she wanted to talk to me. The fact that my family was at the loft made her uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame her. I’d be tired if I ran fifteen miles too. “Why didn’t you want to have dinner with us?”

She sighed. “I’m just not used to it. I haven’t had a family in a long time and…I’m not ready for it right now. Maybe some other time,” Her face fell, like all her memories came back at once.

“I was going to ask you about something…it had to do with your family…” I trailed off. If I was going to ask her about her father…I was going to have to do it now. There wasn’t any other option. It was either break her heart by asking her about her father, or let down my own family because I’m a coward.

What do I do?

“What is it?” She asked. Her blue eyes reminded me of translucent marbles, or pieces of the sky during the day. They weren’t really a color at all, but just the slightest hint of blue. How could I betray a face like that? She shouldn’t be hurt like that again.

I bit my tongue. “It’s nothing I…can ask later.” I just ruined the chance to restore order to humanity, to make the world right again. All for this girl. Before, I never would’ve done anything like that; I didn’t consider myself to be a compassionate person. Something changed, and it was because of her.

“Fine.” She took her hair out of her ponytail, and I wanted to gasp. She’d noticed me gasp before, back at the loft but I wondered why she didn’t say anything. Maybe she got embarrassed. “You’re staring at me.” She waved her hand in front of my face.

I quickly glanced the other way, a bit embarrassed that she caught me looking. “Um, sorry. I just haven’t seen you like that. I remember when I attacked you; I thought that you were actually a guy because you fought back so much. I wasn’t expecting for you to be so…”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She shook her head, slightly confused.

“I didn’t expect for you to look the way you do.” I shrugged, trying to make it seem like it was nothing. I thought she was beautiful, but I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that.

Dusty raised her eyebrows curiously. “How do I look?”

“I can’t describe it. I know that I’ve never seen anyone that looks like you. When we still went to school…I never saw you around. Why is that?”

Her expression faltered. “I was homeschooled since freshman year. My Dad was getting further with his business and they thought that school was getting to be too much. Well…public school anyway. I didn’t want to be away from my friends, and I think I missed out on all those crucial moments in high school. I never got to have a boyfriend…never got to go to prom. I never gossiped to my friends about who got pregnant in our class first. None of it.”

I smacked an old light post. “I never would have expected for you to want any of those things. You don’t seem like the kind of person to engage in any of that.”

She smiled. “I never told you that I used to be a lot different, did I?” Dusty looked down at the ground, attempting to collect her thoughts. “I was popular before. I never used to go to school without having makeup on or my hair done. I was nice before…I was another person. After my parents died I had to fend for myself I guess…and that made me into who I am now.” She smiled, but there was something else behind it. Sadness maybe? Emptiness?

“I don’t know who you are now…” I said quietly. She stopped walking and sat down on a bench. I plopped down beside her, and she tilted her head to the side. “You beat me up, that doesn’t mean I know you.” I let my hands fall into my lap.

Dusty pursed her lips. “Sure. That’s a valid point.” She said with a laugh. “But I’ve beat up plenty of people before, Max.”

Somehow I knew she was telling the truth. Why would she lie to me anyway? What did she have to gain from that? She struck me as the kind of person who only lied when she needed to to get what she wanted. I didn’t think that this was one of those times. It certainly didn’t seem as though she was playing me to get something she wanted. But was I doing that to her? Was I a terrible person for trying to get info out of her? “I uh…I guess this is it huh? I won’t see you again after you walk into that compound?” I asked.

Dusty stopped abruptly, like she was pulled back by strings. My eyes wandered to her wrists just to make sure. “Why are you saying that?”

“I’m assuming you don’t like me, and there is nothing I can offer to you. You clearly don’t need my assistance so….” I turned on my heel with my back to her. I hesitated, waiting for something anything that indicated that she wanted me to stay. I squeezed my eyes shut and before I knew it, I was walking away from her.

No, I don’t want this. I want to stay. Give me a reason not to leave.

I heard tiny footsteps behind me, and I stopped. I felt her standing behind me, her breathing was shallow. We didn’t say anything for an eternity, or at least that’s what it felt like. Dusty’s hand clamped around my wrist. “Don’t go yet,” She said.

I turned a little. “You actually want me to stay? I thought you hated me. I thought that all you wanted was for me to go away.”

She sighed. “Can I tell you something Max?” I didn’t answer, just waited for her to say something. “You’re the only one that I’ve actually had a real conversation with since that night.” Her words shocked me, I wanted to turn around and comfort her. I just stood there, motionless. What could I possibly say to that?




Chapter 5:
Dusty

There were so many memories at the bridge just a few miles away. The metal skeleton towering above our heads, threatening to collapse on top of us. I thought it looked a little dangerous, tired even. It didn’t need cars driving back and forth on it every day. But then, that was its intended purpose, and that’s what my family was doing. We’d just left from my birthday party at my house. Family friends had been there, but none of my extended family. No one that was related to me came, because they all lived too far away. It was a little depressing, but that’s what being isolated from the world got you. No family besides your parents and this so called brother that lived a few states away.

I was in the backseat of our car, aware that it could explode at any moment. I think my Dad had salvaged the last of the useable gas in the entire city, just so we could get out of town. My mother had begged for me to go with them, but I wanted to stay in town. I wanted to wait this whole thing out. It would have been ok if we had just waited. We were nearing the bridge, the one that we used to go to to stare at the night sky. My mother shoved a bag beside me. “Dusty, I want you to listen very carefully,” she gazed at me, tears in her eyes. “I want you to take this bag, and walk back into town. You have everything you need in here to survive, so do that. Survive, Dusty.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you talking about? You sound crazy.”

She shook her head. “We love you, so that’s why we’re doing this. Your brother is in Colorado if you need him.” I watched as she rolled down my window. This was getting stranger by the minute. Why was she talking like that? Why was she saying all these things to me? My Dad put his foot on the gas, accelerating to the point where I got queasy. He jerked the wheel to the right, gunning for the space where there wasn’t anything protecting us from falling over the edge. Alarms went off in my head. This is wrong. He shouldn’t be trying to drive off the bridge.

“Dad, stop. What are you doing? Stop the car right now. Dad!” I screamed when we went off the bridge, the front of the car taking a nosedive into the water. It was so dark; it was like being enveloped by a black curtain. We cut through the water, the metal groaning as our car started to fill with liquid ice. My veins froze over, and I shivered. I coughed as I ripped off my seatbelt. “Guys, get out! What are you doing just sitting there?” I shook my mom’s shoulders.

She turned, and gave me the scariest look I’ve ever seen in my life. It was like she wanted this, and honestly, it looked like Dad wanted it too. “Get out, Dusty. We’re doing this for you.” I shook my head, putting the backpack on my shoulders. I waded through the murky water in my seat. I placed my hands on the edge of the window, looking back only for a moment. Neither of them glanced back at me, just waited for their demise. I was too busy trying to escape to cry out for them. I went head first into the unknown, but there was so much pressure that I almost didn’t make it out of the car. It was trying to pull me down with it, but I kept fighting.

I was swimming for what seemed like hours. We’d sunken quite a bit, more than I’d realized. My lungs were beginning to burn from the lack of oxygen. A part of me wanted to stop swimming, because I doubted that I’d have enough air to get to the surface. I thrashed, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. I opened my eyes under the water, but it was too dark to see anything. I swam upwards, hoping that I’d make it in time. When I broke the surface I coughed and gagged, attempting to get air into my lungs. I was right under the bridge, right next to where my father had driven off the road. They were insane. When I turned in a circle and didn’t see anything under the water I shook my head. There was no point trying to save people who didn’t want to be saved.

I swam over to land, collapsing when I made it. The muscles in my thighs kept tightening, but I hardly noticed. I was too shocked to care. My parents had just taken a nosedive off the bridge. They were under the water right now, drowning. They were probably gone already. I punched the ground hysterically. How could they do that to me? How could they leave me with nothing? I’d never even met my brother, so why would I go to him anyway? Why would I put my trust in a stranger? I wringed out the water in my hair, then stood. I’d have to walk back into town in the middle of the night with no one by my side. That was the thing that scared me the most.

My face was sore from crying on the way back. It had looked normal before, the streets of my town. The place I’d lived my whole life. I could hear explosions and screaming in the distance, and that made me wonder how much could actually happen in a few hours. I had guessed that it wouldn’t be that bad, but I was terribly wrong. I had missed by a long shot. Cars were lined up on the streets, either on fire or already burnt to a crisp. There were people I’d never even seen before on the ground, writhing. What had happened to them? Why did they look so sick? Some were yelling not to turn their cars on, or anything that used gasoline out of the fear of a potential explosion.

I kept walking past all the stores that were being robbed, past all the fights in the streets, feeling numb and confused. Why did I care about any of them anyway? It wasn’t like they could console me after I had to watch my parents die. They didn’t understand; all they wanted from me was the stuff on my back. Even so, I had no clue what was in the backpack to begin with. My eyes were burning, much like the flames all around me. My house wasn’t too far away, so that’s where I intended to go first. I trudged up my driveway, but halted when I heard voices. “Where do you think they went?” One asked.

“I don’t know, but if you find them, kill them. They’re the ones responsible for this.” My eyes widened, and I ran around the side of the house. My back hit the wall hard, and I cringed. They were looking for me, my family. No doubt my parents. If they found me, I’d be dead for sure. I wasn’t about to question their strength. I jumped over the fence, sprinting to our storm shelter. I punched in a code and jumped inside. I quietly closed the door, making sure that no one heard me. Surely they wouldn’t think to look here.

It was pitch black with the door closed, and it took a long time to find a flashlight. I shined it around, but it didn’t look much different than it had a few years ago. There was enough room for a small bunk bed and the space around it, but that was about it. I found some spare clothes in the corner, quickly changing out of my wet ones. I grabbed every blanket I could and wrapped them around me. I needed someone, anyone to comfort me. I pulled my legs into my chest, rocking back and forth until I couldn’t stand it.

About an hour later I heard the voices outside again. They were approaching the shelter, and soon, they were beating on the door, telling whoever was in there to get out. I was just hoping they didn’t know how to open the door. I covered my head, praying for them to go away, to just leave me alone. The banging ceased after ten minutes, and I heard them say that they were going to come back tomorrow and try again. I’d be gone by the time they got back. Sleep was the only thing on my mind after they left. Well, that, and my parents.

When I woke up it was still dark. It took a long time to be able to open the door, because I didn’t realize how tired my body was. It was like I couldn’t get my body to move, to work on its own. I glanced around, hoping the men I heard last night weren’t still here. I snuck up to my back door, noticing that it was already open. I was just going to get a few things and be on my way. There was no reason to stay here anymore. There was nothing left for me here, not without my parents. But it was their fault for leaving me, for isolating me like this. I was never going to forgive them, never going to be the same person who loved her parents.

My house was a wreck. There were glass shards everywhere, and our TV was on the floor. Most of the food in our cabinets was gone, and the fridge had been left open all night, or that was my assumption. I went up to my room to gather a few things I wanted to take with me. I changed into new clothes and a few minutes later I heard a loud noise downstairs. Footsteps clamored up the stairs and my door flew open. The man had shoved me against the wall before I even had the chance to scream for help. “Where’s your parents, little girl?” His breath assaulted my nose, and it took everything I had not to cringe.

“They’re dead…” I said quietly.