Miles sat criss-cross, the veins of the tree behind him digging into his spine. One of his oozing blistered feet sat gripped in his hand as he lightly rubbed it. His face wore a look of anguish as his fingers lightly danced over the sores.
"You think he's almost back?" Beck asked, poking one of her puss-filled blisters slightly aggressively. She had been resting on a tree across from the boy, surrounded by tall purple flowers she rested her feet on to buffer them from the hard dirt below. Surprisingly, the softness seemed to be making her feet feel better, making her anxious for the ointment promised by her old friend, who she was hoping was on his way back.
"I don't know," he said, turning to watch her play with her blood-soaked feet.
"How can you touch them like that?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Not sure, just doesn't hurt that bad anymore I guess," she said, shrugging, like the pain was a slight bee sting that she had simply gotten used to. Miles' stomach curled watching her poke and prod at her swollen and wounded feet.
Beck felt cold; her eyes fixed on a single large tree in the distance. Her mind trailed darker the longer she stared. Thoughts of her family filled her head; would she ever see them again? Was everyone she loved truly dead or were they surviving somewhere like her? She didn't like this feeling, the kind of helplessness that floods your body. Tears swelled in her glossy eyes as her mind filled with scenarios of what may have happened to her family. A few tears managed to escape, wondering if this was why she didn't feel pain. Was she strictly numb? Was this her body's way of shielding her from the anguish she was sure to feel when she processed everything? Everything felt out of reach and she felt completely and utterly out of control.
"Is this it for us?" She asked, lifting her head to reveal her puffy red face.
"No, we're alive. we made it. Now we just have to survive," Miles replied, wiping a tear from her cheek.
"How can we survive this, any of it?" She asked, with pain and fear in her voice.
"Easy. As long as we have each other we can make it. As long as I have you, I will make it." He replied as a smile grew across his dirt-covered face. She smiled slightly as her eyes continued to well up. The pair stared at each other for a moment. The air surrounding them grew stagnant and quiet as the rest of the world for a moment faded from existence.
The day around them grew dark, any sense of time they had, was now fleeting. Eventually, they scooted closer to one another and found themselves leaning in and kissing.
"Hope I'm not interrupting," Ace called out, clearing his throat dramatically. Miles and Beck jumped back away from each other both of their faces red with embarrassment as she quickly wiped her tears from her face.
"Whoa, sorry didn't mean to kill the mood or anything," He said, chuckling to himself.
"Why were you gone for so long?" Beck asked, wiping saliva from her lip.
"Well, that's kind of the problem." He replied, scratching the back of his head.
"What problem?" Miles asked, confused.
"I went the rest of the way to the cabin for a first aid kit and some shoes," He said.
"Okay, we knew that," Miles replied.
"Well, when I got there it was...gone," He continued.
"What do you mean gone?"
"I mean fucking gone. It was there and now it's like a magic trick, the only things left behind were a few pieces of paper, a couple of pieces of my dad's custom furniture, and some clothes," Ace said, attempting to make sense of the situation.
"Well, a cabin can't just get up and walk away," Miles said skeptically.
"Listen, all I know is it was there when I came to find y'all and now it's like it never existed in the first place," he said, confused.
"Were you able to get us some bandages?" Beck asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, I found a first aid kit, some shoes, and a couple of shirts you guys can wear," he said, handing the items over to them. He sat defeated in the dirt, placing his hands on his knees and staring down at the ground. Miles and Beck wasted no time, opening the kit, pulling out aloe vera, a couple of bandages, and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol. Beck started first by gently rubbing her sore feet with the aloe vera before soaking them in alcohol and dressing them with bandages showing no reaction to what should've been a deep searing pain.
Miles followed suit rubbing the aloe on his feet and soaking them in alcohol as well. His face cringed as his feet began to burn intensely.
"Fuck, that fucking hurts," He said, clenching his jaw so tight, he thought he'd break a tooth.
Eventually, the searing pain lessened and he could dress his feet before gently sliding them into his new pair of shoes.
"What do we do now then?" He asked, pulling the back of his shoe over his heel.
"I say we make our way to where the cabin was, sort through what's still there, salvage what we can, and set up camp," Ace said, standing from his spot in the dirt.
"How do we know anything there will be worth saving?" Beck asked, tightening the laces on her new black and purple boots.
"Whatever is left there is more than we have here. It's worth giving it a shot," He replied, shrugging.
"I'll take whatever we can get," Miles chimed in, standing up and admiring his new shoes. "I feel so much better already."
"If you're in, then so am I," the third agreed, giving a thumbs up.
"It's settled, to the cabin we go - or what's left anyway," Ace finished.
The three of them began the final stretch of their journey. None of them knew what lay ahead or what would become of them.
The night sky was illuminated only by the blood-red moon, which seemed darker because of the red clouds cascading in front of it. The quiet air hung low around the trio as they walked. They could feel it - the world felt far more empty than it was a few days ago.
---
Abel's eye opened slowly. His mind and body were filled with the hope this had all just been an elaborate dream created by his wild imagination and that he would simply wake up back home in the real world. As his eye focused and his vision cleared he realized he hadn't been dreaming at all and that this "dream" was his worst nightmare come true. He felt his heart rate increase and his pores release sweat before a hot wet breath blanketed the back of his neck.
He jumped up in fear and stared behind him. There he was, the most elaborate part of what he thought was his craziest dream: Hyde. He stood staring at the beast intently as dry blood crusted over his right eye and down the right side of his face. Hyde let out another large huff before opening his bright yellow eyes.
"I almost believed it wasn't true," Abel said, covering his missing eye with his hand.
"But alas, here we are. At least you're a cute end-of-the-world partner," he chuckled to himself before looking over the edge of the cliff. His eye was fixed on the dark forest below.
"How many beasts live there now?" He asked himself. "Where did they come from? What are they?" He placed his hand on his face, feeling every gash, and rigid edge the bear had given him the day prior - realizing that too wasn't something he had made up.
"Wake me up when I'm dead, boy." He said patting Hyde's side gently and lying back down, resting his head on the beast's stomach. Hyde inflated his stomach and lifted Abel's head slightly before exhaling deeply, blowing the dirt in front of his nose into the air and over the edge of the cliff. Abel let his eye close once again.
He began falling back into his deep slumber just as something disturbed him. A high-pitched click echoed in the distance. Abel opened his eye as wide as he could in an attempt to make out any other figures around him. Nothing but an empty canyon met his gaze. The sound bounced off of the trees again this time, followed by a faint spark in the distance. Abel's eye shot open wider. His mind raced trying to figure out who or what it could be.
"Hyde, get up boy," he whispered, shaking the dog slightly. The creature let out another huff before rolling over. "No no no, come on! Sleep time is over bud," he continued, attempting to lift Hyde's head from the ground. This time Hyde lifted his head, causing Abel to fall onto his stomach.
"Good boy," He said, his face pressed into the dirt. Hyde stood up and stretched before letting out a big yawn and shaking himself awake.
"Look, over there," Abel said pointing in the direction he had seen the spark. Hyde's bright eyes locked on the direction he had pointed. Then again another high-pitched click followed by a dim spark this time accompanied by a small flame lighting in the distance. Hyde's eyes grew as he stared intently, his spines erected and his pupils seemed to shrink as he stared.
"Come on boy, let's go check it out," Abel said brushing himself off. Hyde lowered himself to Abel's level allowing him to climb on his back once again. Abel situated himself comfortably between two of Hyde's spines and secured himself by gripping the one in front of him. He looked around for a moment before kicking his heel into Hyde's side.
"Hiya!" He shouted as Hyde began sprinting toward the growing flame. The two of them zipped past trees and branches leaping over large boulders and exposed roots and evading low-hanging branches as the flame burned brighter the closer they got. The forest was dark and cold, it felt almost as if it were a completely different planet; so alien, so corrupt. The trees looked menacing and the thought of mutant animals attacking them was enough to put Abel on edge. His hands gripped Hyde's spine tight and his legs squeezed the large dog's sides, while his eyes darted back and forth.
The flame in the distance grew closer and closer to them as Hyde sprinted through the dark untamed woods. Abel's mind raced with all possibilities. He prepared himself for what could be lurking out there while also hoping he found other survivors. The pair of them approached the tree line slowly, just beyond, the fire they had seen sparked from the cliffside. Abel pulled back on Hyde's spine causing him to stop dead in his tracks kicking up rocks and dirt in the process.
"Sorry boy, but it's probably better they don't know we're here just in case they don't come in peace," he said, sliding off of the beast's back. He slowly approached the tree line and hid behind the large trunk of a tall spruce tree. He heard voices whispering just out of range. He took a deep breath and slowly peered around the tree. There sat a boy and a girl, familiar faces he had only ever seen in passing at school.
The girl was blonde and short, wearing a pair of ripped bleach-washed jeans an oversized blue hoodie, and a beautiful gold locket in the shape of a rose. It was Ari Skye, head of the cheer team, and the girlfriend to star running back Tracey "Ace" Monahan. The boy's name was Art Jones he was tall with bright silver blue eyes and dark brown hair, that he topped with a gray beanie. He was wearing tight black jeans with a matching T-shirt and a simple zip-up hoodie over top. His hands bore rings on almost every finger and a silver hoop going through his right eyebrow. Abel took a deep breath relieved not to see any monsters sitting there, anticipating his arrival to strike him and feast upon his remains.
Even though he didn't know Art and Ari all that well, he felt a feeling of immediate relief seeing a couple of familiar faces. He collected himself and began to step into the light, poking his foot out of the treeline and into the menacing moonlight.
"Why did their bodies look like that?" Ari asked, scratching her head in disbelief. Abel drew his foot back behind the tree line and poked his ear out to listen to the conversation.
"They were so...defined, their faces, you could see every part of their final expressions," Art replied, his hands shaking.
"What was that thing in the sky?" she asked. Abel was confused, standing there hoping that they'd shed some light on the horrible conversation.
Does she mean the beam of light? Abel thought to himself. Were they not on the bridge?
"I don't know, the last thing I remember was the alarms going off in the school. I tried making my way to the shelter but by the time I got there it was too late." Art said, dropping his head.
"Too late? Like it was full already?"
"No. I was too late to save anyone."
"What did you see in there?" she asked, placing her hand on his knee.
Everyone, men, women, and children they all looked...they were all dead," He said, shakily. Abel's eyes widened, could this be true? Was everyone truly dead? What of his mother, did she make it out? The fear and sadness washing over his mind and body were overwhelming. He began stepping away from the treeline attempting to make his way back to Hyde and collect himself.
As he stepped away his pants got caught on a low-hanging branch, pulling it off of the trunk with a loud crack, dropping him to the floor with an equally audible thud. Art and Ari stopped, and their eyes speared into the dark forest. Even though they couldn't see Abel in the darkness he couldn't help but feel like they were staring directly into his soul as he peered through the thick trees back at them.
"Wh...Who's there?" Art shouted, pulling a pocket knife from his hoodie pocket. Hyde looked over toward Abel and saw him on the floor, then he glanced up and saw Art holding his knife. His dumbfounded look quickly grew to anger as his pupils shrank and he bore his teeth. Art saw the two bright yellow dots hiding within the trees behind them, a deep blue light faded in and out as Hyde lingered behind the treeline. They got closer and closer as Hyde began releasing a menacing growl. Abel looked back and attempted to jump up to stop him but it was too late.
Hyde lunged toward the tree line leaping into the air and slamming Art into the ground as he hit him. He fell backward dropping his knife to the ground, where it stuck with the handle pointing up. Hyde barked and growled in his face, dripping and spitting saliva all over him as he screamed. Ari fell backward into the dirt and shuffled back until her spine was pinned against a rock, as she stared at the large beast fearfully.
"Hyde, stop!" Abel yelled as he rushed out of the forest, pushing past the branches and bushes. Hyde stopped barking and released his pin on Art as he looked back and walked to Abel leaving him quivering on the ground.
"Wha...What the fuck is that thing?" Art shouted.
"It's okay! It's okay!" Abel shouted, inching toward Art slowly with his hands held out in front of him.
"This is the furthest thing from okay!" Art replied, shuffling away in the dirt. he stared at Hyde intently, his eyes fixed on the mangled creature. He scanned the animal up and down, looking into his eyes and inspecting his large spines. He was petrified, almost unable to move. He noticed Abel attempting to explain the situation in the corner of his eye but didn't hear anything he was saying, just the muffled sounds of an explanation.
Everything around him went quiet. He could only hear the sound of his rapidly beating heart inside of his ears. His hands went numb, and the feeling of pins and needles spread from his fingertips up to his wrist. The sound of his shallow breathing filled his ears as his eyes darted back and forth in confusion.
"He---friendly--okay" Was all that Art could make out of the sentence Abel was trying to say. He looked over at the boy with fear in his eyes as he noticed the jagged claw marks spread down the side of his face, and the dark hole where his eye once sat.
"Wha..what happened to you?" He muttered, gesturing to his face. Abel placed his hand over his gashes, almost forgetting they were there. He thought of what to say, how to not worry Art any more than he already had. He knew after his interaction with Hyde, that he wasn't ready to know what else lived in the woods they rested in.
"I got into it with a mountain lion," he said, looking down at the cougar patch Art sported on his hoodie.
"A cougar?" He asked, confused by Abel's statement.
"Cougars don't live in these woods, they live further south. Plus it's too cold for them out here," He continued.
"Well...ye...I mean, the bomb made everything weird who's to say they didn't head north after the blast?" Abel asked, attempting to save his skin.
"Right, cougars would do that," he stuttered, attempting to end the conversation. Ari lay in the dirt her eyes still fixated on Hyde, who was now licking himself, she had no words she just sat there, trembling silently.
"A...and what about...that?" He asked, gesturing to the large dog.
"He's friendly, he saved my life from that b...cougar," Abel replied. The three of them sat silently for a moment, each of them cycling different thoughts and thinking of what to say next.
"Have you been back to the city?" Ari forced herself to ask, looking to Abel for an answer.
"No, I...I didn't know if there was anything left," he replied, looking down at his feet sorrowfully.
"There isn't. Not much anyway," Art said, obliviously. Ari quickly kicked her heel into his side in an attempt to shut him up.
"Ow, what?" He cried.
"What do you mean, not much?" Abel asked, visibly upset. Art and Ari looked at each other cautiously unsure of what to say next. Silence filled the surrounding space once more. The air seemingly went thin and the tension grew between the three of them.
"Just tell me," Abel pleaded.
"The whole town is...dead anyone who survived seemingly went north like us, the rest...died in the one place meant to be safe," Art said, hesitantly.
"The shelter?" He asked, nervously. Art silently nodded as he dropped his head. His mind filled with the burned memories of the crisped corpses that still bore the expression they were making when they died.
"H...How?" Abel asked, stumbling backward.
"The explosions hit before they could close the door, so many people with such little room. By the time the blast went off they had no chance," Ari chimed in, staring down at a silver wedding band she gripped tightly in her hand. Abel stood quietly for a moment. His eye swelled with tears and his stomach turned in knots.
"I have to see it, I need to go back," he said.
"Go back?" Ari asked, nervously.
"I want to know...I have to know," Abel said, raising his head, as a single tear rolled down his cheek. Silence once again filled the air around them as the three of them stared at each other. Art looked at Ari and Ari at Abel.
"Well, you aren't going alone," She said, picking up the small bag she had with her.
"I can't ask you guys to do that, you've seen it. You don't need to endure that again," he said, gracefully.
"Yeah Ari, we can't go back," Art said, shakily.
"We both had someone with us. Would you want to see that alone?" Ari asked, looking disappointedly at Art. He sat for a minute thinking of what they had seen, wondering if it would've been any different if he had been alone. Would it change anything? Would he be the same afterward?
"Okay," he said, reluctantly.
"Okay, that's two to one. You lose," she said, handing her bag to Abel. He stood silent for a moment thinking to himself, he wondered if he was ready to see what they had. He wondered if he was prepared to put not only himself but others through that. He thought of the right thing to say at that moment.
"Okay let's get on the road then," he said walking toward Hyde.
"So what's the plan? How are we getting there?" Art said brushing himself off and standing up slowly.
"That's the part you aren't going to like," Abel said, straddling Hyde.
"Why won't I-" Art stopped, looking up and seeing Abel mounting the large beast, that he had just been slammed onto the ground by.
"No, no, nope. Absolutely not, I've changed my mind!" He shouted, turning away and crossing his arms.
"Okay, don't come complaining when a cougar takes your eye though!" Ari shouted, grabbing Abel's hand and climbing onto Hyde. Art's eyes widened as he thought of the idea of being brutally attacked by a cougar all alone.
"Yeah yeah shut up and scoot over!" He shouted, walking toward the beast. Abel reached down his hand as Art stood staring up at him. He gulped, contemplating his chances with a cougar - or anything that could be stalking the forest below. He slowly and shakily extended his hand and forced his eyes closed. Finally, his cold sweaty hands gripped Abel's rough coarse palms. Both boys gripped tightly as Abel yanked Art onto Hyde's back. The fur tickled Art's hands as he gripped it tightly. His stomach sank deep into his gut, and he felt it twist and begin to squeeze with nausea.
"Okay, let's just go," Art said, breathing heavily. Abel chuckled to himself slightly. He looked around and took a deep breath.
"Hold on!" He shouted, kicking his heels into Hyde's sides. He perked up and began sprinting at full speed. He maneuvered his body, contorting himself to fit between large trees and building enough momentum to hurdle large rocks. Abel sat confidently his eye wide and his fear all but gone. Ari wrapped her arms around him gripping tighter as they zipped through the forest. Art sat in disbelief petrified and astonished at the same time. His nausea intensified as he was whipped around, and launched into the air as the beast ran and jumped. Abel felt a sense of comfort as Ari's arms gripped his waist. He felt peace knowing he wasn't alone. This was it, it was finally time to go home.