Revival

Aaron lay on his cot, in the last dry corner of the cabin, wrapped in a couple of threadbare blankets and an old bear skin trying to escape the cold. He listened to the plunk, plunk, plunk sound that each drop of water made as it dripped from the leaking ceiling into buckets scattered around the dilapidated one-room shack he called home. He collected water from melting snow on the roof to use for cooking and drinking. The fire had died while he was sleeping, and just the thought of exposing himself to the cold cabin air sent shivers up his spine. Wind whistled between the rough-hewn planks that served as walls.

Summoning a resolve from deep inside him, Aaron pivoted off the cot, still wrapped in his blankets, and shuffled to the fireplace. He dug through the ash and found a few glowing embers that he used to reignite a flame. The small flame quickly grew into a warming blaze as Aaron added several logs. The heat restored his feeling of well-being, but that feeling quickly died as a powerful gust of wind caused the cabin to sway back and forth. It was time to search for a new shelter. He had lived—no, existed in this semi-frozen wilderness for over five years and had no human contact either in person or over his shortwave radio for the last three of them.

The Earth had shifted on its axis because all the planet’s ice had melted as a result of global warming. Now the former poles were closer to where the equator had been and the former continents were close to where the poles used to be. Violent storms destroyed much of civilization and most of the people who survived eventually died from an onslaught of pandemics. Aaron had worked as a climatologist and tried to caution those in power about the approaching catastrophe. Of course, they ignored his warnings until it was too late. All that remained of humanity were some of its structures and Aaron. He had calculated where the safest place to survive the impending Armageddon was, found an abandoned hunting cabin deep in the wilderness, and rode out the disaster. Now that his shelter was collapsing around him, it was time to go.

Living off the land became easier as he moved into slightly warmer regions. Animals survived better than humans, with apex predators like bears, wolves, and big cats faring best. Aaron always tried to avoid these animals, but he came across one situation that required him to act. Loud growls and barking emanating from within a stand of trees caught his attention. He knew that a commotion like this should be avoided, but mixed in with wolf sounds was a human female voice growling back. Was it possible that he wasn’t the last human? Aaron crept closer for a better view.

A young woman stood with her back against a large oak tree, swinging a thick branch back and forth at her attackers and growling fiercely, trying to scare them off. Aaron reached under his coat and pulled out a slingshot and a pouch filled with pebbles. He fired several shots, striking the alpha wolf in the head, causing him to yelp loudly. Aaron had successfully used this tactic to scare off wolves in the past, but something kept them focused on her. He studied the girl and fully understood the situation. There were dark stains on the front of her pants and down one leg. It must be her time of the month. The smell of fresh blood had incensed the wolves into a feeding frenzy.

Aaron had to fight blood with blood. He unstrapped his crossbow, loaded a bolt, and sent it flying into the alpha. The wolf howled in agony as the blood spurted from his wound. His pack reacted as Aaron had hoped and attacked their wounded leader. The girl stood frozen in fear and surprise, unable to move. Aaron stood and yelled, “Run! Run now before they come back for you.” Pushing aside her fear, she ran like her life depended on it because it did. She ran past him and into a nearby clearing and just kept running. Aaron chuckled as he gathered his equipment.

“A thank you would have been nice.”

On a more serious note, he pondered, maybe there are more survivors.