Dystopian Heart

Shots rang through the air, causing Avery to shoot up from his bed and interrupting his much-needed sleep. He walked over to the wall, peering out from a hole caused by the decaying drywall and wood. He noted that the shots seemed to be coming from a few blocks over. This event was unfortunately nothing new to him. After realizing he wasn’t going to be getting any more shuteye for the day, he started to get ready for the day to come.

War, violence, and bloodshed was all that Avery had ever known. The decline of society happened 80 years prior when the citizens of the United States realized that change was never coming. So they rose up, executing those in charge and attempting to put the power back in their hands. Unfortunately, in doing this, many became enamored with the newfound freedom. They decided that the violence should never stop. This caused many of the people within the country to perish over the years, leaving nothing but rubble and waste in their path.

After throwing on his clothes, and donning his Kevlar vest, Avery slinked out of his one-story shack on the hunt for more supplies to get him through the week. This had become his daily routine; wake up, search the buildings of the surrounding areas, take any resources he could find, and then go home to sleep for the night before starting again the next day. For the most part he was rather lucky, rarely running across any of the other residents of his chosen town of Ducksville. And the few times that he had, he was either able to barter his was out of the situation or dispose of the other party.

Over the last few years, he had checked most of the buildings in the 3-mile radius. This caused him to have to venture out further to ever find anything useful. After about an hour on his journey, he came across a cul-de-sac he hadn’t raided, so he ventured towards the first house. Upon reaching the outside, he tapped on a window twice, and called out to any potential inhabitants. He had developed this tactic after first starting to search houses, almost meeting his end to the business side of a Winchester shotgun. After waiting a few minutes and hearing no noises from inside the house, Avery carefully climbed through one of the broken windows.

Once inside, she surveyed his surroundings. The window he had entered through had brought him into the living room. Around him were couches with rips and tears in the upholstery, bookshelves on their side and papers and trash littered the floor.

He quickly got to work, picking through the Remnants for anything of value. Going room to room he was able to acquire a few cans of food, a bucket, a few knives, and some rope. Feeling pleased with his findings, he started towards the door to leave. As he passed the hallway threshold, a shiny gleam caught his attention from the corner of the wall that stopped him in his tracks.

Kneeling down, he reached out and grabbed the small item. Turning it over in his palm, his eyes scrutinized all the nuisances of the small metal heart shaped locket. He rubbed his thumb over the outsides removing the dirt that clung to it in many spots. He noted the damage to the casing, spotting 3 large indents just below the clasp. Curious of what the old owner used it for, he released the clasp sending the heart open.

He was surprised to see that the inside housed no pictures, just glass panes on each side of the halves. Lifting his head back upwards, he nearly fell over at the scene before him. The house he was in mere seconds ago now had reverted to a pristine condition. All of the windows were intact, the furniture that had been previously tattered now presented an inviting comfort and not one book was out of place. Startled, he ran towards the door, wanting to see what awaited him.

Turning the handle, he was greeted by sunshine and people driving around the road in front of him. Astonished, he looked to the ground, wanting to recollect his thoughts and get a handle on what the hell was going on. As his eyes settled at the doorstep, he noticed that there was a newspaper that had previously been resting on the door. He picked it up frantically and gasped as he read the page. It was the same date. He was torn from the paper, as he began to hear footsteps approaching him from the front. Looking up he seen a relatively harmless looking woman walking up. She smiled and gave him a small wave.

“Hello, you must be the new neighbor that moved in recently.”

“What is this place?”, he asked anxiously.

She gave him a quizzical look. “It’s Ducksville... are you okay?” She looked him over.

“What happened to the destroyed buildings and the other damage from the uprising?”

“What uprising?”, she asked, slightly stepping back away from the clearly troubled man.

He realized that he was still holding the locket, so he went to close it and place it in his pocket. As soon as the glass paned touched everything before his eyes transformed to the bleak surrounds he was used to. The woman had also disappeared into the bleakness, leaving him standing there alone.

He gazed down at the locket in bewilderment. He knew that nothing in this situation made the littlest sense to him, but he was sure that it was the locket that was responsible for everything weird that had just happened. Still trying to keep his grasp on his sanity, he decided to start back towards the house. He longed for a sense of the only thing that gave him a feeling of normality.

As he walked back, he pondered the mysteries held within the metal of the trinket secured safely within his pocket. How was it able to change the reality he seen before him? Was it magic? Was it delusion? Had he been losing his mind? The date had been the same exact one as the one he currently found himself in, but the woman didn’t seem to know anything about the uprising. The same one that had transformed the landscape into the treacherous and dilapidated one he had known his whole life. He tore himself from his thoughts as he noticed that he had made it back to his home.

As he entered through the door, he noticed some of his items were now out of place. A noise coming from the back room tore his eyes from the items scattered on the floor. Slowly he walked back towards the noise, ensuring to watch his step to not make any additional noise in his movement. Rounding the corner, he spotted a man digging through the drawers of the stand that rested next to his bed no more than 20 feet away.

He raised his gun, training it onto the back of the man. “What are you doing in my house?!”, he growled, attempting to take control of the situation at hand. The man turned slowly, quickly spotting the gun. A panic overtook his face. Without saying another word, the man started charging at Avery. Realizing that this may turn out horribly, Avery swiftly threw his hand into his pocket. As soon as his fingers felt the cold chill of the metal casing, he grasped the clasp. In the instant the man would have made contact, the locket was thrown open. He tightly closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable impact.

He stay in that position for a moment, still waiting for what his brain knew was coming. This is when A sound near him made his eyes shoot open. “Hello. Can I ask what you’re doing in my house?”, asked the man’s voice. Looking around, the house had taken an immaculate appearance. The walls were once again whole, and the room was lit in a wonderful bask of light from the fixture above. “Hello?”, asked the voice again, this time in a more irritated tone. He finally spotted the man standing in the corner with a phone in his hand. It was then Avery realized he was still holding the gun pointed forward, so he hastily lowered it and placed it into the holster at his side. “My apologies, I mean you no harm.”, he stated in an apologetic tone, “I just need to get out of here.” With this he began to turn and walk towards the door. “you’re not going anywhere. I have called the police and they will be here shortly.” He hurriedly moved to the door, unlocking it and turning the handle.

As the door opened wide enough for him to see out, 3 police cars sped into focus, with the cops exiting the vehicles and running towards the door. He attempted to slam the door shut but wasn’t quick enough. The cops burst through, sending Avery staggering back a few steps. As they entered Avery seen that each of them had guns drawn, all pointing at various points on his body. He took a step towards them, one of the officers yelling at him not to take another step. Wanting to get himself out of this unscathed, he tried to explain his situation and took another step.

His ears began ringing as a pain radiated around his lower abdomen. His hand felt the area, becoming coated in a warm, thick liquid. Shock took over his mind, and he absentmindedly reached into his pocket and began to pull out the locket. Another shot rang through the air, hitting him again in the stomach. With this, his fingers pulled the trinket the rest of the way out and closed the heart shut.

Just as this happened, the locket fell from his hand, hitting the hardwood floor with a large cracking sound. He slinked down against the wall, picking the locket up. Opening it he seen that the glass panes had shattered. Looking around his surroundings lay in ruins, realizing he was back in his own doorway. As the shock and adrenaline began to wear off, the pain began to set in. He looked at his stomach where the blood was cascading from the two entry wounds. Consciousness began to escape him.

All he could think about was how he would never be able to explore the beautiful landscape of all what now seemed like a passing dream within his head. As the last of his life was draining out, a shadow passed in front of his vision. He realized it was the man that had been in his house prior to using the locket last. The man had a bewildered look on his face as he stared at Avery. He bent down and picked up the heart, walking out the door as Avery’s vision went black.