Envision

“She gave me this locket when the apocalypse first broke out. We promised to never forget… How could I?”, I say staring out from the Hollywood sign, “I forgot, even though it clangs above my breasts..”

I stare at the locket that has her name engraved in the silver that surrounds the heart shaped blue gemstone securing it safely inside. ‘How could I forget?’, I think to myself and start reminiscing, her beautiful, bright smile that reached her deep emerald eyes every time we were together. I drift to sleep with a perfect image of my Luna five years ago, but as I drift her short blonde bob turns to a bright orange pixie and her bright eyes darken with fear, tears threatening to fall as she pleads for her life. I try to call out, but I am silent, it’s no use, it’s not a dream. It’s a vision.

I wake up in a sweat, breathing heavily. ‘No, no, no! Not my Luna. I need to find her and I need to find her now!’

I pack up my gear, my weapons, gather what food I can and set out to find my best friend, the problem is, I have no idea where she is. I reach the bottom of the Hollywood Mountain, watching my surroundings for rogues, people who wish to keep the apocalyptic ways, survival of the fittest, even with the rumors of a peaceful place called the “Promised Land”. I keep on foot to my truck hidden underneath a bridge in some overgrowth and as I am about to climb in I get my next vision.

My vision blurs to black then a street sign distorts into view “CA-94 W”, then my vision distorts again and I’m back at my truck. “California 94 West….”, I think out loud, continuing to get into my truck and pull out my maps. I find the route and follow it west then I know where I need to go. San Diego. I crank up my truck and start heading west to my Luna. I’m not even driving for ten minutes when I notice someone in the middle of the road with a gun pointed right at me, Rogues. I swerve, my tire is blown, I roll and crawl out of my windshield, prepared for a fight. I walk the long way around my truck and sneak along the shooter, knock his gun out of his hand and twist his neck till I hear it snap, then drop his body, I know there’s more.

I wait for the others to appear and take them out one by one with stealth, I’m down to three out of nine, but I’m noticed and others are alerted. It’s now three against my one, ‘Great!’, I think to myself as the one with black hair lunges with a bat, I avoid his hit, making him stumble giving me the leeway to take him down. I kick him to the ground then take the heel of my steel toe and smash his head into the asphalt right as I’m attacked by another. This attacker looks familiar though and for a moment I’m stunned, ‘It’s in your head..’, I tell myself, ‘It’s not him, it can’t be..’ He’s closing in on me, then I know it’s not in my head. “Denite?”, his eyes widen and there is a flash of the little ten year old boy I remembered and miss from five years ago. But it doesn’t last long, his eyes harden again, and he continues his attack. ‘I have to kill my little brother or he’s going to kill me and in terms Luna also… WHAT THE HELL!’, I’m lost in thought as he takes his first lunge at me, which I’m just barely able to dodge, landing me a stab in the thigh, but his blade is stuck. I use that to my advantage. I wrap my legs around his throat as the other boy attacks me. He mustn’t have been as old as the others because he was all to easy to take out while in the predicament I was in. Once I knew my brother was no longer breathing, I crawled to his side and let the sobs and knowledge that my brother will never be in my life again swallow me whole.

TWO DAYS LATER…

I’ve reached San Diego and know that wherever Luna may be I have to cross the Golden Gate Bridge to get to her, thanks to another vision of the bridge and her voice whispering “cross” and “come” throughout it, only issue is that a well-known group of rogues controls the bridge and not many people can get through, I think those rogues are the ones who have her. Oh, I just hope I get to her in time… “I’m coming Luna, hold on…”, I whisper into the dusk. The goal is to reach the bridge at nightfall, right as the sun sets but I’m there before it sets, so I will wait in my attempt to cross, I know I will have to fight so I take the time to sharpen my blades once more and reclean my stab wound from my now deceased brother, then continue to wait. ‘I wonder what could have been if he’d turned his back on his group to be with me’, I think to myself then sigh in sadness at the loss of my little brother and my mother.

The sun has fully set, rogues are guarding the entrances to the bridge but I’ve been watching their patterns. When they switch out the entrance is left open for about three to five minutes. I find a closer spot to the entrance far enough not to be seen but still close enough to the bridge to start to cross with minimal conflicts. It’s been about twenty minutes since the sun has set and the guards are about to switch. I’m ready as the guard switching out with the guard already on duty approaches and they walk away. I look around to clear my path and book it. I reach the bridge entrance in two minutes uncaught and keep running, I take a glance back, I’m clear but right as I turn my head back I hit something, or someone one and we’re both on the ground from impact. ‘Oh shoot.’

I must have hit my head because I’m slightly dizzy and my vision takes a second to focus, but when it does do I realize how much trouble I’m in. It’s a guard. He looks around, then at me and offers me a hand to help me up, I’m confused. ‘Why is he helping me up?’ He looks concerned, “Are you okay? You shouldn’t… How did you get on the bridge?” He stuttered over his questions. I don’t know how to reply, “I have my ways and I’m fine. Why aren’t you alerting others or killing me?”, I ask with genuine concern and caution in my voice. “I don’t want anything to do with anyone’s murder, I’ve watched my whole family’s, I’m with them only because it’s the only way I can survive.”, He responds with a solemn look in his eyes, then continues, “Where are you even going to take the risk with this rogue group and the bridge?”

I look up at him, silent, not sure what to say. “Get down!”, he whispers. I do as he says and he gets down with me as two other guards pass us and when they’re far enough away he helps me back up. “I’m trying to find someone”, I decide to finally confide in him after he saves my life a second time and have a feeling he will end up saving my ass a lot, “…she’s my best friend, we grew up together but lost each other at the beginning of the apocalypse and haven’t seen each other since, she gave me this heart locket.”, I explain as I lift the locket from my chest to show him. “How do you know where she is if you haven’t seen her since the beginning of the apocalypse? Did you see her after?”, he questions interestedly. Shoot, I’ve never told anyone about my vision gift except my best friend… He probably will think I’m crazy and won’t believe me but then again no one believed the apocalypse would happen and when it did that it would ever end. He looks at me expectantly, waiting for an answer and I tell him about my vision gift and the visions about Luna.

“Let me help you.”, he blurts out when I finish speaking. “What, are you crazy?”, I look at him in disbelief but then my look turns to shock as he turns his palm over to show a ball of flames hovering in it, “I can help you, you’re not the only one different.”, he looks at me with acceptance and honesty. “Okay, thank you, but what about your group?”, I ask. “They don’t care about me and I don’t care about them. What does Luna look like? And, uh, this is kinda awkward, but I don’t know your name… Mine’s Mork James.”, he says with a shy smile. “Eema Brazzette and I’ll show you what Luna looks like, give me your hand.”, I say answering his name question and grasping his hand. A moment after I take his hand his eyes open, “I know where she is but we need to hurry, I’ll get us there without conflict.”

Mork came through with his promise to get us to Luna safely and now we’re near a San Diego beach house, where Luna is inside being held against her will. “We need a plan, Mork.”, I say, “You know more than I do.” He looked thoughtfully at the house then turns to me and in thirty minutes we are about to enter the house. We watch as three rogues exit the house and then we enter once they’re far away. “The can.”, Mork whispers, and I grab the can and chuck it in the opposite direction of us. When the guard passes the doorway of the room I’m hiding in I quickly grab him and snap his neck laying him gently on the floor and quietly shutting the door. I signal Mork and he makes his way down to the basement, three minutes later he and the rogue guarding Luna have made their way out the front door and I make my way down to Luna.

Luna is crying in the corner, chains connected to the walls attached to her ankles, Mork left her guard’s keys on the counter before the basement for me, thankfully. “Luna!”, I whisper loudly enough for her to hear me through her tears. She looks up, confusion on her face, “Huh? Ee.. Eema? Is that really you?”, Luna looks at me and blinks as if I might disappear while I undo her chains and release her. She hugs me tightly, “I missed you so much!”, we both say at the same time. “Eema, we need to go, now!”, Mork yells from the top of the stairs. I look at Luna, “Come!”

Mork tells us to run between the houses and find somewhere to hide, but right as we’re about to exit the house “BANG!”

My eyes start to flood with tears, my whole life just changed. Again. Not even my visions could envision this.