In the Ruins of the World

I extended my hand for hers, but it was too late. Just like the rest of the world, she was gone. I had only known her for a few days, but we were all that remained. All that remained in a world full of hatred.

The sirens echoed through my ears, almost as deafening as they were the day this all started.

The noise was overwhelming. People were crying, others were praying, while my mother just stared at me and smiled as if she were saying "Hello" and "Goodbye". Her commiserative smile felt comforting to me. While everyone panicked I couldn't look away from her. Despite all of the commotion, my mother was calm. She held me close to her chest and walked with me to the car.

I stared at the lifeless body lying next to me in the rubble. I couldn't mourn. After years of seeing death first hand, I had grown accustomed to seeing its face. After seeing the world change and destroy people, I felt numb to the pain of loss. How was watching this girl die any different? I had only known her for a few days. Her life was pretty much the same as mine. Though we were years apart, we were both children who had to grow up in this shithole of a world. We were both children who had to grow up too fast to stay alive for a long as we did.

I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't know why all of the sudden everything had changed. We had been on the road for a few days now. All but a few things were left in our house many miles back. No matter where we went, we couldn't seem to escape the insanity. The world was in ruins everywhere we went. Some ruins were man-made, while others were caused by some sort of natural disaster. Everything was different now. All of my friends were gone, I would never have to go to school again. The changes were terrifying and confusing all at the same time. The only thing that always stayed the same was my mother's beautiful smile. She would smile through the fear and make us all feel safe.

After I was separated from my family I had to learn how to take care of myself pretty quickly. I never had time to dwell on my life before this all started. This world was the only world I knew. 30 years of my life were dedicated to staying alive in a world that wanted me dead. Others shared this dedication with me, but just as I watched hundreds of suns rise and fall I had to watch my companions do the same. The first to fall was a girl named Lucy. She was around my age at the time, we were friends. After she passed I sat by her body for hours and cried. She was followed by Eric, then James. For them, it was a little easier to say goodbye. I hadn't known them as long. As more and more people died I realized that there was no use keeping track. Death was imminent. We could fight with all of our might, but death will always come to us in the end. Some just get greeted sooner.

I looked over at this girl once again and wondered if anyone had bothered to learn her name. When I found her she was all alone, like me. She had talked about having friends and even a family at some point, but she was the last one standing in her group. Unlike me, she kept track of every person she had met on her journeys. She learned their names and listened to their stories. She always seemed happy when talking about them. Never once did I see an ounce of grief. We may have been the last humans on earth, but she was the last bit of humanity left. I sat down next to her and closed her eyes. She deserved more than what this world gave her. She deserved a proper burial, but rough terrain made it impossible. I brushed a few strands of hair from her face and noticed that her mouth was slightly curved upwards. Even in death, she was happy. Upon closer inspection, I saw a little heart-shaped locket dangling from her neck. It was old and looked as though it had been passed down through many generations, yet it was bronze was polished as if she had frequently opened up the locket to see what was inside. Her body was positioned as if she was reaching for it as she took her dying breath. It made me wonder what may have been so important that it was all she wanted to think about as she succumbed to death. I reached for the locket and unveiled what was inside.

Inside was a picture of a beautiful family. A little boy about the age of 7 and a girl who couldn't have been more than a few years old. Above the girl stood an older man, the father, who seemed proud of his family. To his right stood an older woman, the mother, upon her face had a smile that seemed to say hello, and goodbye. I felt my heart rise into my throat. The woman lying next to me was the little girl pictured in this photo. And the boy next to her was her brother, me.

My little sister held onto my arm. "Please don't leave me" She whispered. It had been a few years since we had first left our home. For a while, we had been living in our car, but as more and more of the world fell apart so did our family. My mother didn't make it much past the first year. She sacrificed herself so that my sister and I could escape the bombs. We were separated from our father in year 3. All we had left was each other.

"I won't leave you," I whispered to her, pulling her corpse onto my lap.