Love's Lost Keys

It has been exactly 182 days since the world has been destroyed. Society as we know it has been long forgotten. The scientific reason for the apocalypse was caused by high radiation that seeped into the Earth by the Sun. Some say a science experiment that has gone wrong spread across the world in an instant, or that we are being punished by God. Whatever the reason is, we are trapped in a world clouded by evil and submerged in darkness. Friendly smiles and familiar faces only hide wicked intentions. We are no longer civil human beings.

Day 1, everything started normally where I get dressed, eat breakfast, and say goodbye to my mother as I walk out the door. Things changed that day when people started attacking each other for no reason at all.

My mother pushed the woman wielding the garden shovel pointed inches away from my face. She grabbed my hand and led me back into the house. We both looked at each other breathing heavily waiting for the chaos to subside. At that moment, we heard a loud collision nearby. A few seconds later, the ground beneath us begins to shake and I am suddenly sent flying across the room.

The school bus waiting outside for me has smashed into our home. I get up staggering and immediately begin searching for my mom. I fall to the floor in shock with tears rolling down my eyes as I spot her wedged in between the bus and a wall. I rush over to her and grab her hand trying to help free her. She grips my hand and looks towards me with her face covered in blood. She reaches for the heart shaped locket around her neck and places it in my hand. She looks at me with a faint smile and mouths the words, “I love you”. I watch her take her last breath as her head falls forward and her hand slips away from mine. Full of sadness, I watch her hoping she will awaken from her slumber. But I am aware of the truth, she is never coming back. As much as I want to stay and mourn the death of my mother, I know that it is not safe. I manage to sneak out the back door and run away to anywhere I can find safety.

Day 35, I walk cautiously in a quiet street already ravaged by the monsters running around crazily. It has been a week since wars have broken out all over Asia and Africa. The United States has already destroyed Canada and Mexico simultaneously. I have survived only by running away and avoiding battle at all costs. The wound to my heart from the death of my mother is still fresh and I walk around holding the only memento I can find to remember her by.

I motion through the gloomy streets trying to stay as close to the shadows as possible. In the distance, I spot a female being held hostage while trying to fight off two men keeping her constrained. I watch trembling in fear. As much as I want to help her, I know how powerless I am. My mother has always told me, “you’re a lover not a fighter and that’s ok honey”. In this situation, I needed to decide who I will be.

I watch one of them pick up a knife from his pocket and raise it up preparing to strike. My body motions on its own towards him and tackles him to the ground. The man manages to flip me over and pin me to the ground. He picks up the knife and eases his weapon towards my neck. I hold his hand while trying to utilize all my strength to push it away from me. I begin to feel myself get tired after wrestling with him for awhile and slowly give in to his strength. As I begin to lower my arms, I feel blood pour down my face. I look up and see a knife sticking out of his head as he lays on top of me lifeless. I throw him off me in fear and sit up trying to catch my breath. Just then, I watch as another knife becomes aimed in my direction from the woman I just saved. I put my hands up to show I intend to do no harm. “I am not like them”, I plead as I take my eyes away from her. “We can help each other, I’m tired of being alone”, I somberly confess as tears roll down my eyes. She puts her weapon away and looks at me. “Me too, I’m Angelie”, she states and walks in front of me. I grab hold of my mothers’ heart-shaped locket around my neck and take a deep breath. A moment later, I turn around and begin trailing behind my new companion.

Day 70, there are now seven of us travelling together. Doc was the first to join after he noticed Angelie and I leaving the town where we first met. The three sisters Hershey, Salt and Hummer all joined after we rescued them from being kidnapped. Soldier was the last to join after he tried killing us. Doc who was a doctor is the one who gave us all nicknames based on our characteristics. Angelie was called Sriracha because Doc always says she is “spicy”. Hershy loves chocolate, Salt always complains about our food lacking flavour, Hummer was always “driving Doc crazy”, Soldier was once in the army and I am known as Cupid because of my love and compassion for others.

We walk through another plundered city, carefully analyzing our surroundings. A gunshot sounds in the distance and we raise our weapons waiting for any sudden movement. Soldier signals for us to follow him as we swiftly motion forward using the wreckage as cover. We finally approach four soldiers walking beside a group of prisoners shackled together. Following Soldiers lead, we aim our weapons while waiting for his signal. As Soldier put his hand down, we all began to fire until each of the soldiers collapse to the ground. The prisoners try to run away at the sound of the gunfire only to fall to the ground. We slowly approach them cautiously trying to avoid a surprise attack. We free each person and invite them to join us.

Day 130, there are now over three thousand members in our group. We have managed to form alliances with other groups with the goal of eradicating the Oppressors. We have trained and prepared to battle this army who seeks power and massacres anybody who doesn’t choose to join their cause. Tonight, we party one last time knowing that tomorrow some of us may not return alive.

This marks the night I have planned to declare my love to Angelie. I walk to the roof of our hideout and spot Angelie starring into the stars. She is just as beautiful as the day I first laid my eyes on her. She passes her gaze at me and smiles. I return a smile and let out a deep sigh. I clasp on to the locket hoping I can gain the courage to confess my feelings.

“A-Angelie, I- “, before I can continue, she grabs my hand. “I never would have made it this far if it wasn’t for you”, she states while looking away from me. She takes a deep sigh and stares back at me. “Steven, I love you, and if you don’t feel the same I-“, she stammers while looking away. I grab her hand and place the locket within it. “I love you too Angelie”, I confess boldly starring straight into her bright brown eyes. That night I promised to make her my wife. A promise that I would never keep.

Day 180, it has been almost two months since we were victorious against the Oppressors. We thought after defeating them that things would become better. The more we tightened our bonds, the more others began to suspect betrayal.

Day 181, chaos has streamed throughout our allied forces. All clans have become separated with the intention of wielding the power. I watch as people I have once fought with kill each other senselessly. We have become just like them. Greed swallowed our hearts, controlling us with unspoken words.

I look to the ground around me seeing the bodies of Doc, Salt and Hummer. They have all died. The battle is even more brutal than our fight against the Oppressors. I continue to search for Angelie who has been separated from me. Scanning the scenery full of death, I cautiously search for her while defending myself against my enemies. From the corner of my eyes, I detect her actively involved in the battle. I race towards her and grab her hands trying to bring her to safety. We hide behind a large wall as the sounds of battle rage in the distance. She looks at me with a smile and says “Stevie, I love you”. I smile back and wrap my arms around her body. At that moment, I remove my hands and notice they are drenched in blood.

“They got me”, she whispered as she collapses to the floor. I lay her down and quickly remove my shirt with hope of slowing down the bleeding. “We just have to put pressure on the wound, you will be ok”, I reply to her nervously as my hands begin shaking. “It’s ok Cupid, I am not afraid to die anymore”, she says chuckling. “I am lucky that it was you who has been the one to accept my love”, she says slowly while gasping for air. “I am happy, don’t you see how beautiful it is, almost as beautiful as-“, at that moment she becomes silent and her body lies motionless. I sit there for a few moments starring into her eyes waiting for her like I did my mom. I grabbed the locket from her neck and picked up her weapon. A tear rolled down my face and I walked towards the battlefield feeling the fear of fighting completely disappear from my heart.

Day 182, I am once again traveling alone. Walking with a stab wound to my abdomen as deep as the wound in my heart. I feel myself getting weaker with every step I take. This hell on Earth has finally consumed the only thing I had left from my mother, her love. And when Angelie openly accepted it, I felt the world had once again presented its light within this gloomy world. I learned that being a lover does not mean that I am weak. Instead, it gave me the strength and courage to make decisions that were riskier and harder than killing someone just because they want to kill you. Although I betrayed the compassionate part of me, I did it out of love. I avenged not only Angelie, but also Doc, Hershey, Salt, Hummer, and Soldier. I allowed the greed to be put to rest as I fought till the very end. And even though this may be the end, I’m glad I died with love in my heart.

As I continue to march forward, my blurry vision makes out the images of two women just ahead of me. I do not know if what I see in front of me is real or if it is me slowly reconnecting with those who had possessed this cursed locket . I collapse to the ground and feel myself slowly drift unconscious. I open my eyes once more and see the two woman standing right before my eyes. I can only see the silhouettes of the two figures. Their eyes are filled with warmth, just like my mothers. I give the locket one final squeeze as it opens in my hand. I let out one last smile happily understanding that the keys were never lost.