Precinct 314

Brilliant rays of light tap dance atop beautiful skyscrapers as they graze the heavenly skies. Millions of people, cars, birds, bugs scurry beneath this magnificent show offered to them by nature. Unassuming. Unaware, expecting the performance to repeat itself every day without any compensation or reciprocation. No one realizing, no one expecting, that this brilliant performance was taking its final bow.

The skies ripped open as rays of light cut through life without mercy. Flumes of smoke filled the skies as the beautiful skyscrapers became tall piles of hollow shells, death, destruction, mayhem, darkness fell upon the earth in a horrific display of transubstantiation. The end of life as we knew it seemed like it came with a bang, but it was actually the long, slow, preventable process of global warming.

The science warned us about the aerosol cans, how chopping down forests reduced oxygen, increased carbon dioxide, and elevated temperatures… nobody listened. What science didn’t warn about was the 10G cellular towers and the conspiracy theorists hell-bent on stopping the man from controlling everyone’s brains with their 10G technology. A crazy person here, a crazy person there, touting about cell phone towers, that’s what we all chalked it up to. No one was prepared because there were many crazy people, and they had formed a crusade.

At first, it was just the rising temperatures that were hard to take. Then the birds began to die, then the bugs, the bees, the snakes, the crickets, and in time the human species was all that was left. We still had power at first, but with the rising temperatures, everyone was running their air conditioners non-stop, and all of that caused a significant power grid outage. Then the solar flare happened, and the power was gone for good.

The crazies attacked the white house first, and everything just kept spiraling downward from there as their numbers continued to swell. They say that each day offers a new beginning in life, and each day did offer a fresh start to a new level of power that these crazies achieved as they took over each state, each military compound, and all of the police precincts.

I am police officer Chase Stevens of the 314th precinct. My fellow officers and I fought the good fight; there were too many coming at us, all at once. Those who survived got a sobering lesson in humility, living in tent cities, the very encampments I used to tear down when I worked a beat. When civilized society ends is when you are genuinely reminded of equality.

Years shut-in and isolated from other people took a toll on many. A lot of what would usually be considered ordinary people lost their minds. Starvation tends to do that to people, especially when they become so desperate that they eat other people. It has something to do with the lack of nutrients getting to their brains. With no civilized society remaining, there isn’t any medical care anymore unless you’re lucky enough to meet a doctor out on the road as you forage for food. Many people couldn’t handle this new way of life and ended up offing themselves, taking the fastest and easiest ride out of this crap show.

I’ve always fought hard for the things I love and the things I believe in. Trust me, I’ve been in plenty of situations in which any sane person would have given up, but once I found my true north, my Emily, there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. When she hugged me, she always fixed all of my broken parts. I was lucky to have found her before the world stopped spinning. It was love at first sight.

Emily and I never understood what all the trouble was about. Sure, everyone always gets so heated about politics, but this situation, well, it went pretty far. It’s been twelve years since then, and each new day doesn’t bring back what we have lost. Each day is always just a new beginning of a new day of fighting for survival and wishing that we had showers. We no longer got to enjoy the luxuries of beds, bathrooms, grocery stores. It is insane how much we, as a human race, took for granted in this world.

We are reminded of this daily as we sleep on beds of garbage in whatever dilapidated structures we can find that keep us shielded from them. The new government, new world order, the crazy insurrectionists patrol the streets taking whatever they want, whenever they want.

All we have left is the heart-shaped locket I gave to Emily so long ago; it’s the first thing I see this day as I open my eyes and stare at her beautiful face. I caress her forehead as I move a piece of hair away from her eyes. “Good morning, beautiful,” I said.

She opened her beautiful eyes and smiled at me, “Good morning, handsome,” she said.

I should have gotten used to our new way of life by now, but I couldn’t accept it. Each day I look at my beautiful Emily, covered in soot. I can hear her stomach howl; mine chimed in.

“I gotta go out and find us some breakfast. I don’t think we have anything left here,” she said.

“Just relax; I’ll go get us something,” I said.

“I’m ok, honey,” she said.

“None of this is ok,” I said.

I struggled to fight back the tears as I kissed her and grabbed my stuff.

The deserted roads meet me with a total absence of life. There is no green of any kind; every tree, every blade of grass is just dead and gone. The sky is a harsh reflection of the same death and destruction. What was once blue with white clouds is just a grey blanket of smoke, ash, and ascender. Sunny days are no more, as each day brings with it a dimmed-out light that seems only to get dimmer.

It has grown increasingly challenging to salvage anything for food. Our best hope is to find canned goods, preferably one’s that aren’t swollen with expiration. Honestly, it is incredible that we have even survived without resorting to cannibalism, which has become an even more significant threat than the lack of ability to farm. No one can be trusted, yet at the same time, it is almost impossible to survive on your own in this modern-day hell hole on earth.

I have found some residential areas that have proven profitable with their large pantries and underground cellars, so I plan to return to one of them today to see what might be left. As I walk I see a commotion in some nearby bushes, a man jumped out of the bushes and ran towards me.

“Hey!” he said.

“Back off,” I said.

The man stopped advancing towards me and took a knee on the ground.

“I don’t want any trouble,” he said.

“Good, neither do I,” I said.

“I was just wondering if you have any water or food? I haven’t eaten in days, and I’m seeing stars from the dehydration,” he said.

“No, I don’t have anything,” I said.

I resumed my mission, trying to ignore him. It was difficult to ignore him, I am him, I have been him, and as a former civil servant, it has been my job in life, before the end of the world, to help others whenever I can, but how am I supposed to trust, “Precinct 314!” he shouted.

I stopped in my tracks.

“That’s where I know you from!” he said.

I turned around to look at him.

“I was a cadet! You took me out on patrol! Remember me?” he said.

I walked closer to get a better look at him; I dimly recognize him, or do I want to acknowledge him? It would be nice to have a friend around who could help, especially when out here on the road trying to find supplies. I don’t know if it’s a good idea, “I don’t have anything either; I’m on my way to look for supplies. You can come if you’d like.”

He got up on his feet and extended his hand, “Pleasure to re-meet you, Detective Chase, names Brian,” he said.

“Don’t make me regret this,” I said.

As Brian smiled, his lip split open, and blood ran down his chin.

“Let’s go get you some water, then we’ll go find some grub,” I said.

We got back to the encampment, and I tossed him a bottle of water.

“Woah, I haven’t seen one of these in forever,” Brian said.

“Yeah, I got a couple of good spots,” I said.

“Thank god, man,” he said.

“Do you remember my fiancé Em?” I asked.

“Didn’t she work in the back office?” he asked.

“That’s right,” I said.

“It’s good that you two made it; I lost all of my family,” Brian said.

“It’s been rough for everyone,” I said.

I sat down and nodded at Brian, “I think she’s just over at the neighbor’s place. Why don’t you sit down and relax” I said?

Brian looked around a bit, “Neighbor?” he asked.

“There’s a big community around here in our little tent subdivision,” I said.

Brian looked around, more confused. He took another drink of his water, “Tent subdivision?” he asked.

Emily walked in. I couldn’t wait for her to see that I found a friend on the road and was helping him. She always asked me to be more open and try trusting people again, always claiming friendship and kindness were the keys to surviving in this god-forsaken world of ours. My Emily. “I think I’m gonna head back out on the road,” Brian said, interrupting my happy thoughts about my Emily.

“Emily, this is Brian,” I said.

“Hi, so nice to meet you,” she said.

“You’re leaving already?” I asked.

Brian looked at me and over at Emily, with a look of confusion and fear on his face. I know this look. It’s usually the look of the crazies right before they attack you. I pulled out my firearm, “Don’t you even think about taking a step towards her,” I said.

“Who?” Brian asked.

He is definitely one of the crazies. I inched my way towards him.

“Dude, Chase, there’s nobody here! There aren’t tents. You ain’t got, neighbors. You’re sitting in the middle of a god damned field!” Brian said.

“Bullshit!” I shouted as I pushed my gun against his face.

Brian grabbed my hand and took my gun. It all happened so fast I didn’t even realize he was doing it until it was gone, I looked, and it wasn’t in his hand either. I looked around my world, and suddenly there was a flicker. The tent was gone, but then it came back. I looked at Emily, and she flickered. I looked down at my hand for the gun, and all that was there was the heart-shaped locket. I looked back at Brian, and he disappeared too.

I am alone. I have been alone for so long that I don’t even understand why I am alive anymore. Who am I? Why am I here? Why haven’t I put an end to my misery?

“It’s ok, baby, we exist,” Emily said.

I began to sob uncontrollably.

“No, we don’t,” I said.

“Yes, we do,” she said.

Emily knelt in front of me and hugged me the way that she always does. She put the locket around my neck. All we have left is this heart-shaped locket that I gave to my Emily so long ago. I caress her forehead as I move a piece of hair away from her eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I said.