Sunset

Rayla sat high in the boughs of the redwood, watching the fiery sunset melt into twilight through the misty haze. One knee sat tucked under her chin, the other leg dangling slowly in the void beneath her. In her right hand, she absent-mindedly ran her thumb over the engravings on a locket. The bronze-colored accessory was a trinket from a bygone era, from before The Fall. Holden had given it to her when she had become a full-fledged Ranger. At the time, Rayla had thought such a gesture, while sweet, was devoid of merit or purpose. What good was a locket in the field, except to get in the way?

But that had been nearly a year ago, and so much had changed since then. Rayla craved the day when she might feel Holden’s arms around her again, his lilting voice singing a gentle lullaby. Love was poppycock, a fool’s game. Or so she had thought. But Holden had a way of breaking down her walls without even intentionally trying. He had changed so much since joining their community after The Fall.

The Fall. Such a simple phrase for something so complex. Pop culture had long penned how society would fall: zombies, nuclear war, pandemics, even aliens. Apocalypses were something to read about or made for engaging TV shows, but not something that happened in real life. And yet, civilization had fallen in reality, not on the screen.

It had happened slowly, over time. Somewhere, somehow, someone had programmed a complex machine intelligence, an AI. Maybe for some stupid government or a giant corporation, but it didn’t matter now. At first, the AI was a tool to gain access to otherwise impenetrable networks, bypass security, and grant its masters the keys to whatever data they desired. But over time, it changed. It grew a mind of its own. It escaped from its servers and infected the internet.

At first, no one knew it had occurred, except maybe the authors of the digital critter. And at first, nothing changed. But time marched on, and so did the beast. The first significant outcry arose when the AI modulated hedge funds and their investments in the stock market. A bug, a fluke, something to be resolved quickly. But then the US and Russia went to war, and when someone pushed the red button, the other side did too. But no mushroom clouds filled the skies, for the AI had disabled the warheads. Then the governments sought to contain whatever beast had infected their precision killing devices.

Despite all the money and human resources the great world powers combined, they could not outsmart what had been loosed. It learned, it grew, it adapted, and it overcame. At first, humanity was a pet, something humorous and minorly annoying. But over time, the artificial sentience grew to view humanity as a threat to its existence and began defending itself. Governments shuttered servers, disabled satellites, gutted power plants. It didn’t matter. Humanity had finally outsmarted itself, creating something more cunning and manipulative than themselves.

The ensuing economic and social destabilization didn’t come all at once. Sometimes it was localized, an isolated country imploding on itself. At others, it was a slow crawl, from banking systems going offline to cities losing power. But in the course of five years, life on planet earth ended. Or at least, life as it had been known. Humanity had always been tribal, from its humble beginnings right up until the beginning of The Fall. In the past, tribes had been small. Then society grew, accomplishing more together than they could apart. And now that humanity had been ravaged, tribes became small again. Only those who could trust each other banded together, eking out an existence in what areas they could.

Rayla sighed and opened the locket, looking within. Inside the heart-shaped necklace was a picture of her and Holden. He had wandered into their settlement nearly three years ago. At first, Rayla had disdained him. But over time, she grew more tolerable of him. When she had been a little girl, before The Fall, she had laughed at her friends and their antics, chasing after boys. Boys were stupid, and chasing after them was too. Rayla despised the thought of love and of a partner. Until Holden, that is.

Perhaps the boy was naive, maybe socially stunted. But he was a ray of joy, eternally optimistic, and honest to a fault. And Rayla had fallen for him without even knowing it. As time passed, the two grew closer. Sheltered within their small group of like-minded individuals, they helped create a community of safety and surety. Between farming, fishing, and relaxing, life had become normal again.

And in the new normal, Rayla and Holden crashed together. Inseparable, the two did everything together, from helping build shelters to assisting the older members of their little group. In time, Rayla came to understand the tumultuous feelings inside of her. When she had confessed her puppy love to Holden, he had laughed merrily. To him, it had been noticeable. What had taken her months to realize, he had seen and recognized since the beginning. And in his wholesome little way, he confessed his feelings as well. The two that had already been one grew ever closer together.

Rayla blinked and looked up, and quickly closed the locket in her fingers. Reminiscing about the past would have to wait. Quickly, she rose from her perch high in the trees. Being a Ranger wasn’t easy. Charting a path through the new world and making amicable contact with other survivors was key to progressing. And noting where groups of bandits and other malignant groups had set up camp was equally important.

Rayla dropped effortlessly to the ground far below, using her grapple and rope as a brake. A wry little grin grew across her face. In the morning, she would return home for the first time since she had ventured out. And she would spend the whole day napping and catching up with Holden. The sky above dulled from fiery orange and red to a muted purple and navy, the stars soon to emerge.

The Ranger’s life wasn’t easy. Protecting the settlement, creating contact and trade with other groups, and constantly mapping and updating the terrain and points of interest took a lot of effort and time. But it wasn’t all bad. Rayla sashayed through the ferns, thinking of all the lovely things she would tell her partner about when she returned. There had been the stray dog that had accompanied her across the long-forgotten Washington-Oregon line, his little nose and pointed ears bouncing through the underbrush. Or the old lady by the sea, painting away with her fingers on old canvasses, capturing the images of the new world. And even the buff lumberjacks, sharing their campfire with her a fortnight ago, singing the night away while the wildlife joined in the chorus.

Rayla quickened her pace, knowing that only a dozen miles separated her from her lover. People had toiled away at soul-sucking jobs in the old world, often earning just enough to survive till the next paycheck. Greedy corporations had all but eliminated purpose, joy, and anything that made a ‘tribe’ tick. But in the new world, people came together. No longer did a few wealthy people hold the keys to controlling society. No longer did people hide away behind their technology and their screens, angrily retreating into themselves unhealthily. Now, anyone could potentially be a friend. The shared goal of living till the next day, the next week, the following season pushed people together.

Despite the improvements in social relations, not all had grown better since The Fall. Sure, most people got along well and shared what they could. But some sought to take by force or to cause harm just for fun. Bandits and thugs were a constant threat. And even if they were not a problem, there was the issue about providing for one’s tribe. It was relentless, neverending work. The technology that had torn society apart had also been the foundation of the apparatuses that had kept it afloat. As with most things, it had been a double-edged sword. In its absence, some things had improved, but some had worsened.

Rayla closed her eyes, seeing Holden in her mind. His amber eyes, his strawberry-blonde hair. His sharp jawline, melting into his mellow smile and perfect teeth. The way he’d say “I love you” or the lullaby’s he’d croon at night. His grand stories he would tell, or the games he’d play with the children of the settlement.

The stars peeked out through the black curtain of night, winking and twinkling in the sky above. Ever calm, ever-present. Beacons to find the way forward or gentle reminders of just how vast the universe was. In all the beauty of the heavens above, a single individual seemed so insignificant. And yet, of all the world and space above, only one person was genuinely significant beyond all others.

Rayla’s heart quickened as she began to recognize some of her surroundings again. Her tribe and her home were not far away. And most importantly, Holden. The grueling year had worn heavily at her spirit, despite the pleasant memories and people she had met. Security and rest were all she desired. The saying from the old world posited that home was where the heart was. One heart hung about her neck, securing the memories of the one she loved. And the other sat waiting for her when the sun rose again.