The City is Mine

I picked up a piece of metal from the ground and examined it. It came from an old car, long forgotten. I thought it might have been bright red once, but now it was riddled with rust and holes so I couldn’t be sure of its original color. I tossed the metal into the woven sack in my other hand. It clanged loudly with the rest of the junk in the bag, sending echoes around the crater to my right. I glanced around and I let out a short puff of air when no one appeared. I was still alone. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity as I picked up another scrap of metal and gently placed it in the bag.

I walked along the edge of the crater, careful not to get too close to the edge. It had been three years since the bioweapon started the apocalypse. Three years of burying the dead. Three years of living in fear of another attack. Three years of fighting to survive by any means necessary.

No one knew where it came from. Some people thought the Russians sent it. Others thought it was China. All we knew for certain was life was never the same.

Most of us left alive stayed away from the site the weapon crashed, but not me. I always found the best metal at the Crater and metal was money.

I noticed a glint of something shiny up ahead. I kept an ear focused on the deserted area to my left as I walked. The crunch of my footsteps seemed loud in the ruins of New York City.

I reached the spot and picked up the tiny bit of silver. It was a small heart-shaped locket. The chain was missing, but the rest of it looked like it was in decent shape. I put my bag down and tried to get the locket open. It was stuck, but I slid a fingernail into the seam and pulled. It popped open and the locket sprang from my fingers. I fumbled in the air to catch it, almost losing it completely over the edge of the hole. I snatched it before it could disappear into the void, and I took a deep breath as I steadied myself. Sweat poured down my neck from the high-noon sun beating down on my head. My heart pounded in my chest as I looked inside the now open locket.

Two faded pictures rested on either side of the locket doors. A young girl was on the left, and a small boy was on the right. They were smiling up at me from their places, not a care in the world. I wondered how long ago those pictures had been taken. How long had they been laying in the dirt, waiting to be found?

A noise grabbed my attention and I looked up. I scanned the surrounding area. Mountains of rock and debris left from the bioweapon provided an enemy with plenty of cover if they chose to follow me here. I kept the Crater behind me as I scanned the perimeter for the intruder. Large, rusted metal beams pierced the ground where old skyscrapers used to be. Giant slabs of concrete, brick and other building materials scattered the field of dust and dirt that stretched out before me. Plenty of hiding places for unwanted visitors.

I frowned. No one came here. No one was stupid enough to try, except for me.

Footsteps echoed around me from all directions, but I knew it was a trick of the Crater. I reached behind me slowly and drew my pistol from the holster at the small of my back. It was a crude little thing, pieced together from old gun parts I’d found, but it worked when I needed it to.

“Who’s there?” I shouted. My voice bounced back from in front of me, from behind me. From my left and my right. I concentrated on the empty spaces my echoes didn’t reach. It was impossible to separate them. “I’m warning you. I’m armed and I will shoot you.” My voice carried easily over the rough terrain around me.

“Relax, princess,” a deep voice laughed to my right. A dark figure slid down the side of a giant piece of concrete. “It’s only me.”

I let out a brief sigh of relief and holstered my pistol. “That isn’t exactly comforting.” I teased, but in my head I was happy it was Ralf. He was a big guy with a lot of muscle. He had deep brown, almost black skin and dark eyes. We went to high school together before the world ended, and I always remembered him as being incredibly funny with a smile that brighten every room.

That changed when the bioweapon hit, and we lost everything we ever knew. Everyone we loved. I lost my family and Ralf lost himself. The rest of us have found ways to move on. We didn’t linger in the darkness the way Ralf did. He stayed there, and he became wildly protective of his friends. I was fortunate to be on his very selective list.

“What are you doing here, Ralf?” I asked. I picked up my bag and continued my search. I found a twisted piece of metal wiring and tossed it in the bag.

Ralf matched my pace and put his hands in his pockets. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I’m working.” I stopped walking and faced him. He avoided my eyes. “What is it?”

“The Scrouge tossed your bunk…”

My heart stopped. “What?! Why?” I almost shouted it. My bag of metal fell from my hands. Loud metallic clangs burst out around us and I struggled to hear Ralf’s rushed, quiet voice.

“He was tipped off by someone that you haven’t been turning over everything you find. He’s pissed and he’s ready to toss you into the Crater for lying.”

My breathing staggered. “Where’s the Scrouge now?” I glanced around us as if I could find our big leader running toward me. I shuddered at the thought of the Scrouge being in this place. I never knew why he was called the Scrouge. I never even knew his real name. He used to be an important government guy before the attack. He lost his left leg and hand in the initial destruction, before the bioweapon unleashed the chemical that killed most of the world. I always assumed he knew something about why we were left alive, but he never told it to us.

“So, I kept a couple pieces. What’s the big deal? I still gave him the big stuff. All the good stuff…”

“He thinks you’re part of some organization. Part of the group that sent the bomb.” Ralf bit his lip before continuing. “He’s told the rest of us to kill you on sight.”

I choked and took a step back. “For keeping a few scrapes of metal?!”

Ralf shrugged and stepped toward me. “I’m sorry, Kat.”

I looked at the darkening sky. I searched the landscape around us. Suddenly, my mind stopped racing and I looked at Ralf. “Why are you telling me this? If he’s ordered you to kill me on sight…”

“I want you to leave.”

His words were heavy, and I felt my chest constrict with them. “Leave? And go where? We don’t even know if there is anywhere—”

“I don’t know, Kat!” He looked at the ground and I could see how hard this was for him.

I took a deep breath and grabbed his hand. He looked at me. “Come with me. If he finds out you warned me, he’ll kill you too. Didn’t you say you had family in New Jersey? Maybe they’re still alive?”

None of us were able to contact the rest of the world. It was as if the rest of the planet had been enveloped in darkness. Computers, cellphones, tablets. Everything stopped working the day the world ended. For anyone with family outside of New York City, we couldn’t be sure if they were alive or dead. Those who tried to find out were never seen or heard from again. So, the rest of us stayed in the ruins of a dead city and tried to survive the apocalypse.

Ralf stared at me for a long time before finally nodding. Without another word, we took off running beyond the edges of the Crater. We ran slowly at first, but as we moved deeper into the city ruins, we picked up our pace. Echoes, ghosts and the threat of being shot by one of the Scrouge’s hitmen fueled our adrenaline. Collapsed buildings provided perfect cover for us, but that only meant others could use it to sneak up on us too. My heart pounded in my chest. Fear kept my senses alert but made every sound I heard an enemy ready to kill us. Even the sounds from my bag of metal made me jump. I pulled Ralf to a stop inside an old 7-Eleven. The roof was gone, and the walls were pretty much crumbling, but it got us off the street.

“I need a minute,” I whispered and leaned against the wall next to the door. The store had been purged of anything valuable years ago. Even the shelves have been removed so it was just an empty space with collapsed roof pieces scattered around the floor.

“We don’t have a minute.” Just as he said that a gunshot blew through the side of the building. “We need to move. Now!”

“You’re dead, Kat. You both are.” A voice rang out from every direction. It was the Scrouge. My stomach dropped. I pulled out my gun and started to exit the store, in the direction of the gunfire.

“What are you doing?” Ralf hissed, grabbing my arm and pulling me back.

“If I can get a clean shot, I could end this right now.” I tried to pull away from him.

“That’s a suicide mission and you know it!” Ralf pushed me out of the way as another bullet hit the doorframe where my head had been. “Run!”

Bullets rained down as we ran. We zigzagged to avoid being hit but it wasn’t enough. I heard a thick thunk as metal connected with flesh. Ralf collapsed and I slide to a halt. I took cover, shouting over the echoing gunshots. “Ralf! Get up! Come on!”

He pushed his head up and flashed me the ghost of his brilliant smile. “Find my family, Kat. If… they’re a-alive, they… t-they’ll.. h-help you.” Another gunshot. His head dropped and his body was still. Tears rolled down my face as the only friend I had left died.

I took a deep breath and ran from my hiding place. I poured all of my anger and fear into my legs and pushed myself to run faster than I ever had before. A bullet caught my shoulder, but I didn’t stop running. I gasped for air as I breached the edge of the city and stopped at the banks of the Hudson River. There was no way I could swim across the Hudson. I needed a break.

The crunch of footsteps made me spin around, pointing my pistol directly at the Scrouge. He walked toward me with his rifle pointed at my head. Two mindless drones flanked his left and right with pistols aimed at me too. I wondered who killed Ralf.

“Times up, Kat,” the Scrouge laughed.

I pulled the trigger on my pistol and felt the bullet leave the gun. The Scrouge’s face showed mild shock before he collapsed. Without a word, I reached down and picked up the Scrouge’s rifle. I pointed it at the two men left, who stared dumbly at me. My whole body shook.

“You’re next unless you leave right now.” I pointed to the river behind me. They walked toward the water and I made my way back to the city to claim it for myself.