The Heart of the world

I can’t help but wish for someone to talk to again. It’s been six years since I became the last person on earth, and all I want is someone to talk to, who would talk back at least. “We gotta find you some food.” I said, scratching Clover behind his ears. He pants and licks at my hand in response. As we walk through the empty city streets, I can’t help but laugh as Clover runs through the tall grass that has grown through the cracked asphalt. Labradors always were my favorite dogs, even as a child, and as Clover runs back to me, looking pleased with himself I can see the only white spot on his chest that earned him his name. I crouched down and scratched him again. “Come on, it’ll be dark soon and we need to find a place to stay.” I told him and stood. We started walking again, towards the tall cliff that over looked the city we just left. We hadn’t found any food, unfortunately, so I was hoping we could find a wild deer or some other animal in the field on the way to the cliff. Clover ran and jumped, playing in the grass as we walked. I laughed at him and kept an eye out for anything we could use, my pack thumping against my lower back with every step I take. I keep trying to steer my thoughts away from what things were like before it all ended, but I just wish I had another human to talk to or laugh with. I sigh and keep moving, shifting the hunting rifle I found in the city from one hand to the other. I stop and pull the bolt back halfway and look down at the shiny brass casing nestled in the chamber just to give myself something else to look at other than the sea of grass before me. Clover comes running back over to me and makes a deep noise in his throat, looking from me to the grass ahead and back. I drop low and seat the stock of the rifle against my right shoulder, looking through the scope. Clover has never let me down before; he only signals me when there is an animal nearby. Through the lens I could see an antelope about fifty yards ahead grazing in the grass. I smile to myself as I hit the safety switch on the trigger guard and take a deep breath. Thank God most of the animals in the zoos managed to escape when everything ended, otherwise Clover might have had to go hungry more often than not. I squeeze the trigger and feel the butt of the rifle hit my shoulder as the shot rings out in the quiet air around us. The antelope falls and I stand up, my ears ringing from the sound of the blast. Clover barks happily and I nod at him giving him the okay to run ahead and investigate his dinner. I slide the bolt back and watch as the empty bullet casing falls to the ground, making no noise as it hits the grass. I walk over to the antelope carcass and stop short, hearing Clover growl low in his throat. I look around and immediately spot the problem. There is a pack of three wild dogs standing around him and his prize, trying to get a piece of meat. Of course, I only have a few rounds left for the rifle and we run into predators. I grit my teeth point the rifle into the sky, firing off a shot hoping to spook the dogs. There’s another loud crack that echoes around us and all three dogs take a step back, but none run away. This is a problem; I need my remaining shots to hunt with or a to take care of a bigger threat, but none of the dogs are running. I sling the rifle and reach down to grab the knife on my belt when the biggest dog, a German Shepard, lunges forward. I shout and start to run forward as Clover attacks the other dog and the two go rolling through the grass, snapping and snarling at each other. I ran forward and tackled the third dog, a smaller mangy mixed breed, and stabbed it once through the heart before it could jump into the fight. I start to stand and a massive weight slams into my back, as the other dogs teeth snap closed next to my ear. Before I can move to get the dog off my back, its teeth sink into my shoulder. The scream I let out echoes through the air around me and I roll as hard as I can pinning the dog beneath me, causing it to let out a yelp. I jump up and swipe at the dog with my knife, slicing open is front leg. It lets out another yelp then turns and runs, tail tucked between its legs. I rotate my shoulder and the damage doesn’t seem too bad and I move towards where I last saw Clover. I smile as I approach and see he’s okay, only a few small cuts and the other dog dead behind him. “Good boy.” I tell him, scratching him behind the ears again. “Now let's get back to camp.” I bend, grab the antelope, and head to the cliff.

Sitting at the top of the hill next to a small camp fire, having cleaned the antelope and fed Clover, I stare out towards the city. I stroke the scar on my shoulder where the dog bit me and think. It looks so familiar, but I can’t place where I've seen it before. I’ve forgotten a lot in the last six years, with no one to talk to it’s hard to keep everything straight in my head. I turn around to look at Clover when something shiny buried in the dirt catches my eye. I walk over and grab the metal, pulling gently. The chain comes out of the dirt with little resistance and I hold it up to the fire light to get a better look at what I’ve found. My heart beats fast as I see the charm swinging gently in the wind. It can’t be. I grab it and clench it tightly, my throat suddenly dry. Taking a deep breath, I open my hand and see the tiny heart shaped locket, no bigger than a nickel, resting in my palm. There is rust covering it and though, it was once a bright red, the color is faded and dirty. With shaking fingers, I pry open the tiny locket and it opens easier than it should after being buried in the dirt for six years. My heart beats so fast I can hear it in my ears as it opens, and I can’t stop the tears when I see that it is empty. I fall to my knees and scream until my throat is raw and the only sound left is a hoarse rasp. I bend and rest my head on the dirt, sobbing quietly when I feel a hand my shoulder, squeezing gently. I look up, and standing next to me is a small gypsy woman. Dressed in a faded black dress, with a black scarf covering most of her long silver hair, she looks down at me, her blue eyes filled with pity from behind her wrinkled features. “Why? Why can’t I fix it?” I ask her sobbing quietly. A sad smile splits her face, showing me her white teeth “You made your choice my dear. Now you must live with the consequences forever”, she said and I close my eyes, wishing not for the first time for death that will never come as I remember what I had done.

I opened up the heart shaped locket and watched as the black smoke billowed out and swept through the city like a fog. It was evil, pure and simple. All of the evil of humanity released into the world, destroying everything in its path. My daughter's heart shaped locket, given back to me by an old gypsy woman with one simple sentence, “The choice is yours.” The only thing left of my sweet innocent baby girl, filled with the blackness of the world. After those men took her and did those unspeakable things to her. After the police told me they were doing everything they could to find her, and then just filed her away. There was nothing left for me, and everyone would know what it was like to lose what they loved.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to look at the old woman, her tear-filled eyes reflecting the burning city below. The locket was clenched in my hand and I could feel the rough metal edges digging into my palm as I squeezed it. “You could’ve saved them all. The power was there in your hands”. She said to me sadly, her long gnarled finger pointing to the locket, “now you must forever live with what you’ve done.” I looked down at the destruction I had wrought, knowing it was happening all over the world, and I couldn’t help the single tear that slid down my cheek. I dropped the locket in the dirt and turned away from the devastation. “They didn’t deserve to be saved”, I replied quietly, as the screams of thousands perishing echoed through my ears.