The Locket

She held the heart-shaped locket between her fingers as he spoke, holding her breath to steady herself. The feelings she had towards him had changed over the last three years, and although one could argue it was due to everything they had been through, she knew it was much deeper than that. These feelings had been there longer for her, dwelling just below the surface, being forced down so deep that they couldn’t be detected by anyone except for her.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, bringing her back to the present moment and the decision at hand.

“If we stay on this road, it will eventually lead to town,” she shared looking at the map, shaking off her melancholy thoughts.

“Okay, then we better get back on the road.” He faked a smile, and so did she. They both stood up from the cement slab they rested upon, donned their hiking packs, and returned to the gravel path they had been traveling for weeks.

She knew if they kept walking together, eventually all the feelings would have to come out. All the anger, the hatred, the love, and the passion from living underground, would all come to the surface at some point, and that’s what scared her the most. They had survived in the cellar for three years together, making their stored supplies they had last for longer than either of them anticipated, and that had not scared her as much as letting it all out, letting it all go, letting her feelings be known. If she would not have had his help this whole time, could she have survived? And could he have survived without her? Would they had made it this far without each other, even though they wanted to kill each other underground?

The year the sun flashed and went to sleep took most people by surprise, but not them. They had been preparing for this moment for a few months prior and had a cellar full of supplies that could last them a couple years without rationing them to make them last longer. She smiled as they walked thinking about how they worked together before the fall and built their supplies, not actually believing they would ever need them. Her smile faded as she unconsciously moved her hand back to her locket and fingered it carefully, as if she was afraid of breaking it. So many things had broken over the last few years, including her own soul. She felt as if the locket was the only thing holding her together anymore.

Before the fall, they were that couple: the one that everyone was jealous of and made fun of because they were too perfect together. Always hugging, never fighting, always together. Even the heart-shaped locket she wore was an anniversary gift from him that she treasured so dearly. Those close to three years in the cellar changed them. They had only counted on two years, according to the calendar on the wall and the daily marks below the calendar based upon their sleeping habits, and at about a year and a half into their underground life, they realized they would need to ration better. Time passed differently underground, but that didn’t matter to the amount of food they had left. They made the last 6 months’ worth of food last just over year, leaving them without anything else to eat or drink, and sending them to the surface, but not before losing their minds.

They had always been okay with being together before their time in the cellar, even bragging to their friends and family that they never needed time apart. Living in the cellar with no other distractions, especially for an internet loving couple, was a rude awakening for them. They had stored books and games in the cellar as well as multivitamins to help supplement what they would miss with the sun, but three years underground is a long, long time. They lasted a whole year before they started digging into each other, bringing up the past and harming each other with their words. He would call her a self-righteous bitch and she would call him an arrogant prick. They moved their common areas of the 20x20 cellar to opposite ends, and barely spoke to one another for the next several months. They would eat their meal of the day separately, and sometimes even slept separately. She would cry to herself as silently as possible, and wish for death that would never come. If he heard her crying, he would yell at her, telling her to stop, saying that he couldn’t ignore it, which only made her cry even more. The rage they had towards one another filled the empty space in the cellar and made living there unbearable.

She attempted suicide six different times that last year, each time taking too many of her stockpiled sleeping pills, which only added to the frustration between the couple. He tried to support her, care about her, but watching her try to die was too much for him. He broke down after the fifth time and begged her not to try again because he loved her and didn’t want to lose her. She was numb by then, and tried the last time the next day. That was when they decided it was time to try to go to the surface again. They had tried previously, but every time they opened the cellar door, the howling strength of the wind and the amount of dust above them made it impossible to make the climb. This time, they didn’t have a choice. Wind or dust be damned, they had to find food and water, and get the hell out of that rage-filled cellar. Shaking her head, she returned to the present moment and focused on walking.

After hiking for most of the day, they decided to camp underneath an old tree that looked like it had been struck by lightning multiple times. Most of the tree was black, but she could see the leaves attempting to come through the death. She smiled at how resilient nature could be, and acknowledged that she would be just as resilient. I mean, I didn’t die in the cellar, I can make it through this, she thought to herself. This little bit of hope made her think that maybe she could let it all out, tell him how she really felt, and let him make his own decision. Later, she promised herself. Later I will share my desires with him.

“We can set up camp here, and make a fire over there,” he said to her, pointing to different areas near the tree. She nodded, and they each went about their jobs as they had many times before. Before the world collapsed, they enjoyed camping and hiking, taking in all the sights and getting away from overrun society, but now, being forced to camp made it less fun. They set up their tent together, then she began to fill the tent with their sleeping mats and blankets while he got the fire set up. Once they were finished, they both sat by the fire, staring at it dazed and exhausted, but interested, almost as if it was their source of entertainment for the night. The fire provided much needed heat as what little sun was left went down and the temperature dropped significantly.

After going through much of the wood he found earlier for their fire that night, the couple decided to add more wood to help keep the tent warm, then go to bed. It would be a long night and an even longer day tomorrow. They crawled into their tent, huddling under the blankets for warmth, holding each other more for body heat than for anything else, and quickly fell asleep while the fire burned bright.

Grrrrrr… Grrrrrooowwwwwlllll. Grrrrrrrroooooooooowwwwwlllllll. She gasped as her eyes popped open to the sounds outside their tent. The fire had gone out, but she could see a large shadow just outside of the tent and could hear some grunting and growling. The shadow was larger than what she guessed a bear would look like, and from what she could see from the shadow on the tent wall, had spikes on it’s spine. The growl was deeper than anything she had ever heard before, rumbling the ground below them every time it grumbled.

“What the f-“, he whispered as he started to wake up. She quickly turned to him and covered his mouth, putting a finger over her own to emphasize the need to be quiet. The creature outside stopped moving and held its head up to listen for the noises from the tent they were sure it heard. They held themselves still, holding their breath, staring into each other’s eyes with fear. The fear slowly transformed into a sort of longing, as they had not looked at each other so deeply in such a long time. She could feel herself soften as she saw the true man she loved in his eyes, and he seemed to respond in the same way. They didn’t move for fear of the creature hearing them, but they continued to gaze at one another deeply and lovingly. She felt all the feelings within her subside, almost as if one look from him could cure all the upset within her.

The creature grunted, as if deciding it didn’t hear what it thought it did, then walked away from the tent. The couple sighed with relief, and slowly allowed their muscles to release. She watched him slowly sit up and run his fingers through his hair.

“That was close,” he whispered.

“Yeah it was,” she whispered back, sighing once more.

“What was that thing?”

“I have no idea, but it was fucking huge.”

“Maybe we should pack up and go? I don’t want it coming back.”

“Totally agree.” She stretched and began to rise up to her knees, focusing on the task at hand.

“And babe?” She turned to him in shock because he hadn’t called her that in years. “It was nice seeing the real you again,” he said with a smile.

She blushed and smiled back at him. “You too, love.” Her eyes filled with tears at the relief she felt. The anger had dissipated, and her heart swelled with love. For the first time in years, she no longer wanted to die, and she promised herself to fully engage in life, especially in her relationship with him, from this moment forward.

They slowly and quietly began to get dressed in their tent, preparing to leave, when they heard a sort of galloping noise coming closer to them that shook the ground beneath them. They turned to each other with fear in their eyes, then attempted to quickly climb out of the tent. By the time he had climbed out first, it was too late; the creature had returned and was on him before he could react. The bright, glowing green eyes lit up the campsite as its oversized claws ripped into his chest, causing him to let out a blood curdling scream. She had just made it out of the tent in time to watch her soulmate be slaughtered right before her eyes. Her shock was seconded by a defeated scream that suddenly alerted the creature to her presence. She dropped to her knees and closed her eyes, locket in hand, ready to embrace the death that she thought would never come. The teeth of the creature brought a sweet release for her, and after all the pain she felt underground, as well as all the relief she felt in the tent with her love, was finally let go. She knew there was no need to fear, as this was what she desired all along. She was happy to finally feel nothing as her eyes finally went black.