The Afterdom (part 4)

Five miles is not that far. 

Before my parents got their second car - if I wanted to go anywhere, I would have to walk. I walked to school, to the movie theatre, to the mall. I hoofed it over to the park across from Rave's house every Saturday; Rave and I would play basketball from sun up to sun down. Ok, we weren't actually allowed to play cause all the real ballers owned the court, but we stood around outside of the fence hoping that maybe a couple of cute girls would catch us dribbling a basketball and presume that we were ballers too. 

Now I know better. Walking is the worst. My feet ache constantly, and there's no relief in sight. The terrain is so horribly uneven and stupidly dangerous. Every couple of feet, we hear each other winching in pain after twisting our ankles or scrapping our hands and knees from tripping for the millionth time. 

We lost the road entirely a mile or so back when we came to a dead-end. At first we thought it was a cul-de-sac, but then Rave noticed a massive hundred foot drop off just beyond the guard railing. We stood there with our mouths gapped open wide like coy fish waiting for a free handout at the local chinese restaurant. Then I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the sidewalk took a drastic swing to the right.  It lead us fifty feet up a steep incline and into some poor lost soul's backyard. Who knows where the house ended up, but Patty saw the mangled remains of a playhouse similar to the one she had when she was a little girl. So we let our imaginations fill in the blanks - coming to the consensus that that area must have been a backyard in its previous life. It could have just as easily been a day care center, a school, a toys-r-us, or a landfill. Who cares, right?

After another five or six hundred yards, we stepped off the last block of sidewalk and into more of the unknown. I know we are past the halfway point, but beyond that... I haven't got a clue.

"We're almost out of light," Rave grumbled. Thank you, mister obvious.

"I know, Rave... and that's the least of our worries."

I can literally see the hair standing up on Patty's forearms and feel the shiver running up my spine as the words slip through my chapped lips. We may be the only humans left alive, but unfortunately for us, we are not the only living creatures to survive.

"What are we going to do?" Patty weeps. "There's no where to hide."

"Yeah, we're sitting ducks out here in the open," Rave says.  I really wish someone other than me could come up with a decent plan.

"You're right... we can't stay here. We have to keep going."

"Have you lost it? Walk in the dark?" Rave roars, puffing out his chest again. The only thought running through my mind is Good grief. Not this again.

Patty rushes over to Rave and gives him the most powerful my little pony, rainbow bright, power puff girls infused hug that her little heart can muster. I've seen her do it before... all hopeful that the power of love will conquer the evil grumps. He tossed her to the ground like a rage doll. And that's when it hit me. 

"We have to fight our way through."

I scan the area looking for anything that we can use as weapons and start throwing as many sharp or pointy objects I can find into a pile. Patty rushes over to me and starts grading my eardrums like a hunk of cheddar cheese.

"You are the worst brother in the universe. Why didn't you punch him the face for treating me like that?"

"Not now, Patty!"

She stomps her foot and huffs like only a girl can - then walks a few feet away to mope.

"Get over here, Rave," I command. I dump an armful of rebar into his arms. "Bend these into whatever shape you like... just stop taking your frustration out on me."

I yell at Patty to get her to circle up.

"We have about fifty minutes to prepare for whatever lives in this wasteland. And you two have to get over yourselves and help me out."

I point at Patty like a dictator. "I want you to put your scrapbooking skills to work. Find a way to punch out spear tips out of this sheet metal."

"But I don't have any of my tools," she whined.

"Figure it out."

I turn my attention to Rave. "And you... straighten as many of those iron bars as you can. As soon as Patty finishes punching out the tips, you bind them to the top of the rebar with that wire over there."

"And what are you going to do?" Rave says with his jaw stiff and his chin high in the air.

"I'm going to scout a way down to the valley. I'll be back in a few... so don't go anywhere."

"My hero," Patty says sarcastically. I find it best to just ignore her when she gets like this.

"I'll try to pick up something we can use as shields on my way back." 

"Pick up a bucket of chicken while you're at it... you chicken!" 

Patty's witty comments rarely make any sense, but you have to give her credit for trying. You know, cause we grew up in a time when everyone got a trophy for showing up. Maybe I should try to bring her back one of those instead of the chicken?

I don't like being alone, but it is nice to be able to hear myself think again. Now, how do I find a place that I have only been to once, without any visual landmarks, without a compass or a map, or gps, or anything. For a second, I actually thought about using the stars. Maybe I am losing it.

Water! If I can find a river, then we can follow it to the train station. I remember crossing a really long bridge when Mom and I were taking Aunt Mary to the station. There are only two rivers and both converge at that spot. It's worth a shot. 

I look at my wrist like my watch actually works. I guess I have about ten minutes left to explore and return with an escape route. My fingers cross and I hope not to die. 

I used to love playing hide and seek in the dark. The best nights were when all my friends would come over to spend the night. Oh course, my mom always made me let Patty play, so she wouldn't feel left out. It didn't seem to matter that she was the only girl and that I didn't want her hanging out with me and my friends. She loved the summer lightning bugs. And if I was outside at night, she wanted to be right by my side. As I climb over another pile of rubble, it's almost like I can hear the sound of her giggles bouncing off the side of the house and giving away her hidden location. I start to worry that she might do it again tonight.

They only come out to play when it gets dark. And by play, I mean.... they try to rip us limb from limb. The closest encounter was the second night after the incident. I hope tonight is not a re-run. 

I hate re-runs.

If you like what you have been reading, please let me know by commenting below and sharing with your friends. Your feed back could actually help shape this short story series... so let me know what you think should happen next. 

Also, subscribe to our mailing list to stay up-to-date via email.