No World for Tomorrow

They said this would happen one day; that the world would end. Well, perhaps it isn’t ending quite yet. But close enough.

The streets in front of me were virtually empty. Where everyone went, I didn’t know. But I did know, for a fact, that many of them had been ruthlessly murdered. The evidence surrounded me. As for the other who had possibly survived, it was as if they had dropped off the face of the planet. They were nowhere to be found. Most of my close friends and family were either dead or gone. Dead and gone - that’s a good way to put it, I suppose. Of course, I did know that there were still some people who remained. I had caught glimpses of them in the ruins of town; the place I used to call my home. Whether they are particularly luck or not, you decide. After all, who wants to live in a world that’s been completely decimated, left to starve and fend for themselves? Especially in a world where most one’s problems and needs are taken care of for them.

The only person for which I cared about that still remained was my friend Coheed. He’s been with me since the beginning of this mess. Some would say that he was the catalyst that brought along this mock apocalypse. However, I preferred not to place the blame on an innocent bystander. He had just been brought into this world by the wrong people. Or person, I should say. But we’ll get into that later. To put it simply, Coheed had plain, old bad luck. He’s a good guy - Coheed. I believe that he’ll be the one who can finally stop all this chaos. I really, truly believe that. And all along the way, I will be here to help this friend of mine.

Along with Coheed and me, are two others. A boy named Chase and a waiflike girl named Meddie, short for Andromeda. We found them along the way. They were in need of help so we offered - well, Coheed offered - for them to join us in our travels. In my opinion, I would’ve much rather left them behind. Sure, call me cold and uncaring. But more people means more mouths to feed, more chances of being seen by enemies. It’s just an all-around hassle. Not to mention, they are two of the most needy creatures I have ever met in my lifetime. Nevertheless, Coheed insisted upon taking them. “The more the merrier,” he had said, snidely. He didn’t particularly want any more company, but he felt that he couldn’t just leave them there to fend for themselves. Because we both knew they wouldn’t last much longer, were that the case.

The pair of them didn’t make anything merrier, in the slightest. But, when I got bored, I enjoyed observing Chase. He was of average height and build but his features were striking. His bright blue eyes, the color of the sky on a nice day, were in great contrast with his pallid skin tone. His dark hair was shaved short, leaving his scalp barely visible. He dressed like a tough guy; leather jacket, combat boots and all. He sported the look well, but his attitude proved him to be anything but tough. It was just a façade he put on, to fool those around him. It didn’t fool me nor Coheed one bit. We saw right through his act right from the get-go. But, despite his occasional whininess, he was tolerable.

On the other hand, there was Andromeda. I could see right through her, though there wasn’t much to see through. She was completely one-dimensional. Shallow and without intellect. She complained at every chance she could get, which really irked me. She was the epitome of both prissy and helpless. Most of the time, I tried to ignore her. I let Coheed or Chase deal with her because I just couldn’t take it. Before this had all happened, I would’ve put up with it. But now that things had changed, I couldn’t bear the countless complaints she had about such menial tasks. The were unimportant. Getting a little dirty was nothing compared to surviving. And I would do anything it takes to survive, at this instant. I felt that surviving in this world was about the only thing I could do in remembrance of those who weren’t so lucky.

Anyway, there’s no use in complaining, myself. Carping didn’t get anyone anywhere in these desperate times. Simply (or not-so-simply) doing will get you what you need, at most. Forget the things you want, they’re not important now; things of the past. In fact, the things you now need are the things you now want. But, I digress…

These past few days had been especially grueling on those who were still around. Most of us who were still alive wished that they, too, were dead. Happiness was a thing of the past and it sure as hell wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Though my life wasn’t particularly happy to begin with, at least I had a roof over my head, food to eat, and a little brother who loved me and looked up to me. Now, all I had were the clothes on my back and the few things I could fit in the small backpack I had been carrying around. Which, quite frankly, wasn’t much. The first day after the world went to shit, I spent scrounging for materials. By the end of the day, I had found: A few extra pieces of clothing, a battery powered flashlight, some extra batteries, bandages, a pocketknife, an empty water bottle, matches, elastic hair bands, a pencil and a journal - the one I used to carry with me everywhere. Anything else small and useful that I could quickly grab, was also shoved in my bag. Somehow, among the wreckage, I had also managed to find an old, battered sleeping bag that I remembered using when I was a child, camping in the woods with my then happy and together family. That was back when times were good and I had no worries or fears. Ever since my father had died, my life had been the opposite; nothing but worry and fear, insecurities and hopelessness. Though, I tried not to show it.

I lost my childhood when he passed. When this happened, my mother decided she didn’t have a reason to care about her life or the lives of those whom she was responsible for anymore. How considerate of her. But, she’s dead now too. It saddens me, as it should, but I also feel like she got what she deserved. Abandoning your children and leaving them to fend for themselves while you cry yourself to sleep in the next room isn’t exactly ideal parenting. But, I have to say, I’m relieved that she’s passed on. She’s happy now, I’m sure. She’s up in the stars with my father now. Together forever, as they’d planned. And sometimes, I wish I were up there with them, too.

As for my brother, Nathaniel, I’m still not sure what’s happened to him. When Coheed, Chase, Meddie and I returned to the city after the invasion, we all decided to go to our houses and see who and what was left. Little did we know, but we had guessed, that none of our loved ones were left living.

When we got to my home, I went inside while the others waited outside for me. Inside, after a little searching, I found the brittle, lifeless remains of my fragile mother. I kept my distance, for the sight and smell was appalling. I said a little prayer for her and hoped that her and my father, and possibly my brother, were all happily reunited in the heavens above. I confessed to her cold corpse that I still loved her, despite the things that had happened and the events that had taken their toll on our relationship with each other. Afterwards, I searched everywhere in what remained of my home for some trace of my little brother. I found nothing. I hoped my brother was safe more than anything, whether he be in the stars or still alive somewhere.

I emerged from the semi-burned and in-ruins house of my childhood in silent tears. Normally, I didn’t show much emotion around the others, but this was all too much. Thinking about three lost loved ones in one sitting took its toll on me.

I kept on walking. Past everyone and everything, until I felt a strong but gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned, tears blurring my vision. It was Coheed. He pulled me into his arms and held me while I cried with my head upon his chest for what seemed like an eternity.

He must’ve gestured for Chase and Meddie to go on, because they were several hundred feet down the road when I pulled away from Coheed’s kind embrace. He held my head in his hands for a moment, wiping the few remaining tears from my face with a gentle brush of his thumb. He looked into my now red and itchy eyes and, with a nod, we were back on the road.

Next, we stopped at Chase and Meddie’s homes, which happened to be right next door to each other. They held each other in a tearful embrace after discovering that they, too, had lost the only loved ones they had. But at least they had each other.

As they held each other, I sat on a fallen log, picked blades of grass from the cold ground, and threw them back down to the earth below. Coheed had squatted down beside me, arms wrapped around his knees, head down and eyes closed. I studied him for a moment and tried to read his thoughts. It was of no use, of course. I’m no mind reader. Asking him wouldn’t get me anywhere either. Coheed had always been a man of little words ever since I’d known him. And I’d known him a long while; since grade school. He’d always been a private person. But when he told me he was dropping out of high school, it had surprised me and made me realize just how little I’d actually known about him and his life. In actuality, this had been the most time I’d ever spent with him outside of a classroom. I almost completely regretted it. The occurrences we’d been through in this small, but seemingly large, amount of time had made me see him in a whole new light. He seemed like someone I could’ve really confided in during the tough times in my life. But, there was no point in dwelling on the past now.

Either Coheed felt my eyes upon him or knew I was thinking about him because he turned his head, rested it on his left knee and scanned me with his eyes. I held his gaze for a moment, looked down and then returned my focus back to the blades of grass I continued to pull up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look me over a second longer then close his eyes again, looking exhausted.

About five minutes later, we were all on our way to our final destination of the night, Coheed’s house. It was a small house on the far end of town. I’d always envied the landscape that surrounded it. The dense forest with the river running through it as well as a variety of beautiful wildflowers was really a sight for sore eyes. Although the house was smaller than the majority of the houses in town, it was well maintained. By Coheed, I’m almost certain. It must’ve been how he acquired his muscular build because it had to have taken a lot of work. Everyone in town had seen that house in it’s worst days, falling to pieces around Coheed and his mother. Now, it looked pretty damn good. Now that I thought about it, I knew that Coheed had to have been the one to fix the place up because it sure wasn’t his father’s doings. His father hadn’t been in the picture since his mother discovered that she was pregnant. I was told that by my own father when I was a child and I had inquired as to where Coheed’s father was. At that age, I had no idea why someone would do such a thing. But, after all these years, I had learned that the world could be a cruel place.

I could tell by Coheed’s slow pace, pained facial expression, and clenched fists that he sure wasn’t looking forward to coming home. Since he was last in line to visit his home, he knew what to expect. Compared to the previous homes, his house was virtually unscathed, with the exception of a couple broken windows and a broken in door. But that didn’t fool him. He expected the worst, and rightly so.

Chase, Meddie and I stayed outside in the driveway to give him some privacy. He stayed in the small, mostly unharmed house longer than anyone else had staying inside their homes. It was either a very good sign or a very bad sign.

When he came out, I decided it was the latter. He was scowling, from what I could see. He walked very slowly away from the house, fists still clenched. I noticed he had a piece of paper crumpled in one hand and I wondered what it had said. But I didn’t wonder too long. As he approached me, I saw that his eyes were bloodshot and glossy, the rims red and puffy. He had been crying. That, I didn’t doubt. We had all done our fair share of crying that day. But now, he just looked like he was trying to hold himself together and be strong. His shoulders were held high and his chest puffed out in front of him, a determined look on his face. It looked as if he were wearing false confidence just to make himself seem tough, like he could handle what he’d just been through. Though he clearly couldn’t. He was falling apart at the seams on the inside. His lips were pressed together tightly in a thin line and his gaze was forever fixed on something far beyond me. Until I reached out to comfort him, that is.

I was just trying to extend the courtesy he’d extended unto me. He stopped and looked down into my eyes. It was not the look I had expected. If only looks could kill, I’d be dead right now. He gave me a look so hard and cold and angry that I couldn’t help but to look away. I placed my hand on his forearm for a moment. But, only a second after doing so, I regretted it. He shoved my hand away from him and pushed past me, making me lose my footing for a moment and ignoring my supposed-to-be comforting gesture. He continued to walk back the way we came. He was probably heading back to the makeshift camp we had set up, just outside the west side of town.

For a moment, I allowed myself to be hurt and angry. But I shook myself of the feeling in order to gain back my previous mentality. I understood how he felt so I had no right to be upset with him. It was hard and it hurt like hell. We all knew that. Losing a parent was like losing your whole idea of safety and security. For me, at least. He has every reason to be upset, I told myself. It was better to just leave him alone until he felt more calm and level-headed.

But apparently Meddie didn’t think so. “Where are you going, Coheed?” she shouted. “It’ll be okay!” He kept walking as if he didn’t hear her. I shot a glare to Andromeda. The meanest glare I could muster up. She looked to me, an annoyed expression making its presence on her face. “Just leave him alone. He needs space and time to himself right now,” I told her sternly. She still looked annoyed, but slightly more understanding.

We all stayed quite a ways behind Coheed as we walked. When there was about a hundred feel between us and him, we started walking in the same direction as he was headed, completely unsure of what would happen next.