Apocalyptic Love

The sun filtered through the gap in the green canopies above, glowing against the fallen trees that had once blocked its light. Warmth seeped onto my skin in a comforting embrace. I hadn’t seen the sky often since I’d found the jungle and it had been so long since I’d felt the sun against my cheek. To see the sun I would need to climb the ancient trees of the jungle, and dangerous creatures lived in the trees.

I should have sensed the human sneaking up behind me. I should have heard the loud steps he took. But I had been distracted. It surprised me just how much until the heavy breaths of the human rang infuriatingly into the silent jungle.

Human contact was somewhat startling for me. As soon as the hand clamped around my shoulder, I’d gripped the hilt of my dagger tightly and lodged its blade within the human’s flesh. Of course my guilt immediately followed. I was a mess of emotions ranging from remorse to fear. Relief flooded me in the knowledge that I was not alone. I was not the last of my kind, and yet my instinct to survive had left me suspicious and untrusting.

Swivelling away from the human, I released my katana from its sheath, pointing the blade steadily towards the man. My eyes travelled over him in wonder as he clenched his teeth and yanked the dagger from his leg.

“What the fuck?” he spat viciously. “I’m one of you, you moron! What the hell was that for?”

I remained silent, unsure how exactly to reply to the man who was now wiping the dagger roughly across his jeans. His anger was evident as he then tentatively examined the cut I’d made, growling in frustration before pulling his shirt off and tying it around his leg. My eyes narrowed at the man, my hold on my katana unwavering. It didn’t matter how casual he tried to look as he leaned against a fallen tree. I wasn’t taking any chances. For all I knew, he was after the only thing that truly mattered to me. I cursed myself for stupidly clamping it around my wrist today.

“Oh, for Heaven’s sake,” the man groaned in exasperation. “Put that thing away. If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already.”

I didn’t. But his words cut an insulting wound in my side. The arrogance of his tone speaking down to me as if I were a petulant child playing games. How little he knew. How dare he insinuate that his blundering oaf of a body could even think to take me in my own jungle. It was as the lion had said. This boy was not of this world. Not like I was.

Before he could take another breath I darted forward, pinning the man harshly against the rough bark of the tree. His eyes widened a fraction from surprise. Clearly he hadn’t expected my level of agility. The speed and dexterity that I’d acquired during my years of playing hide and seek with the animals of my jungle mixed with the small amount of training Doc had taught to me in case I ever needed to protect myself.

The man swallowed, my blade slicing into his neck, though he didn’t seem to care. His surprise had quickly turned stony as his piercing eyes glared daggers into my own.

“What was that you said?” I snarled.

“I’d watch where you pointed that blade,” he glowered back. “You never know who might be watching.”

Barely a heartbeat later, I launched myself from the man’s body, eyes scouring the trees and leafy plants around me. Damn it. I’d let myself get distracted again, and for a brief moment I wondered how in the hell I had survived this long.

“Lower the sword, little lady,” grumbled a voice. “And nobody needs to get hurt.”

I froze, feeling the presence of something close to my head though I couldn’t quite see it yet. Instinctively, the grip on my katana tightened, unwilling to surrender even though I was at the disadvantage. By the sound of his breath and the fact that it blew across the top of my head, the new guy was tall. I couldn’t take the both of them on even if one of the men was injured.

“We don’t wanna hurt you,” the same voice said. “We just came to talk.”

I didn’t believe them. Not one single bit. But I lowered my sword a fraction, glancing over my shoulder to see the length of a dark barrel staring me down.

“Shit,” I muttered.

I knew what guns were. I’d seen one before, in the hands of Doc. They were dangerous, and a hell of a lot quicker than I was. The man behind the barrel seemed to sense my realisation of defeat, because a look of relief replaced the strong determination that his eyes had held.

“Okay,” he breathed. “Now, we’re all gonna be civil. We just wanna ask you a few questions and would appreciate if you could answer them.”

I nodded, not promising to tell them anything, but willing to lead them out of my damn way.

“Alright, Jared?” he continued, keeping a calm gaze on my eyes. “You okay to take it from here?”

A soft breeze snuck in through the bare clearing, brushing lightly against my skin as it sliced through the humidity of the jungle. A sweat was forming on my brow, causing me to wonder why I had come out during daylight hours. It was better to wander at night when most of the beasts slept. I tensed as the smaller man approached me, warily turning my gaze back to him.

“What’s your name?” he demanded, standing straight despite the wound in his leg and folding his arms over his chest.

My mouth clamped shut as I glared disgustedly at the man. Clearly he was used to giving orders and receiving obedience. But I wasn’t about to succumb to his dominance.

“I said, give me your name!” He growled, stepping forward.

I froze as the sound of a snapping twig echoed through the trees and if it were possible the jungle became even more silent than it had been before. I grimaced, not realising that I’d somehow lunged forward, my hands gripping onto the man’s forearms, stopping him from moving any further. My gaze shifted through the canopies above us, hoping to hell that my worst nightmares hadn’t given a second thought to the sound.

“What the – ”

Idiot. Refraining from smacking him over the head, I clamped my hand over his mouth, pressing up against him to steady myself as I listened intently. The breath I held began to burn my chest as I waited, expecting the worst but hearing nothing and it was then that I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Slowly, I released the man’s mouth and stepped away from him cautiously.

“What the hell was that?” he snarled harshly.

A loud screech screamed through the air, piercing my ears with an intense pain that I instinctively covered my ears. Stopping abruptly, the screech was soon followed with a chorus of snickers and I felt my heart plummet into my stomach.

My head whipped down to the man, his forehead creased into a frown. He wasn’t of the jungle. He didn’t know what to be afraid of. I could already feel the fear filling my body with adrenaline.

“What’s that?” the sound of a young voice startled me and I turned to see a child stepping from the leafy plants, his gaze high in the trees.

More people. There were more humans stepping out from the trees, seemingly entranced by the singing jungle. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. They were so stupid. They would never make it.

Suddenly a hand clamped around my arm, wrenching me towards him as he penetrated my eyes with a steely gaze. “What is that?” He growled.

I only shook my head, my free hand pushing at his chest as a single word trembled from my lips.

“Run.”