After The End

by Jamie Campbell

  His hands hold me so securely—despite what his body has recently gone through. I know he won’t drop me. He will hold me until the end of time so we can enjoy this kiss for the rest of our lives.

  Nothing else matters. Garlind and me. Me and Garlind. We are the only two things in this world and the reason why my heart is racing right now.

  I’ve never been kissed so completely before. I can’t remember where I end and where he begins. We’re two pieces of clay, molded together to make one.

  This is what we are fighting for. Not the good of the planet. Not to save humanity. Just for this moment to continue on uninterrupted and then we can live a happy life together.

  When he releases me and our lips part, I feel the loss immediately. We’re already too far apart and he hasn’t even let me go yet.

  He settles me back on my feet. “Sorry, I just needed to do that.”

  My cheeks are flushed but not from embarrassment. He’s made the planet ten times hotter than what it was before. It’s like he’s suddenly turned on a heater.

  “You don’t need to apologize,” I say. “You can do that anytime you want to.”

  “Like now?”

  “Yeah, like now.”

  He kisses me again on the lips. Then on the cheeks. Then the nose. Then the temple. He leaves butterfly kisses all over my face until we’re both laughing.

  This is too much. I’m not supposed to be this happy when the world is no longer.

  My stomach flutters as I look up at him. There is nothing to betray the horrors of this new world in his eyes. They are deep brown and twinkling. They are the eyes I know so very well and the same ones I can look into for a million years and still find flecks I hadn’t noticed before.

  He leans down so our foreheads touch. “We’ll never know when our last day will be,” he whispers. I can feel his breath as it skims over my cheeks.

  “Don’t talk like that. We’re going to be fine.”

  “I need you to know how much I love you. Each second of every day, I love you. Please don’t ever forget that.”

  I swallow. I hate hearing him say these things. Mostly I hate the fact that he’s right.

  “Promise me, Maisy Rayne. You’ll never forget.”

  A lump forms in my throat. “I promise, I’ll never forget. But you should know how much I love you too. I didn’t even think this kind of love was possible until I met you. I will always feel the same. Always.”

  He wraps me in a bear hug and I never want to let go.

  We stay there embracing in the middle of the street for far longer than we should.

  Neither of us want the hug to end.

  But nothing lasts forever in this world. We eventually have to part. Not because we should but because staying in one place like this without anything to protect us is dangerous. Being out in the open can be deadly.

  We don’t want to die.

  Our arms uncurl from one another but our hands find each other. We hold hands as we walk on further down the road. Two people, still linked with hearts if not bodies.

  The weight on my shoulders doesn’t feel as heavy now. With both of us carrying the burdens of our life together, everything is better. I’m lighter, my spirit is soaring, and my hope has been renewed.

  We can do this.

  I know we can.

  Nothing needs to be said after our earlier discussion. We’re in this together and it’s never been clearer. Our path has never been so straight before. We will get to Pennsylvania and find an army. And then, we will take back our country.

  Then…we rest.

  Together.

  The road eventually leads us past a house. At first, I can only see it in the distance and worry I might be imagining things. But, sure enough, the small little building gets bigger as we approach. It doesn’t disappear.

  Yellow paint peels from the outside walls and the door hangs askew. It creaks when we swing it open to enter. Most of the windows are still in one piece but a vine from outside has broken a few. There is a smell inside that is not pleasant—somewhere between rotten wood and dust. I’ll get used to it eventually.

  “You take the bedrooms and I’ll check the kitchen and bathroom,” Garlind says mid-stride. He’s already on his way to explore.

  I nod my head and take the hallway that I assume leads to the bedrooms. I enter the first one I come across. It has a small single bed pushed up against the wall. A very faded and moldy pink bedspread is still neatly made on top.

  There isn’t much to search in this room. A chest of drawers leads to nothing and the closet only contains a few items of clothing that are far too small for either of us. There was probably a very happy little family that lived here before.

  I wonder what became of them?

  I’ll never know and I’ll never stop wondering.

  The next bedroom contains a queen-sized bed that has been stripped bare. There are some male and female clothes in the closet that I shove into a bag I also find in the cupboard. I’ll have to wash them before we can wear them but it will be nice to change our clothes when they are dry.

  There are no other usable supplies and no more bedrooms. By the time I return to the living room, Garlind is just finishing up in the bathroom.

  “I found some clothes,” I say, holding up my bag as evidence.

  He holds up a similar bag. “I got some food.”

  “That beats my haul. What is it?”

  “Beans.”

  “Way better than nothing.”

  “You can say that again.” Garlind smiles and my heart flutters. To have him and some food makes my world a very good place to be right now.

  We check the living room together and find a blanket. Like the clothes, it will need to be washed before we can use it. It’s starting to get dark now so it will have to wait for the morning.

  We secure the front and back door for the night and make a nest in the biggest bedroom. We’ll sleep on the mattress tonight and try not to think about all the dust and mildew we’re probably breathing in.

  It’s safer to sleep on the floor but the opportunity to sleep on something softer is too much to resist. We eat the beans cold before we lie down.

  I snuggle up next to Garlind and rest my head on his shoulder. He pulls me against him so there isn’t a breath of space between us. Something has changed between us since he stopped in the middle of the street. We’ve become stronger, our relationship more defined. Our connection feels complete now.

  I close my eyes and think of the future we might be able to have together. Anything seems possible now. I know for sure that we won’t let the aliens win. Nor will we let all the remaining humans bring us any harm.

  We are invincible.

  Sometime in the night, I fall asleep. Only to dream bright, vivid images of two very happy people. I hope they are prophetic, but even if they aren’t, it’s enough to get me through the night.

  When I wake in the morning, I’m all alone.

  Garlind is gone.

  Chapter 8

  My heart leaps into my throat as my gaze darts around the room. There is a small indent in the mattress where Garlind slept last night. How long as he been gone? Where did he go? Why did he leave?

  All these thoughts race through my mind as fast as a speeding train. I don’t have any answers, only the overwhelming panic that is creating a crater in the bottom of my stomach.

  “Garlind?” I call out.

  No answer.

  I know it doesn’t make sense, but I have to check the closet anyway. He surely won’t be hiding in there, but I can’t stop myself. It’s empty. Next, I check underneath the bed. Nothing but some old sports equipment.

  “Garlind?” I scream louder.

  My ears strain to listen for a response but none comes. I can’t stay still a moment longer. I bolt out of the bedroom and check every room I come across.

  He’s not in the child’s bedroom.

  He’s not in the bathroom.

  He’s not in the living room.<
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  He’s not in the kitchen.

  He’s nowhere in the house.

  My fingers claw at the lock on the back door as I struggle to get it open. It finally gives and I burst through the door outside. My gaze goes left and then right. There are overgrown weeds and vines in both directions but no Garlind.

  Maybe our last kiss was one to say goodbye?

  I can’t get enough oxygen into my lungs. They feel sticky, like they can’t open fully. I can’t be on my own here. After everything that happened yesterday, this can’t be how it ends.

  Surely this is not how our story ends.

  Tears start to prick my eyes and make the world around me blurred. I search for any sign of Garlind having been out here. He would have left footprints. If I can find the direction he went, I might be able to find him. In the very least, I deserve an explanation.

  Unless he didn’t leave on his own accord.

  There are aliens crawling all over this planet. It would only take one to notice him and take his life. If I know him at all, he’d sacrifice himself just so they don’t find me. If he’s done something like that, I’m going to kill him myself.

  I take a deep breath and sniff the air around me. If there were aliens around, I would be able to smell them. Their scent lingers far longer than their physical presence.

  The air is clear. I can smell a lot of different things but nothing like the horrible stench that I’ve come to know as distinctly alien. If Garlind has gone, it’s not because of the invaders.

  That just leaves a million other reasons why he isn’t here. I don’t want to accept any of them. I even pinch myself to make sure I’m not still asleep and my wonderful dream has turned into a nightmare. The worst kind of nightmare.

  I’m fully awake and this is really happening. The pain of the pinch is very real. I can’t deny the fact that Garlind is gone and he has left me behind.

  If I had a machete I would cut through every one of these vines so I could find his tracks. I would destroy everything just to have a clue about where he’s gone.

  “Garlind!” I call out as loudly as I can. I’m not too concerned about anyone else hearing right now. There is nothing else unless I can find him.

  There is no response.

  He’s not out the back of the house, I’m relatively certain of this now. I hurry to go around the home so I can search the front. My feet keep getting tangled in the vines, making my progress painfully slow.

  One of the weeds catches the skin of my arm and tears a graze. The sting of the wound barely registers in my mind. I’m too focused right now. I’ll feel the pain later, after I find him.

  The front of the house stretches out to reach the road. It is a good size for a family with a small child. The trees lining the boundary are overgrown and stand tall and proud to shield the house from what traffic there would have been once.

  There is still no sign of Garlind. It’s like he’s just vanished into thin air. I can’t find any tracks or broken foliage to tell me which direction he left in. There is nothing I can do to find him.

  I yell his name repeatedly but the silence buzzes in my ear in response.

  Deflated, I sit on the stairs of the front stoop and curl my legs to my chest. I don’t know what I should do right now. If Garlind has gone and I can’t track him, I’m going to have to go on alone. I might still be able to find the people we need to take back our country. I can still read the street signs and I know how to read directions from the sun.

  I’m certain I’m capable of surviving on my own—I’ve done it before. The problem is that I don’t want to. I’ve lived alone since my parents died and now I can truly comprehend what a lonely life it was. If I have to do it again, it might not be worth it.

  I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. How long do I sit here and wait for him? How long until I’m brave enough to set off on my own? How on earth will I ever feel complete again when Garlind is not here?

  My mother used to tell me that women didn’t need men. That we were the stronger gender and could do amazing things like create life. But then she would tell me having a partner does make things that much sweeter and then give me a wink.

  I know I can survive on my own but I don’t want to anymore. I’ve tasted the sweeter life and I can’t go back.

  Rustling in the bushes beyond the front yard catches my attention as my head snaps up to see what it could be. Aliens, animals, humans, it could be any of them. I shouldn’t be sitting here so exposed, I know better.

  I go to stand quietly so I can slip inside but stop as a figure emerges from the overgrown hedges.

  Garlind.

  I’ve never been happier to see him before. I run for him, not thinking about anything else except that he’s here. He’s come back. I don’t need to leave him behind now.

  My arms are thrown around his neck as he looks startled. He wasn’t expecting such a reaction on his return.

  “I was worried sick about you,” I chastise, my words spoken into his shoulder. I don’t want to let him go, not even for a minute. I wish I could keep him in sight at all times.

  “I just went to wash the clothes you found so we can change into something clean,” he replies.

  My emotions run an obstacle course as I’m relieved, mad, and then charmed all at once. “Tell me where you’re going next time, okay? I woke up alone and…thought the worst.”

  He pulls back so he can look into my eyes. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “Wake me up. Always wake me up.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  His promises can be relied on, I know this. Next time if I wake up alone, it won’t be on purpose. I don’t want to think about it. I just want to erase this entire morning.

  My pulse starts to return to normal now I have Garlind back again. I can focus once more. My brain can think without panicking. It’s strange how just one person can make such as impact on another. He’s practically a meteorite and I’m the planet he collided with.

  “How about we eat something and then—”

  Garlind doesn’t get to finish his sentence before there is wild rustling in the shrubs surrounding the property. My body immediately tenses up as it prepares to either fight or flee.

  The bushes are quickly pushed aside as a pack of wild animals run in our direction. I grab Garlind’s hand as we race up the few steps to the house’s front door. We burst inside and slam the wooden frame as quickly as possible.

  Just moments later, the animals bang against the closed door. I can feel the impact through the wood. I’m not convinced the old hinges can withstand the battering. If they lunge for the windows, they will get in. I hope they aren’t that smart.

  “What kind of animals were they?” Garlind asks. His body is next to mine, pressed up against the door in the hopes of keeping it shut.

  “I don’t know. Some kind of weird mixture of a boar and a cow or something. I didn’t get a really good look before we ran.”

  The animal has to be a mutant one. I’ve never seen anything like it in the books back in the bunker. Their heads resembled wild boards with tusks, but the bodies were much larger and seemed out of proportion to the head. I can’t put a name on what they are and I don’t need to know their species to know they are dangerous.

  The door cops a battering as the animals continually charge at the wood. I’m waiting for one of their tusks to break through and gauge out a piece of us. It can happen at any moment, I’m certain of it.

  “Something must have spooked them,” Garlind says over the constant banging noise. “The way they came running through the bushes, it can’t be normal. They were hyped up before they spotted us.”

  “Maybe they were being chased by something bigger than them,” I reply and instantly wish the thought hadn’t occurred to me. If there are worse animals out there, I don’t want to meet them. The house will definitely not withstand a larger attack.

  “We can hea
d for the back door and get out that way. As long as they don’t catch our scent, we might be lucky,” Garlind says. “I don’t like our chances of outrunning them if they do catch up with us.”

  I don’t want to move away from the door but I know it might come to that. The thought of going outside and not having any barrier between us and the animals is enough to terrify me. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

  “Oh no.” They are two words that I don’t want to hear right now.

  “What?”

  “Can you smell that?”

  I take a deep breath. It doesn’t take me long to register the scent. Aliens are nearby. “That must have been what spooked the animals. They were running away from the aliens.”

  Garlind nods his head. “And now we definitely have to run. All this noise will lead the aliens directly to us. We can’t stay here.”

  The stench is making me feel sick. It’s strong, which means they can’t be too far away. “Maybe they will think it’s just the animals acting crazy. They might not realize we’re in here too.”

  “Maybe, but do you want to risk it?”

  I don’t. I really don’t. But I feel so much safer here with four walls surrounding us. Outside there is nothing but us and the wild overgrown gardens. We’re stuck between two impossible choices which are neither appealing at all.

  “Okay, we’ll have to go,” I concede.

  The problem is getting my body to follow the directions of my brain. I know we have to leave but every inch of my body is screaming at me to stay put. Even taking one step away from the door seems impossible.

  Garlind looks at me. He hasn’t moved an inch either. “The sooner we go, the better. The wind is coming from the west so they must be to our right. Once we leave the house, we have to run left as fast as possible.”

  I find myself nodding as I resign myself to the inevitable. Either we wait and hope or go and take a chance. There are no guarantees with either option but I do agree with Garlind that it’s best if we don’t stay.

  Suddenly, the smell is so terrible that it overwhelms all my senses. I can even taste the stench in my mouth. “I think we’ve lost our chance,” I whisper.