APOCALYPSE: An Anthology by Authors and Readers

by S L Dearing

  “Don’t be afraid. Be brave.” I hear him say. His voice is so familiar, so soothing and safe, but who is - him? Who am - I? I know my first name is Clossiana, and I am not alone. I am not alone.

  I manage to quell the fear inside me but in the back of my mind I know my supplies are depleted and I need to venture out, but the mere thought of leaving swoons every single one of my thoughts and makes my black blood curdle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going stir-crazy in here, wherever here is, and the smell, but all that fails in comparison to whatever’s waiting for me outside. I don’t remember much, just an overwhelming feeling of dread, but it’s enough to ice my blood.

  I woke up in this cave about three days ago - someone must have dragged me inside? They even went to the trouble of leaving me with a backpack of provisions – water bottles, matches that are too moist to use, and most importantly a gun, but I have no recollection of ever learning to use one. Its cold metal sends my mind in a spiral, and I’ve since abandoned any hope of using it.

  The humidity has leached into my bones, and from what I can tell my body is covered in bruises, but worst of all is my leg – I think it’s broken because any movement sends shock waves of acute pain to my brain. It has since receded into a type of numbing throb.

  “Shit!” I lean against the rocky wall and my hearts start to flutter. “Be brave, Cass. Be brave.”

  How am I going to do this? I can hardly move, but I can’t stay in here and starve to death. I listen carefully, not unlike every minute of every hour of every day since I’ve woken up in here, and still not a sound. It’s worse really - I’d prefer the gunfire that keeps me up at night in my dreams, at least that would mean I wasn’t alone.

  “Go! Get up and go! Just do it!” My breathing is erratic and my palms are instantly sweaty – in a swift stretch I grab the gun, despite my reservations, and painstakingly crawl out towards the small hole. I am gasping for air and my body screeches for me to rest - the pain is unbearable but I don’t stop, instead I quicken my pace, because if I stop, I die.

  I finally reach the outside and with all my might I suck in as much air as my lungs can hold. The world’s momentarily lopsided. I catch my breath as the pain subsides, and my fear takes over. Devastation! I can see for miles upon miles of decimation, and like a torrent of knives, I see flashes of dreadful images attack me. The raw memories come flooding in, and they paralyze me.

  Cyaniris is leading the way. I yell for him to stop but he’s squeezing my hand so hard I can’t let go. He’s running too fast for me and I’m tripping over everything. The air around us crumbles like dust pouring from the sky. Everything is gray and black. What is happening? I look up, and behind the heavy, grayish curtain of smoke and debris, the sky is ablaze. A faint glow engulfs us but the blistering fire is far from weak. I think my face is melting, and I quickly look down. I feel it now, weighing on me – the heat, the debris. squishing us like bugs. The pain is intense, but I trudge on – when I suddenly hear – CRACK. I ignore the sound and push forward, but fall flat on my face. One of my legs is broken, and the foot is completely askew. I panic, and reach down and put it back straight, but the pain is excruciating and I scream. It’s too much…too much.

  “Cass, baby, run! Don’t stop now – Be brave, we’re almost there…”

  “I can’t Cyan…my leg.”

  Cyaniris looks down at my leg as dread covers his face.

  “It’s too late - Cyan go…leave me… Go now!”

  I see the shimmer in his eyes, and he’d rather die here with me than leave me behind. He picks me up and runs into the forest where we had found shelter months before. His entire body is covered in boils, but he won’t stop. The forest has vaporized, and nothing is left but dust, except for the big boulder - it still stands, and he sprints towards it as though his wings could take flight.

  “We made it, baby, we made it together like we knew we would. It’s okay, baby, breathe - just remember to breathe. We’ll be all right. We hold their secret.”

  I hear him talking but it’s impossible to concentrate on anything but the pain, the sores on my skin, and my leg. It’s all too much…and I fall unconscious.

  I remember now! “Cyaniris!” I scream, but he doesn’t answer. I go back inside the cave and frantically search every inch of the dark interior, hot tears pour down my face as I fight back the physical and emotional agony –

  “It’s my Cyan. Baby, where are you?”

  I finally touch his face, but he’s unrecognizable, swollen beyond recognition, and I suddenly feel cold, like my body has just shut down. I fall over him. I know this is not what he would have wanted but I just can’t bring myself to care, not anymore. In a moment of sheer terror I cock the gun and put it in my mouth, my eyes are shut tight, as if not watching makes all this easier, and just when I’m about to pull the trigger and end this nightmare, I hear it - the sound of life, or something other than dead silence.

  I gently pull the pistol out of my mouth and hold on to Cyan as though his mere presence can save me. He always had in the past. I don’t see why in death that would be any different. I stop and listen.

  Echoes of some foreign language burn in my brain…it’s them…it’s them…the aliens, I repeat the words frantically. What am I going to do? My hearts beat as though they will fracture out of my body, nothing but the swooshing sound of blood in my ears – so much so that I can’t even hear if they are near or not.

  Breathe, baby, breathe - you can do this, be brave.

  They said they came in peace from their dying planet, Earth they called it, but Cyan was on to them from the start. He told me he didn’t trust the humans and that I shouldn’t either. I just thought he was being paranoid - we should have listened. I kiss Cyan and slowly drag myself to the opening and peek outside. The grim sky reveals that my arms are covered in welts, and my wings are all but nubs, but the adrenaline just kicked in, and the pain seems bearable. I look around my planet, my home, beautiful Cerberus destroyed, vacant, and ready for the plucking by those traitors. I hear the intruders - the soft shells.

  Ah! Soft shells we called them, we thought they looked so vulnerable. They would have been such easy targets too in the beginning, small and puny with their soft, leathery skins, but they were smart…and peace was never their intention.

  I glance to my left and I find the enemy, a team of five humans exploring the wasteland in anti-radiation suits, they’re looking for something, but what? What was it that Cyan had said – “We have their secret.”

  Some distant memory flashes in my mind and I roll over onto my back, aim the gun inside the cave, and pull the trigger. A hologram emerges from my pistol inside the dark cave. It’s the location of their vessel, hidden behind Little Ida, our third moon… “No, wonder we never detected their weaponry!”

  This information is invaluable…I know what I need to do now - I need to survive and protect this information.

  My mother always taught me that everybody has a purpose. You know the kind of purpose that says you matter…

  My first name is Clossiana, but my friends call me Cass. I am a Cerbernara survivor, fighting the human invasion, and if you can hear this - you are not alone. You are not alone.

  SAVE ME

  HEATHER KIRCHHOFF

  Dedicated to:

  My parents for letting me do this.

  Author Info:

  Heather Kirchhoff lives in Higginsville, Missouri with her three parents, siblings, her guinea pig and two betas. She goes to Laffayette County C-1 High School, babysits and does odd jobs until she can get her first book published. Richelle Mead, Alyson Noel and Stephenie Meyer inspired her to write.

  You can connect with Heather at:

  http://www.facebook.com/HeatherKirchhoff

  Save Me

  I watched as smoke curled from the burning town, filling the sky with a dark grey. The firelight swelled as the flames rose higher and higher, causing glass to break, and people to scream. I felt my eyes go wide as I watched, amazed at wha
t could do this. I couldn’t look away from the scene.

  There was a sudden explosion, the sound of something shattering. The thick smoke, now reaching me, brought tears to my eyes. I coughed once, twice. My chest hurt as I took a few deep breaths in, making me wince. My ears rang, my entire body itching to run, get as far as I could. I gasped as my flesh was scorched from the heat wave that now swept over me.

  With my eyes straining, I quickly stood up, stumbling as I took off running through the dark, deserted town. I could barely see where I was going, but never stopped. I heard a few cries of alarm, loved ones yelling for each other. My own washed through my mind like rain overflowing a painting. Without my consent I remembered my family - my brother and sister, my parents - and almost faltered.

  I was leaving them.

  I couldn’t believe it. I never even thought of them. But now they flooded my mind, causing me to come to a halt. How could I just leave them? They’re my everything. Without them I’d be nothing.

  My throat cried in protest as I swallowed, fear beginning to cling to me. I had to go back. I had to save them. I had to do something. I couldn’t just go into hiding without making sure they were safe first. So I did the only thing I could.

  I went back.

  My feet pounded on the pavement as I ran along the roads, racing to my house. Racing to be a hero. I was short of breath by the time I got there, my heart hammering against my chest painfully, my whole body aching. I burst through the fiery door, instantly swept up in the hazardous smoke.

  “Mom?” I called, slowly making my way deeper and deeper into the house. “Dad? Kaitlyn? Ricky? Where are you?” I fell silent, straining my ears to listen for any movement, but there was nothing. The place felt eerie, as if no one was home. I squinted as I made my way carefully along, my hand touching whatever it landed on. I was walking blindly and I didn’t like it.

  “Hello?”

  I glanced around but could only see the smoke. The crackle of the fire swarmed my ears, filling my head with a strange buzz. “Hello?” I repeated. “Anybody here? Please, oh please, answer me!”

  Nothing.

  It was dead silent - no human noises at all.

  Suddenly I was racked by coughs, my body shaking as I doubled over, working hard to get as low as possible. I attempted to hold my breath but it didn’t work out so well. I had to breathe, especially with this situation. I leaned back against the wall, sliding to my knees as I did so. Nothing was right here. Where was my family?

  A million questions worked their way into my head; all fighting for my attention, all demanding to be heard. I closed my eyes, letting myself be engulfed by the rapid fire that was quickly taking my house - and all of our memories. I made my mind go blank, clearing all of those aching memories of my family. Of my life.

  I clenched and unclenched my fists. I tried to keep myself entertained, doing my best to make sure I don’t freak out. What the hell was I doing? I was a fighter. I never gave up. I never showed my weakness. But yet here I was sitting in a burning house. Why? Because I can’t find my family? That’s no reason to give up. I repeated that to myself again and again. The more I said it the more I was sure I was making a mistake.

  With every intention of staying alive, I shakily stood up - only to fall back onto my knees. I cursed to myself silently while working to make sure my legs weren’t numb. I had to get out. No, I needed to get out. The very least I could do is save myself, if not my family.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured as I felt my way out, my hands being blistered every time I touched a burning object. But I didn’t care. “Is anyone here?” I whispered one last time as the door came into view. “Please, I don’t want to have to do this. But I will.”

  I knew they couldn’t hear me even if they were. But for some reason I felt like they weren’t. I felt like they had abandoned this place as fast as they could. Maybe they did. I hoped so, so badly that they did.

  The minute I got to the door I gasped, filling my lungs with somewhat clean air. As clean as it’ll ever get. I looked up into the hazy sky, searching for any signs of hope. I can’t see the sun or moon, nor can I tell if it’s day or night. This scared me more than anything. How can I have any hope if the sky keeps darkening?

  “Raven!”

  The voice split the thin night air, clinging to me, comforting. I never thought I’d hear that voice again. My head snapped up, my eyes darting. There. A few feet in front of me was one of the people I hoped I’d see again. A huge grin spread across my lips as I staggered towards him. He caught me as I tripped over my own feet, smiling down at me. “Raven,” he whispered, as if my name’s a secret. The way he was looking at me scared me.

  “What?” I asked, clutching his arm for balance, though his arms were still wrapped around me.

  “I just can’t believe you’re here.”

  “Where are the others?” I suddenly demanded, remembering them. For a moment he seemed surprised, as if he was dumbfounded. I stared at him, waiting for his answer. Surely he knows. “Well?”

  “Dead,” he finally said. “Mom and Dad refused to go with them. Kaitlyn had no choice.”

  “So they killed them?”

  “Yes,” he said softly. “Except Kaitlyn.”

  “Where is she then?”

  “Like I said they have her.”

  “Could we possibly save her?” I asked desperately, a sudden plan beginning to spin in my mind. “Is there any way?”

  “I don’t think so, Raven. She’s gone to us.”

  “No,” I breathed. “She can’t be.”

  He didn’t say anything to that. Honestly, what is there to say anyways? My parents were dead, my sister gone. My hope was slowly disappearing.

  “Come on,” Ricky said after a few moments of silence. “We need to get out of the open.”

  “There’s nowhere to go,” I replied instantly.

  He met my gaze and I saw the defeat there. I saw that all of his hope was already lost.

  “We need to try and find somewhere. Otherwise we’ll have to join them.”

  “Join who?”

  “Our invaders.”

  I just looked at him, my confusion rising and sinking at the same time. I knew what he was talking about, but I also didn’t know what.

  “And who’s that?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t exactly stare at them while I was being held as a prisoner. I was just worried about getting free so I could find and warn you.”

  “Warn me about what?” I asked slowly, unsure if I want to know the answer to that.

  Instead of answering he gestured all around us. I once again took in the smoking houses, the deep grey sky, the people screaming, running as fast as they could. Except it wasn’t enough. Some of them were caught by something that I couldn’t exactly make out. All I know is that it was chubby and didn’t look normal at all.

  “What are they?” I murmured, pointing at one of them as it grabbed for a child.

  “I don’t know. That’s why I wanted to warn you. They killed our parents for not joining them, and I know that if you refused they’d kill you as well.”

  They killed our parents. What kind of creature would do this? My heart twisted as I thought of my parents, as their faces came into view. The last time I had seen them was this morning and now I will never get to again. I won’t hear them laugh, my dad telling all kinds of lame but funny jokes. I won’t have parents to watch me grow up. I won’t have anybody except Ricky.

  A few tears slipped down my cheeks, biting its warmth into my flesh. I didn’t bother wiping it away. What was the point? I was just told the hardest thing ever. Why should I hide what I’m truly feeling?

  “Do you know where they took Kaitlyn?”

  A few long minutes went by before he finally spoke. “No. I wished I did, but I don’t. Raven, I want to save her as bad as you, trust me, but we can’t. It’s best to look at her as gone.”

  “I don’t think it is. I think it’s the worst way to look at someone.”
/>
  “In this situation it’s best as gone.”

  I flicker my eyes towards him, trying to read my brother. But I couldn’t, like always. I sighed, knowing he was right. There’s no point in hoping someone will come back when you know they won’t be. It’s like wishing someone who was dead back. It’ll never happen.

  “Raven.”

  I felt Ricky’s body go tense as he stared at something behind me. His lips were in a straight line, his expression hard. His entire language said something was wrong. I tried to turn around but he grabbed me by the shoulders, making me stay put, his gaze never wavering.

  “Don’t.”

  That one word held so much power. I stiffened, watching my brother’s face. His eyes reflected the firelight and the shadows but not of anything behind me. I began to get nervous the longer he didn’t say anything.

  “What is it?” I asked in a low voice.

  “Danger,” he responded in an equally low voice. “Shh, don’t move.”

  I swallowed, hating how he was acting. His fingers still gripped my shoulders but now they were tightening as if his anger couldn’t be left inside him. It had to be taken out on someone else, the closest person.

  I averted my gaze, hating what I was seeing in his. How had he become so cold in the last five hours or so? When I last saw him he was so caring and playful, but I didn’t see that in him now. What happened?

  “Okay, Raven. Listen to me and listen carefully. When I tell you to you need to run as far and quick as you can. Don’t look back. Don’t worry about me. Got it?”

  “But…”

  “No. No buts. If you hesitate, you’ll die.” His teeth were now clenched as he spoke.

  “Understand?”

  “What about you?”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “Ricky, you’re my only family left. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “That’s why you need to run. I don’t want you to be killed like Mom and Dad. I don’t want you to die.”

  “But…you’ll be risking your own life.”

  “Don’t think of it like that.”