Last Civilisation [Discontinued]

Chapter 2

The night was chillier than usual, even though it was summer. I had discovered long ago that our climate was pretty much fucked. What can you really expect from Earth after blowing it up?

In front of us stood my home–my city, or what remained of it. At the center of it stood a building that had its top blown off during the war, leaving behind only five floors of the once-mighty skyscraper. Surrounding it were more such buildings; none of them intact. Patches of ivy had engulfed most of them, weaving a pattern of grey and green. The gaps between the buildings were filled with debris. Human skeletons and dried blood were littered across the city.

The most magnificent sight of our city was a building that had been carved up into two. Its top portion had come crashing on the ground, forming a flipped 'V'. It might have become a famous landmark if the world would have been normal, but presently it was simply a reminder of our dark world.

I had watched my city more than a hundred times probably, and yet the realization would still haunt me. This is what fate gave me. That's how my life looks.

My parents said nothing but kept marching ahead. I reluctantly followed them, keeping my eyes peeled for any sudden threats.

The walk became tiring after a while. The fact that we had to walk over piles of debris didn't help either.

"How much longer?" I was starting to wobble at one point.

"We are just halfway there," my dad said. He looked at my condition and decided, "Let's take a short break."

We found some boulders on the side of the road and decided to settle down there. I took out energy bars from my backpack and we split them amongst ourselves.

For a while, there was silence. The only sound that could be heard was the swooshing of winds past us and the chewing of granola.

Finally, my dad broke the silence. "How's Amanda's training going?"

"Not bad. Just a bit more practice and we might be able to take her on the next raid," I replied.

"I suppose so," he sighed. "Although she is so young."

"It's weird, really. All I ever did was go to parties when I was a teen. But my children have to learn to kill at that age," my mother spoke up.

"I used to be quite unhappy during my teenage years. But oh... what I would give to experience those years again," my dad said. "I really wish you both could have lived a normal life."

"We could still have tried to make things better. If only the people could reunite." I stated.

"I know. But too late now, isn't it?" my dad replied.

I sadly nodded. But a part of me still didn't believe it.

"We should start moving again," my mom interrupted.

My dad looked at the sky, which was now pitch black, and agreed.

The rest of the hike was tiring. Walking through the uneven terrain made my feet hurt. We had to take multiple detours because the way ahead was blocked by rubble.

It took us more than an hour, but finally, we arrived at our location. In front of us stood a bungalow that used to have two floors once, but the upper floor had come crashing to the ground. I wasn't even sure how someone could live here unless the habitants were all four feet tall.

"No sudden noises," my dad whispered to us. He placed a finger over his mouth and then signaled for us to follow him.

We tiptoed to the back of the bungalow. My dad pointed at a hole in the wall, which was big enough for us to crawl through. The dad was the first one to go inside. I went after him and then waited for my mom to come through.