𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄'𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 | an apocalyptic novel ©

Chapter 57

Life Sign

2035

Valencia

I am still shaking when I walk back to my room. Henry looks at me with his brown eyes and hugs me tightly. Doing so, he hugs my knees, because he is still not tall enough. "I was scared that it was a human," he whispers. I shake my head.

"No, Henry, it wasn't. It was an affected deer," I reply quietly, stroking his hair.

We both know that we aren't quite saying the truth.

We simply don't know it better.

Picking him up, I walk to his bedroom. The glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling are still glowing from the day before. I lay him down and tuck in the covers. He turns on his pillow to face the wall. I kiss him goodnight. Already walking to the door, I hear him say, "I thought it was a human because I have a feeling there is someone out there... "

This sends shivers down my spine.

He is nine years old. How would he think that? My mind starts racing, trying to come up with a good response. Henry couldn't be wrong. But he also couldn't be a hundred percent right. I raised him telling him that I was the only one he had. We haven't heard from other human beings within the last nine years - basically since it all went down.

The best thing I can come up with is, "No, Henry. I assure you, there's nobody out there."

It is the half-truth, although I always bend it the way you'll need it to sound like.

In fact, I don't even believe myself. I feel bad for assuming things I don't know.

I shoot him a warm smile and walk out, closing the door behind me. Internally, I feel horrible again saying something I don't know for sure.

Back in the hallway, I turn to look in the mirror that is hung up next to the front door. The rain outside is pounding hard on the broken roof. I'll have to fix it tomorrow. Hopefully, we still have the supplies. Going out into the unpredictable weather anomalies would be suicide. I stare into the mirror, wiping off some dust that has collected on the cold glass. The mirror is shattered around the edge, but I can still see my reflection. My long brown hair looks flat and frizzy, my eyes are puffy and swollen. I barely get any sleep and if I do, it's always the same nightmare.

I drown. And I have gotten it since the last two years. I still remember the cause.

It happened in the summer of the year 2033.

It was terrific. Two years ago, me and Henry were looking for supplies in the downtown Bronx. We took shelter halfway through because the night came down on us. It was most definitely a night I would remember. I checked one last time for any danger surrounding us before I made my way upstairs to the office building we hid in. I always did, in fact - I was paranoid. That was the biggest mistake. A flood came - a monstrous one. Nowadays, with the weather anomalies, it is not uncommon. When the first waves of water reached us, I tried to get into the building, but the water pressure forced the doors shut. Then, the flood surrounded me. I was caught in the current like I am now constantly in my nightmares. Because I couldn't keep my orientation, it was like being stuck at sea during a storm. The flood destroyed everything in its path. Windows, cars, houses, buildings, trees - everything swam in the water next to me. I hit an object - it could have been a window, maybe it was a piece of wood. I still don't know to this day. I cut my face on it - right below my left eye on my cheekbone. Perhaps I could consider myself lucky that I didn't lose my eyesight. Now, I have a scar on my cheek. I was fifteen. When the water ebbed again and I was washed up on shore somewhere in a completely different part of the Bronx, I learned how to do stitches that day. For the first time.