REM

End Of Humanity

When we lost our way as a human beings, we became barbaric in a way I never thought possible. Gangs were common in the beginning, ones with vehicles ranging from large off-road trucks to motorcycles, and even some who remained on foot were still a threat to those without the numbers to back them.

Our group was one of the weaker ones. We weren't strong at all and we had very few weapons, but we were surviving. In the beginning our goal was to secure water for the children in our care. I scouted the surrounding area with those of us who had weapons: guns, knives, clubs.

We returned to our camp at the top of a parking garage with all that we found, the children's happy faces making our efforts worth the exhausting trek in the scorching sun. I was drenched in sweat and so were the others. Water and food was given to the children first and then to us as we recuperated.

The world might have seemed peaceful with how quiet things were, yet it was anything but. People were still out there killing each other for things they no longer needed to pay for since the rules no longer applied. A fallen government and a Police force not interested in dying without the Army's help had gone into hiding with all the others. They had most of the weapons, but larger gangs would have taken them on with ease.

I didn't know of everything that was going on nowadays, just what I witnessed and got wind of from radio communications when we tried to get a signal to stay ahead of approaching groups. Even if the radio didn't work, it wouldn't be too difficult to imagine what chaos would engulf the city and eventually the world. I had watched enough movies and television shows in my younger years to know that people would mimic what directors had portrayed on screen.

It didn't take long for our location to be discovered by a larger group of survivors who wanted the high ground as well. They were one of those groups we considered to be gangs as they went around acting as bullies, taking what they wanted through force and not caring about casualties along the way.

As we sat in a corner of the cement structure, our hands tied with rope, I wondered if the end would soon come for us. Those of us who didn't comply with the gang's demands would surely be killed and the children would be brainwashed. To my horror and many others, we found out there was another fate for the innocent.

One of the men from our group was taken by a Spanish man with a camouflage bandanna over his mouth. I briefly made eye contact with the man I had considered my brother for the end of the world, then watched as he was brought over to the gang.

Without warning a gang member with tan skin drew a machete while the other kicked Darnell so he dropped to his knees. Several gang members hurried over and held him in place, pulling his arm into position for it to be hacked off in one swift motion.

His cries were too much to bear as I looked around at my group to see if anyone else was watching. All eyes had been averted as blood covered his nearly black skin. As he bled out they continued to remove his other limbs and I peeked every so often until he fell silent.

They had become cannibals in a short period of time as they then proceeded to cook Darnell's limbs over a fire and feast on him. It made my stomach churn, but I had to keep my emotions in check or else they would choose me next.

Before I had time to even accept what was going on, a stranger ran up behind me and sat down. The gang didn't seem to notice him as he leaned close and whispered, "Don't make a sound. I'm going to get you all out of here."

I had no idea how he was going to accomplish that, but I listened, remaining silent as he showed me an explosive pack. Clearly he was going to take some lives, or at least create a diversion for us to escape. Since we only had our hands tied, there was a chance we could at least try to run away if we could get to our feet quickly enough.

As the gang continued to eat, the man prepped the explosive and then stood up. He slowly walked toward the group of monsters and waved the package in front of him.

"Hey!" He yelled. "Catch!" As he swung the device, I feared how large the explosion would be.

The gang scrambled to their feet as the explosive pack soared through the air. While they feared for their lives, I got to my feet.

"Up!" I ordered to the children and others remaining in our group.

"Follow me!" Commanded the stranger as he ran past us, the explosive pack now having landed on the ground in the middle of the gang. It didn't go off right away, so I assumed it was timed, hopefully long enough for us to escape.

We ran down the parking garage levels, eventually stopping near an edge as the man looked down the side. Waving us over, I knew his plan involved jumping.

"I know it looks like a long shot, but you have no other option. The explosive pack should have detonated by now, so I clearly screwed up. If we try to run all the way to the bottom, they will catch us."

Peering over the edge, all I saw were garbage bags at the bottom in the alleyway. Who knew how many were there in total, but if one of us landed the wrong way, we'd be dead.

The man could tell I thought he was crazy as I looked him in the eyes and then glanced upward at the sound of marching feet from the gang.

"You're as good as dead if you don't jump, so you have nothing to lose," he insisted, then lifted himself up and on top the ledge. "Follow my drop exactly and you'll be fine, I've done this before."

His words weren't all that reassuring, but the fact that he was trying to help us escape was good enough for me.

As he plummeted below, I sat down and pulled my legs through the opening in my arms so my hands were in front of me. I grabbed the crying children one by one and sat them in the exact same spot each time before I shoved them over the edge. Their screams from free falling were better than them being chopped up for dinner.

With only a few adults remaining, I helped them get their hands in front of them and took my place on the ledge. The gang was closing in as I looked over my shoulder and saw rage in their faces. They were savages, converted by the end of the world.

Feeling the air rush around me as I fell to the alleyway below, I knew that this wouldn't be the last time I took a risk to survive. I landed on black garbage bags and looked around as the stranger collected the children off to the side.

Quickly moving out of the way, another group member landed several feet away from me. I turned back to help him to his feet as another body came flying down toward us. We both moved out of the way just in a nick of time.

I wanted to help the next person up as well, but the remaining adults were jumping two at a time. Watching from a safe distance as a man and woman both jumped, they collided causing them to smack heads on impact. Dazed, they both managed to get to their feet as I heard the last of our group members scream.

The last person to take the leap of faith literally leaped off the edge as hands tried reaching for his feet and a machete swung at him. His leap caused him to go off course and he landed in a garbage dumpsters with a loud thud.

As I went to take a step forward to check on him, the stranger grabbed my arm.

"He's dead," he stated with confidence. "No sense in wasting your time checking. Let's go."

He released my arm as he began to lead the children down the alley. Others walked by me, including the man and woman who knocked heads, blood trickling from their foreheads.

Confirmation of his death wouldn't help me sleep any better at night with people up above us still roaming the streets. I looked up and realized that his death could have been far worse. He could have suffered like Darnell, instead, it seemed quick and painless.