Chapter 2 - Hope
Submitted August 14, 2007 Updated October 19, 2007 Status Complete | i was divinely ( or should i say, abyssmally) inspired to write this, as a game, picture, song, vidoe clip and people i know all merged to create this story, just started it so may take a while to finish, any comments welcome
Category:
Fantasy » Misc. Fantasy |
Chapter 2 - Hope
Chapter 2 - Hope
Post-apocalyptic Visions Part 2
I aimlessly wandered for what I thought was hours, searching for something, anything to suggest something else had survived. The dry wind began to howl as it whipped around the valley.
Several times, I could have sworn I saw dark shapes move in my peripheral vision. Whatever was there did not actually do anything, so I decided to continue, while remaining on guard. There was no chance of hearing them, as blasts of wind often roared by, carrying any debris it could snatch up. After more aimless wandering, I decided I should head for one of the mounds and try to see if I could see anything of interest from a higher viewpoint.
As I trudged through the rubble on my way to a nearby mound, I began to notice that not everything had been destroyed. Here and there, I saw more solid looking remains of structures, as well as miscellaneous objects that had somehow survived. A small toy car that had surprisingly lost only one wheel, a hunting knife that was protected by the rest of the contents of the toolbox it was in, and, to my great surprise, a small bottle of anesthetic, which had somehow remarkably remained unbroken. I put these things I had found in the pockets of my jeans, not knowing if I would need them or if I just wanted some connection to my old reality.
I still had not decided whether this was some kind of hell I was sentenced to or whether some cataclysmic event had occurred and I somehow survived. I was however leaning more towards the theory that I was still living, unless my personal hell was to wander for eternity.
My ponderings were brutally ended by an ear-splitting scream. It seemed unearthly and yet uniquely human. It split the air as the scream seems to invoice all the anger and sorrow that I had previously been numb to. Before I could think what I was doing, I threw back my head and howled in unison with the voice, releasing all the anger and sorrow I had kept at bay. I screamed for many minutes before finally coming to terms with the idea that everyone I knew and loved were dead.
With tears still running down my face, and hope in my heart, I went in search of the voice. To my surprise, it had come from very close, although it had not sounded like it. I rounded the mound I had intended to climb, throwing all caution to the wind in the hope of finding another human. And then I saw her.
She looked to be a young woman, although she was facing away from me. She was kneeling in the dirt, holding her head in her hands and sobbing quietly. Her mane of golden hair hung limply against her back and was covering her hands, as it fell around her face. I called out to her, although I dont remember what exactly. She did not seem to her me, lost in her own sorrows. As I approached her, a sense of familiarity began to grow, until I swore that I knew her name, but just couldnt remember it. I tried to make as much noise as I could approaching her, as it was obvious that she did not need anymore shocks. I called to her again as I stood beside her. She did not seem to hear me but simply stood and continued face away from me and stare at the ground in front of her. I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention.
Another mistake.
She let out a scream that was tinged with hysteria and insanity as she spun around and swung her hand towards my throat in an attempt to scratch me. Moving with a speed that I did not know I possessed, I stepped back from her and grabbed her by the wrist. It was then I saw that this move had potentially saved my life. Her hand was lightly furred and heavily armed. At the end of each of her fingers were inch-long claws, which each looked wickedly sharp and quite capable of causing serious damage to my throat.
I looked up from her hand to her lightly furred but otherwise human face. Other than her eyes, that was. Her eyes were like that of a cat, only bright red. At that time there was a look of annoyance flashing across them. There were also signs of tears that had caused dark streaks down her face. Slowly, a look of realization stole its way into them as we simply stood there staring at each other. I am sure the same look must have been in my eyes.
It seemed that both of us had been mourning a little prematurely.
I aimlessly wandered for what I thought was hours, searching for something, anything to suggest something else had survived. The dry wind began to howl as it whipped around the valley.
Several times, I could have sworn I saw dark shapes move in my peripheral vision. Whatever was there did not actually do anything, so I decided to continue, while remaining on guard. There was no chance of hearing them, as blasts of wind often roared by, carrying any debris it could snatch up. After more aimless wandering, I decided I should head for one of the mounds and try to see if I could see anything of interest from a higher viewpoint.
As I trudged through the rubble on my way to a nearby mound, I began to notice that not everything had been destroyed. Here and there, I saw more solid looking remains of structures, as well as miscellaneous objects that had somehow survived. A small toy car that had surprisingly lost only one wheel, a hunting knife that was protected by the rest of the contents of the toolbox it was in, and, to my great surprise, a small bottle of anesthetic, which had somehow remarkably remained unbroken. I put these things I had found in the pockets of my jeans, not knowing if I would need them or if I just wanted some connection to my old reality.
I still had not decided whether this was some kind of hell I was sentenced to or whether some cataclysmic event had occurred and I somehow survived. I was however leaning more towards the theory that I was still living, unless my personal hell was to wander for eternity.
My ponderings were brutally ended by an ear-splitting scream. It seemed unearthly and yet uniquely human. It split the air as the scream seems to invoice all the anger and sorrow that I had previously been numb to. Before I could think what I was doing, I threw back my head and howled in unison with the voice, releasing all the anger and sorrow I had kept at bay. I screamed for many minutes before finally coming to terms with the idea that everyone I knew and loved were dead.
With tears still running down my face, and hope in my heart, I went in search of the voice. To my surprise, it had come from very close, although it had not sounded like it. I rounded the mound I had intended to climb, throwing all caution to the wind in the hope of finding another human. And then I saw her.
She looked to be a young woman, although she was facing away from me. She was kneeling in the dirt, holding her head in her hands and sobbing quietly. Her mane of golden hair hung limply against her back and was covering her hands, as it fell around her face. I called out to her, although I dont remember what exactly. She did not seem to her me, lost in her own sorrows. As I approached her, a sense of familiarity began to grow, until I swore that I knew her name, but just couldnt remember it. I tried to make as much noise as I could approaching her, as it was obvious that she did not need anymore shocks. I called to her again as I stood beside her. She did not seem to hear me but simply stood and continued face away from me and stare at the ground in front of her. I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to get her attention.
Another mistake.
She let out a scream that was tinged with hysteria and insanity as she spun around and swung her hand towards my throat in an attempt to scratch me. Moving with a speed that I did not know I possessed, I stepped back from her and grabbed her by the wrist. It was then I saw that this move had potentially saved my life. Her hand was lightly furred and heavily armed. At the end of each of her fingers were inch-long claws, which each looked wickedly sharp and quite capable of causing serious damage to my throat.
I looked up from her hand to her lightly furred but otherwise human face. Other than her eyes, that was. Her eyes were like that of a cat, only bright red. At that time there was a look of annoyance flashing across them. There were also signs of tears that had caused dark streaks down her face. Slowly, a look of realization stole its way into them as we simply stood there staring at each other. I am sure the same look must have been in my eyes.
It seemed that both of us had been mourning a little prematurely.
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