Second Chance

Chapter 51 (Part 3)

*.....* *.....thump* *thump.....thump* *thump thump* *Thump thump*

I gasp breathlessly as I lurch up from my laying position. My heart is pounding so fast that I'm half certain it will explode out of my chest. I feel confused, exhausted and scared all at once. Didn't I just die? I got stabbed in the stomach and was bleeding out. I look down at my shirt, which is no longer stained red. Just for good measure, I pull my shirt up and examine the skin underneath. To my relief, there's no gaping hole in my stomach gushing out blood, but there is a scar about the length of my hand just above my bellybutton.

I'm still very dazed and confused, but I manage to stagger upright. I'm clearly not in Juvie anymore, but I'm still very much myself. I remember everything, Riley's death, my cousin Morgan, falling in love with Maria, getting arrested and sent to Juvie, killing DK, all of it. I remember everyone and everything, and yet, I have no recollection of how I got here or where the hell here even is.

I finally decide to take in the area around me, and it looks like I'm standing in the ruins of a building. There's barely any building left though, just the floor and the foundation walls. Most of it is covered in graffiti, but it's not like I'm in a sketchy place. Beyond the ruins is a forest, trees in every direction. I don't recognize it though. I realize I probably shouldn't stay here for very long, especially if I want to know what the hell is going on. So, I pick a random direction and start walking.

I would make my way towards a road or something, but everything here is dead quiet. It's like the rest of the world doesn't even exist. I wonder if I really am in the middle of nowhere, with trees stretching in all directions for miles. In a way, that wouldn't be a bad thing. I would be okay with living in solitude like this forever. It would be peaceful and quiet, and I wouldn't have to go back to Juvie, but it could also be very lonely.

I still want to find Maria though, and maybe even Morgan, but if this is the new life Riley promised me, then they might not even be here. Although, if this is my new life, shouldn't I be a whole other different person with different memories, or maybe even start all over again as a child?

I wish I could ask Riley what is going on, but I can't, because apparently I'm never going to see him again either. I'm completely alone, and lost, and scared. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, or what I'm going to do.

I find a path in the forest, and decide to take it. At least one thing is going my way. I don't know where it's going to take me, but hopefully it will lead me out of the forest and maybe to some town. Hopefully, by some miracle, I can stumble across my old town and find help there. Maybe I can go along with my plan and run away with Maria, if I can find her.

I'm broken out of my thoughts and I stumble into a clearing. It takes me a moment to realize it, but this is the same clearing that Riley died in. The clearing that I caused the explosion in, which burned down half the trees and a large portion of the grass. And yet, everything seems totally fine now. All the trees are green and healthy again, and the grass is full and lush, with the faint breeze brushing through the blades. It's as if this clearing has never been touched by humans, which is really weird, but also peaceful.

This also means that I know exactly where I am now. I pick up my speed, and soon I come into view of the road. I gladly take it, and make my way to the the left and jog down the road. My heart starts to pick up speed as I get closer to the town.

Finally, I come into view of it, and the grin on my face vanishes. I stare at the town I lived in for the past seventeen years of my life, feeling my heart shatter. The buildings that were once strong and solid now are crumbling to rubble, and the streets that were once clear now are littered with burning cars, some of which are flipped upside down.

Everything has gone to ruin, to the point where it is almost unrecognizable. I have no idea what happened here, but I do know one thing. I'm living in the middle of an apocalypse.