Alone in the Apocalypse: Solitary

The storm

Mysie sat on a hill and looked over a city as the mist darkened while the sun set. She smiled as she remembered how the main characters in movies would walk off into the sunset. Mysie turned to see her two dogs sleeping without a care in the world.

It seemed like everything would be okay.

A flash attacked the city.

Following it was what sounded like the sky splitting in two.

Lightning.

Gregory and Jerry were startled awake. Mysie grabbed her things as water started to fall from the sky. Mysie looked around and saw the silhouette of a farm in the distance. She made sure that her companions were close and they made their way through the storm to the shelter.

When the three had finally gotten to the farm the rain was the size of a fist.

Thunder and lightning were constant.

It seemed that the world itself was angry.

The farmhouse was old and creaky but Mysie wasn’t picky. The house was leaking in some places and had only a small fireplace for heating with logs stacked up nearby. Mysie put her backpack down and knelt down to start a fire to at least get a bit more dry.

Flashes filled the dark room whenever lightning struck.

Mysie’s hands shook as she tried to light the match. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before finally being able to light the match and start the fire. The tiny orange glow caused Mysie more comfort than she thought it would. She watched the flame grow as if she were in a trance.

The wind outside howled and attacked the house.

Mysie curled up as best as she could and covered her ears as tears rolled down her face. She never did like storms.

It was a long night.

But the storm continued for the next day.

And the next.

Until at some point Mysie had lost count of the days. That morning as well she had walked over to the window and saw the rain and thunder. Mysie sighed and walked away before turning back and realising..

The mist had disappeared.

Mysie could see the sky that was a deep grey almost black. But she still smiled. She would be able to see the world without the red mist in the way. She would no longer have to deal with the mist whenever she went outside. But there was still one problem.

It seemed like the storm was not going to stop anytime soon and Mysie was running low on both food and firewood. Mysie searched the horizon and saw what looked to be a forest not too far away and so made up her mind.

Mysie found an axe stranded in a corner and so pulled it up her legs almost buckling under the weight. Mysie all but dragged the axe behind her as she made her way to the door, Gregory and Jerry following. Mysie pushed her way through the wind and rain to get to the forest that she had seen before.

As she got closer she realised that the forest wasn’t made up of trees but of… large mushrooms?

Mysie walked over to a mushroom and knocked lightly on it only for it to seem to be made of wood. Shrugging, Mysie brought up the axe and swung at the trunk and ended up on the ground. Mysie pulled as hard as she could on the axe that was now trapped in the mushroom until it finally came free and she started the process all over again.

This went on until the mushroom let out a loud crack as it broke and fell to the ground. The top of the mushroom smashed against the ground and large chunks fell away. Mysie went closer to the tree and tried to lift up the trunk, it was lighter than she expected but she knew she wouldn’t be able to carry it back to the farmhouse.

The weather started to get slightly better and to most it would seem like the storm was going to stop. But this just happened when the storm was going to get bad once again. Gregory and Jerry came back to Mysie holding the branches of a deep grey bush in their teeth with bright blue berries on it.

Mysie rolled her eyes at her dogs before shielding her eyes with her arm and looking around. Mysie found a vine that she could reach. Mysie pulled as hard as she could and the vine fell. The vine was bright green in colour and Mysie tied the middle of the vine around a thin part of the mushroom before the bottom became bigger. Mysie pulled the two ends of the vine and the mushroom was slowly dragged across the grass and mud. It would take her longer to get back to the house but at least she would have some firewood to keep her and her companions dry for a while longer.

It took Mysie over an hour to drag the mushroom back to the farmhouse and she put it in a barn that was near the house where the mushroom could dry. Now that she could see the whole tree she saw that the trunk was a dark brown and the top was a dirty blue with some small red spots.

Mysie walked back into the house and the rain started to become violent once more. It seemed like this storm may never end.

Mysie looked over at the branches that Gregory and Jerry had brought with them. They had deep grey leaves and a bright blue berry that looked to be in the shape of a skull. Hesitantly she picked one of the berries and smelt it. It’s smell could only be described as death; it was indescribably bad. Trying not to think about it she put one in her mouth and chewed it only to be very surprised at the sweet flavour. It seemed that she had judged the berry too much. It tasted like a blueberry and a strawberry but less bitter.

Mysie ate a few more berries before deciding that it would probably be best for her to try and sleep through the worst part of the storm.

Mysie laid on the sofa and pulled a thick blanket over her before slowly falling asleep