This Too Shall Pass

Central City
September 26, 22:03 CST

Nobody ever seemed to mention the quiet that came with the end of the world.

When a refuge was safe until the next barrage of the hungered dead came tearing desperately at the walls. When the only company by one's side at times was the silence and the stars. Times the world was too still, waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next. When the sun rose above the skyline wondering who had made it through those isolated hours, long enough to see the next dawning light as it chased back the night.

Wisteria had never been exceptionally fond of the daylight. Too harsh on her eyes and far too hot on her skin as well. Given the distance that there would be to travel, she had set out long before the first rays of morning had the chance to show – but for once, when daylight finally broke, she found herself wishing she had taken a bit more time to appreciate the sun. Before the world began to end.

Instead, she continued her travels, resolute in what needed to be done. One foot in front of the other. And when she had been far enough away, somewhere in an all too quiet pocket between the refuge and the decimated city that she had decided upon as her destination, her silent march became a divulgence into the daylight hours. A final recount, in case no one would get the chance to hear her again.

With no time to linger, she had continued her journey forward.

Her plan required more than a days' time to walk, and she found herself thinking about her family. What little had been left of it, scattered to the winds. If the stars had any mercy, they would be safe until her return. If she returned. She had left as much magic and as many guardians behind to watch over the walls as she could spare. They would need to be enough.

Hours more of walking, until the sun had set once again, and Wisteria finally laid eyes on the smoke and remains of the once bustling city. She was too close to afford being spotted now. The outpost she was searching for should only be a few minutes inside the city limits. They had lost three scouts in the process of confirming that information.

Three more families grieving as they lost one more piece of themselves. Three more bodies among the mass graves.

Wisteria was done with mourning.

Instead, the cold of the night seemed to seep past her feathers and skin, the frost striking her down to the bone. It was just enough to keep her awake for the time being. Sleep had proven to be a fleeting wish, after all. Despite her attempts at resting, even a nap had remained elusive – as though the enemy could sniff out her attempts at rebellion, they had remained unrelenting until two days prior. When the threat had passed for the time, Wisteria could not give in to the luxury of rest. Instead, she had devoted herself to fortifying the walls and traps, ensuring the best chance of survival for anyone who relied on them for safety.

Quiet as the dead, Wisteria stalked through the shadows of building debris and overturned cars, gutted homes and vacant stores. Too often for her liking she would stumble across another corpse, left to waste away in the abandoned city – she could only turn her head and continue onwards. She tried not to wonder if she had met them before, passed by at the corner or crosswalk in a time of happier memories in the city streets she was searching through. Too many ghosts lingered here for her comfort.

At the sight of a family, crushed somewhere under the fallen stone of a wall, Wisteria found herself thinking of her own father who had no doubt found her letter by now. He would be worried. Wisteria had entered his life in a whirlwind – a mix of wildness and distrust – and yet he had still considered her his own. He would never have let her walk into the fight alone. But this was no longer a time she could argue. The choice to keep him behind was the only way she could focus on the task ahead. She would not lose her closest family.