I wake up to the sound of birds. "Five more minutes," I mumble. Then I really wake up. This isn't my bed. This isn't my house. For a minute I panic because I can't find the cat.
"Tuna! TUNA! " I look around frantically and breathe a sigh of relief. The kitten is looking up at me with its head tilted, obviously disgruntled at being woken up from his nap.
"Mrowww" he meows at me accusingly.
"Look, if I had my way, we'd stay here. But since the planet is overrun by psychotic robot alien freaks, we can't stay in one place too long." I say as I scoop him up and walk to find the bathroom.
There's one down the hallway. I set him in the bathtub as I stand in front of the toilet. I go to unzip my pants, but Tuna is staring at me.
I close the shower curtain, and try to pee. I hurry as fast as I can because tuna is running around frantically in the bathtub and meowing like it's the end of the world. Which it is, but he
doesn't know that. He's a cat.
I wash my hands at the sink and look at my face in the mirror. God, what a few days can change. There is stubble on my face.
I run my hands across it and decide to wash my face. I should've taken my aunt up on that haircut too, a week ago. My curly hair is hanging down in my face and around it like some big goldfish brown cloud. There is blood in parts of it.
There is a scrape on my cheek from the other day. Must have happened when that car exploded. I need a shower.
I leave the bathroom, after picking up tuna, and walk towards the bedrooms closet.
Maybe they have something in my size. I do a happy dance when I discover that these people have clothes that are just my size.
I pick up a black tank top, a red button down shirt, and some jeans. They even have shoes in my size.
I make my way to the shower and begin undressing. When I look down, there are small scrapes and bruises all over my torso. Maybe some of that blood was mine after all. As I get in the shower and begin to wash off, I see the blood running into the drain and I lose it.
I was never good with blood, even on a good day. I can't believe that I've lost everything.
I sink down into the bottom of the tub, sobbing.
My dad is dead, everyone I knew is dead, Hell, the whole planet is as good as dead. And I'm sitting here taking a shower. What am I doing? Why the Hell did I survive and my dad didn't? Why? Why? Why?
I sob it out until the water starts getting cold. By then, I'm getting a little cold too. A little numb. I get out and dry myself with some strangers towels, then I dress myself in some strangers clothes.
I look in some strangers mirror and am surprised to see that I'm not looking at a strangers face. How can I feel like this and it doesn't show on the outside too? Where are the signs that I've snapped? Where are the cracks? Shouldn't there be cracks?
It feels like there are.
I touch my face, and I find the scratch. There's a crack. The only thing that reflects the inside right now.
I look around this house for supplies. I find a big backpack and a duffel bag. I fill the duffel bag with clothes and an extra pair of shoes. The backpack gets canned goods. As I'm raiding the cabinet for the canned goods, I see a can of tuna.
I'd forgotten all about the cat. Where the Hell was it?
I panicked, shoving all the foods in the backpack, zipping it up, and running around screaming "tuna! TUNA! " if anyone saw me they would think I was crazy.
But everyone was dead, so I didn't have that problem.
I see the flash of a tail around the corner and I run after it. I pickup the kitten and I start to head out the door. I see an aluminum baseball bat on my way out, and I grab it as I leave.
Tuna jumps out of my hand and starts running. I run after him as fast as I can, and he stops at a ruined preschool.
Then I hear the worst, most terrifying thing a person who knows absolutely nothing about kids could here.
I hear a small child crying for help from the wreckage.
Fuck.
