The End

#6- I Don't Want To Fall Away

April 10th, 2015

It was my turn to go looking for Gramps today. It was hard, the ash in the air was nearly impossible to find oxygen in. I started slow, with my shirt over my mouth and nose so I could filter out the toxic air.

It seemed to work well enough for me to get short, shallow breaths but after five minutes I couldn't breathe. I ignored Mom's previous plead for me to come back as soon as I couldn't breathe and trudged forward, determined to find my runaway grandpa.

Pretty soon I was used to not being able to catch my breath and ignored the pain in my empty lungs. As soon as I was over the hill that blocked the view of the town from our house and I saw how bad it had really gotten.

All the windows at the locally owned stores were either broken or boarded up; the trees were leafless and drooping; the roads were littered with trash, bodies, and glass; the confectioners still in tact, and the door was cracked a bit.

Hesitantly, I walked up to the small store and checked to see if the door was unlocked. It was. I walked in and peeked around; I was silently hoping someone who wouldn't kill me wasn't there.

"Hello?" I asked as loud as my tainted lungs would let me. "Is anyone here?"

I went to the counter and peeked over, nothing. The cash register was still sitting there, as if people didn't dare loot the candy store. I went over to the "Employee's Only" door and knocked on it, "Hello?" Still no reply.

"I'm not going to loot you. I'm unarmed."Crap, now they know that I can be killed.

But what I said got a response. A frail old man came from the door and smiled cautiously. He walked to his designated spot behind the cash register. He watched me as I watched him move around slowly, assuringly.

"Hello." He looked at me suspiciously. "Is the anything I can get you?"

I gave him a puzzled look. "You're still in business?"

"Yeah." He chuckled to himself. "People don't think of candy when the world is ending."

"I don't blame them, no offense, we didn't think of anything but soups, batteries, blankets and such. Just now I realized how much I miss chocolate."

"You're in luck, miss. I don't like chocolate so I haven't eaten any of it. Would you like what I have left?" He gave me an earnest smile.

"Yes, but I have no money or anything to pay you back with." I told him, the sorrow in my voice clear.

"Nonsense! Who needs money in times like these? I'll go around back and pack it all up, you enjoy, okay?" Then he disappeared.

I waited patiently for him to bring it to me. He came back with a box and two big brown paper bags full of various kinds of chocolate. My eyes grew ten times too big and my stomach growled loudly for the first time in weeks, my heart started racing and my mouth started watering. He laughed and handed me the box first, making sure I had a good grip on it, then the two bags. I placed one on the box then carried the other one in my arm.

He walked me to the door and held it open. He gave me a worried look as I walked out the door. "Be safe, miss. Who knows who's out there ready to loot."

I smiled brightly at him, "Thank you, I'll repay you very soon."

"No need."

And with that I headed back to my house, finally happy to be going back home.