To Survive Here

Bird

I sat on the dusty rooftop my older brother Jay sat next to me. We peered out to look at our city. We live in an old abandoned city about forty miles out from the edge of The Society.

My brother and I lived on our own, our parents were both dead. Jay took care of me and at sixteen he was doing pretty great. We would always eat our meals up on the roof because it was fun. In a life with no rules we could be as wild as we want.

We rarely ever got visitors saying that I don't take kindly to them anyway, and even when we did they never stayed to long. We had friends though. We visit them sometimes they live quite a far distance away so we rarely go.I don't mind though I like it just being Jay and I.

Sometimes just for fun we would go to this on place. It had smooth black floors and the walls were dark. I liked it there it was so different than the jungle like city we lived in. When we were there all we did was dance, fast, jumpy, spin we did it all.

Living in the city is great we have free reign of the place. Some days it does get really lonely with just Jay for company, but really I don't think I could handle another person.

Jay and I have protected each other since we were young. My parents died when I was ten, and Jay at the tender age of thirteen made a vow to protect me. He did one hell of a job of it to, but sometimes it was just to much.

I can handle myself pretty well, I can patrol the border just as well as he can. I have no fear I can't have any I need to survive.

I am fuelled on man's basic need to survive. Everything my brother and I do effects our survival. He can hunt for our food and gather water while I patrol our borders to make sure we are safe. We do OK with just the two of us sometimes it's demanding but we make it out OK.

Our city is our home we protect it and it protects us. We make sure all the trees and vines are relatively healthy, and they give us food. The plants look at home growing out of the buildings. If you stand in the cracked and grassy streets and look up you'll see a canopy of leafy vines up overhead.

When the nights are warm I come out and find a soft grassy spot and sleep there. It's a nice feeling to know that I am safe and worry free for that night, but then I wake up and have to worry about mine and Jay's survival.

In the back of my mind sometimes I just want to quit and give up. Then again if I do what are my other options. I could go and join The Society, but that would mean giving up all my parents worked for. Heck, not just my parents but many many generations before them worked for. That's how I manage to keep going.

I carry my knife with me at all times just in case. I've only ever had to use it in a horrible way once.

*Flashback *

I patrolled the border on my usual rout , but this time was different. I heard men talking so I crouched down behind a pile of bricks and listened to them.

"We came forty miles out for this piece of s**t you know we can't use it." Said one of the voices.

"But Sir The Society could for you see it is very flat all I need to do is survey the rest of the land." It took me all I had not to come out from behind that pile right then. The Society was a place of betrayal and hate these people were now a threat.

" Fine survey it, but I'm going back." I heard the click of horse hooves and realized this was my chance the weaker minded of the two was alone.

I crawled out from behind my pile and pulled my knife from its place on my belt. I stabbed him quickly in the stomach then in the heart.

I wanted to cry when I'd saw the full extent of what I did. I just killed someone for no reason. Then I remembered I had a reason, he was tress passing. I felt ashamed more than sad so I buried him to hide the evidence.

That was when I looked down at my hands only to see them soaked in blood. Human blood.