In Over My Head

Devastation

       "NO! No, no, you can't! I need you! No! No." I kneel by her side, sobbing my salty tears over her bloodied body. Her platinum hair is spread out around her like a halo. I carefully press my shaking fingers against her still-warm neck. I'm to late. Serena is dead.

       I feel empty and shallow. Worthless, without her. I fall to my side, clutching my knees. I cry and wail, without a care to the fact that the remaining "Scavs", as she called them, could attack me at any moment. Maybe it'd be better, actually. 

     If I die, I won't have to miss her anymore. I won't have to save the rest of the Exodus experiment. If I die, I'll have no more guilt, no more pain. If I die, there'll be no more terror, or responsibilities. I'll be free.

       The only thing that keeps me going is that she would be disappointed. Serena would have wanted me to live, and fight. I gently place a piece of old  T-shirt over her face. I don't want any bugs or maggots feasting on her beautiful sapphire eyes. 

     "Goodbye, Serena Elizabeth Williams. I love you with all my heart. Always have since the day I met you. I always will. And I promise you here and now, I will get revenge. I will stop Anderson Wright and his followers. I will kill whoever did this to you. I promise. And I will never, ever, forget you. " My voice is strangely calm, despite my sorrow and fury.

       My throat chokes up as I check her pockets for anything useful. A Swiss Army knife, a rusted flashlight- it still works though, a few candy bars, and a photo. My breath catches. How? How did she get this, and keep it all this time? Photos, and any other personal items were confiscated years ago. The Controllers wanted every man to fend for himself, with no family bonds. 

      I study the photo. I study the sunshine, rushing river, and autumn leaves, but mostly the clean, happy family. An entire family. Mom, Dad, and four smiling kids. A golden coloured  dog is perched to the side. Two of the kids are older teenage boys, while Serena and a young girl in pigtails are only in elementary. 

        Serena was in  grey cheetah- print leggings, and a pink long-sleeved shirt with "PUPPY LOVE!" printed in glittery silver letters. Her hair was in a sleek ponytail, her blue eyes sparkling. Nothing to what she looked like during our escape. 

         A scuffing from behind alerts me. I reach out and grab the nearest weapon. An old broom handle. Someone must have thrown it out a window in rage. I flip over, new adrenaline rushing through my veins. 

        The Scavy is older, perhaps in his early fifties. His head is completely bald, revealing ugly war scars and unhealed cuts. He has squinty, menacing eyes, with a large beak nose. His jeans and once-fancy shirt were shredded. 

          He limps closer, right leg dragging. He wields a machete, a rare and powerful real weapon. I leap to my feet. This one'll be a hard fight, but if I can win that machete, I'll have much better chances at surviving alone. I easily block the first overhead slash with my metal broom. He tries a quick slice at my arm. Reflex blocks it. "Oh, we got ourselves a little hotshot, now don't we? He thinks he don't need Mommy n' Daddy no more, huh? Or ya just mad about yer little friend 'der?" He snarls. Rage floods through me. "YOU KILLED HER?" I yell. I will kill him in the most painful way possible, even if I die trying. 

           He smiles, mocking me. His teeth are yellow, and there are spots where teeth should be. "Nah, I didn't kill that pretty girl there. She yours?" Let's add disgust to the mix. And regret. "No, she wasn't my girlfriend. But if so much think about even touching her, I'll kill you too." I fling back, trying hard to sound confident. Not only did he have a machete, he was extremely skilled with it. He hadn't only been in only one fight these past few years, I think. 

     "Ah, you can try sonny. But I'm the King of this city. Haven't you heard the legends of C.C.G.?" Yeah, King of this abandoned city. He must have seen the look on my face, and sensed my distracted, as he threw a cheap slash at my thigh. I let out a cry of surprise and pain, as much as I didn't want to. He leans in closer, garlic-and-blood smelling breath lingering in the air. "That'd because no one lives after meeting me." 

    He straightens. "Now, step aside, empty your pockets and let me have what's left of your girly there. I'll give you a head start. Ya know, I kinda like you, and I'm in a generous mood. A nice, fresh, pretty one there." 

     That's all it took. I threw everything I had at him. I duck under a swing at my head. He howls in pain and rage as I bash the handle against his shins. C.C.G., or whatever his real name is, lets out a howl of pain and rage. "Yer gonna pay for that, kid!" He growls. He raises the machete again. As it glints in the faint sunlight, I notice nearly-dried blood smeared across the blade. My stomach churns. My nearly-dried blood. I briefly wonder how many lives have ended at that machete, but I push it out of my mind. I can't lose focus. Losing Serena has thrown me off track- a deadly mistake. 

           I dive at the Scav again, and then again, my young brain much faster than his.  Finally, I knock the machete out of his fist. He curls in a ball, cowering. He knows he can't win anymore. "Please, please, sonny. I'll give you all I got on me. Just let me go free. I won't send my men after you. Yer a good kid. You wouldn't have the guts to beat me to death anyways." He's right. Even though I have technically killed two Exodus guards, I barely knew what I was doing, and I had a gun. It's much easier to pull a trigger than beat a man to death, hearing him cry out. 

        "I want the machete, everything you have on you- I mean it, and you will never touch Serena. Then, you let me travel through this city without you, or any of your men attacking me. Understand?" I demand. Although I'm the one with power and mercy here, I feel weak and helpless. I want to curl up in a ball like C.C.G. and cry myself to sleep, never waking up. "Fine." He spits, and starts pulling things from pockets. 

         I turn and walk backwards to the machete, my eyes never leaving him. As I pick up the machete, I'm amazed I'm still here. It must have been hand-crafted by an expert. I clean off the blood and dust from the blade with the hem of my shirt. As I stride back over to the Scav, I smile to myself. Although it'll still take a miracle to get my prize and leave this city alive, my chances just got a whole lot better. "Everything you have." I say boldly, even though I have no idea if he's trying to hide something or not. 

              He grunts and pulls out a small black object. At first I think it's a gun, which is an extreme rarity, but as I squint at it, I realize it's a taser. I'd never seen a taser used before, only hanging off the guard's belts. I could definitely bluff it as a gun, and surprise attack with it as well. I wanted to whoop for joy, but I knew I couldn't get to cocky- C.C.G. wasn't the only gang in an abandoned Toronto. "Now, get going, and your word better mean something up here!" I shout. He struggles to his feet, and with a nod of his head limps away into a nearby building. It looks like at one time it was a fancy bank or office. Not anymore. 

         I take one last look at Serena, and bundle up my prizes into a sewn-up T-shirt.  I hook the machete's sheath around my belt, and insert the machete into it. Then the taser goes into the inside pocket of my jacket. I look around to the towering buildings, wide sidewalks and marble statues. Toronto must have once been a beautiful city. Now, those sidewalks are littered with broken glass and debris. The buildings are covered in graffiti, and the statues are chipped and crumbled. 

        I feel badly about taking the photo. It was the only part of her family and old life she had left. I dig out the picture, and gently set it over her heart, where family belongs. Then I turn, machete swinging at my hip and my new gadgets and food in my hands, and stride away from the horrible scene behind. My promise to Serena rings in my ears. Am I in over my head?