"I know what they have done..."
"And I am worried, too," I added in a hushed tone, softer than a whisper. Due to the broken glass which allowed the wind in my room, the wolf's hair whipped around his face like snow being blown on a gusty winter's day. He whimpered as he crawled to the carpet in the corner of my room, trotted in circles as if he was tenderizing the floor beneath it, and folded his legs to rest his head
I laid my head down on my beaten, stiff pillow. I felt my sore body fall into the profound crease it had created from endless nights of tossing and turning. It felt as if I had been asleep for seconds when I was awakened by the thunderous crumbling of a neighboring building. The wiry hair from my new-found travel companion brushed against my thinning hand, hanging over the side of my bed.
'I know, it's time. We should get going..." I groaned as I grabbed a knapsack and food for the wolf. I heard and felt a jet zoom overhead. I felt a terrible knot twist itself tighter and tighter inside me, as I knew what was to come. Jets only mean one thing now: tragedy. I dash for the door, grabbing a rope to tether the wolf. I was mortified because I already lost everything else. I didn't need to lose the last thing I held dear.
"Come on," I cooed. We couldn't stay any longer. But he stalled. I repeat myself in a stern tone I had never felt the need to use.
"Come on. Please." I grumble. The silver-speckled kanine stood his ground, as determined as a child learning to ride a bike. Just then, everything cut to black.
I groan as I thud on my lumbar, unfamiliar with my location and feel a tongue rough as sandpaper caress my cheek. It felt as if it had been hours since I had seen light, but when I checked my remarkably intact wristwatch, it had been only an hour.
I turn my back to the rising sun. I have made the executive decision to continue the journey the wolf had begun just a day prior. We will hike East. And when we touch the sea, Earth shall be pure again.
We had walked a few miles in just two hours when I began to recognize the disintegrating ruins my home had been left in. I fall to my knees, throwing myself to the ground in tears when I jolt upright. There was a skyscraper lying parallel to the ground that had been standing, tall and prominent, when began to travel. The one thing that set that apart from the rest of the destruction was that the building was mine.
I think back to years ago when I was an infant, and my mother and father moved us here. I played on the sidewalk outside, danced in my room with my friends during late-night sleepovers. I grew up there. And it was gone.
Suddenly, my hunger for victory had never been stronger.
I tether the wolf using a rope and dart down the cracked pavement.
"Not okay," I mumble to my wolf. I limp over to my building and scrape my name into the glass.
Olivia Carson. Year: 2018
Well, it looks like it says 'Olivio Carton. Xear 20/8' but I guess it has to do for now.
As we continued to trudge east, we ascend the black mountainous slopes of debris from falling buildings, aircraft, and vehicles. The wolf drags his shaggy, matted left back foot, and I begin to suspect he has cut himself on shattered glass. But when I check, it seems as though the shard is still lodged in his flesh. He wails in pain as I yank on the massive piece of black one-way glass from the buildings of the past. It hurts me inside knowing that I am causing him such discomfort, but I know it's for the better.
I untangle the rope from my hand and hastily untie it from his withering neck. I figure I will unwind the silk-like fibers in the center of the rope and use it to tie a shirt around his wound. He squealed once more.
It feels like hours as we climb over the incredibly steep piles of dreg. Scraped knees, raw fingers, biting, freezing winds. All things we had to endure. I feel faint, dizzy. I feel like one of the man-made tornadoes that would hit my city is now whipping around in my throbbing head. It knocks on my sunburnt scalp from the inside, causing agonizing pain. All I want is to tumble down the gargantuan hill and quit my journey. But I know I can't. Because I've only one thing on this planet who cares about me. And the feeling is mutual. A power comes over me like never before.
"Run," I exclaim, pointing east. "We have to reach the sea!"
It's only a few miles away by now. An hour's walk, for an injured wolf and ill person.
But in the gusty wind and quivering clouds, I sense a warm smile. A familiar one, though I have never seen it before, it feels so comforting. The wolf jets east, faster than any earthly being. And I know I must follow.
A strength builds up inside me like a mother when her baby is in danger. I sprint like a mad woman, losing my sneakers in the process. I want to live. To survive this war between nations. I want world peace. I want world love. It's necessary if we want to avoid this looming downfall towards a dark age.
Scarred skin. Torn flesh. Permanent damage is inflicted upon all who try to escape this never-ending madness. And I am proud to say that I am one of them.
The wolf isn't far ahead of me now. So I decide to sprint after him. Then he gallops to a halt like a horse with his reins being tugged upon. It is as if he ran into a invisible brick wall. He stood on the edge of a sandy cliff.
I heard rolling waves like thunder booming from below the seemingly endless ledge on which we stood. I had never seen the sea. It seemed like an impossible dream, or a fairytale, though I knew it existed. I had yearned for my entire life to frolic in the soft, wet sand that I've heard hardens on impact, like some non-newtonian mystery. I knew that I could enjoy this soon, but not quite yet, as I had my duty to fulfill.
"Come!" I shout, as I have taken the lead to scale the cliff. The wolf runs around to the less steep sides of the mountainous earthly structure, eager to meet me at the bottom. I have never been so ready to do something. I was so mentally prepared for this, as well as physical. Surviving the destruction that I have, you would be prepared for anything.
I sprint to the shoreline to see what I'd been missing.
Tumbling waves, fine, powder-like sand. Mighty sandwort, beach grass, and little tiny piping plovers with their thin, delicate feet pitter-pattering as they flee from the incoming tide. I knew this was where I was born to reside. I day-dreamt, whilst absorbing the breathtaking scene, of living in a remote cabana right where I stood. Thatched roof, no running water, living off the land around me. Of course, the shack would have to consist of a bed for Wolf, even if it would just have to be woven palm leaves.
But I snapped quickly back into reality, fast as lightning. The wailing sea echoed my humble name. It was what I had come for. To live, one with nature, until I grow old and frail. Safe from all harm. But I do not intend to ripen for quite some time. Me and my Wolf. Alone. Together.
