The Rain

Chapter 4 - Hero

Will

October 25th, 2019

Parts of dead trees break under my feet as I make my practiced journey through the wasteland that was once full of life. I only have ten minutes to get back to camp before the downpour begins again. 

You'd think this place would be flooded by now, but the rain seems to absorb into whatever living thing it touches. It leaves destruction in its wake without a trace that it was ever there, an elusive assassin.

If you weren't already aware of what was going on here, you would never know what caused the demise of almost everything around. A fire would be more believable — not rain.

I've walked this path every day since it all began. Each day I try to go further and further. It barely stops raining. We only have thirty minutes of dry time each day. 

I grip the rope that traces my path, tied off between little structures I built. A haven for when the rain comes, so I can venture further out into the unknown. You can see partially constructed structures throughout the vast expanse of what once was a forest.

I briskly walk back toward camp, my feet falling in the same spots they do every day. Soon I can once more see the faces of friends that I once called "fucking tourists." Disaster has a funny way of bringing people together. 

There are about twenty of us who have made a home in such a lifeless place. Mostly, people, I found along my way — people who needed help and had no real survival instincts. 

"Chief!" yells a lean, lanky man with blazingly red hair and a matching scruffy beard. Seth, a former co-founder of some swanky tech start-up. He was the first person I found. He was stuck under his expensive Mercedes when the rain started. He was the epitome of tourist. Money can't buy you common sense. Don't get me wrong he's a good guy; he's not the type of guy I would usually hang around. But circumstances change things.

Seth runs up the hill to meet me, looking way too excited about my arrival.

"I told you to stop calling me that," I grunt, dropping my grip on the rope as I walk down the hill that leads to the camp. 

"Why? You are kind of the leader of this community we have going on here," He says gesturing down at the people below us.

"I'm not the leader of anything, Seth. Just because I found you guys doesn't mean I should lead you," I snap, a little irritated that he would even think that I, Will Dramen, could be a leader.

"You didn't find us, Will! You saved-" Seth starts to say before I quickly cut him off.

I abruptly stop and grab him by the shoulders. He seems taken aback, startled. "You listen to me. I didn't save anyone. I found you, and that's it. Don't look at me like some fucking hero because I'm far from it." 

"You got that?" I ask, letting him go as he looks away, defeat written on his face.

"Yeah sure," he stutters as he retreats to the main building in the middle of our camp.

I watch him open the doors and go inside, a frown forming on my face. A ghost of a memory tries to force itself into my head at the sound of the door closing. I quickly shake my head, denying it access.

"Not to-fucking-day, Darrell," I mutter to myself as I stomp off toward my cabin on the corner of the camp.

I shut the door with a sigh, my back giving out against the door with a thump. I glance around the cabin and frown at the sight of my shortcomings strewn all over the floor, my anger growing with each breath. My failure teasing me, reminding me that none of my ideas worked and that people are suffering because of it. I grunt as I start throwing the ruins of my work into the wastebasket until my anger boils over.

"What a waste of fucking time!" I yell as I hurl the bin to the side of the cabin wall.

Nine months, I think to myself as I double over, collapsing to the ground, the frustration and stress pressing down on my shoulders like a ton of bricks. I've been working on this for nine months and I have nothing to show for it. These people depend on me and I'm going to allow them to starve. It's something I hate to admit to myself because I never wanted their trust. 

The food supply is dwindling. All the vegetation and animals are gone. We can thank the rain for that. I've been trying to grow something, anything from this homemade greenhouse inside my cabin. Every attempt I've made has failed. If I don't figure out something fast, we will all die. 

I'm startled out of my trance by a sharp rapping on my door.

"Will, are you in there?"

Shit. Ella. 

"One second," I say as I fumble around putting the pieces of my room back together.

As I open the door I am greeted by a petite woman with pale skin. Tiny freckles adorn her face and blazing auburn hair drapes down her neck. Don't get me wrong this woman was beautiful. I just couldn't give her what she wanted. 

I met Ella about two months after the rain started. She and her brother found their way to my group of survivors, there was about five of us at the time. She's been here ever since. I flocked to Ella, needing an escape from the daily hell we were living. She was there for me. 

Based on how much time she spends with me and the little things she says, I know she thinks there is more between us. I just don't have it in me to tell her the truth.

I'm not a hero. I'm an asshole.