Planet Earth, Population: Wendy

Armed And Dangerous

I went through intense training, the instructor being myself. I taught myself many things. How to hot wire a car, how to build a fire, many survival tactics. Including everything about firearms.

I taught myself to shoot everything from a .45 to an AK47. I needed to prepare myself for anything. Because, while it may seem like I'm alone, the things that took everything away from me could easily be stalking me like I'm their prey. They were the lioness, and I had to make damn sure that this antelope knew a few things about survival.

I was always carrying four things; my assault rifle which was strapped to my back, my brother's .45 which I kept in my gun belt, and my Swiss Army knife which was secure in my leather boot. And I had an olive green duffel bag, filled with other supplies, extra bullets, a first aid kit, some Johnny Walker Blue, and the drawing I obtained from Bailey's house. I just needed to keep it close.

My usual attire was my black leather boots which came halfway to my knees, my denim, faded mini shorts, and my thin, red, buttoned up plaid shirt, which tied at the front where the three bottom buttons were supposed to be. I found it worked well with my newly acquired tan.

When I discovered I was pregnant, I decided to document my experiences for the unborn child. I used my vintage Canon PowerShot SX400 IS. It was the first edition, rather difficult to come by, when the Earth is inhabited by competitors.

"Hello, future son or daughter of mine," I began once I started the first video diary. "This is your mommy. I just found out I was pregnant with you yesterday, and now I want to document everything that happens during the pregnancy. Today is July 16, 2027. As always, it's 8:32. It's been that way since... well, since all of this started. It began in June. I discovered that I was the last living thing on the face of the Earth. It wasn't always just us. There used to be billions of other people all over the world. Until something took them. I don't know what, and I don't know why, but something took them. And it's my job, my duty, to save them. It's all in my hands now. I just hope I don't fail the entire human race. I'll talk to you tomorrow, if I live that long."

I slipped my camera into my duffel bag. My fingertips brushed against the drawing, the crayon-scribbled coloring waxy to the touch. It felt odd, keeping a little girl's drawing despite the fact that I didn't even know her. But something inside me told me to keep ahold of it. A little voice convinced me that it was not just some negligible drawing, rather the opposite. It felt important to me for reasons I couldn't quite fathom, but I chose to trust my instincts, and my instincts lead me to keeping it close to me. Always.

~~

It was the middle of August when I awoke to a searing pain in my lower abdomen. It felt as though my insides were being carved out of my body with a butter knife. I screamed in agony, sweat trickling down my forehead, soaking into my hair which clung to my skin.

I looked toward the area of the pain and lifted my shirt so I could see what was causing it. All I could see was blood everywhere, gushing out of my abdomen. But I wasn't sure how. There was no wound as far as I could tell.

But my biggest concern was the baby.

I finished cleaning the bloodstains from the backseat of another car I'd stolen. I didn't trust the houses, nor could I stand them. All those memories tucked away behind a white picket fence.

The reason I didn't stay at my own house was simple. I was searching for my family. And that search became nationwide. I was no longer in Austin, Texas. By August, I'd reached the outskirts of northern Oklahoma. I literally had the car parked next to a sign that said "Welcome To Kansas".

The pain soon died, and I was left with the horrible thought that my baby was dead. But I couldn't be sure, and that was the worst part. I was already thinking of names. If it was a girl, Avril. If it was a boy, Angel. I loved those names.

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep now, so I decided to start the car and find the nearest store. I'd get a pregnancy test and hope what I thought happened didn't happen.

Why would they take my baby? She wasn't even born yet. I assumed she was a girl. I could've been wrong. And I most likely was. I just prayed that my baby wasn't taken away from me by whoever or whatever stranded me here alone.

I soon found a small convenience store, which sold pregnancy tests. I took one in the small bathroom and waited. I prayed for positive. I prayed and prayed my ass off because I had to have my baby. She was all I had left.

Soon enough, I got the results.

I was too afraid to look. I just couldn't. What if it was negative? Then again, it could be positive. I just had to know. So I looked.

Negative.

"No!" I cried. "No, god, no!"

I fell to my knees, crying my eyes out. This wasn't fair. This was in no way fair. Whatever it was that did this, whatever dared to take my baby away from me, I vowed that I would take my revenge.

I wiped my tears and got to my feet, seeing my reflection in the mirror. And I hated what I saw. I saw a fragile, insecure teenage girl with several mental health issues. That wasn't the girl I wanted to see. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to see. Someone different.

I went to my car and began driving, tears in my eyes. I wasn't sure where it was that I intended to go, just anywhere really. I drove and drove, hoping that maybe I could get my mind off things.

And it worked so well, I hardly even noticed the figure in the middle of the road that I nearly ran down.