Terra Firma

End of the world

The derelict store over the road was an old Marks and Spencer. If there was one thing Luna was sure of is that she would find a trolly there. Before all the chaos she used to spot them all the time, in bushes, rivers and even in peoples gardens.

She didn't even have to go near the building, she could see the rusty metal in a large pile of rubble laying not so far from her feet. Pulling some concrete slabs from the pile she pulled the trolly free.

She wasn't sure how she would even get back to the buggy with a trolly full of bottles but Luna had to try. If she had learnt anything from living in this hell hole it was survival.

As her boots touched the glass shards in the front window of Jimmi Bob's Luna took her walkman out and turned it off. She wanted to remember the last time she was here with Kate in silence, like a respect thing or something she thought.

She picked the large scuba goggles up from the floor and a snorkel and smiled as she thought of the fun they had pretending to be divers. She packed them into her rucksack as a tear rolled down her eye.

Her chest grew tighter as tears flooded her vision "Breath Luna" She tried to calm her self slowing her breathing, but the emotions in her were too strong.

Luna was heartbroken and angry at the same time, angry at the world. Angry at every person she ever loved but mostly angry at her self. She reached down and wrapped her fingers around one of the diving weights and hurled it into the window that was still standing. The window shattered into hundreds of pieces making a loud clash as shards crumbled to the ground.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Luna let her anger out with a heavy scream as she threw herself to the ground and brought her knees up to her chest hugging them tightly. She sobbed loudly as she buried her face in her knees.

Luna had finally broken, she had always thought of herself as an optimistic person but this was impossible, nobody could survive the end of the world by themselves.

With all the heated emotion Luna had forgotten to put her mask back on. She started heaving, convolutions overtaking her body. She crawled towards the mask that laid only a few feet away from her. Her lungs felt like they were on fire as she reached for the mask as quickly as her shaking, frightened fingers could react.

Letting in the deepest breath she could she sucked the oxygen in like she was drowning and her life depended on it. She wanted to live, and this was the proof she needed. She was scared to die. The thought of dying alone, no one to even mourn you or remember you; that's what scared her most.

Luna tied the mask around her face this time and made sure she had a long enough cable to reach the trolly outside. She stood up slowly a little shaky on her feet but remembered why she was here. Walking over to the oxygen bottles she carefully carried one a time to the trolly. She could only fit five bottles in safely without the risk of any falling out or being too heavy to pull.

Fully loaded Luna placed her tank under the trolly wedging it in as tight as she could. The trolly weighed a ton, she pulled it with both hands trying to drag it over glass and rocks. This was going to take a while. She stopped and remembered to put her music back on. It was almost like a comfort blanket in this dark world she was left in. She needed some kind of light to guide her through, to make her feel safe; music was exactly that.

Looking around through the fog and dark shadows the city seemed eerie, haunted by the memories that once existed. Luna didn't like it one bit, her skin would prickle with goosebumps as she walked through the ruins. Like she was walking on the graves of the people that once died here. She would hold her breath as she walked past large mounds or piles, not wanting to breathe in the ashes of people that had died there.

The earth could only take so much, everything has a limit. They had the warning signs in the early days but nobody listened. Humans continued to eat their way into annihilation. Creating new technologies that would one day outlive them, new weapons that would eradicate them.

She focused on the music as hard as she could as she dragged the trolly with every bit of fight that was left in her. She only made half of the journey back to the buggy and already she needed a break.

Looking around nervously she found a large rock to sit on near a huge pile of junk. Turning off her music again to concentrate, she pulled out one of her energy bars and a drink of water. She would have to eat and drink without the mask on, the thought made her feel sick. Swallowing the toxic air as she ate wasn't very appetising at all. She had gotten used to the boring taste of the energy bars now or the tinned delights she would still find. Those babies would last for hundreds of years before they went bad.

As she removed the mask she could feel the dust saturating her nostrils and the smell was chemical. A mix of being on a building site and a chemistry lab in one. She focused on her food to try and ease her nerves.

She pulled out a small tin of pineapple rings and pulled the ring pull. Lifting her nose to the can she smiled as she took in the pineapple scent. The juice was the most delicious part for Luna as she drank it as fast as she could licking her lips afterwards.

A crashing noise came from behind her making Luna's stomach twist as she froze. This giant graveyard was unnerving enough without noises freaking her out. She placed the tin on the floor slowly as she turned in the direction of the noise. Placing her mask back on she stood very slowly.

If it was an animal it must have been a big one to make such a loud noise. Luna picked up her bottle and climbed very slowly up the pile of junk, watching her foot on every step she took.

The same crashing noise thundered toward her making her lose her balance. Luna's eyes widened in shock as she gasped tumbling backwards.

******

A/N
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Any ideas on what the noise could be? 😱
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