Population Zero

Chapter 24

Nearly out of breath, I collapsed against a stock of hay. Sophia shut the barn door tight and slumped down beside me breathing heavily. The smell was an assault on my nostrils but holding my breath wasn't an option. At this point I needed all the air I could fit in my lungs regardless of it's quality. My breathing finally slowed enough to speak and the first words I could think to say were, "I hope you aren't expecting me to ride those things." She chuckled and replied, "You haven't lived much of a life, have you? How do you males expect to get around anyway?"

"ATV's. Don't you have those?"

"Oh, no. Those were banned after the war. The ones that remained were torn apart and burned."

"What war?"

Before she could answer we heard faint shouting in the distance. It was enough to cause us both to jump up. Sophia walked slowly towards the barn door and opened it.

"What now?" I asked.

She turned to look at one of the three horses. "Maribella. She's the most tame one, trust me." She climbed atop the horse and reached down begging me with her eyes to climb up quickly. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and reached back out to grasp her hand. Electricity sparked up my arm and to my chest. The shouting began to get louder and clearer. I clasped my arms around her small waist easily and held on tight as she shouted "Hyah!" and kicked Maribella hard. Off we went away from the shouting females and towards the horizon. When I dared peak my head out from the safety of her long flowing hair I could really appreciate the beauty that surrounded us. The bright green brush slowly turned yellowish under Maribella's hoofs. In the distance a shore appears as the sound of waves crash against the sandy beach. The shouting of the females had silenced. Sophia steered her horse behind the last remaining thicket and slowed her down to a steady stop. She slid down off Maribella swiftly and I followed, hitting the ground much harder than she. The sand squished and squelched beneath my feet. The view is something straight out of one of my history books. A beautiful sandy beach with an ocean vast and wide as far as the eye can see. It's almost peaceful and serene if you try to forgot the fact that a mob of angry females are trying to hunt you down and behead you.

"We'll be safe here for a while." She said. "The war ended four years ago but it feels like it never did." She lowered her head and began scooping up the sand and letting it fall through her fingers. I stayed silent, not knowing how to respond.

"We all suffered so much under the male's rule. Mother Camila was the only one brave enough to stand up against them and try to save us. 14 years ago Mother Camila's 7th son was torn from her arms by the father. She was filled with such grief that after I was born she snuck into the father's quarters and murdered him in his sleep. Soon after the word spread, the males retaliated with more violence than they had ever inflicted before." She hesitated before she continued. "Mother Camila became imprisoned and forced to continue giving birth. She bore more sons than any female before her and they had a thirst for male babies." She quieted again.

"How did the war finally end?" I asked.

"The males retreated four years ago. No one knows why. They just left."

I stood up and started towards the shore. I wasn't sure if she had followed me but I needed to shake off the pent up energy from all this new information. The vastness of the sea was almost overwhelming to me. I closed my eyes and imagined being engulfed into the tide and carried away forever. I turned back to see if Sophia had followed me. She did.

"The tide continues to rise." She walked closer to the shoreline and knelt down to remove her light blue laced slippers. She let her feet slide into the sand beneath the water. "It didn't come this far in last time I was here."

I followed her lead and removed my filthy sneakers, slightly embarrassed at their condition. They used to be white but they've been so worn that they were actually turning brown and most of the sole had been torn and frayed. I dipped my toes into the watery sand and felt the coolness travel up my ankles. "It's beautiful and horrifying all at once." I said as a reached down to scoop up some sand and let it melt down between my fingers. "The earth is still flooding but you'd never notice it if you didn't stop and take a look around."

"Mother Camila is so caught up in the fighting and the wars that we haven't stopped to prepare for the incoming tide. In a few years, our home could be gone, washed away into the sea." She said thoughtfully.

"We will all die, I'm sure of it, but the flooding won't be what kills us." I said and as the words came out of my mouth I believed them for the first time.

"You might be right." She said and her hand clasped into mine. She looked back towards the field. "What kills us may be right here on dry land."

Just as she finished speaking a loud boom sounded in the distance. I jerked my head back hard to see where the sound had come from. Great clouds of dark smoke engulfed the skyline but no sight of flames. They were surely there hidden behind the thick brush. Maribella become deeply disturbed, neighing like wild and kicking her feet high up into the air. She charged towards Sophia violently, throwing her head around. The sound of drums being banged on reverberated from the fields. Sophia calmed Maribella down with her gentle coos and a few carrots she pulled out from her coat pocket. "Come on!" she cried out climbing onto Maribella's back and reaching down for my hand. "What's going on?" my voice was drowned out by all the commotion. I grabbed her hand confidently this time and pulled myself up. Traveling by horse wasn't so scary when there were more things to be concerned with like for example, being blown up or having your head cut off. "Mother Camila is destroying the village. We need to get out of here!" Sophia's voice was barely audible. "What? Why would she destroy her own village?!" I cried out as loudly as I could partially because I was so perplexed by the thought and partially to combat all the noise. I wasn't sure if she heard me. Then a "Hyah!" and a kick to Maribella's side led us off towards the male's compound. I guess there's no going back now. She took off against the shoreline and swiftly turned hard back towards the direction we came. The sand slowly turned back into grass, the grass into thicket, and the thicket into a field. The field lead to one of the largest grave sites I had ever laid eyes on. Crosses and tombstones of all shapes and sizes littered the grassland. We rode by so fast I couldn't make out any of the names or dates. We splashed into mud piles and puddles, going on and on until my arms were sore from holding on so tight. My legs sore from clenching myself to Maribella's back. After a long ride Van Whittle's property slowly came into view. She found it so quickly and so easily it almost made me curious enough to ask if she had ever been here before. Impossible, I thought and pushed the thought far out of my mind. Sophia stopped near the barn and we slid down off Maribella's back and I fell to the ground in exhaustion. My muscles were sore and tight. Sophia slumped down beside me and rested her head on my shoulder. The touch sent electricity into my chest. I longed for the static feeling of her skin so much so that I reached my hand out and clasped my fingers into hers. It was the most natural feeling in the world sitting here breathlessly clutching on to this beautiful girl who buried her face into my neck. If only it wasn't such a grave sin. If only everything I had ever been taught about females wasn't a complete and utter lie. If only the earth wasn't flooding and people and animals weren't dying and wars weren't being waged against ourselves. If only we could put aside our differences and figure out a better solution to this grave problem.

"Let's get out of here. " She nodded. She must have understood the urgency, the risk, and what was at stake because she hadn't again mentioned the danger we were both in together. She hadn't mentioned again the rage Mother Camila would be filled with when she realizes it was her only daughter who helped the rouge male escape. That must be what kept her going. She was the most brave, most fierce female that existed on this earth. And she was with me.