Broken

.30.

"Come on, Ani. You wanted to see the ruins up close." I was breathing heavy as I climbed up a pile of moss covered rubble. Ani had wanted to see the old ruins up close but now she was lagging behind. I thought it was amusing. Orrians were supposed to be stronger than humans but she was huffing and puffing as if we were climbing Mount Everest.

"I did not think there would be this much walking." She practically wheezed the words out and I smirked as I lifted myself up towards the slab of concrete above me.

"Out of shape are you?" I glanced back at her as I scrambled onto it.

"No one is as stubborn as you, Liviya." Ami'la glowered at me as she lagged behind Ani.

I stayed lying down on the flat piece of concrete that signalled the second last stop of the large pile. "You wanted to tag along, Ami'la." I glanced at her and she rolled her eyes as she gave Ani a boost to the edge before my spot. I sat up and looked around. I had apparently chosen one of the more difficult routes up the edge of rubble that signalled the beginning of the city.

"To keep you out of trouble." Her words were grumbled and I let out a chuckle.

"Trouble? Me? Never." It felt good to tease one another again as I once again lifted myself up towards another slab of concrete. I knew the view was worth it though. It was one of my favourite places on Earth. I had grown up next to the ruins so seeing them was always something I enjoyed. It reminded me of simpler times. Happier times.

"Are we just about there?" Ani looked up at me and I nodded before I reached down and grabbed her hands. I helped to pull her up to the top of the pile. Once she scrambled up she lay down like I had, breathing heavy as I helped Ami'la onto the slab of concrete that signalled the top of the pile. I turned around and stared at the ruins.

Greenery had overtaken hollowed out, towering buildings that leaned haphazardly over top of craters that showed where the bombs had fallen centuries ago. Much of it was overtaken by nature but the scars in the Earth were something that would never go away. Humanity had made its mark within the Earth's surface and it wasn't something that could truly be healed. It showed the ugly side of humans and humanity but every time I saw it I was struck with awe.

Humans once had enough power in their hands to decimate cities and change the landscape of the planet we lived on. A select few had killed billions and thrown our world into utter chaos and darkness. Nuclear winters and the radioactive fallout. The shuddering of the tectonic plates that caused massive Earthquakes and volcanic explosions. We had once been powerful enough that the very Earth had shifted under our feet because of the actions of the few.

Some humans had taken brush to canvas or glass to fire and other had taken hands to keyboards and destroyed life as they had known it. I inhaled deeply as I stared at the magnitude of the scene in front of me. There was always a stillness in me, a sombreness that descended when I looked on the ruins. A deep acknowledgement that I was just as capable as those that had done such a terrible thing.

"Wow..." Ani's voice was practically breathless and I gave a small nod.

"I have never seen these up close before." Ami'la's voice was a soft whisper and I sat down.

"This is the other side of humans, Ani. With our hands we can create and with our hands we can destroy." I looked around the buildings, following a flock of birds with my eyes. There was a peacefulness in knowing that despite how much humans had destroyed the world, nature would always take it back. It would always find a way.

"Why did they do this?" Ani sounded slightly horrified at the thought and I didn't have an answer for her so I gave a small shrug.

"Greed, a strive for power, hate, revenge, religion. The list is endless. All I know is that we were left in the rubble and instead of taking all this down..." I gave a sweeping gesture to the ruins before us. "We left it up as a sombre reminder of what humanity is capable of." There were hundreds of thousands of cities just like the one we were staring at, that were all over the world and they all served as a reminder of what we had done. There would be no more tearing down our mistakes and rebuilding on top of them. We lived on the outskirts of grave yards filled with skeletons made of concrete and metal.