going?” he asked.
He released Frankie, and she buried her face in my chest. “To a place that’s supposed to be untouched by The Great Famine.”
His mouth dropped open. “You’re lying.”
Owen stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. “No, we’re not.”
Colin glanced at the open hatch door then back at Owen. “I’m coming with you.”
“Nobody invited you,” Owen snapped.
“Invited or not, I’m going,” Colin growled. “So you might as well save yourself the argument.”
“Me too,” shouted Grace as she climbed down the ladder.Owen slapped his hands to his side, frustrated. “All of you cannot go!”
“Listen,” I shouted as all eyes centered on me. “We can’t stand around and argue about this anymore! Either we all go or none of us go because if we stand here any longer and debate about it, the cannibals will storm in here, eat us, and the people above!”
“Fine,” Owen grumbled, defeated. “Let’s grab what we can and get the hell out of here.”
Colin grabbed Frankie from me, lifted her over hisshoulder, then dashed down the first ramp. Owen followed, shouting at Colin, “We need to search every room for what we can and we have to do it fast!”
Grace and I stood below the hatch as May came into our view. “Mom,” said Grace. “I love you and I’ll be back!”
May smiled, tearing up and tossed Grace a bag. “I love you too, honey.” Then she turned to me. “Keep her safe, Georgie,” she sniffled.
“I’ll do my best,” I promised.
Then May blew us both kisses and closed the hatch.
Frantic, Grace and I split up and went to both of our family’s quarters. I ransacked my parents’ room first, tearing through all of their things, taking what I needed and tossing aside what I didn’t. I stopped briefly, staring at a picture of them on their wedding day. My mother was laughing and my father grinned as his lips moved in close to her cheek.
A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed, fighting the
tears. I snatched the picture from the dresser, folded it up, and slid it into my back pocket. That’s how I wanted to remember my parents—happy, loving, and devoted to one another. Then I shed a tear, had a moment of silence for them, and kept on moving.
In the hall, I met up with Grace, Colin, who still had Frankie, and Owen. I salvaged two potato sacks, one full of vegetables and the other full of miscellaneous items.
Grace had gathered some canteens of water and a pillow case full of medical supplies. Colin and Frankie had some items from my room. And Owen had collected all of the weapons from the deceased cannibals.
“Let’s go!” Owen shouted.
While Owen led the group over to the rope ladder, my eyes wandered over to spot where my parents bodies lied and they were gone. At least one or two of the cannibals had to of survived and taken the bodies. I was thankful for that. I still had to tell Frankie what happened to them and now didn’t seem like the best time to do so.
My cheeks felt warm and tears flowed from my eyes. An empty feeling rested in my stomach and I gasped for air. I was an orphan. Frankie and I were both orphans. When the reality set in, I fell apart. Hitting my knees, I curled up into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably. I closed my eyes and saw my mother. She was standing in front of our house, before the asteroid, watering her tomato plants as I walked down the porch steps. “Bye, Georgie. Have a good day at school.”
I lingered on the driveway. “Bye mom.”
She smiled, her white teeth gleaming in the shadow of her hat. She slide her forearm across her head, brushing back her sandy, blonde hair, and wiping a few beads of sweat away. “Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Then I thought of my father, with his proud childish smile and the way he used to playfully mess up my hair when I’d done something good. Like getting a good report card. “Good job, kiddo,” he’d say as I stood there giggling.
I choked on my sobs. I’d never be able to tell either one of them that I loved them ever again. My memories of them that was all I had left. And my memories weren’t good enough.
I felt like there was a huge gaping hole in my heart. A hole that I knew would never close. An annoying repetitive pain circulated through my lungs and I felt like I was being stung by a hundred bumblebees. I sat up, still sobbing and hugged my chest. “My parents,” I cried, looking at the small blood spots on the concrete.
Owen’s hands slid over my shoulder and he whispered in my ear, “Georgina, we have to go.”
“I can’t,” I mumbled. The spots of blood were all I could look at.
“We have to. The rest of the cannibals will be here any second.
I peered at Owen, with desperation in my eyes. “But my parents.”
“Would want you to get out of here and stay alive.”
Owen helped me up and led me to the ladder. He took both of my sacks out of my hands and I put both of my hands on the rope. One more look, all I wanted was to look at the spot where my parents died one more time.
I glanced over my shoulder for a moment and made a promise to myself. A promise that my parents wouldn’t be disappointed in what became of me. They’d be proud of what I’d accomplished. Proud that I watched over Frankie, with motherly intentions and proud that I survived outside of the colony.And lastly, they’d never be dead to me. Because I’d keep them alive forever, in my heart.
I didn’t know what the future had in store for me and the others. New earth was desolate, terrifying, and barren. A place where surprises lurked around every corner. A place that hated survivors and wasn’t satisfied until their bones lined the covered streets.
New earth reminded me of a monster we learned about mythology class, the Kraken. A massive beast that wasn’t satisfied until he defeated the Titans, and humanity.
New earth consumed people, just like the Kraken, but I knew one thing for certain, it would never consume me or anyone I cared about ever again.
I was strong. I was a survivor. And I would never, no matter how difficult it might have been, go down without a fight.
Owen placed his hand on my back and urged me up the ladder. “Come on.”
Then I climbed up the rope ladder, out of the hole, and out into a vast, dangerous world that could literally eat me alive.
Epilogue: Wasted
The earthly desert was quiet at night. The only visible light was the blazing fire in front of me. The fire snapped and crackled as it burned the fallen debris Owen gathered to make it.
The group decided that while everyone else slept, two of us would take turns and keep watch. I volunteered for the night shift. And so did Colin.
We hadn’t spoken to each other since we left the colony. I liked it that way. I didn’t have anything to say to him nor did I want to say anything to him.
When we fled the colony, he invited himself to come along on our journey to the untouched place. In the heat of the moment, there was too much going on and it hadn’t fully registered with me, that we’d be stuck together. At the time, I figured that we could use as many strong people as possible. Now I regretted being agreeable to him joining us.
We sat with our backs facing each other’s staring, out in opposite directions. Frankie laid at my feet and her soft breathing filled my ears. I brushed my fingertips along her forehead. “It’s just me and you, sis,” I whispered. She moaned and rolled over. I didn’t know how much I longer I should have waited to tell her about our parents. It
