“It’s not like it used to be… you can’t mess around anymore.” I uttered, looking up and glaring at Jade. Jade was the only person I had seen and talked to in the past year. We have not run into anyone else. We were surrounded by a ghost town.
The whipping flames of the fire reflected in her black eyes. They were glossy, filling with her hopelessness.
Before the attack 2 years ago, life was decently normal. I think about it quite often. It’s the only thing that gets me through the loneliness of being one of the only survivors. My perspective on life changed on April 24th of 2506. I clearly remember waking up after sleeping in on a sunny Saturday. Though, the sky was too bright. And the air felt too thick.
My parents kept to themselves more than usual, and barely talked to me, let alone each other. I thought nothing of it. I didn’t want to think about them entering another fighting phase again. So, I went to the kitchen as per usual. Pouring myself a bowl of Cheerios cereal, the spoon in my bowl started to make a vibrating noise. Then, the bowl was shaking. I froze in place: we lived in North Dakota, so we never had earthquakes. I could hear my parents in the dining room mention something about an attack, and then they rushed into the kitchen to find me.
I don’t remember what they said to me, only that they frantically ushered me into the bathroom. Mom kept her hand wrapped around my wrist as she threw towels from the closet into the bathtub. The house was increasingly shaking. I didn’t know where dad went, until he appeared again gripping a hypersonic gun tightly in his hands. I don’t think I said anything, but again, I don’t remember. They put me in the tub cushioned with towels. Mom kissed me on the head with tears streaming down her face. She probably said ‘I love you’ too. Before they left, they looked at me for a last time before they shut the bathroom door. Out of all the moments in that day most vividly I can clearly picture the grief and fear that took over my parents faces before they left. Maybe saying they left isn’t the right word, especially since I have no idea where they went. They are probably dead, and that’s what I’ve had to learn to accept. It’s a possibility that they are somewhere else too.
The confusion on what had happened that day never went away. All of a sudden, I was the only person left in the world. There were no bodies leftover. Everyone was simply gone with no explanation. The only thing they seemed to have left behind was a befuddled 18 year old.
After a year of surviving on my own, living off of the remaining food in people’s abandoned houses, I met Jade. She was sleeping in a bed inside one of the houses I decided to temporarily inhabit. Jade must have sensed my presence because her eyes forcibly opened and spotted me. I stayed in the doorway staring at her, amazed that there was someone else. I wasn’t the only survivor. Jade screamed and ran at me. I grabbed her wrists and assured her that I wasn’t going to hurt her. Once she calmed down, I told her my name and my story. I could tell this made her feel more comfortable, so I asked her some questions.
I found out she was 2 years younger than me, making her 16 years old at the time. She knew more about the attack than I did. Jade told me how her parents were scientists, and they specialized in extraterrestrial studies. They told her stories after their work shifts about real life forms that lived in micro ecosystems on stars across the milky way galaxy. Jade’s parents called them ‘The Turns.’ Apparently, these Turns are the things that attacked us.
It’s been a year, and no other survivors have turned up. Jade and I have been surviving together since.
Jade continued to try and convince me: “I’m telling you. You just have to trust me. If we make it to the East Coast, there’s a base there. They can take us to a rescue station in Morocco.”
“We haven’t heard anything for the past two years. We are the only living people left!”
“You don’t know that. We’ve only traveled within the state boundaries and–” Jade was getting frustrated.
My eyes blurred as I zoned out; I tried to think of reasons as to why we should not leave: “no radio communication, no signs of aircraft or military looking for survivors. Everything you would expect to happen during this sort of emergency hasn’t.”
“My parents told me about that base. They partnered with their research company. They knew about the risks. They must have been prepared.”
“You’re wrong. None of this makes sense. There’s no way this is something that could have been expected.” I looked up at her again. Tears rolled down her face.
Jade sounded defeated as she argued for a final time: “what else are we going to do. We’ve been house hopping, and that’s it. If there’s no base and no boat, we’ll just come back.”
My eyes stayed locked on the flames of the fire. I knew she was right. It’s not worth staying. I don’t even know what I’m waiting for, as if my parents will come back and everything will go back to normal.
The darkness of the night encapsulated the backyard of our new temporary house. The fire still crackled, popping out small orange embers. Crickets filled the silence. Jade wiped away her tears, which reflected off the moonlight.
I got up from my camp chair that had been left by whatever family had once lived in this house. Grabbing the fire pit cover, I put it over the fire and signaled for us to go inside.
“Tomorrow, we’ll pack up a bag. We should be able to car hop along the way as long as we stay on the highway. We’ll stop at the store to stock up of non-perishables before we leave. Make sure to take some clothes too.”
Jade smiled at me, didn’t say anything, and layed down on the couch to go to sleep. Her black hair draped over the green cushions. I grabbed a room temperature can of coca cola, and sprawled out on the brown leather living room recliner. The electricity didn’t work, and it hasn’t since the attack, so I couldn’t watch TV like I used to. Though, I’d gotten used to the silence. It gave me time to think about how my life was when it was normal. Other times, I think about my parents, and the day the world went quiet. In these silent moments, I’ve put together that my parents must have known about The Turns. I wonder why they would know about them. Pondering the what-ifs only make me feel unsettled: it bothers me that my parents never warned me that the attack could happen. Their secrecy makes me question what else I do not know. The best thing to do is to try and find some answers. If for anything, then for peace of mind.
I really hope Jade is right about that base, or else, I don’t know what I’m going to do.