Before the End

     I’m running down the lampless road toward the bus stop. It’s a dry, cool night. My backpack is heavy, full of the essentials, thudding rhythmically against my back. All the world seems empty, is empty. Everyone around has left their homes. No time to pack, just a bag each. Throw it into the car, leave the house unlocked. Why bother when soon enough it will all be fractured like broken puzzle pieces. “Does this screen belong with this window frame?” Who will be there to ask, pick up the pieces and glue them back together? I think of all those people, driving through the night, safe in their cars. But I am still here. Not to loot, I know running away isn’t the answer. Just running right now, down the silent block. Will I make it to the bus stop? It’s light shedding the last chance for safety.

      The air pulls heavy into my lungs, my eyes scanning from side to side as I run. All the houses are dark, but not everyone is gone. Rustling bushes and strange noises make my speeding heart jump, I am not alone anymore. I can feel the eyes watching me.  She creeps unseen through the darker shadows. She has probably been with me all evening. And now, suddenly she is right behind me. I have to get away, I have to hide. I dash into the nearest empty house and quickly scramble into the bedroom closet. She flashes through the door, right on my tale. I glimpse her full frame for the first time, she is small, like a child. She is not a child. I know she has come to kill me. Her image fools others, but not me. I know what she truly is. She lunges at me, arms out as if in embrace. I grab her around the neck with both hands, I am stronger than her. I hold tight, our faces close, I look into her eyes. They are not evil, as I thought they would be. Dark and dull, she is not all there. I understand then that she is only trying to survive, like me. But she is not like me, she has killed and she wants to kill me too. I keep holding her neck, tight, just so she knows I have the power. Suddenly I realize the life is fading from her face. I let go quickly, but it is too late. She is blue and gray and dead. I didn’t mean to, I only wanted her to know she could not hurt me. But now it is done. I am all alone, no one to punish me. But it’s weight is already stifling and it can never be undone.