by Laurèn Lee
Lexa closed her eyes and tried to imagine what the world must have been like before the water was contaminated. She’d seen the skeletons of the world before but would never see it in its entirety. She’d leafed through old magazines she found in an abandoned convenience store, but the pictures were old and faded.
How did the people live back then? Was life easier with cars, planes, and access to clean water whenever they wanted? Suddenly, a wave of fury exploded inside her. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair she was born during the end of the world. Why couldn’t she have been born before society crumbled beneath the fallen expectations of prosperity?
People had it so easy before, and now she struggled on a daily basis to stay alive. She furrowed her brows and strode to the open window, also missing its glass, and leaned into the night air with her palms on the windowsill. Lightning filled the sky, and for those brief nanoseconds, she could see the landscape before her, illuminated by the flash. The wind walloped her face and tossed her hair about in a mess of ways.
Lexa tried to picture herself as a teenager a hundred or two hundred years ago. What types of things would she like or like to do? Would she be more interested in boys? Would she have gone to a real school? She couldn’t begin to fathom all the possibilities and opportunities that would have been available to her. Instead, she was born after the world fell and water was the most valuable resource. She lived in a time where cannibals roamed free and gangs killed for pleasure. Not ideal. She was dealt a bad hand, but she wasn’t ready to fold.
“Hey,” a voice whispered from behind her.
Lexa turned around to see Rocky rubbing his eyes and his own hair a tangled mess.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he said sheepishly.
Lexa sighed and returned her gaze to the storm brewing outside. “I can’t sleep.”
Rocky approached and stood next to her, also staring out into the storm. “Me either.”
“How are we ever going to find clean water or the berries in time to save the camp?” Desperation slithered through her words.
Rocky’s head sank. “I don’t know. I had high hopes at first, but now—” he broke off. “I already said my goodbyes though.”
Lexa snapped her head toward him. “What?”
“To my dad. I said goodbye before I left to chase after Ivie,” Rocky said.
Lexa covered Rocky’s palm on the ledge with her own and squeezed tightly. “I’m so sorry,” she said truthfully. “I never meant for anything of this to happen.”
Rocky turned toward Lexa and pulled her into his arms, his chin resting on her forehead. “I know, Lex. I don’t blame you. I don’t blame anyone.”
“But I am to blame,” Lexa said into Rocky’s chest. He smelled of sweat and dirt, but he also reminded her of home.
“Life isn’t fair,” he said.
Lexa pulled away, her hands still resting on Rocky’s hips. She stared into his eyes, and Rocky stared into hers. Lexa’s heart thudded, and her stomach flip-flopped as though she stood on the tallest mountain in the world.
They both gently closed their eyes and tilted their heads sideways, their lips inching closer and closer to each other. Lexa could feel Rocky’s warm, sweet breath against her face, and her body clamored for his touch. Just as their mouths were about to meet, a large boom of thunder rang out. Lexa jumped back and panted.
“Holy shit!” she shouted.
“Holy shit,” Ivie said as she stood in the office doorway. “Were you guys about to kiss?”
Rocky backed away and put his hands up in surrender.
“Ew, gross!” Ivie cried. Her voice carried throughout the empty floor, and several birds squawked and scattered away in the halls.
“Jesus, Ivie! Did you have to creep up on us like that?” Lexa questioned, exasperated.
Ivie backed away from the office entrance and retreated to where they’d set up the tent. Despite having shelter, sleeping on a hard, dusty floor wasn’t ideal.
Lexa groaned and turned back around to watch the storm fuming outside. She didn’t mean to yell at her sister, but the shock of being caught nearly kissing her best friend suddenly overwhelmed her. She’d never looked at Rocky like that before, had she? Sure, they had a typical best friend rivalry, and she hated seeing the other young girls at camp fawn over him. Did that mean she had feelings for him? Lexa shook her head fervently.
“What?” Rocky asked.
“Nothing. Just thinking,” Lexa said carefully.
Rocky paused and then spoke up. “So, uh, that was weird.”
“What? The part where we almost kissed or when my sister caught us?” Lexa leaned on the windowsill until she felt the stormy air against her face again.
“Both, I guess,” Rocky said.
“Let’s just forget about it, okay?” Lexa said, still avoiding eye contact with Rocky.
“Yeah, sure.”
Rocky turned away and left the office without another word. Lexa felt overwhelming relief to be alone again. It wasn’t very often she had space for herself to think, and now with traveling so far from home, she couldn't leave Rocky and Ivie alone for very long. No matter what Rocky said, she’d always carry the guilt of what happened at the camp deep inside her bones. No one would be able to expertly pull it out of her; it was ingrained in her soul now, in her story. And it was as impossible to erase your past as it was to control your future.
Finally, Lexa left the office and tiptoed back to the tent. Inside, she heard the heavy breathing of both her sister and best friend. She tried her best to ease back into the sleeping bag to not wake them. They deserved a few more hours of sleep because tomorrow at first light, they would venture into unknown territory and attempt to penetrate the City of Lightning.
7
In the morning, Lexa awoke to Rocky and Ivie whispering outside the tent. She didn’t sit up at first; she wanted to try and hear what they were saying. She inched closer to the opening of the tent, careful to be as still as possible.
“Do you think those berries really exist?” Ivie asked.
“I don’t know. I want to think so, but I have my doubts,” Rocky said.
Lexa craned to hear the next exchange of words as their voices grew quieter and softer.
“I think it may have been a story. Something to get Lexa out of the camp before anything else bad happened,” Rocky uttered.
“You think she lied to her before she died?”
Lexa’s jaw dropped. What were they saying? They thought Kiki lied about the berries? Kiki would never lie to her, would she? Not wanting to hear any more of their fantastical theories, Lexa unzipped the tent and crawled out. She stood and stretched, pretending she hadn’t eavesdropped on Rocky and Ivie’s conversation.
“Mornin’,” Lexa said.
“Hey,” Rocky said with a weak smile.
Ivie looked away, turning her back on her sister. Lexa pursed her lips and tapped Ivie on the shoulder.
“I said ‘good morning,’” she said.
“I don’t care,” Ivie muttered under her breath.
Lexa groaned. “Ugh. Okay, I’m sorry for yelling at you last night.”
“Whatever,” Ivie said. “If you want to stick your tongue down his throat maybe close the door.” Ivie finished chewing her bowl of nuts and dried out berries, ignoring the look of horror on Lexa’s face.
“Wow. Today is starting off on a great foot,” she said sarcastically.
Changing the subject, Rocky said, “We should head out soon. I think the stepping stones to the city are a few miles southwest.”
Lexa nodded. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you think is good.”
Lexa thought again about the moment she and Rocky shared last night. She was so close to touching his lips with his own. Part of her wanted to go back in time and see what would have happened if they tried even just a few seconds earlier. But another part of her wanted to slap herself for thinking of such things. She needed to focus on
helping her camp, not improving her love life.
Rocky, already finished with his breakfast, folded up the tent and put it in one of the bags. His t-shirt hung limply on his body, and Lexa could only guess how much weight he’d already lost. Even her own pants felt loose on her. Somehow, they needed to keep up their strength to carry on. Berries and nuts wouldn’t last forever, and it wouldn’t always be enough to maintain their stamina. They needed protein and fresh water sooner rather than later. Would they find solace in the City of Lightning? Would they find safety and help for their camp? Only time would tell.
Outside, the storm raged on, and the sun was nowhere in sight. They had a few miles’ trek before they found the rumored stepping stones into the city, according to what Kiki told her before she passed away.
Rocky, Ivie, and Lexa packed up all their belongings and carried what they could on their backs. Each day, their packs grew a touch lighter as they consumed more and more of their food and water.
As Rocky gathered a few more items, Lexa veered off into another abandoned office on the floor where they’d set up camp. She pulled out a few leaves from her backpack and rubbed them on her neck and under her arms.
“Hey! Are those mint leaves?” Ivie hissed.
Lexa’s head snapped back to see her sister, and she turned around quickly. “No,” she said and stuffed them back in her bag.
“Yes, they are!” Ivie squealed. “Give me some!”
Lexa stood and brushed past her sister as she walked to the hallway on the floor leading toward the staircase.
“You just want to smell good for your boyfriend,” Ivie snickered.
“What’s that?” Rocky asked as he joined the sisters at the top of the stairs.
“Nothing!” Lexa spat.
Ivie shook her head and wagged her finger toward her older sister. Even though the trio had grown accustomed to each other’s stench, it didn’t mean they couldn’t try to improve their circumstances.
Lexa had come across a small mint plant while she was in the forest alone after first running away. She’d crammed as many of the tiny, refreshing leaves into her bag as she could, but she barely had any left now. It was embarrassing enough to be grossed out by your own body odor, let alone what Rocky thought of her.
They finally exited the crumbling building and returned to the stormy atmosphere outside. A few miles lay between them and the first stepping stone toward the City of Lightning. The wind swirled around them, kicking up all the pebbles and debris in the abandoned city. Rocky, Ivie and Lexa covered their faces with their hands like a shield. With every step forward, more and more dust and particles slapped them in the face and body. It would only get worse from here.
“Let’s walk single file,” Rocky shouted into the wind.
“What?” Ivie and Lexa replied in unison.
“One line!” Rocky called back, and as though he were playing charades he walked in one line straight ahead hoping they’d understand.
Lexa nodded and lightly shoved Ivie behind her to follow. Rocky, the tallest, helped protect them from the tornado-like conditions despite his own wound still gnawing at his psyche. He blocked off one of the paths of debris from hitting the girls, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the rubble from attacking them from the other directions.
Lexa’s eyes watered from the dust, and she wondered how they’d make it all the way to the City of Lightning. Hell, how would they make it to the first stepping stone if conditions were this poor a mile away? But they kept trucking on. They couldn’t stop now.
As they passed the halfway point to the first stepping stone, their visibility was nearly zero. Rocky stayed in front of the line and kept his compass as close to his face as possible to lead them in the right direction. He knew it didn’t have to be exact as the stepping stones were fairly large in size.
The gusts of wind roared in their ears, and they couldn’t hear anything else. Ivie spat every few yards, and with all the dirt flying into her mouth combined with her saliva, it was almost as if she were creating mud with her own body. A few times, she swallowed the chalky mixture and nearly vomited beside her feet.
The distance wasn’t far. Under ideal conditions, it would have taken them about twenty minutes or so to walk a mile, but in these conditions it took well over an hour, and they still had one-quarter mile left to go.
Suddenly, Lexa tripped over a large rock she hadn’t seen on the ground. She dove forward, catching her fall with the palms of her hands, which scraped against more rocks on the rust-colored earth.
She yelped in pain as Ivie tripped over her, also not seeing what lay in front of her very eyes.
Luckily, Rocky heard the sisters’ shouts for help and stopped. He turned around and army-crawled toward them. “Are you okay?” he cried.
He felt around for the sisters, and his hands found Lexa’s face. She nodded and yelled back that she was fine. Rocky pulled them up, and they struggled to continue on. In the vortex of swirling air, rain and booming thunder, none of them truly knew how long they’d been out there trying to reach the first stepping stone. It could have been ten minutes or it could have been five hours. However, as quickly as the conditions worsened for the trio, they began to let up. Visibility increased; the wind slowed down to a mere gust, and Lexa could breathe more easily and not worry about sucking in pieces of rubble from the air.
In less than ten feet, the wind stopped completely, and overhead, the sky was clear without a single stormy cloud in view. They’d reached the first stepping stone. Finally.
8
Rocky, Lexa, and Ivie reached the first stepping stone and collapsed onto the cracked granite as though they’d been walking for months instead of taking a few hours or so to get there. By bracing the extreme weather conditions, it felt like much longer.
Above them, the trio saw something they hadn’t seen in quite some time: the sun. Its warm rays soaked into their dirty faces and lifted their spirits. A warm, gentle breeze grazed their bodies, and a sweet smell of fresh water tickled their noses.
Lexa groaned with elation until exhaustion set in and she could barely open her eyes. She yawned and stretched her legs and arms, not even coming close to touching Rocky and Ivie. The stone was circular with a diameter of about twenty feet, give or take.
After a bonfire when Lexa and Rocky were only twelve, he told her about aliens that would come to Earth, sending down beams of light to suck up any humans in their path to experiment and test their space theories on. At first, Lexa didn’t believe him, but he retold the story with so many details and exactness that she couldn’t sleep for at least a week. Any time she saw the glow of the moon, she’d shriek and run into her tent. It was only after her parents asked what all the fuss was about that she told them the alien story, too.
They discounted it right away, but a part of Lexa always wondered about life on other planets. Surely humans couldn’t truly believe they were the only intelligent species in the entire universe? Besides, just because something can’t be seen doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Lying on the stone, she felt like she was in the midst of that very beam from the aliens with the sun shining down on her and the storm swirling all around the stepping stone.
It only took a few minutes for Rocky’s snores to permeate the fresh air, sending Ivie into a fit of giggles. Lexa smiled to herself too while still on her back, absorbing the vitamin D. She wanted to drift off into a dreamless slumber as well. It would be so easy to take a deep breath and let her subconscious pull her into the dark depths of a dream.
With her eyes closed and her breathing slow and steady, Lexa felt the tug of sleep. In a few seconds, she’d fall off and rest for a few hours or so—until something or someone tugged at her instead.
“Hey, Lexa?” Ivie whispered.
“Yes?” Lexa said.
Ivie didn’t answer but nuzzled up to her sister.
“What is it, Ivie?” Lexa asked again, her voice curt.
“I’m scared,” she said.
Lexa opened her eyes and met her sister’s gaze. Her eyes were as big as the sun in the sky and filled with fervent fear. Lexa sat up and leaned back as she put the palms of her hands on the stone.
“Why?”
Ivie looked away and cleared her throat. “We’ve never been so far from home.”
Lexa nodded. “I know, but it’s okay. We’re doing this to save the camp.”
Ivie looked back to her sister as tears streamed down her face. “I think you’re lying. I don’t think they can be saved.”
Lexa’s breath caught in her throat, and she sat all the way up. She grasped Ivie’s shirt, but her baby sister wouldn’t come any closer.
“We can save them. We are saving them right now!”
“How, Lex?”
Ivie stood and stared into the unknown, toward the City of Lightning. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew the city that was supposed to save them was not that far away. But could they be saved?
“It’s been days since the water became infected,” Ivie began. “People were already starting to feel sick when we left. They’re probably all dead now.” Ivie’s voice broke, and sobs shook her to her very core.
Lexa also stood and tried to wrap her arms around her sister, who pulled away. “Ivie, everything is going to be okay.”
Ivie whipped around and punched her sister in the stomach. Though small, her strength surprised Lexa as she doubled over and clutched her abdomen.
“What the hell, Ivie?” She gasped for air.
“You’re a liar!” Ivie screamed.
Across the stone, Rocky stirred. He rubbed his eyes and turned over on his side to face the girls. He watched in subdued awe as they argued.
“How am I a liar?” Lexa shot back, seething.
“You’ve said things would be okay before, and they ended up worse!” Ivie cried. More tears streamed down her face, and she could barely breathe.