Beyond The Collapse

by Kip Nelson

  Unlike the two men, Diana didn't seem to be bothered about sticking to the side streets and alleyways. She walked down the middle of the road as though she owned it, and this only made Adam more enamored toward her. There had been a time in the forest when he thought he'd never lay his eyes upon a woman again. It had been so long since he had enjoyed a fleeting romance, and his attraction to Diana was strong, perhaps made stronger by the fact she was so aloof toward him. He gave it a little time until he walked back in line with her again and tried talking to her, but she mostly replied in short answers whenever he asked her about the camp or herself. She never looked at him either. Her eyes were focused straight ahead. Her hand clasped Annabelle's tightly, and it was clear she was protective of the young girl. Yet, it only left Adam with questions, such as what had happened to Annabelle's parents? And how did the two of them meet?

  Diana also didn't seem to have any weapons on her, although after her self-defense display, that was somewhat understandable. Yet, Adam thought it was a risk to move through the city without at least a knife. Part of him hoped they were threatened so he could prove to Diana he wasn't completely useless and could take care of himself. So far, he didn't think he had given a good account of himself. But whether they were just fortunate, or Diana knew the safest way to go, they weren't bothered by anyone. Peter still was splashing in puddles, which made Diana look at him strangely, although it made Annabelle want to run and join him. She would have if Diana hadn't kept an iron grip on her hand.

  Even though Diana was not the most gracious person at first Adam did like the fact that he was with other people. It made him feel less isolated, and eventually, when he grew tired of trying to get a conversation going with Diana, he turned to Annabelle.

  “Perhaps you could tell me about the camp, since Diana is so tight-lipped?”

  Diana rolled her eyes and Adam smiled. Annabelle was all too happy to talk. Her eyes shone brightly and just being around her filled Adam with hope. She was the future of the world, after all, and unlike him, she still had a lot of potential in her life. It was a shame that she wouldn't have the same opportunities as before because she was clearly a smart girl. She surely would have been a success in the old world, but it showed Adam that just because the world had ended it didn't mean that life had to end too. He wanted to humor her, and he knew he couldn't act depressed around her or dash her hopes. The light in a child had to be protected, for that optimism was a rare thing, and had to be nurtured.

  “Oh, it's wonderful. There are so many nice people there, and we all live in this big place, but we don't all live together, there are separate parts. I live with Diana, and she takes care of me. She is really nice, even though she's grumpy a lot of the time, but don't take that personally. She's like that with everyone. Anyway, we get to eat at the camp and we talk to a lot of people, and then we come out in the city and explore, and it's really fun! I like to find new things as well. We go on treasure hunts. Some of the people aren't so nice, but most of them are. Diana doesn't like me talking to too many people, but I like making new friends. That's what we all should be doing now. I do miss my old friends, but I don't miss school. Well, I do miss learning, but I never liked my teacher. She was really mean and didn't read us nice stories like my old teacher did. I do like stories. Do you?”

  “I do indeed,” Adam replied, unable to hide the amused smile from his face.

  “What stories do you like?”

  “Mostly sci-fi ones, ones with aliens and spaceships.”

  “I like those, too. Do you think aliens are going to come and visit us? Some people at the camp think that aliens are the ones that made everything dark, but I haven't seen any yet.”

  “I've always wanted to meet an alien. So, I hope so, but I wouldn't bet on it.”

  “What's your favorite story?” Annabelle asked, turning to Peter. He smiled and blushed, and then turned away.

  “Is he alright?” Annabelle asked, her face twisting in confusion.

  “Yeah, he just gets a little shy now and then. It's okay, Peter, these are our new friends,” Adam said.

  Peter smiled. “I know, it's just that we've only met bad people so far, and Adam said that all the people in the city were bad.”

  “I'm not bad, I'm just me,” Annabelle said cheerily. Even Diana smiled at that.

  “Well, my favorite story was Watership Down. Have you ever read that?”

  “I think so. That's the one with all the frogs and toads and things, isn't it? I think my parents read it to me when I was younger...”

  As soon as she mentioned her parents, Diana gulped and her mood shifted. She quickened her pace and entered into the conversation. “Annabelle, why don't you tell Peter about some of the things we've seen when we've been out exploring?” she said, and let go of Annabelle's hand so the little girl could skip beside Peter. Diana dropped back and lowered her voice as she spoke to Adam.

  “I don't like letting her talk about her parents. It only makes her sad. She tries not to be, and that's why she talks so much, to distract herself, but sometimes she mentions them without thinking. It's best to try keeping her distracted. So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't try getting her talking about them,” she said.

  “Okay,” Adam replied. He wanted to ask Diana what had happened to Annabelle's parents, but he wasn't sure Diana would be forthcoming. He thought he had better let Diana get to know him first so she was comfortable sharing those kinds of things with him.

  “Oh, and I wouldn't get your hopes up about the camp either. Annabelle has a certain way of looking at things that makes them seem better than they actually are.”

  He wondered what she meant by that, but quickly found out for it wasn't long until they reached the camp. By this point Adam was glad because he was so cold. His clothes were sticking to him, and his skin prickled and shivered. Adam only owned one thick jacket, and he'd given it to Peter, wearing a lighter jacket for himself, which only offered minor protection from the rain. He was envious of Diana and Annabelle as they had proper protective wear. Although they too were cold, they were not subjected to the rain since their waterproof jackets protected them. Annabelle and Peter seemed happy enough talking with each other, and Adam was glad Peter could relax and find a new friend. He glanced over at Diana and hoped she would be a friend, too. After this short time of being with her, he realized how much he missed other people, and how little he knew about surviving in this new world.

  The camp was not what Adam had expected, especially not from Annabelle's excited description. He was glad Diana had warned him not to get his hopes up. He thought they would come across a section of the city that had been cordoned off and used as a small settlement, but the camp was just an apartment building into which people had crammed themselves. They walked into the lobby and had to tiptoe around the people sitting on the floor, some of whom looked in better condition than others. Diana shot him a look that seemed to tell him, 'I told you so,' but it didn't bother Adam too much. All he wanted was a place where he could dry off.

  The people were from all different walks of life, and they all had one thing in common; a defeated look on their faces. Their clothes were stained and tattered, their appearances unkempt. The smell was musky and heavy, too. Nobody seemed to pay him much mind, although they greeted Diana and Annabelle with a smile. The little girl seemed to brighten up their spirits for a moment, as though in that brief time they could forget the dreary, devastated state of the world. From what he could see, Annabelle was the only child present. He wondered if that bothered her, but from the looks of it, she was just as happy as she would have been had the world not ended.

  “I wouldn't exactly call this a camp,” Adam said.

  The four of them moved through the lower floor and up the stairs. As he passed the elevator, he saw people had managed to pry open the doors and were using that as a space to stay as well. Some people had a few belongings with them, but most were like Adam, with only the clothes on their back. It was a sad sight to see the
m all slumped against the walls. A grim silence hung about them, because what was there to talk about anymore other than talking about everything they had lost?

  “Me neither, but it's all we've got,” Diana replied. She opened the door and let Annabelle through first, then Peter followed, with Adam and Diana staying together.

  “I suppose it's nice that you have a place where Annabelle can be safe.”

  “Yeah, although it's not always like that. It's not like there's a restriction on who can live here, so you have to be careful. But to be honest, most people keep to themselves, so you don't have to worry about it.”

  “Is there going to be room for us?”

  “You'll make room. You can stay near us. It's only a place to sleep really. I like taking Annabelle out. I couldn't stay in here all day, not like some of these people. I think I'd go crazy.”

  “Maybe going crazy is the only way to stay sane in this world,” Adam said grimly.

  “But why did everyone come here and live like this? Surely most of these people would have had their own homes?” he said.

  “They did, but without central heating the other buildings became too cold. Living in such close proximity with each other means we can share our body heat. The nights get deathly cold. You must have felt that out in the forest?”

  “Sometimes, I guess, but we had blankets and things,” Adam said, not wanting to admit to her that he and Peter had huddled together for warmth. “Did no help come? I was there on that first night, and a lot of people went to city hall, thinking that someone there would know what was going on. Even though we left, I thought there might be some kind of relief force coming to help.”

  “There was supposed to be, at least that's what we were promised. There were loads of us gathered together, and an announcement was made that help would be arriving soon, but none did. There were rescue shelters that had packs of blankets and spare clothes. Some of us were lucky enough to get them, but then everything went quiet. It's like we've all just been abandoned.”

  Adam looked around at all the desperate faces and thought about all they had had to endure, and his heart broke for humanity. There were moments when he opened himself up to feeling such a swell of emotion, and it was difficult to maintain his equilibrium. It was as though he felt the burden of every scar and every depressing, painful thing that had happened. So, he tried numbing that part of himself most of the time.

  “I wonder what's happening in the rest of the country and the rest of the world as well. Do you think anyone actually has a handle on what happened, or is everything just this chaos, like us?”

  “Frankly, I don't really give a crap. All I care about is myself and Annabelle. I doubt I'm ever going to see the rest of the world, so they can take care of themselves.”

  Adam didn't say anything to the blunt reply and followed them through the winding corridor to their little space. Annabelle threw herself down on the collection of blankets and patted the floor beside her, indicating that Adam and Peter should join her. There were more people around, and the apartments weren't separate apartments any longer. Every single space was open for people to squat and live as best they could, which wasn't a good standard of living at all.

  Adam had pulled out a change of clothes for him and Peter from his backpack and they peeled off their wet garments. There wasn't anywhere discreet they could change, so they just changed right there. Diana made sure Annabelle looked away. They didn't have as much space as they did in the forest, but at least they were in a building away from the elements, and they were with different people. Adam hoped none of them would threaten him, but he still was afraid that he was in danger, although he tried quelling that fear and looked at Annabelle. As long as she was safe, he was safe, and he didn't have to concern himself with anything.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was getting late, so Annabelle and Peter started settling down for the night. The two of them were having a yawning competition, which only served to make them more tired. They all were staying in the living room part of one of the apartments, but none of them had the couch, that already had been claimed. They had their own corner, and it seemed to be where the television had been. Much had been removed to make more space for people to live.

  Even though they all were together, there were still divisions. Some people had hung string from the walls and placed blankets or curtains over it to create some sense of privacy. Although, in such close quarters everyone could hear everything that was said, and perhaps that was one of the reasons nobody seemed to be talking much. It was a drastic change from the isolated life that Adam and Peter had been living. It had been just the two of them, and Adam hoped he would be able to get a full night's sleep with the sound of so many other people breathing and snoring and grinding their teeth.

  Diana was sitting with her back to the wall and her knees drawn up, watching over Annabelle like a hawk. Even though Adam felt she was brusque, there was no denying she cared for the young girl, and frankly, she didn't have to bring the two of them along either.

  “Thank you for this,” he said genuinely. “I know Annabelle kinda persuaded you, but you didn't have to show us this place. You could have left us out there, so thank you.”

  “Don't worry about it,” Diana said, shrugging. “I knew you were harmless, I just don't particularly like having extra baggage. I'm not a monster, though. If people need help, I'm going to try giving it to them. Besides, it's nice to have a few other people to keep watch over Annabelle.”

  Annabelle was curled up beside Diana, who had her hand over Annabelle's head, stroking her hair softly. “So, why'd you leave the city? That doesn't seem like the smartest move,” she said.

  “Maybe it wasn't, but I was there at the beginning and I saw how crazy everyone got. There was a massive brawl, and I just needed to get out of there. I thought that if I stayed my life was going to be in danger. People are vicious and selfish and none of them could come to an agreement. People trampling over other people, and the more I stayed in the city, the more I felt as though I had to get out. I bumped into Peter and, well, I figured that someone had better help him. He was left alone, I don't know why, but we made our way out. I thought that if we stayed out of people's way, we'd only have to worry about dealing with nature, and it would be a little easier.”

  “I take it from the fact that you're back here that it wasn't?”

  “Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We managed to build a shelter, and I even was able to hunt. I've never been the most able person out in the wild, but I remembered a few things my father taught me. So, we were able to build a fire and it was...it was okay.”

  “But?” Diana prompted.

  Adam sighed. “But it never was quite comfortable. We ate, but we didn't eat well, and it wasn't like we could store any food for later. We knew at some point there were going to be days when we wouldn't eat at all. Then some men came to us and tried stealing everything we had. They almost beat up Peter. The whole reason we went out there was to avoid people. We started thinking that maybe it wasn't the right decision to stay out there, especially not through winter.

  “So, we came back and tried finding some safety in the city. I hoped that once the initial panic had passed, things would have settled down. When we left it was literally the day after everything happened. So, I think people still were shocked and staying indoors, hoping that somebody would tell them what was going on, or that things magically would start working again. To be honest, part of me was a little worried I'd been spending all that time in the forest for nothing, and that everything was back to normal. Although it seemed like things fell apart more quickly than I thought.”

  “Yeah, they did. Unfortunately. I remember that night much like you. I left my apartment and I was with other people, moving through the city. I was right by where a plane went down, and we all had to run away. It was terrifying. I thought that was it, my life was over. The air was filled with screams and nobody knew what to do or where to go. We e
nded up near the police station and the cops were trying to tell everyone to calm down but, of course, nobody was going to listen to that. We thought maybe there was some kind of procedure in place, but there wasn't really.

  “They told us to get to the rescue shelter, but I think they only hoped they would know what was going on. When we got there the place was packed. That's where I met Annabelle. In all the confusion she was lost and didn't seem to know what was going on, and everyone had overlooked her. We got some clothes and blankets and stayed the night, although we didn't get much sleep. People kept pouring in and everyone was talking about their theories on what was happening. Personally, I don't care how it happened. All that matters is that it did happen, and we just have to deal with that because it's not going to change.”

  “What happened the next morning?” Adam asked. Other people who were around them shushed them. So Adam and Diana tried lowering their voices until they were almost whispering, which gave their conversation an intimate feeling, as though they were sharing secrets.

  “Pretty much the same thing. People kept coming to the shelter, but by that point there wasn't any room. And, of course, people didn't like that, so there were more arguments. I felt bad for the people running it. They only were trying to do their jobs, and they didn't have any need to. I mean, if the people running the city could just up and leave, then why should anyone else care? But they tried to make enough room for everyone. People were scared, though, and they thought that someone was going to attack. So, a lot of people were like you and they tried leaving the city. Some of them had cars that were old enough and still worked, but they didn't get very far. As soon as people realized what was happening, they piled on and tried to getting control of the cars. It was the same for people on bicycles.” Diana shook her head in disbelief as she replayed those harrowing moments in her mind.