The Last One Alive
I awoke to the sounds
of screaming and explosions this morning. Hair frazzled and only in my
underwear, I quickly put on a loose t-shirt and burst out the front door, only
to be greeted by the heated glow of the other houses being set ablaze.
I heard loud, deep
hums coming from the sky sounding as if there were giant flying beetles; yet
they looked more like military jet planes, though not of human construct.
Instead of giving off a white smoke trail, they didn't give off anything as
they flew by. Their attacks were low and quick, like feral raptors attacking
their prey. Whenever they would strike, they fired a quick succession of
light-blue lasers that instantly ignited anything they hit, even if it was made
out of fire-resistant material. Sometimes, these raptors would let out a thick cloud
of red gas upon the screaming civilians. I couldn't tell if these were at
random or not, so much chaos was happening in front of me I lost sense of any
observation skills.
I quickly ran back
inside and started packing the basics: cloths, food, toiletries, the works. I packed
whatever forms of entertainment I could find; maybe I can use them to keep my
sanity when I get out of this chaotic hell-hole.
Among the chaos, I
noticed a framed picture on my desk. It was of my brother and I a few months
after his family "adopted" me. I was 5 at the time, he was 8. It was in a
simple, dark wooden frame and it was just us being a couple dorks, but it means
a lot to me.
I buried the picture
amongst my clothes so it wouldn't jostle around and get damaged.
After packing everything I needed and getting decent, I darted out to my
Honda clunker. I didn't bother to lock up my house. I tossed the duffle bag in
the back seat, then got myself in the driver's seat and started up the ol'
brick.
I peeled out of the driveway and sped down the street, dodging any people,
raptors, or debris I encountered.
I hope Otso is safe, I thought to myself as I drove,
I don't know where that fuzz butt is, but
I think I have a clue.
I pulled into the driveway of a
vacated house. Memories of when me and Otso used to hide out here flooded my
mind; as far as we knew, no one has lived here for ages, and it was never put
up for sale. It was a small, one-story house with a basement, it's white siding
and red shudders covered with moss, dirt, and vines. The windows were dusty,
some broken, and the handles on both the front and back doors were rotted off.
The yard looked more like a miniature prairie, the grass nearly went up to my
neck.
But oddly enough, our favorite part
of this place was the garage right in front of me. A square, squat building
that's as old and broken as the house. The only way to get in was through a
door on the side in the back. I got out of my car, walked pass the rusted,
chain-link fence separating the front and back yards and entered the garage.
Hehe,
it's almost just like we left it.
I walked inside of the garage. I never knew why this was our favorite
feature, maybe the apartment feel to it that made us feel independent, but not
a couple.
I remember the time Otso and I decided
to clear this place out and, essentially, build our own little nest. Mom got
pretty pissed when we were gone for more than a night:
"Hey
bro! I found some neat beds inside the house. We should totally spend the night
here instead!"
"Ehhh,
I don't know Hellen. Mother got very angry that one time we were out here all
day. I...I can't imagine what she'll do if we stayed overnight."
"Pshh,
you're such a wimp. C'mon, aren't polar bears supposed to be solitary or
something?"
"Not
when they're still cubs."
"Hey,
you gotta be a big bear sometime. Can't have momma bear coddling you all the
time now."
"Don't
say stuff like that! You know how much she misses Father."
"Hey,
I was just joking...ok? Can...can you please stop crying?"
Sniff
"...Sorry."
"God,
you're so sensitive. Listen, a little rebellion won't hurt anyone. Ok?"
"Heh...ok."
"Alrighty
then. C'mon, I'll show ya all the cool stuff I found."
"Hm, that was our first and only night out here," I said to myself.
The inside was exactly how we left
it. My bed was in the corner across from the door, a dingy mattress on a
simple, metal frame that was also next to the garage door. We could never
figure out how to get that thing unstuck. On the corner across from the bed
were a couple wooden bookshelves that held whatever knick-knacks we found. Starting
at the corner and going along the wall across from where I entered was a long
workbench bolted in the concrete floor. Sitting on top was a damn good stereo
system we found during our 'explorations' in the house, along with a variety of
CDs and tapes. Centered in the wall across from the garage door was a small
furnace, its smokestack going up and out the roof. Otso always liked to lay on
the sunken, dingy, olive couch in front of it any time we were here; I never
knew why.
After taking a brief trip down
memory lane, and noticing Otso wasn't around, I left the garage and headed
towards the house.
(Hellen goes into the house and
finds Otso there. She explains the situation to him. They decide to hide out in
the their old hideout, the garage.)
* * *
The first snowfall of
winter covered the ground in a white, sparkly blanket in the course of a day;
it stopped by the time it got dark. The temperature dropped significantly, and
any melted snow during the day is now frozen. My fingers, toes, face, and the
rest of my body all started to feel numb because of the evening cold; it didn't
matter that I was bundled up in layers from head to toe. My eyes were stinging
from the cold, and I had a hard time keeping my head up with that same air
blowing gently in my face. I could see my breath from panting so hard; between
the heavy layers I'm wearing and my nose starting to get plugged up, my mouth
was my only source of oxygen intake, and there wasn't much in this air.
I nearly ran as soon
as I saw our garage up ahead; I couldn't wait to sit by the furnace and enjoy
some coffee and a cigarette.
I went to the only
working door of the garage near the back. I quickly opened the door, darted
inside and quickly closed it. Otso must
have gotten the furnace started; it's toasty in here. I took off only my
outer layers consisting of my gloves, scarf, winter coat, ski pants, and snow
boots and put them all in their proper places by the door. I grabbed my find
out of my coat pocket.
The room was at that
temperature where it was comfortably warm, but you could still feel the cold
from outside trying to get in.
I saw Otso sitting on
the stained, olive couch in front of the furnace looking at a beer bottle he
must've just finished. Thankfully he had the decency to wear something before I got back; all he was
wearing were the only pair of shorts we could find that would his big, fuzzy
butt. I wasn't at all surprised to see him wearing only these in this freezing
weather; he is a polar bear after all. There was a dark orange hardcover book
next to him on the couch that looked like it had seen better days. It was a
beat-up copy of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Still haven't read that find you were so curious about I see. And why
the hell did you decide to keep that abomination you call music! Nickelback was
never any good when civilization existed, and it's still horrid even in this
wasteland!
I rubbed my temples
with my free hand. "Oh god, why do you always listen to that garbage whenever I
get home?" I said in a low, irritated tone.
"Whaaaat? It's
catchy," he replied in his slight Scandinavian accent.
"No, just..." I
walked across the room to the stereo. "No," I said irritably as I turned off
the stereo and took out the CD. This is
going in the furnace later. I put it on the table the stereo was on. I
walked behind the couch to my desk next to my bed and got the coffee pot
started.
"Come on Hellen, why
do ya have to be that way?" he whined.
"Otso, this isn't a
good time right now. I found part of what we've been looking for today." I took
a cigarette from the pack on my desk, lit it, and took a draw. "Plus, this may
be our most important clue yet to figuring out what the hell happened here."
He pouted some.
"Alright, let me see what you found." He held out a paw.
I tossed him the
object in question. He caught it in his paws with a clap. When he opened them,
he gave a confused wrinkle with his nose. He held it to me between his thumb
and index claw.
"A microchip?" he
asked disapprovingly.
"Yes. You are quite
observant," I teased.
"Ha ha."
"And yes, it is
important."
"How? We don't have
any way to see what's on this. Every computer we've come across so far doesn't
work anymore or is straight-up destroyed."
"Yes I know, but I'm
certain this is important. Guess where I found this?"
"Someplace
important?"
"Ok smartass. Come
on, guess." I tossed the cigarette butt in a tin can that was on the other side
of my desk. The coffee pot was done and I poured myself a cup and sat next to
Otso.
"Is it that creepy
university you always like going to, and where you sometimes drag me along?" He
lowered his head in disapproval.
"Actually no. For
once I found something important somewhere other than the university. I found
it in the parking lot of that half-destroyed Wal-Mart down the street."
Otso
was about to make a remark, but was caught off guard by my revelation.
"...Seriously? We could never find anything there."
"Well, you couldn't
find anything in Wal-Mart even before it was destroyed."
We both laughed.
Otso handed me back
the microchip. "But you still haven't explained why you think this is
important."
"Well for one, if you
look closely, you can see that everything's in-tact. Now, do you recall us
finding ANY technology that's not broken in some way?"
"Actually no, at
least not with any computers. Just what we have here."
"Exactly! Plus, look
at the label."
He squinted. "...I
can't read it. And it definitely not English or Finnish, or any other language
you humans have."
"That's why I'm sure
we have something good here. I have no idea what language this is, but I agree
that it's not an Earth language...or Elvish or Klingon or Aurebesh."
He giggled under his
breath, "You're such a nerd sis."
"Hey don't judge me!"
I looked back at the microchip. "Besides, even if we did find a method to see
what's on here, how will we know what it says?"
"I don't know...make an
educated guess?" He shrugged.
"Yes...yes you're
right," I acted as if I had a revelation. "That's a brilliant plan."
"Really?"
"No..."
He leaned forward and
put his paws on his cheeks, resting his elbows on his legs. "You don't have to
be mean," he pouted.
I rubbed my eyes with
my fingers out of frustration, but I was also very tired and the coffee wasn't
helping. sigh Why does he get this way
so often when I tease him even a little?
"Look," I said,
"Let's just get some sleep and tomorrow we'll figure this little shit
out...ok?" I said, holding out the microchip.
He rubbed his face
with his paws before straightening back up. He looked at me blankly. "Get off
my bed," he calmly ordered.
I got up and headed
to my bed that was hugged up in the corner by the broken garage door. I gently
laid the chip on a bookshelf before going to the side door to dump whatever
cold coffee was left in my cup. I undressed to just my underwear, not paying
much attention to the cold from outside coming through the thin garage door. No
matter how hot or cold it is, I always sleep better in my boyshorts; I could
never stand wearing clothes to bed, probably from being raised by bears or
something.
Before turning in, I
noticed we left the furnace running, but I didn't mind; in this cold, we need
all the heat we can get. Otso was lying on the couch, and I could see most of
his shoulder and a corner of one of his light-blue stripes on his back. I
wasn't sure if he was asleep yet, though I could hear his heavy breathing. For
being such a big guy and the fact that he's...well a bear, he sleeps quietly and
doesn't snore, thankfully. Regardless, I walked back over to the couch; I
didn't mind walking barefoot across the cold concreate floor of the garage and
any cold air in here touching my bare skin.
Putting a hand on his
fuzzy, white shoulder, I said half-heartedly, "Hey...I'm sorry...alright? I didn't
mean to offend you...if I did." I gave his shoulder a comforting rub before
heading back to my bed.
I was so tired that
there were no thoughts running through my head, nothing about the chip, nothing
about what happened to our planet, nothing about having to survive in this
wasteland, just nothing at all. The only feelings I could process were Otso's
soft but heavy breathing, the little warmth I'm getting from the furnace, the
wind gently tapping on the garage door, and that ever-present worry for my big
baby brother. He's never been the same since our family's been separated.