Written by: Ashlyn Erickson
Lee's Blog
http://leethewanderer.tumblr.com/
It has been about 8 years since humans and cyborgs fought on
Earth. No one on Earth saw this way coming. Life was relatively peaceful, if
you were among the wealthy. The cyborgs were after land, and Earth was thriving
as a planet of abundance, the land of plenty. Cyborgs are selfish, they live to
please themselves and don’t care who stands in their way, they will just
destroy them anyways. Once the cyborgs got rid of all human beings, they
declared Earth as their own. They finally had what they wanted. But the cyborgs
didn’t understand how the Earth ran, it’s wealth stemmed from the hard work of
the civilians who inhabited it. Without them, the Earth could not function the
way Cyborgs expected it would. Quickly, Earth began to deteriorate, plants
dying, buildings collapsing, and they couldn’t stop it. A class system grew
quickly, Cyborgs divided into a system of immense wealth, or great poverty.
Those among the poor were those who did not agree with the government, which is
corrupt and power hungry. Well, there’s the back story. My name is Lee, and I’m
one of the last humans to survive the war of 2047, and here’s my story.
The Cyborgs attacked my city when I was 10 years olds. I
lost everything and everyone that was important to me. I’ve been running for
years, and I have no idea where I am going. It has been a long, lonely road for
me. I try to document what goes on in my life on a blog. I know no one can read
it, but it’s mostly just for me. If I need to let off some steam, or talk
about… you know… feelings and stuff, I go to my blog.
I’ve been walking through the desert for days with nothing
but some cans of food and my oxygen tank. The desert has become toxic, so any
human that would still be alive needs a tank. If I don’t get out of this desert
before my tank runs out, I’m a dead man. But what’s wrong with dying? I have no
one to live for, no one to miss me or remember me when I’m dead. I haven’t
found one human left of this Earth, and I’ll probably die before I do.
After writing on my blog about my petty life or death
speech, I kept walking as on does. But to my amazement, as I walked over the
hill of orange, hot sand, I saw the most incredible thing. It wasn’t another 50
miles of dry, dusty land, it was an abandoned city. Not any abandoned city,
this was a city untouched by Cyborgs.
“Absolutely amazing.” I said, gasping for words in complete
aw.
I walked closer to the abandoned city, untouched by any
unearthly life form. The structures stand tall, the columns dusty and rigid. I
quickly drew what I saw, I’m prone to drawing what I think is too beautiful to
forget. It reminded me of the city I once lived in long ago. I walked along the
barren streets for a while, when I heard footsteps. I turned around quickly, my
helmet creates a lack of peripheral vision. But the footsteps were gone. I
walked slowly, the pavement loose underneath my feet. All of a sudden, I hear
the footsteps sprinting towards me. I try to turn around, but who ever it is
has already body checked me to the ground. I look up, expecting to see a Cyborg
ready to arrest me. But when I looked up, I was stunned. Right there, standing
in front of me, a human being. I could tell she was shocked too, as she stood
there staring just as I was.
“You’re…you’re…”
“Human?” I added.
“Oh my god” she said starring down at me. We sat in silence
for what seemed for a long time, until she spoke quickly.
“I’m sorry, let me help you up” she offered her hand.
“Thank you” I grabbed her hand, the first human hand I’ve
touched in years. It was covered by a glove, but still, she’s no Cyborg. I made
a mental note to draw her in my sketchbook.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Lee, what’s yours?”
“Ella.”
“Do you live here, Ella?”
“Yes, have been for a while now. This is the only place they
haven’t found yet, but I’m running out of oxygen. I’d say I’ve got a couple
weeks worth left.”
“Well, I guess you’re stuck with me for the rest of your
life” I smiled.
“I guess I am”, she smiled as she turned and walked to the
nearest building.
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Only two weeks had gone by with Ella coming into my life,
but it seemed as if I’d known her for an eternity. Maybe it was just the severe
lack of socialization, maybe it was just my brain trying to survive on what
little oxygen I had left. All I knew was that I loved Ella.
And that terrified me.
The easiest part of being the only person left on earth is
that you only have to care for yourself. I know that sounds selfish but who
else can you care for on an empty planet? That is why I was terrified. My love
for Ella gave me a new purpose. No longer was I surviving for myself. I was
surviving for Ella. This new sense of love and protection hit me like a tidal
wave, knocking me down to my knees. But I have to stand. I have to walk through
the crashing waves threatening to swipe my feet out from underneath me with
every hit. This love can’t distract me from what is important. Staying alive.
No. That is not important. Wait, isn’t it? Living for years
alone and I had come to the conclusion that dying was a completely viable
option, but now I question myself. Why? Why is staying alive so important?
Oh.
To be with her.
Love is stupid.
Ella and I took camp within the city we discovered weeks
ago. Both our oxygen supplies were low. Ella guessed that we only had a week
left. We packed up our supplies, ready to continue forward to try to find a
place free from the desert toxins. As we started the journey along the main
road, I felt rumbling beneath my feet. I stopped in my tracks, grabbing Ella’s
arm so we could stop and listen. The rumbling grew louder and I turned to see
what I prayed it would not be. Cyborgs. Rows upon rows marching closer and
closer to Ella and I. By instinct I grabbed Ella’s hand and began to run. She
pulled me back, standing her ground. I was confused, why wasn’t she running?
“Ella, we need to go.”
“Why?” she asked blatantly.
“You are a lot of things, but you are not blind. Cyborgs,
thousands of them. Lets MOVE.”
I turned to run
again, yet she still held me back.
“Lee. We can run but what if we don’t get out of the desert?
They will find us in the end. They always have.”
“But we can get out of this desert. We have outlived
billions, Ella.”
“And what more will a couple weeks prove? That we are
stubborn and can’t accept our fate? Our tanks are going to run out in the end.
The cyborgs will find us in the end.”
Tears came to Ella’s eyes as her weak knees crumbled under
the pressure. I caught her, gliding her down with me.
“I am tired..” she whispered. I held her helmet closer to
mine, looking at her face that I never got to touch.
“So am I.” I replied.
By now we both knew what was going to
happen next. She slowly placed her hands on either side of my helmet, as did I
with hers. We both unlocked the latches and removed them from our suits. I
threw hers off to the side, then taking off my gloves. I stroked my hand
through her hair and to her cheek, taking in the sensation I hadn’t felt in
years. I wiped her tears with both hands, framing her face with my palms. I
could taste the condensed air in my mouth, every breath felt like rocks were
packing up within my lungs, but it didn’t bother me. All I was thinking about
was how perfect this moment was. She touched my face with hands, gliding me
closer to her lips. Our lips crashed together, much like a tidal wave crashing
into me, but I no longer wanted to stand up and push through it. Instead, it
would glide me along its course. I was but mere debris within the almighty powerful
current.
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