One Ending - Draft

I have no story of bravery, courage, and the ability to do everything above and beyond the call of duty. I am not a soldier, but a student. My name is Fritz Von Kauben from the University of Volkenburne. Tonight, I stand inside the university train station with the rest of my fellow students. Well, the ones that survived. It is a cold night, since the air conditioner for the dome is at full blast, possibly to keep the air clean and filtered. The inside of our fair train station is magnificent and I might describe things to you were it not so crowded with people and school bags. I am near the entrance to the station. I was trying to find the rest of my books in my room when I was forcefully taken towards the station by a police officer. He and several other men are now standing outside the entrance, and have barricaded themselves with police cars and tower shields. I do not think it will be enough.
I stop walking for a moment to try and gather my thoughts, instead I find myself lacking air as large arms enclose themselves around me quickly. My eyes are open wide enough to realize that I am being hugged by a good friend, my roommate actually. Jacoun Papaccio is known for his virility, and how we are good friends I may never know. But good friends we are still as he grinned and grabbed my shoulder, pushing his way towards the side where there are two girls waiting. One is a young asian girl, probably a freshman and definitely a girl that Jacoun would be trying to sleep with later on. The other is an Indian woman, she looks more mature than we are with a friendly smile still on her face. Once we reached them Jacoun gave a wider grin and spoke, “Yoko, Shima, this is my good friend Fritz.”
I had to brush a few strands of blonde hair away from my face, being dragged by a strongman through a crowded bunch of people is not as fun as some people might think (I pray I never meet those people). I suppose you could say I am not a bad looking person. I am nowhere near as tall or lean as my roommate, but I am told I look cute enough, whatever that may mean. Yoko shrugs her shoulders at me and smiles, while Shima seems to dart her eyes away from me. I remember Jacoun telling me once; this was probably a good sign. Jacoun gave me a small silent nudge towards her and I wondered if we were really running for our lives. She gives me a smile, “I am Shima as your friend has told you.” She speaks to me in a whisper, and I find myself holding a conversation with her that gives me hope.
I do not remember what day it is today, nor do I care for the year. All I know is that the world is ending. Years ago, a meteor fell. It was just a small meteor that fell and never hit the ground. Instead, it burnt into dust and ash over a battlefield. Nothing happened, and we felt that it was just a harmless bout of luck that brought a war to a peaceful end. But as soldiers returned to their homes we realized we were mistaken. The soldiers turned out to be infected with something out a horror movie. No one had ever seen anything like it. It was a disease that caused insanity and physical transformation. The disease was said to be transferred by bite, causing these once human creatures to be dubbed “vampires.” Although they did not drink the blood of their enemies, one bite would mean certain doom to your mind, and so an epidemic spread. Towns and cities fell immediately, but they were found to have a weakness. Like the vampires of stories, they were severely affected by sunlight and only attacked during the night. It was our strength and the governments used it, until it became our own enemy.
The atmosphere weakened a great deal. We realized this when we reached 102 degrees during the winter. It was, of course, mankind’s greatest moment of ignorance. We coped with it though, with ingenuity. We created domes, shielding our skin from the UV radiation of the sun, but it would only be temporary. The atmosphere had not yet reached its weakest moment, and so the sun’s damage would only strengthen. By the time humanity decided to continue their lives during the night, the earth was a desert for the most part. Glaciers and snowcaps melted, and then evaporated into the air. We had heard that the oceans were still there, but that nothing good would come from taking a dip except red burns along the skin. No doubt most of the fish were dead too. And with the lack of food came another monster, ourselves.
Not everyone was rescued and put into a glass dome. Most of the people who were not rescued died from starvation or were bitten and turned into vampires. Everyone else was probably a cannibal. It has been said that the intense heat and the lack of food caused this desperation in finding food. And they attack domed cities without warning, using vehicles during the day or trying to sneak in during the night. Most times nothing happens, but in this domed city, they broke through the dome during the night. We did not need to worry on them however; the vampires took care of that. And so the evacuation began.
People scuffle in line, one behind another, trying to get into the train. They make sure no one is infected, although I think we would have noticed an infected person by now. The faint sound of gunshots can be heard suddenly, and I cannot help but look behind me. I am not the only one, it seems. The door opens and a young woman rushes inside, and the gunshots sound much louder until the door closes. She is covered in scratches and sweat as she runs up towards the line of people. I feel as Shima tenses up against me, watching as soldiers from the train start running towards the entrance. I can still hear the gunshots, but I am a bit more focused on the young woman. Her hair intrigues me. It is a shiny alabaster, pale like the moon and almost sparkling under the light. She said nothing as she stood up and looked around with gray eyes, and I notice them widen as she looks towards me and then suddenly turns around. As I begin to wonder why she does this, the gunshots silence.
I have never known true fear, until tonight. When the silence is so thick and so loud, that you can’t even hear your own breathing, you know that you are afraid. I feel hands pushing against my back. My own hand is squeezing Shima’s tightly, and I can feel her reciprocating in kind. The sound of steps moving returns to my ears, and I watch as several soldiers run between the lines with automatic rifles. The windows of the entrance doors break and I try to break into a run. Everyone else beats me to it, and it feels like I will not be going anywhere soon. I nearly lose all of my air as people push and crush me between each other; I lose sight of Shima, Yoko and Jacoun. I feel my heart jump as I hear the sound of gunfire, it makes me push deeper. I start to get aggressive and start pushing people apart in order to get through. The sound of snarls is starting to drown out the gunfire; now I’m tossing people aside just to get through, even if it is just barely. I think someone is tugging at the end of my jacket, or maybe they are trailing along. I don’t actually care; it just makes me run faster.
Suddenly, I pass between a doorway, and fall to the ground before someone roughly picks me up to my feet. “Get to the side!” They yell at me, and push me along. As I move, I feel someone tugging on the back of my jacket still and I turn around to find who it is. Gray eyes look back at me as I feel myself pushed along the length of the train. The girl with white hair and gray eyes grabs onto one of my sleeves and hangs on for dear life. I grab her hand and hold it tightly; I don’t want to get lost in this crowd either. I don’t know how long we were pushed along, before a worker for the train pushed her and me into a room with two beds, a metal wall, and a window sealed by metal shutters. The door closes, and seals shut with a thick metal wall. I am still a little shaky, but I get the feeling that my companion is feeling even less composed.
The train starts all of a sudden, and I lose my balance. I feel arms grab one of mine, and I take a step to keep my balance. As we jolt forward again, I take a seat on one of the beds, and the girl nearly falls onto her rear. I grab her and pull her onto the bed; better to fall on something soft than the ground, even if it is carpeted. She grabs me and holds me close. She might be my age, if the feel of her breasts against my arm tells me anything. I can tell she is a little scared by the beating of her heart. Her face is embedded into my shoulder and I put a hand on her neck, “It’s all right,” I say to her, I am sure I am unconvincing. As the train continues to move along, I am fairly sure we have left the station, although I have no way of knowing if we left anyone behind. To be honest, I’d rather not find out. But the idea that Jacoun, Shima and Yoko were still back there nags me in the back of my mind. As soon as the wall covering the door slides away, I stand up and run out into the hallway. No one else has left their rooms, perhaps they are too shaken. As I look around, I feel her tug on the back of my jacket once more and follow along after me as I walk down the hallways. Going to the bathroom is going to be difficult.
“Excuse me sir!” I hear from behind me. I turn around, seeing her look up at me with her head cocked to the side slightly. She didn’t say anything, but the man behind her did. “Why are you walking around sir? You should stay in your room.”
“But…I am looking for my friends. They were with me, I need to find them.” I say as desperately as I can manage. Maybe I can gain sympathy and he won’t mind the fact that I am breaking a few rules. I doubt I could ever have such luck though.
“Sir,” he says with a stern voice, “I can assure you that we are trying to make sure we picked up everyone.” His stern voice disappears and I know why.
“Listen, their names are Jacoun, Shima and Yoko. They were students as well as I.” I say calmly, I start heading back towards the room, making sure that my new friend is staying close. “When you find out where they are, please knock on my door and let me know.”
I can be hopeful, I have that right. I return to the room (it takes awhile to find it, they all look the damn same) and feel a sense of dread as I walk inside. I feel hands wrap around my own tightly, she must be distraught by the sight I am witnessing as well. There’s blood on the outside of the window, drawn in a curved line from bottom to top. The momentum of the train has already begun to move droplets of blood to the side. I take the first few brave steps forward, placing a hand on a small button and watching the shutters come over the windows again. It is probably for the better anyways, as I turn off the light I remember that I enjoy the darkness. The darkness cannot hurt me like the light can. I take a seat on one of the beds, I feel drained. Again, she sits next to me and I look over at her. I don’t even know her name.
“Excuse me,” I begin, “What is your name?” She does not give me a response. I am pretty sure she could have heard me though, there is no other sound. The train isn’t even loud enough to annoy anyone in their sleep. “Do you not have one?” Again, I receive no response and I feel a slight thinning in my patience, “Hello!”
I feel a little impatient, or maybe I just do not like the feeling of being ignored, as I wave my hand in front of her eyes rapidly. She blinks and turns to me quicker than I expected her to. At least she has quick reflexes. She cocks her head to the side slightly, I can barely see her facial features in the dark, but I have gotten used to seeing things in this way. “Can you understand me?” I ask and she moves her hands. They slowly go up to both of her ears and then she drops them, shaking her head. I think I understand, “Deaf, are you deaf?” I feel a little stupid after saying that, I just asked a person who cannot hear if they cannot hear me. Maybe I should have learned sign language, instead of beating myself up about it though I decide to improvise. After I confirm that she cannot hear, I point at her throat and shrug my shoulders at her in question. She shakes her head in response. “So no hearing or speech…” I say to myself before I raise my hand and begin to make small motions in the air. She looks confused, and I guess I can understand why. After I turn on the light, I rummage through my backpack a bit and pull out an old journal of mine. I take out a pencil along with it and write down, Can you write?
I barely have time to offer the pencil to her; it is already out of my hands. My journal is still against my leg though as she writes in it. Her motions are slow and fluid and I feel a little better at the chance of communicating with her now. I like the feel of a pencil between my fingers actually. I nod my head in agreement; I enjoy that feeling as well.
What is your name?
What’s yours?
Well, so much for making an easy friendship. Fritz.
She looks up at me, and gives me a small smile before writing down her response. Nice name.
I look at her with an arched eyebrow. I don’t like being teased and I don’t like being strung along for no reason. May I have your name now?
Already? But where is the fun in that?
I do not know, but calling you “girl” or “you” doesn’t seem to have a nice ring now
does it?
Oh you just want it so that you can be polite when you take me.
Yes that’s exactly it; I need to make sure I call out the right name.
Rai-la-zu.
I pause. I speak the word silently, trying to get the feel of the word. I can feel her staring at me, and as I look over I notice her smile. She must be getting a kick out of watching me squirm with it, which makes me wonder if this is actually her real name. I don’t want to think about it, I simply take it as she says and nod my head.
Playful banter written on paper. I feel like a middle school student. As the days went on, it didn’t feel like much of a chore, although she was much more reserved when she could not communicate. It made things difficult when the worker came back to me a few days after we left.
“They aren’t here.” He says to me simply. He leaves before I have the chance to ask any questions. I feel so confused for a moment before it dawns on me. It had been the same person I had asked to look for my friends. They were not on the train. They were left behind, dead or worse. I shut my eyes tightly as images of each of them surface looking like those creatures. Pale skinned with blue veins, blood shot eyes, and an empty yet feral look. The dark doesn’t give me solace now, I feel like there is something waiting in the shadows. It is hiding the same way that I am, but for a different and more malicious reason. Rai, as I dubbed to call her a little while ago, is the only thing keeping me sane now. Her worried looks and soft touches are enough to make me remember reality. I barely remember speaking while on this train, perhaps because the only communication I have is with Rai-la-su on a piece of paper.
Our food came in small rations and several water bottles. We were not going to go hungry apparently, and I can only guess that is because of the many people left behind. I notice, however, that I am the only one eating. I remember getting the first bout of rations and offering one to Rai, and she took it and merely smiled. I ate my own ration quickly, deciding to try and ignore the flavor as best I could, before tossing the garbage down the chute. Later that day, she must have put her rations with the rest of them, because when I counted the rations there was one more. She did not eat, and I am not sure she ever slept. And yet, she did not look unhealthy at all. Her figure remained the same, as was her amount of energy. She never had bags under her eyes. And she never stopped finding reasons to smile at me. I wonder why she smiles at me so much. I ask her once, and she responded, I’ll tell you later.
Later came faster than I expected, but I don’t mean that she told me the answer to my question. Instead, weeks after we have left the University, the train comes to a stop. It isn’t very sudden, but even I know that stopping is not a good idea, especially with vampires and cannibals roaming the grounds at night. And I know we are still far away from the next dome-city. But this is nothing compared to Rai’s actions. She runs, out the door to the room without giving me any warning whatsoever. Not knowing what she was doing, I run after her. She is faster than I have ever seen her move, and I know I can’t keep up. I can see her down the hall as I move quickly, and watch as she turns a corner and disappears. I hear yelling as I try to reach where she turned, and find myself wishing I had stayed in the room. She had left the train. It was nighttime still, and I saw a small station in front of the exit to the train. It had no glass dome over it, just a small sun roof that would not be able to block out all of the sun’s rays. Past it, I noticed Rai’s figure running along the ground, and she ran towards a town not far from the station.
“Hey, is she with you!?” I turn towards the source of the yell, a soldier with an intimidating automatic rifle. It’s not pointed in my direction, but his finger is still on the trigger, “I said is she with you!?”
I nod, “Yes…yes she is.”
“Listen kid, I’m not sending anyone after her. A roadblock is all we stopped to take care of, so if you think she’s gonna come back, she’s not getting back on this train.”
“What?”
The soldier shook his head at me, “Its nighttime kid. There are vampires out right now, do you expect her to be able to do whatever she’s doing and come back out without a bite?”
I feel something, and it’s not something I enjoy. Without giving any warning of my intentions, I shove the guard to the side and start to make a break for the town that Rai is going towards. Some of the guards try to stop me, at the order of the one I shoved aside. I don’t know how to fight, and I could definitely be defeated by only one of these soldiers easily without a good surprising element. So instead, I keep running. This only becomes a bad idea once I reach the town, and the sound of the train leaving the station reaches my ears. I don’t even have a weapon, and it becomes my first mission for survival.
It is dark here, and it looks like the town has been empty for quite some time. The street lights are not on, and I feel especially alone in this darkness. I strain my ears, as I move quietly, the less sounds I hear, the better I feel. I crouch down as I move along the street slowly. I take in each corner as I pass by it, and look at each building as well. Most of the windows are broken or melted through; sunlight will do that without any protection. The buildings look fairly intact though, and I wonder if I can rummage through a few safely. When I find a shop with more than a few gardening tools, I take my chances. I leap over the frame of the front window slowly, and try to be careful with my steps. There’s glass on the floor, and I can’t help but cringe as I step on a few pieces. They sound so loud in such a silent location, and I wonder if the world could hear me trying to sneak around. I wonder if a chainsaw is useful, but I doubt I would be able to move fast enough. Instead, I find a machete. I don’t think this has ever seen the light of day; it looks like it’s never been used before. I nod my head at my weapon of choice and leave the store; my next mission is to actually find Rai. I start moving a little quicker down the road although I’m not sure why. I must be feeling confident. At the corner of a block, I hear feet shuffling that are not my own. And there are a few voices in the distance as well. I freeze in place, silently stepping towards a wall and taking cover behind it.
A quick peak shows me a small group of people talking and laughing. They seem normal enough, but I have been taught at an early age to distrust those that live outside the dome. They would not see me as another person, only as food. I pay attention to numbers. There are four of them, each of them eating, and only one of them with a gun. I can’t sneak up on them, but I might be able to sneak around them. I stop thinking about that when I notice her on the ground, Rai’s white hair shining lightly even in the darkness. She’s not moving. She is not moving. I have no thoughts after that, only the feelings of rage and hate.
I woke up feeling sick and with tears in my eyes. It is the same sickness I feel after using up my adrenaline; I really do not enjoy it. I get up from where I was lying down, and notice that the four cannibals are dead. Each one is a little more gruesome than the next: stabbed through the heart, cut into the face, one through the stomach and then decapitation. I wish I could say that I didn’t do it, but I’m covered in blood too and so is my machete. I feel like I will need to get used to this sick feeling I have right now. A hand on my shoulder turns me around suddenly, and I see something that seems impossible. Rai stands in front of me, smiling she opens her mouth, “I’m impressed.” She says to me, catching me completely off-guard.
“But…you couldn’t speak…I thought you were dead!” I stand up and put my hands on her shoulders, dropping the machete. There are no wounds on her from what I can see, but I find tears in her clothing. I look up at her for some explanation, but she merely winks at me and places her hands on my face, holding it as she looks at me.
“Will you trust me?” She whispered.
I nodded my head, who else was I going to trust in this wasteland. I also didn’t think we had much time; it was not as dark as it used to be. Dawn was coming.
“Then, keep looking at me and don’t fight it.”
I would have asked her what not to fight, but I feel it as soon as she finishes her sentence. What feels like wire encircles my neck and I begin to choke. My airway is constricted, and I have no chance of getting any air back into my lungs. I look up at her in surprise, but she continues to hold my face and smiles gently. I start to fade out already; my heartbeat must be slowing down. I begin to wonder what death is like until I feel something against my lips. Even with my eyes open, I can’t see exactly what it is, but I can guess.
I wake up suddenly, lying on the ground. I put a hand on my neck, but I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary. My hearts still beating, my lungs are breathing. I know I’m still alive and at the same time, something is different. I stand up, seeing that the dawn is about to break outside of a window, and I watch as Rai-la-su speaks with an elderly man covered in white robes. He disappears into dust and she turns towards me and walks. When her eyes focus on me she smiles and begins to run inside. I barely have time to react as she tackles me. I’m still standing though, somehow.
“How do you feel?” She asks me.
“Confused,” I answer, “I thought you were deaf and mute?”
She smiled, “When you live long enough, you tend to forget some of the more basic things you take for granted. You might see what I mean one day.”
I do not feel any less confused. In fact, I feel a little more confused than before. “How old are you?”
She hits my shoulder gently, and I nod my head. Probably not the best question to ask. Instead, I say, “I thought you were dead.”
“When you are forgotten by time, thinks like that have no meaning.” She answers and grabs my hand. She pulls me towards a doorway into a dark room with a bed in it. She closes the door, locks it and jumps onto the bed, a smile in her eyes. As she lies down, she looks over at me and pats the side of the bed, “I have a story for you.”
I sit down next to her, and feel her press up against my back, wrapping her arms around me. I don’t mind, I enjoy the feel of her breasts. “What kind of story?”
“A story about being forgotten by time.”
“Is there a word for that?”
“Immortality.”