Alone

1. Alone Jordan Deverill

2. It is six months after the global war, and my hope for finding my family is fading. There are no signs of technology available. My only source for food is searching through debris, or what used to be giant grocery stores. Shelter is limited, however I find that staying away from all civilization is a wise decision.

3. When I was four years old my mother passed away, which left me with my older brother, Kyle, and my father, Doug. Twelve years later Kyle and my father were forced to fight in the global war, which left me, a sixteen year old boy alone to take care of the house. When the war hit near my house, I could almost feel the ground shake when thousands of soldiers marched into my little town of Harrisburg. The first thing I had to save was a picture of my whole family when my mother was alive. This picture not only symbolizes my family being together, however it also symbolizes hope for me to reunite with my brother and Dad.

4. Today I began my day by tidying up my shelter, which is stationed on the outskirts of the city. I discovered that I'm almost out of water and food, which means I desperately need to search and collect some food. Food is very scarce and the only place to gather food is in town. Previously I got brutally beaten by three men because I took the last morsel of food that they wanted. In addition to leaving me to die, the men took all of my possessions, except the picture of my family. I prayed that today was the day that I would not have a deadly encounter with anything or anyone.

5. I made my way through the streets to get to the market. The streets are covered in wreckage and it is almost impossible to get through the tarnished neighbourhoods. As I made my way down Miles Boulevard, I saw a stray Pit Bull digging through a cluster of garbage. My neighbour used to own a Pit Bull and he had to chain the dog up because, he said, quite often Pit Bulls that aren't trained well are known to attack humans. My only way to get to the market was to go down the boulevard. As I approached the Pit bull I was extremely nervous and began to shake and sweat profusely. The Pit bull saw me and began to growl. His voice was thunderous, and could be heard from miles away. With a ferocious look on his face, like he was about to kill, the dog lunged at me. I closed my eyes and flinched, and luckily the dog’s leash was caught on the handle bars of a destroyed bike. I began to sprint towards the store, not even caring about the hazards around me. As I approached the store, I saw a man entering it. This man was incredibly large, but he seemed to look very suspicious and shady. The man also looked very angry and distraught.

6. I slowly crept towards the entrance and opened the door slightly. Most of the store was pitch black, and the only source of light was from the windows at the front of the store. The food I needed to get was near the back of the store where there was a very little source of light. I began my way to the isle where my food was kept. I hear a voice coming from the back of the store. The man said, " What are you doing here again kid?" I was petrified that something would happen again, therefore I didn't respond to the man. I could tell the man was angry from his tone of voice as he shouted, " Remember what happened last time? Just give me all your possessions and you won't get hurt again." I stood there in silence because I realized this man was one of the men that robbed me the last time. All of a sudden the man appeared at the end of the isle. "Come here, I won't hurt you" , the man said with a creepy voice. I turned around and ran away in the opposite direction. The man chased me around the store until he cornered me at the end of the wine section. I fearfully shouted "What do you want from me?“ The man chuckled and responded, "I'm trying to survive in this wrecked world. "What have I done to you" I said. "Nothing“, said the man as he pulled out a Swiss army knife from his pocket. As I saw the knife being drawn, I slowly reached behind me to grab a bottle of Jackson Triggs Chardonnay. The man saw me grabbing the expensive wine bottle and then swiped at me with his knife. The knife sliced open my shoulder, and then the man took another swing. I dodged the second swing then smashed the bottle of wine over his head. As I hit the man with the bottle, his blood splattered onto my white t-shirt. Not knowing that the man died from the hit to the head, I began kicking and punching him to make sure that he won't come after me. I grabbed the man's blood covered knife and shoved it in my pocket. I ran to grab the food that I needed then made my way out of the store.

7. I was stunned at the fact that I just killed a grown man. Outside of the store there was a group of people who were just staring at me in awe. I could tell they were curious why my whole body was covered in blood, however I just walked pass them. I made my journey to the shelter, which I now call home. I pulled out the picture of my family and tears streamed down my face. It gave me the inspiration to strive to survive in this damaged civilization. I thought to myself, the day my family comes home, is the day the hardships will be over.

8. 2010 by Jordan Deverill The End