After the World Ended (Among the Stars Volume 0)

  The road we are now walking is very open and only a few trees had grown through the road. Of course there are lot of trees on the sides but the road is mostly clear of leaves and vehicles.

  Before long the sun moved to its highest position in the sky. We ate the fruits in our bag to extinguish our hunger. On the way we saw many houses which are claimed by trees and shrubs. Most houses are a wreck. In the war the crazies burned down most houses.

  During the war most people hid in their homes, but the crazies got inside most of the houses and killed normal people for no reason. Millions of innocent children and women died in the first days of the war. Military tried to control the situation but the crazies were even inside military.

  Most of the world were destroyed in the war and one day all of a sudden forest began to grow everywhere. In the beginning there wasn’t much trees, most places were covered in large multi-story buildings. Within one year, forest covered the entire world. With the presence of large forests wild animals began to thrive, but unlike these wolfish dogs, most wild animals will run away if human presence is detected.

  We don’t know from where these wolfish dogs are coming from, it must not be a good place. I hope these things will kill all the crazies so that we have a chance to live here.

  A moment later we entered into an old city named Miller field. There are many multi-story buildings here but a green coloured flora is growing everywhere on the buildings, not to mention the unholy growth of vines.

  When we got thirsty we drank water from out bottles and whenever hunger sets in, we ate the fruits. In the afternoon all our food supply got expended. We need to find food or we are never going to reach the sanctuary.

  We slowly paced through the dark road.

  * * * * *

  Part 3 – Danger Everywhere

  Chapter 11

  A.D. 2087, Path to Sanctuary

  We aren’t anywhere near a promising place. And we are hungry.

  “We need to find food fast or this little girl is gonna die.” Jacobson said pointing at the tired form of Hanna.

  Hanna is really tired after our long walk. In fact we all are tired.

  “You know, we are trying our best.” I said.

  “How about meat? There will be plenty of deer and rabbits around here.” Sophie said.

  We reached near the wreckage of a city centre. We all stopped and examined things. I saw a big field with large grass in the north direction.

  “Okay, me and Jacob will go and look for something to eat from that field. Luc will protect you guys.” I sighed deeply and said.

  “Okay. We will wait here in that old building.” Luc said pointing at a building which looks survived the war.

  “We can also stay here for the night.” Sophie said.

  “Okay.” I said.

  “Be safe.” Maria said.

  “You too.” I said to Maria.

  Me and Jacobson slowly started our walk towards the green field. The surrounding looks extremely quiet. Not a soul to be seen. Not even a bird.

  A few moments later we reached near the green field. We are welcomed by the chirping of birds. I sighed and entered into the field with my bow and arrow. Jacobson followed right behind me.

  “Apple tree!” Suddenly Jacobson said pointing at our left side.

  I looked in the direction Jacobson pointed and saw what he had said. It is a big tree with large canopy. We rushed toward the tree. Sadly all the branches are far away from our hand’s reach.

  “I will climb and collect apples. You go ahead and find some meat.” Jacobson said.

  “Okay. Will you be okay alone?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” Jacobson said.

  I slowly marched towards the centre of the green field. Not far away I saw a herd of deer grazing through the land. Near the herd of deer I spotted white rabbits in their burrow. There is in fact several rabbits there and there.

  I took aim at a nearest rabbit and waited for the perfect opportunity. Then I saw something else. I went a little farther into the green field to look what it is. I think I saw a body! A human body! A moment later I saw it clearly. It’s a body of a girl. I slowly approached. Now I can clearly see it. Suddenly the body moved. The girl is alive but she is restrained. I looked around but saw no one else.

  I went near the girl and saw her clearly. She is in fact a young woman with long black hair. A cloth piece is tied around her head across the mouth which prevent her from speaking. Her hands and legs are restrained by thick ropes. Then she saw me. She violently shook her head trying to say something.

  I slowly approached her and removed the cloth piece from her head.

  “Help me! Please?” She pleaded.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “Those mad men will be back soon. They are right inside that forest. Please, I don’t want to die.” She said pointing at a forest using her head.

  I looked at the forest she pointed at. Without thinking I took the knife from my waist line and cut away the restraints from her legs and hands. She slowly sat up looking everywhere. Then she bolted into a run.

  “Run for your life.” She said on the way.

  “Well how about a thank you or your name?” I said myself.

  I looked around and she disappeared from my view. From what she had said there may be those crazies around here. Better escape now. I quickly ran towards Jacobson. At the time I reached there, Jacobson already filled his back pack with apples.

  “Why are you empty handed?” He asked.

  “There are crazies here. We need to escape fast.” I said panting.

  “Okay.” Jacobson said.

  We quickly sprinted towards where we left our friends. A few moments later I saw Maria and Hanna outside in the open just outside the building we are supposed to spend the night. She saw us running and by the look of it she looks scared by our running.

  “What happened?” Maria asked.

  “I saved a woman who was restrained by the crazies. They were inside the forest. They may be now looking for her. We need to escape.” I said.

  “But it’s already night. How can we travel in the night with those things outside?” Maria asked.

  “I don’t know. We just have to find a way.” I said.

  Danny and others came outside the building on hearing our conversation.

  “If they are here, we need to run to wherever we can.” Luc said.

  “Okay, we will move in our own way until it is pretty dark. They surely won’t look for us in the night.” Danny said.

  “Right. We will go now.” I quickly began to lead everyone in the south direction.

  “Ahh ...” Suddenly a sharp pain coursed through the back of my head.

  Something hit my head and I heard Maria’s scream. Then my world quickly went blank.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 12

  A.D. 2087, Path to Sanctuary

  I woke up with a sharp pain on the back of my head. The pain is coursing through my body. Someone had hit me in my head and whoever that is, the hit knocked me out completely. I slowly opened my eyes and I found myself tied to a wooden pole. There are firewood all around me.

  I looked around and found Maria and Hanna on another wooden pole. A moment later I saw Luc and others on another pole. They all are tied to the poles and there are lot of firewood around them. It must be the crazies trying to burn us alive.

  “Maria, are you alright?” I asked Maria.

  “Do I look like I am alright?” Maria asked in a low voice. “There is pain all over my body. Those bitches hit me in the head with a baseball bat.”

  “Oh shit, that’s bad. How is Hanna?” I asked.

  “She is tired, mainly because of the lack of food.” Maria said. “What are they going to do to us?”

  “I think they are going to burn us alive.” I said. It doesn’t matter whether I tell the truth or I lied. “I saw this before back at New Soberfield.”

  “What? I don’t want to die, Joe.” Maria began to cry.

>   “I see you’re awake.” A hoarse voice came from my back.

  I turned my head and saw a tall man wearing torn shirt and jeans coming in my way.

  “Let us go you bitches.” I said.

  “Let you go?” He said. “Then how are we going to make the sacrifice to our god.”

  “We will join you. Please let us go.” Maria pleaded.

  “You can join us in heaven. Our god is very forgivable and a giver of life. And our god is real. You should be grateful that your life will be cured in our holy fire. All your sins will be forgiven.” He said. “All this time we believed in some shitty story about some crap man’s religious crap, but now god have come before us.”

  “What god?” I asked.

  “The god of all things you stupid prick. He showed himself to us. He appeared in front of us. He is magnificent and he will undo all the bad things happened to this place but first all pricks like you must cleanse in holy fire. His voice commanded us that.” He said.

  “No god would say to kill his own people.” I said. “Your god must be a freak.”

  “Who said you’re his people?” He said.

  “You said yourself that he is the lord of all things. Then he must be the one who created all of us.” I said.

  “You’re the cancerous cells in the human evolution. You should be burned alive and you will be.” He said.

  “Please, at least let this little girl go.” Maria said.

  “None shall escape the wrath of our god.” He said.

  Suddenly more crazies came out of the nearby buildings. Sun rose from the horizon and sunlight illuminated everything. A man came with an oil can and he started to pour oil all over the wood that surrounds us. More people with oil cans came and they all poured oil around Luc and others.

  Hanna is still unconscious. Sophie and Jacobson are crying out loud. They uttered foul words to the crazy men one or two times. Danny is still silent. He must be grieving in his wife’s death.

  A tall old man came in front of us with a thick book. He opened the book and flipped through the pages.

  “Oh, lord, forgive your children’s sins and cleanse them in your holy fire. These people on the stake before you did sins against you. As per your order we have captured them and we are delivering them to you. Please forgive their sins and take them to your holy heaven if you found them worthy.” The old man said.

  “Now let’s lit them up.” Old man finished.

  Quickly two men came forward with lightened torches.

  Suddenly a sharp growl and shriek came from the back of the buildings. I hope it is what I think it is. The men looked back and whispered one another. They looked like haven’t seen those beasts before. A scream came from behind the building.

  Suddenly a pack of wolfish dogs came from behind the buildings. Roar and growl filled the very air. Men ran in different directions. Wolfish dogs jumped on top of mad men and bit them in the head and neck. Crazy men quickly fell under the might of beasts.

  “Oh, beast, I command you to go back to hell, whence you came.” The old man with the thick book commanded to a beast who is ripping apart one of his men.

  The beast raised its head from the opened chest of the man and stared at the old man. The beast walked around the old man growling.

  “I command you to go back to hell. Go, run, before our god will burn you alive in his holy fire.” The old man said.

  “The beast made an unholy screech and jumped on top of the old man. It sunk its teeth deeper into the old man’s neck. The beast ripped out a chunk of flesh from the old man’s neck and it swallowed the flesh.

  Within moments the scream ended and growl filled the air. Fortunately none of the dogs noticed my group, maybe because of the smell of the oil. A moment later the dogs retreated back to the nearby forest with the freshly fallen human bodies in their mouth.

  We stayed in that position for hours. No one came to the bloody scene to help us or to burn us. Sun moved to its highest position almost burning us in its heat.

  “Joe, what would we do?” Luc asked.

  “I don’t know, my arms are tied tightly. Maria, look whether little Hanna could escape from the ropes.” I said.

  Maria looked at Hanna. “Hanna, can you escape somehow?”

  Hanna with tired face looked at the restraints. She wriggled herself but there is no way she could get out of the rope. “I don’t think I can.”

  “Oh god, please help us.” Maria cried.

  “Ehh, pretty boy, do you need a hand?” A woman’s voice that I heard before asked me.

  I looked in front of me and saw just what I needed to see.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 13

  A.D. 2087, Path to Sanctuary

  The woman who I saved yesterday on the field cut away our restraints.

  “Thank you.” I said.

  “Don’t mention it. We are now even.” She said.

  “I didn’t get your name.” I said.

  “I am Melissa.” She said.

  “So are you on a journey to somewhere?” I asked.

  “No. My hideout is near that building. I have been living here ever since the war ended.” Melissa said pointing at a building far away.

  “Alone?” I asked.

  A sadness quickly covered her face. “I was living with my brother. Last month those crazies killed him.”

  “I am so sorry.” I said. “You can join us if you want. We are going to the sanctuary.”

  “No. I am good here.” Melissa said.

  “It’s better if you’re not alone.” I said.

  “Strength in numbers?” Melissa asked.

  “Something like that.” I said.

  Melissa smiled. “Okay, I will come with you.”

  “Okay.” I said.

  We all searched the surrounding and found our back packs in a corner. Jacobson’s back pack still contained apples that he collected yesterday.

  We ate apples and started our journey from the hellish place. We slowly walked inside a forest on the south. We all are extra alerted now. Those hellish dogs may be here.

  “So, you’re going to someplace your dreams told you?” Melissa asked.

  “We saw numerous people who had this same dream. It must be a vision. So far everything the dream had told me about was true.” I said.

  “So, Melissa, how did you survived this long, alone?” Sophie asked.

  “Well, I ate what I hunted. I usually won’t go out of my hideout.” Melissa said.

  “Usually people would go on crack if they are alone for a long time. In your case it is a miracle.” Sophie said.

  “Yeah. Someone actually maybe looking at me from above, or Joe would never had crossed my path yesterday.” Melissa said. “I think we all are meant to see each other.”

  Sophie smiled. I also smiled at Melissa. I can’t shake away the fact that Melissa is too damn beautiful. I felt a connection between us as soon as I saw her yesterday. We maybe meant to be together.

  I walked in silence thinking about Melissa and the crazies.

  “So, did you saw those wolfish dogs before?” I asked.

  “No. They looked like trained by someone.” Melissa said.

  “How can you tell?” I asked.

  “Well, they mostly are only killing people but not eating. And the way they hunt is peculiar. They must be trained.” Melissa said.

  “Who would train those things? They looks like doesn’t belong to this world. Maybe they are normal wolves who had mutated.” I said.

  “But how can mutations happen within a year?” Melissa asked.

  I looked at Hanna. Hanna is walking with Maria in the back. I turned my head from Hanna to Melissa. “We have seen a human turning into a monkey like being, instantly.” I said in a lower voice.

  “What?” Melissa asked. “How is that possible?”

  “We don’t know. On the way we saw a village of survivors. We think he caught the disease from there.” I said.

  “So, the human who had turned
into monkey was one of you?” Melissa asked.

  “Lower your voice. Hanna might hear you. It was her dad who had turned.” I whispered.

  “Oh, I see.” Melissa said lowering her voice. “So, we should be careful if we want to survive.”

  “Yes.” I said.

  We silently moved through the forest. There are lot of crumbled buildings in this forest. We also saw some fruit bearing trees on the way. We filled our stomach with fruits and we drank water from a narrow stream flowing through the forest.

  We didn’t find any waterfall. It must be in the south but how long we should walk is actually confusing us.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 14

  A.D. 2087, Path to Sanctuary

  Sun began to set in the horizon and darkness crept forward. We increased our pace. So far there is no good building to stay for the night. The buildings which stood on the side of the road are all crumbled in the war.

  A thin layer of darkness covered the entire way. Everything of course is visible, but faintly. Finally not so far from where we are, we saw a promising building. It is double storied and is big. We rushed forward. Before long we reached the building and got inside through the unlocked door. To our surprise the entire house is in good condition. There is no green growth inside but a small layer of dust covered everywhere.

  Maria lighted a candle and fixed it on the living room table. We all gathered around the table.

  “This house is far better than the previous houses.” Sophie said.

  “Yeah, if those crazies and wolfish dogs weren’t here we could have lived here for our entire life.” Danny said.

  The smile in Danny’s face have returned and he seemed to have forgotten the death of his wife. It’s better forgotten. Danny sat on a chair and closed his eyes. Maria and Hanna went inside the kitchen. Luc and Jacobson went deep inside the house examining the situation. Sophie and Melissa sat on the couch and fell in thoughts.

  I slowly walked outside and examined the surroundings. Sound of night sets in and darkness have covered everywhere. A moment later I got inside the house and I closed the door. I found Melissa alone in the couch.

  “Where is Sophie?” I asked.

  “She went inside the kitchen.” Melissa said.

  I sat on the couch. Suddenly a pain coursed through my back. “Ahh ...”

  “What is it?” Melissa asked.

  “I don’t know. A pain in my back.” I said.