MTLNOVEL Chapter 15: They Were Here
Three months ago, on the day of the World Rebirth.
The six survivors carried Null while gathering supplies amongst the wreckage.
"This should be where the general supplies store was located if I'm not mistaken," Mr. Zolial led the group through the broken rubble and shattered glass that remained on the surface.
"It's getting dark, and I bet we're all starting to get hungry right," he said, "So let's gather what we can and make a camp out here. If we're lucky, we'll find some food and camping gear, if not, then we can only tough it out until help arrives."
He tried his best to keep the mood positive.
Nobody had the urge to disobey; hell, even the delinquent quit being troublesome after Zolial beat a little sense into him.
And so, they managed to set up a camp and start a fire.
Unfortunately, there was no food to be found in the wreckage, so Sofina was left to watch Null while the rest kept searching for dinner.
It was around midnight, the moon shone softly on the desolate land where three figures hunched over a pile of dirt.
Their hands were filthy, but they grinned like idiots nonetheless at the sight of the food they had uncovered.
"I hate to admit it, but you were right Zylo. We really should've listened to you sooner," the tall kid said.
"No, no. The fault is all mine for following a blind idiot and a creepy bitch around while I could've been on my own," Zylo responded as hateful as ever.
"Names. We have names too you know asshole." The quiet girl spoke out.
"The hell did you just call me?" He immediately grew hot.
"See! There you go again acting out like a child when you just insulted us as well," tall guy pointed out his behavior the second it began.
"You-," he started in anger, but was interrupted by the girl.
"His name is Colten, not you or idiot or four-eyes, or string bean, or loser vir-"
As she was about to continue on with the list, a clammy hand covered her mouth.
"Enough! That's enough Muni. I think he gets it," Colten halted the painful attempt at reprimanding the hothead of the group.
"No, I don't think he does," Muni cut the bullshit before he could voice his concerns, "He's not whiny little bitch, or punk ass, or any of those other nasty words. Got it," she finished with a smiling.
Zylo fell silent at her bravado.
His mouth curled upwards as he spoke, "Yeah, my boy Colten ain't none of that shit. Let's get the stuff and leave already," his attitude switched like that as he got to work.
Meanwhile in his head, he was thinking to himself, 'Muni, huh. I'll remember that name.'
...
While the three gathered what little they found, Mr. Zolial and Mrs. Florie had begun a search of their own a little further away.
"What are we going to do Ange? These are just kids. If we can't find enough food and soon, we'll all starve!"
When it was just the two them, he couldn't keep his tough look.
"Oh, relax Eddy. Before we starve, we'll die of thirst so no need to worry about starvation," she spoke with the same gentle voice as always despite the darkness of her words.
"Oh, is that right? Well then, I guess there's nothing for us to worry about for now," he said, voice coated in sarcasm.
The smile on his dumb looking face looked a lot more appealing in the eyes of the angel.
"That's more like it," she held his face and gave him a peck on his stubble filled cheek, "You need to stay strong for me and those kids alright."
"You want strong," he asked, his brow lifting, "I can be strong for you."
He smiled devilishly before grabbing and lifting her in a princess carry.
"Ahhh. Stop it," she giggled despite her plea, "We really will die if we don't look for supplies."
"Well, it's a good thing we went this way," Edmond said while staring into the distance.
Angie craned her neck to see what he was referring to; a large piece of wreckage stood in front of something reflecting in the moonlight.
It was an automobile!
Edmond sprinted despite the complaint of Angie— still in his arms— who did not enjoy the bumpy ride.
When he reached the location of the vehicle, they saw the whole thing, except it wasn't exactly whole.
The front half of it was destroyed, buried beneath the rubble.
"Look there are grocery bags in the back!" Angie exclaimed.
"Let's see if we can get the back open first. If we can't we'll have to clear the remaining glass and reach inside."
Desmond went to let her down, but as his body was performing the action, a dreadful feeling ran through his body.
Instead of letting her down gently, he ran as fast as his legs would allow him.
"WHAT TH-," she screamed before his rough hand ceased her panicking shriek.
"Evangeline Florie, ever since the day I laid my eyes on you, I never lived another day in darkness. Your radiance kept my inner demons at bay and became my light down a dark tunnel. In this life, I was lucky enough just to bathe in your light, but in the next, I promise to be there for you when you need it," he began to spiel to her confusion, "Don't forget, you still owe me that date."
His last words had Angie tongue-tied; she didn't know whether to hug him or punch him in the nose.
But without waiting for a response, Edmond summoned all of the upper body strength he had to launch her in the air.
It all happened in seconds; the ground shook as it did not even half a day ago and it split open all the way to the place where the trio had found their stash of snacks.
Angie fell to the ground in a rough tumble. She didn't bother with the pain in her arm or the burning sensation coming from her ankle.
As she made her way to the edges of the rift, she saw a hand gripping the crumbling hard soil.
"DESMOND!"
"ANGIE," he screamed so hard blood dribbled from his lips, "STAY BACK!"
But it was too late.
The ground broke and the couple began their decent.
"AHHHHHHHH," Angie's scream was echoing all around the pitch black ravine.
'NOOOOOOO!' Desmond's throat was in shambles, but he was screaming on the inside the whole way.
His worst nightmare now realized; he began panicking as his arms flailed around.
Inside the darkness, he felt her voice right next to him and he reached for it.
The two were now together during their freefall, hugging each other in tears.
"Edmond Zolial, the moment I met you, my world changed upside down. All my pain was washed away by your stoic laughter and all of my problems disappeared with your terrible sense of humor. The day that cheating bastard died, I was free, but I was so lonely. But you came just the same as always to comfort me."
Her words were drowned out by snot and tears, but she continued heartfeltly, "You gave me hope that day; hope that I could be with someone who would stick by me no matter what problems they were going through. And when you confessed, I felt as if I could grow wings and fly away."
Her sniffling irked Edmond greatly as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
"If you would still have me, I'd want nothing more than to spend the rest of my fleeting life with you. In death shall we part, but only before being reunited once more in another life. You must promise me you'll find me," she sobbed.
Edmond couldn't believe it. The whole time, he thought he was fighting a losing battle, but she was just as lost as he was.
'If only I had pushed a little further,' he thought, 'She was trapped this whole time with such a scumbag!'
"I... promise," he strained his voice one last time. His throat was searing in pain, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
He grabbed her face in one hand before planting a firm kiss on the woman he swore he'd never stop fighting for.
'From the depths of hell would I rise to pluck my dearest Evangeline straight from the hands of God.'
.......
In a large gathering place, billions of moving souls were lined up before a grandiose gate.
A hooded gatekeeper beckoned the souls one by one in a refined manner. As the tide grew shorter and shorter, he was left with only five to go.
However, these five souls seemed peculiar to the experienced gatekeeper; he gestured them to move forward, and they did, revealing their lives to him in the process like a picture book.
Seeing as they were all met with the same end, he figured that should be the reason behind his hypersensitivity.
He let them pass through the gate into their next lives, not knowing that the consequences of his actions would usher in an era of chaos.
.........
"The time has come for me to deal with the girl."
Deep within the planet, a glowing specter could be found peering up towards a burning campfire.
Two innocent kids were enjoying the heat of the moment, as a milky white flicker was released from the boy.