The Dusk of Life

After a virus killed most of Earth's population, a group of survivalists help others, at least, that’s what they say.

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Running as fast as he could, he firmly held his younger sister’s hand, in order to escape their abductors. He could feel the bushes’ spines penetrating his epiderma, branches wounded him but most importantly, he could feel his sister’s warm hand in his. However, this feeling didn’t last for long. One of their abductors shot his sister, the bullet penetrated her chest, her hand leaped out of his, and she fell heavily to the earth. He stopped running, tears teared apart his face as he turned around and saw his sister lying, in a puddle of blood. The other aggressor was about to shoot him when an arrow pierced the air and finished its race by penetrating the abductor’s head. It was followed by another, aimed at killing the other aggressor. He turned over in contemplation of his saviour, but all he could see was a masked spectre rushing towards him. Before he could say anything, it smashed him on the ground and pointed a sword at his head. The spectre asked who he was. All he managed to say was that he and his sister were pursued by two Men whiling to kill them and one of them managed killing his sister. The black cloaked man decided, after a long, interminable pause, to reveal his face. ‘I’m George, I am a member of the ASG.’

‘Frank. He responded in a dead voice while raising his hand to shake George’s.’

George started explaining to him they had to go back to the camp because it was getting dark, but most importantly to heal Frank’s wounds. As he finished his phrase, Frank turned around, took his sister in his arms, buried her under leaves and dead branches; and followed his saviour.

They had walked for at least an hour before arriving to the camp. He knew they weren’t far because he could see paintings on trees, most of them were the three letters: ASG. Some of the trees had a black crossed circle under the three letters. ‘It’s here’. George said in an exhausted voice. George put his hand on the ground and moved it as if he was looking for something. When his hand stopped, he pulled a hidden trap door making a deep metallic sound. Light bulbs lit one after another once he let go of the trap door. They revealed an old, rusty staircase, penetrating the deep, dark underground. The subterranean walls were covered by dark wood planks. George invited Frank to continue down the stairs in order to get to the infirmary. Behind him, George closed the trap door, more calmly and more quietly than he opened it. Frank could see the tunnel was dug recently, the earth was wet and the rocks were still shining by virtue of the light bulbs. Water drops fell on the old stairs, echoing through the tunnel.

The staircase led directly to the infirmary. A young woman was sitting on a chair, taking care of a recent arrow injury. Her wound was still bleeding, the floor had a scarlet red puddle under her chair. Frank stopped and George passed in front of him, he got close to the woman, leaned towards her and muttered something in her ear. Her face became darker and stopped what she was doing as George talked to her. She raised her head towards Frank, who was intrigued by her injury. She said out loud, before he could ask any questions ‘I got wounded by the Wolves, this afternoon,’. The only response Frank managed to find was nodding, he got hypnotised by her calm and soft voice. She didn’t seem to be in pain, even though she had a bloody hole in her abdomen. She stepped towards him once she arrived at about a foot from him, she puts her warm hand on his wound. After stating he would recover in a few days, she presented herself, ‘I am Amber, I am the nurse of the expedition troops of the Allied Survivor Group, also known as ASG.’ She added that the ASG formed itself to fight against The Wolves and bring peace and harmony to the last humans.

She was a bit smaller than Franck; her face didn’t have anything extraordinary or significant, and yet, he felt somehow magically attracted to those serious and silent features. He couldn't help but notice her clear skin, lack of makeup, along with her long wavy, blond hair. She had on a white tank top under a brown leather jacket; written on the left side of the jacket was ‘get murdered or survive!’ She wore black tights with mid length black boots. Even though they were meeting for the first time, he felt like they had known each other for years. He saw all her beauty after looking directly in her eyes. She had deep blue eyes. They reflected her knowledge and happiness. This moment lasted for minutes, until George had enough and said he’ll make Frank a tour of the lodging. He did not expect the underground shelter to be like this. The shelter was deserted, they didn’t pass by anyone. However, he knew the shelter could accommodate more than 2 people.

After the tour, George and Frank went back at the infirmary, in order to explain all the details of what happened earlier that day in the forest and what is currently happening in the world. The infirmary had been dismantled, to make place for four chairs and a large table in the middle. Two of the chairs were occupied, one by Amber, the other by someone strangely like Amber. He took a seat to the left of the unknown person, as George had taken the other one. Amber started by introducing her sister, Mia. She continued by explaining there is a really contagious virus that had killed more than 99% of all humanity, ‘It is known as the Glarea Intermittens,’ she added in a strangely happy and deep voice. George leaned over the table with a serious look on his face, “We know who killed your sister, their savageness and heartless violence tell me it can only be only one group, the Wolves.” After the explanation, Mia asked Frank if he wanted to join the ASG, she added they all lost something are someone because of the Wolves. He accepts the offer and they all got out of the nursery, towards the weaponry. George took his sword and bow and arrow, Amber, as Mia, took a two-hand sword. Frank, stood still, until Mia put a black katana in a black scabbard, the scabbard had Japanese engravings covered with golden sheets, and gave it to him.

They left the shelter and started running the opposite way Frank and George had entered. They ran into the dead forest. Neither their footsteps nor their breathing could be heard. The group ran for hours in a square formation until they stopped suddenly when they approached a cabin. A deep voice emerged from within, ‘Who is there?’ George responded in a flash. The owner of the voice stepped out of the cabin in a black outfit, none of his skin could be seen. He looked at Frank for a few minutes, then asked, ‘You are attacking them?’

‘Yes, Andromeda, we are here for your help,’ George responded in a calm voice.

Mia leaned towards Frank and said ‘Andromeda is his surname; his first name is still unknown. It is always better to have him on your side rather than fighting him.’ Andromeda disappeared in his shelter for fifteen minutes, before coming out in his black cloak, hiding a dark brown leather armour. He had a leather mask covered with leaves hiding his head. They ran opposite the wind, masking their scent. In a blink, Andromeda disappeared. Frank looked around him, searching for him, but saw nothing. He was gone.

He could see light in the distance. Frank detected the scent of decomposition, as if a dead corpse has been there for months. He looked in the ravine, on his left. He saw bodies, on top of each other. On top of one of them, he believed he saw his sister, lying in the middle of the dead, he could see a bullet hole on her forehead. He looked back in front of him, willing to forget what he saw. Amber, looked in the abyss and incline herself towards Frank, ‘They are all victims of the Intermittent Gravel. They put them there in order to block the virus.’ He decided not to tell her about the fact he thought he saw his sister.

Opposite the ASG’s camp, there weren’t any marks on the trees around the shelter. The camp looked less protected: the only protection the camp had was thin wood walls. Their base looked more like a small town, there were several shelters, some had beds, another one was the kitchen. The camp was crowded, all came around us, particularly around Frank. George shouted his name, grabbed his arm and pulled Frank over. He took him to a shelter away from the centre of the camp.

‘Forget what you saw when you came!’ yelled George.

‘What are you talking about?’ asked Frank

‘Don’t play dumb with me!’ With these words, he turned around and headed back to the camp.

Frank was intrigued by his attitude, but he prefers not thinking about it right now and try to go to sleep since it was already late.

On his way back towards the dorm, he saw Amber, looking as if she was drunk, lying on the floor. He decided to take her to the infirmary. Once at the door, he knocked, but no one replied. He then heard keys entering the key hole, Amber was trying to open the infirmary, meaning nobody was in it. I helped her and opened the door. They entered the large room, it was at the opposite of the camp, the only surroundings were trees. He laid her on the only bed there was; as he was getting ready to leave, she firmly grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the bed. They were on top of each other, face to face. Amber smiled gently and kissed him on his lips. They were warm and soft; he felt her warm hand fondle his head. He gently stroked her hair. They kissed passionately on the bed for a while, all they wanted was the feeling of each other’s skin. Frank drew his head back and watch with care Amber’s nearly perfect face. He observed with care her natural skin, she didn’t have any makeup on and yet, he found her magnificent. They pulled of their clothes, and followed heavy petting and intense sexual intercourse. Knowing the nearest dormitory was 500 yards away. They allowed their screams to echo throughout the room. There action was too intense for them to see the shadow looking at them by the window. They lied down, side to side, talking to each other of what their life before anarchy ruled the world.

As the sun rose, they dressed up, and went back to their respective dorms. All were asleep, at least that’s what they thought. Before Amber could lie down on her bed, someone grabbed her arm, covered her mouth and pulled her out of the camp. It pushed her on a tree, took its mask out. Mia started shouting. ‘What were you thinking when you slept with him?’

‘It’s okay… like it’s human to have sex with a man…’

‘No! You killed his sister and now you are having sex with him! what is wrong with you!’

On those words, Amber’s face darkened, she didn’t reply. She hadn’t thought about this. She hadn’t been with someone since the beginning of the pandemic, she wanted to have fun, for once. She wanted to forget all this, she wanted to be free and this was the only way. But her sister would’ve killed her if she started responding, since Amber was the one in the wrong. ‘How? How could I think it was a good idea?’ She didn’t want to cross Mia’s gaze, she was ashamed. Now, she just wanted to disappear. ‘Go back to the dorm. In any case, do not speak about what you did to George. Tell Frank it was a mistake and this should have never happened’ Mia said in a calmer voice. Amber walked, slowly, until Mia shouted that she will kill her if she is seen.

Frank was awakened by Amber. She sat on his lap. Frank started talking before she opened her mouth to speak.

‘This should’ve never happened. We, should go back to how things were, two humans fighting side by side for peace.’

‘Yes…,’ Amber muttered in a sad voice. She got up, turned around and walked away, crying.

Frank walked towards the cantina, there was only Mia and George. They both looked sad and angry. He noticed Amber wasn’t there, but didn’t want to talk about it. They planned for hours how they will attack the Wolves’ buildings. It was a 30 feet white sandstone build in a city outside the forest. The city was surrounded by walls made with ruined building rest. Outside the walls, an 8 feet large moat, fill with water. He never saw Amber again of the day, she like vanished, none saw her, Frank thought he was the last one to have seen her. After their briefing, they headed to a small building, it was made out of birch and sapling planks. The contrast between the bright walls of birch and the dark spruce ceiling was fascinating. It was like light and darkness, good and bad, ‘me and them,’ he thought. It was the armoury, when he garbed his black katana, he noticed Amber’s sword wasn’t there. They started running towards the Wolves’ camp, Mia, George and Frank, George said Andromeda will join them later.

They crossed different biomes, a taiga, grasslands, even tundra. No matter the biome, no matter the temperature, they didn’t stop. They finally arrived near a city; the tip of the high buildings could be seen from where they were. They slowed down, to stop in front of Andromeda, sitting on a fallen trunk. He had a lightly curved sword; it was approximately his length and was strapped on his back. Frank didn’t know why but he had a feeling Andromeda was sad by the fact he was with them. Andromeda put his hand behind his back, looked at the sky, and, in a blink of an eye, he shot a flare. Dozens of men dressed as soldiers surrounded George, Mia and Frank. One, stepped out of the circle, he was the only one dressed in black, he held Amber’s arm firmly, Frank could see she was crying. Before he could protest, George started shouting with a mix of anger and desperation in his voice.

‘Why? Why did you betray us? Why?’

‘Why? Well, let me ask you a question George, does Frank know what really happened the day you miraculously saved him?’ Andromeda retorted with a sarcastic tone. George didn’t reply. ‘Well? Do you need me to tell him? Do you?’ Andromeda shouted. He was angry and sad at the same time; his voice was angry, his eyes showed sadness. He faced Frank and said, ‘They manipulated you, just like they manipulated me. They attack you then save you from their friends. Didn’t you notice? Amber’s injury? Her excuse was the fact the Wolves attacked her?’ He turned around and faced Charles, ‘Don’t you have any dignity?’ Andromeda shouted in anger.

Frank felt a hand grab him from behind and put a knife on his neck.

‘I want to see white flags outside your base, by tomorrow, at dawn or he is dead! I want you to leave this forest, this country. I want you to disappear from this world!’ shouted desperately George, facing Andromeda. George added, pointing to Mia’s right hand, she had a detonator linked to kilograms of dynamite under the trunk.

Everyone stopped talking, Frank looked in front of him scared, looking for Andromeda, but the fact he didn’t move reassured him. He pulled a smile on his face when he heard a gun detonation. A sniper who was hidden on the roof of the Wolves’ camp shot George in the head. His body fell heavily on the floor Mia’s face filled with anger, but Frank unsheathed his sword in a blink of an eye and sent the blade into her chest. The black suited man made a hand sign, telling his troops to go back to their base. Only Andromeda, the soldier dressed in black holding Amber and Frank were left.

‘What will you do to her?’ asked Frank in a calm voice.

‘It is up to you. Do you want to kill her? Or do you want to keep her as a slave?’ The soldier said his last word with enthusiasm.

Frank looked at Andromeda, as if he wanted Andromeda to answer for him. Andromeda answered her destiny was only depending on Frank, she manipulated him after all. He was her toy. She killed his sister and manipulated Frank into an intimate relationship. These thoughts made him go crazy, he walked calmly towards her, no emotions could be seen on his face. He crouched, put his face a few inches away from Amber, smiled, pulled out a gun, and shot her. The bullet made her head explode, the brain splattered all around her. Frank’s face had splashes of blood all over it. He stood up and wiped it off with his sleeve. The man in black presented himself.‘

My name is Charles’, he said, ‘I am sorry about your sister’.

‘Frank’, he answered, ‘don’t worry, her death is a kind of vengeance,’ Frank added pointing at Amber’s body with the tip of his katana.

‘So?’ Andromeda asked. ‘Where will he be going? Since he and I are the same, manipulated, betrayed. I don’t mind taking him under my wing.’

‘It is his decision after all.’ Charles said with a kind, reassuring smile on his face, looking at Frank.

Frank decided following Andromeda. He became Centaurus. They all agreed forget ‘Frank’. This moment was a rebirth. As they disappeared into the dark depths of the forest, Charles looked at Amber and went back to his camp leaving her headless body there.