Evelyn Earth Part 11

The next few days flew by. We returned to the shipping yard and met up with the rest of Owen’s group. The second time around they weren’t as intimidating. Marla seemed less threatening now that she was placated by Owen’s reassurances about my character. For all I knew though she could still be harbouring suspicions, but I didn’t let that show.

 Jack and Tod were nowhere to be seen the first night, but Tod wandered into the meeting place the next day asking questions about when the next raid would take place. It turns out that the car they used in the last townhouse raid was Jack’s and he had to take off on some ‘personal’ business so he needed the extra manpower to carry supplies.

                Owen wasn’t forthcoming with anything definite and I could see that Tod made him more than uncomfortable. Later that night he confided to me that he suspected Tod and Jack of being part of a larger scavenger group. We made our way back to Owen’s containers through a different route that night, even doubling back in some areas to make sure that we weren’t followed. I admired Owen’s preservation skills; they made mine look crude and barbaric. I was the one with the comfortable bed though, and we definitely felt its absence.       

                The young boy who I’d seen wandering around the group last time turned out to be one of the more interesting people. Apparently he had swum up onto the bank of the shipping yard one day proclaiming that he had been on a boat that had capsized. Old Mal reckoned that he had been in the water for over 10 hours, by the looks of him. Everyone had started calling him Fins and he didn’t object.

                On the fourth night the group lit a bonfire in the middle of a cluster of containers that weren’t utilized for anything specific. I sat next to Fins and heard him tell his tale. On the first night of the black explosions he was sitting by the water at Williamstown. His father ran out of the house screaming for him. Williamstown was close to the industrial area of the western suburbs and had somehow drawn the largest mass of explosions. Factories were rent into dust and whole blocks were consumed by the darkness. Fins’ father pulled out their three metre fishing boat, filled it with supplies and launched it into sea. They watched from the water as more and more places vanished into pitch black holes.

 The moon, he said, illuminated only the spots that had been untouched by the fire. Everything else just seemed to cease to exist. They stayed out on the boat until dawn and then made their way back home. The whole town was teeming with people, like sea gulls trying to feed off of the leftover destruction. In this part of the story Fins quietened down. His eyes reflected the dancing of the flames and I could almost see the hurt in their glassy surface. His father was attacked by some men who wanted to take his boat. Fins’ had managed to push it out into the water laden with all the necessities that they had collected that day. He hadn’t seen his father since. He stayed out on that boat for just over two weeks, stopping for supplies every few days. In the middle of one of his bay crossings though the engine gave out and he was left stranded. The land was a tiny pin prick in the distance, but he was a strong swimmer. His father had taught him how to brave the waters since he was a toddler.

                We all sat by the fire for hours, each of us sharing stories about the day when everything changed. That night me and Owen walked back to my apartment and slept in my bed. It was the first night that we consciously touched. Falling asleep with his arms around me I felt lighter, as if there wasn’t something urgent nagging at the back of my mind. I realised that ever since I had let Owen get close to me the building darkness in my dreams had begun to subside. That night I dreamt of the holiday I took to Bali. Blue skies and crystal clear beaches swam before my mind.

                In the morning Owen woke me up and we emptied out the last edible contents of my pantry. While we were choking down dry noodles he looked up at me.

                “I’m going to go for a supply run today. We’re running pretty low on water and other drinks in general” he trailed off.

                “You mean we are going on a supply run today” I countered

                “Look Evie, the only place I know around here that hasn’t already been raided is the shopping centre. I wouldn’t have gone near it myself if it wasn’t for you. ”

                “And…you don’t trust me to go into Harbour Town”

                “It’s not about trust you know that!” he sounded exasperated, I laughed.

                “We sound like a couple having our first domestic” I smiled and punched him in the arm. His wide toothed grin answered mine and the tension of the conversation seeped out of the room.

                “Fine, you go for water and I’ll stay here, like a good little girl” I put on a pouty face. Without any warning he lent in and kissed me. My eyes stayed open, wide with shock, but my lips responded to his. It was a quick kiss, light and comfortable just like him.

                “I was half expecting you to punch me for real” he laughed.

                “You’re lucky you have a pretty face” I retorted. He grabbed me again, this time enclosing his big arms around my waist and pulling me up onto my toes. This kiss was deeper, more urgent and I found myself drinking him in, eyes closed and hands tightened around a fist full of his shirt.  

                We pulled away, reluctantly.

                “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be as quick as I can.” He grabbed some bags, pulled on his shoes and jumped for the ceiling entrance. As his feet disappeared I felt a sense of loss. A strange detachment hit me and I sat down abruptly. The feeling of longing and warmth that had just surged through my body was quickly evaporating. Why was I so happy a few moments ago? I wracked my brain and alarm bells started ringing. I ran my fingers through my hair and chanted’

                “Owen, Owen, Owen” but it slowly petered out and faded away. What had made me happy? Freedom will make you happy. Freedom. Suddenly the walls of the apartment started closing in on me. I could see them moving, encroaching on me. Panicked I jumped up onto the table and hauled myself up through the hole. I needed to be outside. I needed air or else I would suffocate in here!

                I practically fell into the air outside, gulping it down in erratic breathes. Spinning around in a circle I let my body tell me what to do. Like a compass it pointed me towards the darkness. In the depths of my mind I knew that whatever had trickled into me through my contact with the black liquid had stirred from its supressed state. With no one standing in front of me to remind me of who I was and what I was doing I was left to follow the instincts that had awoken inside me.

                I started jogging then running, by the time my feet hit the floor of the shopping centre I was going at a full sprint. Boulders of concrete and protruding pieces of iron flickered past me in my peripheral vision, but I had eyes only for the swirling mass in front of me. The path I was heading down was cut off by a fallen awning. I side-stepped and began to clamber up piles of debris. I was so close now my heart seemed to be pumping in rhythm to the motion of the cloud. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Almost there.

                It loomed up before me like a leviathan—a great and awesome mass that made my breath catch in my throat. I didn’t hesitate this time. You have been deterred too many times. With all my strength I flung myself into the centre of darkness.