Evelyn Earth Part 2

“There’s no one there, let’s go” I say hurriedly. As we slip inside I see the Asian boys from the corner of my eye making their way through the parking lot. There’s not as many people in here as there were outside. Something makes me think that the entrance must be barred, not jammed up. I make a mental note of where the service exit is and we move further into the warehouse. Two men rush past us and we narrowly miss their huge frames.

                “Fuck!” yells Maya

                “Shh, shut up!” I grab her by the arm and pull her behind the bottled drinks aisle, “Are you crazy? Do you want to make two angry men angrier? ”

                “They almost knocked us over!” she retorts sulkily and that’s when I realise that the reality of the situation hasn’t hit her yet. She’s still thinking about the right and wrong things to do as if we were still living in the same world.

                “Get over it, shits changed” I growl, “No one’s going to give you a helping hand or say sorry to you if you get hurt while you’re in their way. Start stuffing that backpack. The only thing that’s going to help us now are tuna cans and fucking bottled water.

               

Evelyn Earth Part 1

The sun is rising. It casts everything in a warm light. I sit on the crumbled roof of my building and watch it illuminate the city. A fire is burning in the distance and the smell quickly envelopes its surroundings. It filters down to me and I cough lightly.

“Shit” I mutter. Turning on my heels I quickly scurry down the incline of the roof. Grabbing onto protruding pieces of cement I lower myself through a hole masked by debris. Dropping down into the 7^th floor I relax, just a little. I have to make another run today before the scavengers get closer and strip the area.

 I move down the flights of stairs until the number 4 flashes in front of me. Slowly edging my way around the door frame I appraise the hallway. I don’t even know why I keep doing this, it’s not like there’s anyone left in this building. Habit I guess. I squat down and ease my way through yet another hole; this one leads into the minute crawl space between levels. I hate it, but it’s the only way into my apartment. It’s probably the only reason why my home has been untouched—no looters, no scavengers, just me. Alone.

I crawl for only a few metres before my knees touch on the plank of wood covering an opening in my ceiling. Pushing it out of the way I grip the edge of the wooden beam and practically fall onto the mattress underneath. I suck at entries. Rubbing my face with the palms of my hands I let out a groan. It’s been two months since I’ve used a proper door. Two whole fucking months.