We, who Survived

“Nathan, wake up.” Slowly cracking my eyes open was still enough for the morning light to blind me. Instinctively, I tried to bury my face in whatever my head was resting on. “Hey, that tickles!”

Immediately I stopped and opened my eyes fully. My head was resting on Spark’s chest, my hand on his stomach. My cheeks were burning as soon as the realization hit.

“Awe, you two looks adorable.” Maria’s squeal came from behind me but I did not need to see her face to know she would have that stereotypical expression with her hands under her chin as she gushed over the sight of us. “We do have to leave soon, so don’t cuddle too long.”

When she strolled away, Spark began to chuckle and gently ruffle my hair before gently helping me to sit up. Pain ignited between my shoulder blades and lower back, causing me to grimace and hunch forward, my head slightly brushing against Spark’s shoulder as he leaned over me to glance at my back.

“You should take this shirt off and wear another. The scent of blood might attract predators.” Without me saying anything, Spark began to dig through his duffel bag and brought out a large shirt. He gestured I take it. I did so, bringing it to my chest and clearing my throat.

“I don’t want to sound like a baby, but can you h-help me?” Spark raised an eyebrow before smirking, making my embarrassment worsen.

“It’s okay, Bookworm.” Slowly, I tried to lift my arms, trying to help him strip me of my bloodied top. He did so carefully, making sure the scab stayed intact as some of the dried blood pulled at it.

The cold instantly attacked my back, cooling down the heat radiating off my wound and easing the aches. Spark’s lingering eyes were on my chest and stomach as he held his shirt limply. It made me feel self-conscious. Unlike the other boys, I had no need to go to the gym for my line of work and unlike them, I was littered with scars and bruises, deep and shallow from Daniel and his crew. Spark then hurriedly tugged the shirt over my head when he realized he was staring.

“Sorry.” His own cheeks were dusted pink as he helped feed my arms through the shirt sleeves. “All those times we found you- I didn’t think they would become permanent is all. At the time, they seemed too surreal to stay behind.”

“The majority healed but because Daniel kept his antics up, the continuous cuts on already scarred tissue made them permanent.” When Spark let go of my arms, I wrapped them around myself. His scent wafted up from the shirt, almost comforting but dominating over mine.

“This is gonna sound corny now but your eyes match your personality.”

“Why do you say that? Are they freaky or something?”

“Not at all! Maria once said when we were at my Holding that they make you cute and mysterious, two colours walking hand-in-hand. They make you special cause no one on the station has such a prominent contrast in their features.” He chuckled softly, taking my hands that I did not even realize were hiding my face, holding them in his. “Let’s hope today goes better than yesterday and that a well-worn shirt will be soft on that fragile scab. Take it easy, ’kay?”

“We’ll walk for another hour before setting up camp. We will be by a stream with a pool,” Spark instructed from the front where he stood with Jae and Charlie. Joon, Maria and I took up the rear. We were supposed to be up there with them but because of my lack of energy and throbbing injury, we got sent to the back.

“You look really flushed and sweaty, you okay, Nate?” Joon asked from my left side. He was carrying both mine and his bags thanks to my scabs reopening with each step. “I could carry you and Maria can take our bags.” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he glanced down at me, making his chestnut-brown eyes even more cheerful looking.

“It’s okay Joon, it’s not long until we stop anyway.” Fiddling with the hem of Spark’s shirt, I smiled up at him. “Besides, I need to look stronger and being carried around like a baby won’t cut it. These people need to trust me, if I can’t bounce back from this then there isn’t a reason for me even being a leader.” Maria took my hand in hers, gently squeezing it.

“If you say so my intelligent Bookworm, just remember you’re still injured so don’t push yourself.” She chuckled, making Joon laugh heartily before hiking up the bags into a comfortable position.

After that, we went silent, all mixed up in our own world and thoughts. Eventually, I gave up on those thoughts and focused on the scenery around me. The terrain was giving way to subtle changes to that of rock and pebble over the tall grass and spiky bushes. Trees slowly grew further apart, lessening the shady spots we could hide from the sun in. Shy chatter would start up, shortly followed by muffled laughter and giggles until a rowdier group would scare the chirping birds into silence and everyone would hold their breath, hoping they would come back. The cycle would only start again when the birds began to sing.

Then, when my back threatened to make me buckle from pain, it could be heard. The rush, crash and gurgle of the stream.

Rounding the corner of a hill covered in thick vegetation, the view of a large slow-moving body of water feeding into a pool could be seen. It was a welcoming sight after the long walk in the burning sun. Colourful birds the size of my hand dipped into the water, cleaning and feeding. Small dark shapes bobbed close to the surface, sucking water down with a sure mix of water skimmers hidden in it.

The younger kids dropped their bags and rushed to the pool’s shore, gulping down the crystal-clear water before squealing as some began playing, wading deeper in until it reached their knees, splashing each other. Everyone wore fatigued smiles as they found places to rest, watching the children play gleefully.

Maria and I sat on a boulder in the limited shade of a tree, our bags at our feet as Joon went through his. Spark, Jae and Charlie trudged up to us before tiredly plopping down on the pebbled ground. Charlie lay on his back, inching close to our bags so he could use Maria’s as a pillow before throwing his arm over his eyes. Jae sat by Joon, talking in Korean as he sorted through his own bag while Spark came to sit between my legs, gazing out at our group.

“You know, I can’t believe we are here right now, seeing what we are seeing. It’s....remarkable” Spark stated, awe in his voice. Reaching out, I started to play with his hair as Maria began to hum. At that moment everything was peaceful, everyone allowing their guards to drop even if slightly.

“We should—” Jae was cut off sharply by a girl’s shrill scream. The sound made me jump, almost tripping over Spark in the process as he shot to his feet. Touching his shoulder, I scanned the shoreline as the children thrashed their way onto shore as if the water was burning them. Those who had been sitting were now standing, grabbing the children and hiding them behind their backs as a horrifying sight slowly emerged its head from the middle of the pool.

Its scales matched the water, light shimmering off the dark green-blue hues. Its reptilic eyes golden, pupils drawn into slits. A terrifying rumble-like-hiss emitted from it, the water seeming to boil around its trunk. The serpent swayed, leaning its head forward, water dripping off its scales in an impossibly majestic way at that moment, showing us the white diamond in the middle of its head as it set its golden eyes on us. Something bumped against its trunk, breaking the connection as the ragged clothing came into view.

“Brandon!” The girl wailed out, tears streaming down her face as she held out a hand from where she was slumped. A boy with choppy brown hair held her in place, his head tucked in his arms as she began to thrash against him.

The serpent seemed to lock eyes with me as it began to sink back into the depths. It felt like a trance had been thrown over me as it opened its maw. Thousands of needle-like teeth sat in neat rows, curved slightly back. None were jagged or broken. The serpent had sunk low, allowing the water to lap at its jaw before lunging forward, causing many to fall back as it caught Brandon’s corpse in its teeth before going under. The water bubbled, the girl wailing louder.

“I am not staying here!” The deep voice of a boy was the second to break the silence after the girl. “That thing could kill us while we sleep one-by-one gone in a matter of seconds.”

Zoning in on the guy, I instantly recognised him. Dean Fitz. He was a pompous asshole who worked alongside Charlie in the kitchens and had the ability to only express his boredom or annoyance such as now. His emerald-green eyes were locked on us, his dark hair slipping over them in slight waves. He was very much the South African his ancestors were.

“Shut your trap, Dean, you wanna attract something else prancing around?” Charlie growled, taking a step forward. “Talk calmly before panic makes us all go mad.”

Dean sneered, throwing his hand to the side as he took a step towards Charlie. Before he could spit something out, Jae jumped in.

“Dean, everyone, we cannot leave. We need it to navigate with and stay hydrated. The only available option we have at the moment is to move further upstream where the water is shallower and we can see the bottom clearly.” He folded his arms over his chest, black eyes glaring daggers at Dean.

“What if there are more of those creatures? We are the last humans on this planet, extinction is right around the corner for us here and what happened right now solidifies it!” Dean bared his teeth, locking angry eyes on me before turning his back on us, making me seethe. “Are you willing to follow people who are willing to place your lives on the line, if so, how can you feel safe?”

“You think we would feel safe after what we all just witnessed?” I muttered, leaning my head against Spark’s arm. Silence followed; they had heard me. Glancing around the group, I found intriguing stares and encouraging glances from Maria and Jae. Instinctively I wanted to hide behind Spark but then no one would see me as a leader, just a coward. Taking a deep breath, I moved to stand slightly in front of Spark and gazed over the group, preparing to talk louder, firmer.

“We are at extinction’s doorstep with this entire journey we are taking. We have returned to a world that no longer has a place for our kind anymore and every corner could something ready to kill us. Is that not the definition of living now? We have to adventure, to forge our way to some form of safety anyway. Sure, we might encounter some horrible things, experience some horrible things but we will survive.” I let my words sink in, catching my breath before continuing. “Anyway, as Jae said, we need the stream but it does not mean we have to stay in this exact place. We can move further up to where we can see the stream’s bed and where the water moves faster. So, can we all calm down and please stop looking like you’re going to all have heart attacks.”

There was an uneasy laugh rippling through the group. People began relaxing, stepping from foot to foot as they gathered their scattered things. Spark smiled down at me, clamping a hand on my shoulder. I gave him a small smile, feeling tired from the boost of confidence I had.

As we began hastily picking up our bags and moving the herd, I saw Charlie walk up to Dean. His fist came down smoothly before colliding with Dean’s cheek. He stumbled back, holding his cheek. Charlie was quick to grab his bag and darting to us. He smirked, rubbing his knuckles as if what he had just done had never happened.

Leaning against a boulder as tall as me, I watched as Spark tried to get coals using a new method, I’d told him about to try to conserve the lighter fluid we had. He worked with the bow-drill for the third and last time to try create coals for the nest of kindle I had made. His olive-green eyes were lit with determination while sweat beaded down his forehead.

“Nate, bring the nest quickly,” He ordered. Bringing the kindling to him, I held it out so he could tip the coals in the middle before bringing it to my lips and blowing. Unlike the first and second time, the coals took instantly. Smiling triumphantly, I placed it in the hastily made fire pit and fed it twigs. The flames began to make a satisfying crackle as Spark began to slowly added driftwood to the pile.

“Finally, you boys pulled it off!” Maria exclaimed as she strolled toward us. I stood up and automatically found myself glued to her side as she made me rest my head on her shoulder. Smiling to myself, I allowed myself to side-hug her. “Now we just have to light the other two pits for everyone else to cosy up to.”

“How is the girl?” Spark’s tone had gone serious as he wiped his face of sweat. The flames cast shadows along his face, defining the features, making him seem older.

“Carly. She is with her older brother, Max. Brandon was her best friend, they used to work on the farms together.” Maria leaned her head against mine as she held me a little tighter. “It’s frightening how quickly that entire situation escalated from childish wonder and normality to dominant fear and terror.”

“You know that this is just the beginning, right? Everything around us is ready to kill and strike us down...” My muttering caught Spark’s attention. He glanced at me before sighing.

“All we can do is hope for the best and keep clear of anything that seems dangerous.” He stared into the fire, wringing his wrist.

“You know, everything out here is like that?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Both of you should keep looking at the bright side, we are breathing.”