The world kind of went to crap about 2 and a half weeks ago. It went from pretty average (I won’t say good because describing our normal days as good would be a lie), to absolutely depressing. Everything has gone dark and gloomy, my surroundings all lacking life and color. Most people have already died from the blast, but those of us still alive are left scavenging around for food like rats. Resources needed for survival are also few and far between. How we went from a normal day to this is absolutely beyond me. 

It’s hard enough for one person to survive on their own, so I’m pretty thankful to be on my own. I will say though, that I really miss my friends and family. Every day without them gets simultaneously easier and harder. I have to clear my head and move on though, because there’s very little time left for the living, and it’s a fight to the death for what we can get our hands on. 

I’m walking along a “path” through the woods. It’s not really much of a path though, it’s just an area where my ankles are less likely to be scraped raw or get poison ivy. It sucks, but it is what it is. My only goal here is to get to the cities before everything is gone. I need to get my hands on whatever I can. My hope is to come across some food, water, medical supplies, and maybe a lighter or a knife. Oh and clothes or blankets would be great as well. Winter is right around the corner, and I don’t have hope for myself to make it through, but I’ll increase my chances if I can find something to keep me as warm as possible. I stay focused on these luxuries because that’s what they are now, as I walk along my “path” through the woods. It’s dark, but I can still see well enough thanks to the full moon. 

I pause as I think I hear a sound. No, I know I hear a sound. Leaves crunching in the distance, too heavy to be a small animal. Either this is a really big animal, or worse, it's another person. I’m frozen in my tracks, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I take a breath and my feet start moving on their own. I’m mindlessly stumbling through my dark surroundings, stupidly following the noise. This could be a huge mistake, but I have to know what’s following me. I reach forward and push a branch out of my way. As I scan my surroundings, my heart rate evens out, and my nerves calm. Standing before me is a girl. She looks maybe 4’8”, 9 years old if I had to guess, and she has long brown hair lying messy over her head. She’s skinny and malnourished, and she looks like she might be injured. 

“Are you ok?” I ask without thinking, but she stays quiet, eyes wide in fear at the sight of another person. I get why she’s scared though, as a lot of people are pretty cut-throat these days, and I look the part. I’m not particularly muscular, but I do have some meat on my bones. I’m 6’3”, 17 years old, and I sort of tower over her. 

“Hey, are you ok? Do you have anyone with you? What’s your name?” I start spouting out questions instinctively without giving her much time to answer. Maybe it’s because I’m worried about her. I can’t exactly help it though, because she looks so much like my little sister. I get stuck on that thought before I’m reminded of the scared little girl in front of me.

“My name is Roman, what’s yours?” I ask her, trying to get her to open up a little. She hesitates before quietly answering.

“My name is Stella.” She practically whispers. 

“Hi Stella, are you out here alone? Are you ok?” I ask slowly, a little more patience showing this time. 

“I’m alone..” she answers, sounding pretty sad about her answer. “I tripped on a really big branch on the ground and my ankle hurts” she explained.

“Where are your parents?” I asked her, already sort of knowing the answer.

“They didn't make it..” she trailed off. I knew I had to help her. It’d make my life a little harder, but she’s just a little kid. I’d be a monster to just leave an injured orphan in the woods. 

“I'm sorry about your family. Stella, how would you like to join me? I can take care of you. I’ll even help you with that injured ankle of yours.” 

“Really? You’d really help me?” She asked, sounding hesitant. 

“I would really help you. I’m headed to the city right now, and as it turns out, one of the things I’m looking for is medical supplies. If I find what I need, I can wrap your ankle, and maybe even give you something for the pain and swelling. In the meantime, I can just carry you. You look pretty light, so I doubt it would be an issue.” I take my time to explain my thought process. I’m really hoping she wants to come with me because she really does remind me of my sister, and I’d never forgive myself if I left her here. Her agreeing would be preferable, however, she doesn’t really have much of a choice.

“But wouldn’t that be hard for you?” She asked me.

“It won’t be a problem. Please come with me? I could really use the company. It would make me feel better.” I need her to feel comfortable and less like a burden if I want her to agree to come with me.

“Hmmm… ok.” she replied, a little hesitation still littering her voice. I was immediately flooded with relief knowing I wouldn’t have to drag her somewhere she wasn’t comfortable. 

“Perfect! Because I would hate to just leave you out here. You’re young, and it’s not exactly safe out here by yourself anymore.” I explained to her.  “Tell me about yourself. I wanna know what you’re like, I wanna know about your family, your friends, your life before all this. Anything.” I say, smiling down at her as I put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her to the path and allowing her to use me for support.

“Well, my family was really nice. I loved them a lot. I didn’t have very many friends, but my best friend was really nice, and she was reallyyyy pretty. I miss them all. My favorite color is green, my favorite food is spaghetti, and my favorite animal is a pig. Oh! And I’m 8 years old.” she sounded a little cheerier as she moved off the topic of friends and family. I can understand why. I make a note in my head that she’s 8, not 9 like I originally thought. 

“Wow! Turns out we have a lot more in common than I thought!” I tell her cheerfully, keeping a positive tone to the conversation. I’m hoping to connect a little with her as she is going to be stuck with me for the foreseeable future.

“Really? What do we have in common?” she asked with a big smile on her face.

“It just so happens that I also love spaghetti and the color green. My favorite animal is a dragon though.” As I told her this, she had a puzzled look on her face. One of curiosity. Or maybe confusion?

“Dragons aren’t real animals though!” she retorted. She sort of seemed annoyed by my answer, as if it was the worst one she could’ve possibly imagined hearing. It was pretty amusing if I’m honest. She really does remind me of my little sister.

“How do you know they aren’t real?” At this point, I’m just trying to keep her happy, engaged, and entertained. 

“How do you know that they are real?” she retorted with more sass than I imagined coming from her. It was playful sass though, as opposed to being rude.

“Well I suppose I don’t, but I still think they’re pretty cool. Even if they aren’t real. On an unrelated note, your ankle doesn’t seem to be too badly injured. You’ve been able to walk on it with just a little support from me this entire time.” What she did next was not what I expected, but I honestly should have.

“Welllll now that you mention it, it does hurt pretty bad right now.” she sounded as though she was trying to convince me of this. 

“Does it really hurt? Or do you just want me to carry you?” I sort of laughed a little when I asked, and she looked a little dejected. 

“Hey, Stella I’m just kidding. If you want me to carry you, I’ll carry you for a little while. Do you want a piggyback ride?” she almost immediately lit up again.

“You’ll give me a piggyback ride? Really?” she was practically bouncing in place, so I bent down and allowed her to get on my back.

“Stella, have I told you that you remind me of my little sister?”

“You have a little sister? Where is she?” she asked curiously, sounding excited at the idea of a new friend.

“I had a little sister. She didn’t make it. But you remind me of her in a lot of ways.”

“Is that why you wanted me to come with you?” dang, this is one emotionally intelligent 8-year-old. 

“It was certainly one of the reasons. But I also wanted to help you because you’re so young, and you shouldn’t be left out here by yourself.” As I told her all my reasons as to why I wanted to help her and told her some stories about my little sister, she started to nod off. I can’t say I blame her, considering it was almost 2 a.m. at this point. 

She eventually fell asleep on my back as I quietly carried her down the moonlit path towards the city. I’m suddenly thankful to not be entirely on my own.