In the End

A weary drifter finally finds what he's been looking for.

            I found the Brit in the outskirts of Nova Vexas, though one might argue that the whole of Nova Vexas was the outskirts. The city was dried up of everything: people, food, critters, and even roaches. They few people that still roam around aren’t exactly social and for good reason. Raiders use to come by every few months and the locals learned to either get out or hold their ground. Once the raiders figured that the fight for the scarce resource wasn’t work it, they learned to skip over the city.

Pa would tell me about the way things were before the infections and how he loved going down to the big city and how he wanted to take me down there, but he would probably cry to see his gem now. If you had a favorite shade of dust, you could probably find it in some crevasse of Nova Vexas. The local population is partly made up of tumbleweeds. The last spot critter died of starvation on the main street. Normally, I’d have some opposition to the main food source there, but it wasn’t a normal area, and everyone has had to resort to it out here in the barrens. And I certainly did when I found the Brit.

See, the Brit was a part of my group for only a few months. We were scavenging through some rumble in of Bliston when we found him half-conscious. Pa took him in right away and my sis even fancied him a bit (though I think they like him just for his accent). I tried to share my two-bits but Pa slapped me on the head and thought nothing of it. Well, guess who got buried and who did the burying? The Brit took my sis out on a stroll one night and came back alone. Pa didn’t think nothing about it at first; the Brit said she just ran off, talking about make her own path and what not. It was only when I noticed some vultures circle around something that I discovered to be her when he got antsy. In a way, Pa took it the hardest because he really felt like the Brit was a second son, but I’m sure that exactly what the Brit wanted. When the time came around, Pa interrogated the Brit and the Brit placed a bullet between Pa’s eyes. It was only after he ran off that we realized that our rations were dangerously low and the few people left in the group decided to take their separate ways.

I could’ve just gone off on my own and forget the whole thing, but in the world that we live in now, it doesn’t matter what I do. Whether I decide to be a drifter among the ruined cities or hunt out a lone man in the name of revenge. I didn’t even feel too strongly about finding him. It was just something to pass the time.

He was sleeping when I barged into his metal-sheeted hut. I blew a hole through his hand before he could grab his gun. If it weren’t for the accent, I probably wouldn’t’ve thought his pained screams were funny, but alas. He swore profusely, recognizing me, and I gave him a good blow to the head to end his jabbering.

By the time he woke up, I got his fire pit lit and a spit in place. He said nothing, which I was fine with at the time. Figured he was preparing himself for what was to come. He watched the fire intently and wriggled his bonded hands to get comfortable.

“You recognize me, right?”

He said nothing. The flames were hot enough now. I took out the knife my father used and tried to undo one of the Brit’s shoes. He fought against it at first so I burrowed my knife deep into the other shoe. He tightened his lips and twisted his head away, giving up power. When I finally got the foot off, he glared at me, not minding his lost appendage.

“What? If you got something to say, then say it.” I picked up his revolver and line up its sights with the bridge of his nose.

“I…” The blood loss might have affected him.

“You…” I skewered the foot and put it on the spit.

“I…spit…my last breath …”

I sat down, with the firepit between us and contemplated him.

“I...spit…my last breath…” He cleared his throat before finishing with, “At thee…”

He passed out and I spent the rest of the night cutting, cooking and curing him for travel. I wasn’t really worried about the meat spoiling; it seemed to be well past saving.

Author's Note

Review as you see fit. Not my normal kind of writing, but I wanted to try it.

Reviews

[Poetic Beauty]

This is an interesting story that takes you into a world that sounds like has survived devastation from a major war. It is graphic in emotions and shows how revenge can come about. Makes your wonder what is going to happen next.

[Miss Marlette]

It was a spine chilling experience. It was a greatly different and entertaining read. Always nice to try something novel and different. Pen on.

[Split Voices]

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Glad you found it entertaining and chilling!

[Cody Williams]

I loved it!!! Thanks for sharing!

-CW

[Split Voices]

Thanks for reading it! I'm very glad to hear that you liked it!