Ashes

“I can’t look at it anymore…” Carmen said as her voice trailed off into relative silence. The only sound heard was the crackling of the wood as it succumbed to the appetite of the flames. They had nothing left and it wasn’t a good position to be in. “All our weapons, our supplies, everything was in there Doug.”

Stated as a matter of fact, the news still didn’t impress upon the man who stood next to her, trying hard to figure out what their next step would be. All they had were the clothes on their backs and that wasn’t going to be enough – not in this world.

The air was eerily quiet. No sounds of sirens or shouts of neighbours. None of those things remained. It was just Carmen and Doug against the world.

While it was likely others had survived, they hadn’t seen a living soul in quite some time. It hadn’t mattered. They didn’t need others when they had each other.

“We’d better get moving Doug. It’s not safe out in the open, especially at night.” Carmen pulled his arm as she began to walk away and he followed her direction.

They mostly came at night, under the cover of darkness, their rotten limbs reaching out. It was the reason the house was so important. It was sanctuary for the hours of darkness that fell over their world.

But it was gone, now just ashes in the wind.

“Yeah, we’d better get moving before the fire attracts them…” Doug paused to take one last look at the burning structure, his once rock solid feeling of safety disintegrating like the studs of the house. Taking the moment to wipe the tears from his cheeks, he wallowed in his moment of sadness, unable to shake the feeling of doom that strangled his heart.

Feeling her hand on his arm, Doug turned his face to her, seeing the flames play across the drawn lines of her still beautiful face. “It’s time to go Doug.”

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