Expiration Date

The sky was pitch black. The air was still. There was no distinguishing reason foreseen. It was a vast desert land; the lack of life was not visibly suspicious. The only oddity was the time of day. The watch on Cassidy’s wrist read three in the afternoon. The flashlight, that normally resided in her backpack, was in her hand, lighting the way. She had also shone the light on her watch, to determine the time. She trudged through the desert land, step by step. It did strike her for a second that the sky being pitch black was a concerning event. But the world was different now. The sun did not make its past appearances as it once did. The sun rose at sporadic times now. But although that was true; it did still seem odd. One moment, the sun was shining, and it was only seconds before the sun had disappeared and the sky had turned dark.

Cassidy continued through the land, flashing the light in front of her to lead the way. After about twenty more minutes, an abandoned gas station/market appeared ahead of her. The only distinguishable sign was the half-lit sign that read GAS. Surprisingly, the light was still partially shining after all this time. The gas station had been abandoned for some time now. Cassidy walked through the old glass door into the small vacant market. All the food and supplies were mostly gone, with only rotten remnants left behind. The coolers were dark and empty. Where the cash register once was, lay a stack of old magazines and newspapers. Nothing in the market was usable but Cassidy made her way back. Behind an old wooden door, there was an old drippy toilet and small sink with a rusted mirror. When Cassidy flipped the light switch, a low dim light cascaded the room. It was workable so she turned the flashlight off and set it to the side. Taking her backpack off, she placed it on the sink and briefly glanced at herself in the mirror. Her curly hair was tucked under a black beanie. Her eyes looked tired, but her skin looked healthy. She opened her backpack and pulled out her water canteen. Even though the water was not drinkable, she could use it for other purposes. She filled the canteen. She took a deep breath and counted to ten. Sometimes, she had to do that, or painful thoughts would cross her mind.

              When the takeover had happened, everything happened so devastatingly fast. An unknown army of crafted species began to claim the world. They destroyed the simple compacity that most humans had lived under. To make matters worse, the species had been created by the government and the government had lost control of the entity. Lives perished. Cities were cleared.

Cassidy was part of what was deemed as the extinct race. There were parts of the world where the race of humans was allowed to inhabit. But it was not everywhere, and survival was based off what one could manage and what one could make do. It took some bartering but to barter, a person needed something of value. And to barter meant going into territory, that was dangerous and did not always guarantee an exit. Cassidy had been able to survive based off her own intelligence and survival skills. And any interaction she had to make was with humans in the Lost Society, a group of individuals that helped others.

Cassidy gathered all her belongings and headed out of the market. She grabbed one of the old magazines and tucked into her backpack; reading old material was not necessarily a terrible thing. Sometimes it was a good escape. She turned her flashlight back on. With advanced technology, her flashlight did not need batteries for a power source. It was powered by fingerprint analysis. She had two in her backpack for backup.

She made her back out into the desert land, occasionally spotting a scorpion or a singular lizard. But the fear of any animal was slim. Cassidy could still not determine the cause of the dark sky, but she continued her journey. When her watch clock read five, she stopped at what looked like an old rest stop. A wild dog was lingering in and out of the area but not interested in Cassidy’s presence. A flash of light flashed in her face. A bright pink light. A quiet voice followed the light. “Who are you?” Cassidy hesitated but noticed a glint of a red patch in the corner of her eye. The telltale sign of the Lost Society. “Cassidy.” A brief silence and then the voice spoke again, “Malcolm.” Cassidy brought her flashlight up and a man’s face, with a shaggy beard and brown eyes appeared before her. He was wearing a green jacket with a red patch and a green hat that barely covered his curly brown hair. He began to speak again. “I would ask what you are doing out here but…I have, unfortunately, seen plenty of people that have your resemblance.” “I’m not sure what that means,” Cassidy responded. Another brief silence. “I can tell the difference between survivor and oppressor.” Malcolm gestured for Cassidy to follow him. She followed him but at somewhat of a distance. She had learned after all this time that trustworthiness was a lesser common trait. They walked until they reached a camper with two black Labradors sitting by the door. The Labradors did not look threatening, but Cassidy could tell by their heightened awareness by her presence that they were cautious of her sudden existence. Malcolm opened the door and headed up the steps. “I’ll wait here,” Cassidy told him. After a few moments, Malcolm reappeared with a small paper bag. “It is not much. Just a sandwich and an apple but its food.” He passed the bag to Cassidy and pulled a bottle out of his jacket pocket. It was small but the light from the camper’s door showed that it was clear liquid. “Clean water.” Malcolm passed it to Cassidy as well. “The sky really messed up my plans. It is odd, isn’t it? I do not think anyone anticipated it beginning this week.” Cassidy, unaware of what Malcolm was speaking of, remained silent. But Malcolm was noticeable of Cassidy’s silence. “How long has it been since you heard a radio?” Radios had become the main communication source, but Cassidy had not turned it on since yesterday morning. “About nine yesterday morning,” Cassidy replied. “I guess that would mean you missed it.” Malcolm sat down on the ground next to the two labradors. Cassidy turned off her light, so the only light was from the camper’s door. Silence filled the air for a time. Then Cassidy spoke, “What did I miss?” Malcom fidgeted with his boot’s laces and then looked up at Cassidy. “They say we have ten months left.” Cassidy’s mind went to several places before she said a word. “Ten more months until what?” Malcolm closed his eyes, and his face became expressionless. He crossed his arms across his body and did not open his eyes even when he spoke again. But when he spoke again, his voice was calm and collected register. “It is over.” Tears began to fall from Cassidy’s eyes. It had been a long time since she had cried. She felt her body begin to shake and the crying turned into sobbing, which felt uncontrollable. “Over? Over? What is…...”