End Of The World, Beginning Of Love

           It was the war to end all wars. Total global annihilation had taken the lives of 85% of the world’s population.

           Among the survivors in Jamestown was a young man named Brock J. Littlefoot. He was the product of the love between his mother, an Irish-Canadian woman with fiery red hair and a temper to match, and a resident of an Iroquois tribe in Northern Ontario, Canada.

           Brock had the high cheekbones and tanned complexion of his indigenous father and reddish-brown hair which he inherited from his mother’s Irish roots. He had been taught how to survive in the wilderness all of his life. His mother was an explorer and his father was a tracker. Unfortunately, they were not strong enough to survive the nuclear fallout of the recent wars.

           After the first alert came on the news of a nuclear attack, Brock headed deep into the woods to a cave that he and his father had discovered years earlier. It traveled deep inside a mountainside and over the years, had been stocked with supplies for such an emergency. He felt confidant that he could wait out the worst during the rebirth of the earth.

           Along the way through the dense fir trees, Brock had heard the sound of a small plane flying above. The engine was sputtering and it sounded like they were in trouble. Soon after, the engines cut out and all fell into silence until the plane crashed through some distant trees. The branches snapped and popped as the plane made its unexpected descent. Brock rushed through the forest in the direction of the crash.

           When he arrived at the scene, Brock followed the trail of broken branches and plane parts scattered randomly among the ground until he reached the fuselage. The remains of a Cessna Skyhawk stood upright on its nose, hanging fifteen-feet up in a tree with the body of the pilot laying half out of the windshield, blood gushing out from his aorta. Brock searched the wreckage for other survivors.

           The door was bent from the impact and difficult to open, so using leverage and a strong branch, he managed to pry it open. Inside, wires sparked and everything had been overturned. Brock knew that he had to move fast. The body of a woman laid pressed up against the legs of the pilot in a contorted position. He assumed that there were no survivors and began to make his way back out of the plane when he heard a moan coming from underneath a pile of luggage and blankets. Carefully, he edged his way inside trying not to overturn the plane. As he moved the luggage out of the way, he was surprised at the beauty of the young girl who sat disheveled and bleeding below.

           “Take it easy. Try not to move just yet. I’m here to help.” Brock assured her. “My name is Brock, what’s yours?”

           Still disoriented and scared, the girl backed off at first causing the fuselage to shift slightly.

           “Please try not to move. You were in a plane crash and the plane is hung up in a tree. If you move too fast, it may drop, okay?”

           The girl nodded her understanding. “My name is Lisa,” she said. “Where is my mom? Is she okay?”

           “Let’s get you out of here first, and then we can talk, okay, Lisa? Now, keep your eyes focused on mine and do what I say. I’m going to get back outside and then help you. You must focus on me the whole time. Do you understand?”

           Once again, Lisa nodded her acknowledgment and followed Brock to the doorway. He eased his way through the door and onto a branch. After wrapping one arm around the trunk of the tree for support, he reached out for Lisa.

           Lisa reached out and took Brock’s hand, straddled one leg through the door, and as she twisted her body to climb out, she spotted the body of her mother laying twisted and bloodied on the instrument panel. Her eyes still open and staring directly at Lisa. She began to scream and tried to pull back and go help her mother, but Brock held her tightly. The sudden movement made the plane shift and it began to overturn. Brock quickly pulled Lisa to safety before it toppled. She wrapped her arms around Brock and held him so tightly that Brock was having difficulty breathing.

           Brock helped lower Lisa down to the ground and then climbed down himself. Lisa stood and stared at the wreckage in horror.

           “I’m sorry about your mother, Lisa. I truly am. If there was any chance to save her, I would have tried.”

           “I know, thank you,” Lisa began. “You seem like a decent guy. Thank you for helping me. Where are we?”

           “We are in the forest area outside of Jamestown, at the base of Logan’s Mountain. Where were you guys coming from and flying to?”

           “We are…were,” she stated, realizing that there would be no returning home again. “from Carnesville and we were on our way to our cabin in Williamsville when the plane ran out of fuel. The pilot didn’t have time to fully gas up before we left because of the attacks. We thought there would be enough fuel to reach the next airport at least, but he underestimated the headwinds. The last thing I remember was seeing the branches hitting the windshield before everything went black. I must have hit my head.”

           “Let me take a look,” Brock offered. “You do have quite the bump there but no blood that I can see. I will have to keep an eye on you just to be safe. You may have a subdermal hemorrhage.”

           “How do you know that stuff?” Lisa inquired.

           “Before the apocalypse, I was a paramedic. I have a first aid kit in my bag if we need it. We should get moving. It will be dark soon. My cave is just up the hill a little further. Are you okay to walk?”

           “I should be okay. Wait…cave? You live in a cave?” Lisa asked with surprise. “Are you trying to get me to follow you into a cave? What, so you can kill me?”

           “Lisa, please be serious. Why would I risk my life trying to save you if I wanted to kill you?” Brock retorted.

           “I guess that kinda makes sense. Okay, I’ll trust you…for now.”

           It was a twenty-minute trek uphill to the cave opening and then an additional five-minute climb inside to reach the first large cavern. Brock grabbed a few lanterns that he charged up by turning a crank on the side. Soon, the cavern was illuminated with LED light, so bright that it felt like daylight.

           Brock gathered up a bottle of water and some snacks for Lisa to replenish herself with while he tended to her scrapes and bruises from the crash. She gazed into the eyes of her savior as he wiped away the blood on her leg. Brock smiled and then turned his gaze away as his shyness kicked in.

           “I’m going to run back to the plane to gather up your things and any supplies that we might be able to use. I will be back in an hour. Please stay put and don’t try to leave. This is not the kind of place you want to be walking around at night when you are unfamiliar. It is very easy to get lost and there are wild animals around as well.”

           Lisa agreed and Brock headed back to the crash site. He grabbed her suitcase, a picture he found of Lisa and her mother, some flares, and a portable radio.

           “Lisa, it’s me,” Brock announced as he neared the cavern. “Is everything okay?”

           “I’m alright,” Lisa replied. “I’m just a little cold. Oh, good! You brought my suitcase. I have a sweater in there.”

           Brock placed the radio in front of them as he sat down beside Lisa. He found a station that was still broadcasting. They were describing the devastation around the world as countries were burnt to cinders. The broadcaster described the situation as “The end of the world as we know it.” All of the Southern States had been destroyed and parts of Canada had also met with nuclear destruction. It was unclear if there would be any livable areas left when it was all over.

           Brock looked over at Lisa and saw the worry in her face, so he turned the radio off and used the excuse that they needed to save the battery power. Lisa sat and shivered so Brock grabbed a couple of blankets.

           “Here, let’s cover ourselves up with these.” Lisa wrapped a blanket around herself and Brock wrapped up inside of his own. After a few minutes, Lisa continued to shiver so Brock moved closer and wrapped his blanket around the two of them. Lisa gratefully accepted the gesture and leaned in close to the warmth of Brock’s body.

           Brock set the picture of Lisa and her mother in front of them and they stared in silence for a moment at it, then Brock asked Lisa to tell him about her mother.

           “Well, she was a difficult woman to get along with on most days, but I know that she loved me very much. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here right now. She made me tough. My father disappeared when I was just a toddler and she raised me on her own. We didn’t have any other family to fall back on either, so she worked two, and sometimes three jobs at a time to make things work. I miss her so much already.”

           Brock held her tight in his arms to console her. It felt so good to the two of them to have someone to lean on during these times of unrest. Lisa looked up into Brock’s eyes and soon their lips met for the first time.

           That was when the ground shook, a bright light lit up the darkness of the night sky. Brock and Lisa held onto each other and continued to kiss until all memory of their existence was gone.