A Little Less Lonely

Alice hadn’t seen her for some time, not since before the global catastrophe that took everyone she loved and knew away from her. A slew of mishappenings had taken the world by storm. It all started with a political uprising that led to the destruction of first her country and that eventually seeped out into the rest of the globe. A global disaster that quickly overwhelmed the human population. She awoke to find one day that the violence had reached her province. A typically peaceful place in Canada filled with beautiful mountains and kind people. She didn’t even live close enough to the major cities that were filled with a never-ending civil war. Still, it came to her calm small town destroying almost all of the beautiful old buildings and tearing up the farms and the local commonplaces. It was on a cold day in March that the plain-clothed soldiers came to take over. Alice and her family and close friends had heard that a neighboring town had been taken over just a few nights before. Arbor had been ruined and soon they all knew that perhaps their Milbury would be overrun as well.  

Well, it wasn’t too long that their fears became true. Upon hearing about what had happened to Arbor, everyone got prepared and stockpiled all the weapons they had. While also putting up barricades around the borderline of the town. None of these safeguards could have saved the townspeople from what was about to happen. For on a chilly but beautiful day, the violent people came breaking down the hastily put together wall. They had made it into the outskirts of town, yelling and shouting while firing warning shots into the air. Rifles and pistols in hand, the people of Millbury went out and attempted to defend their home. When the invaders had made it to the square with casualties on both sides, some of the entourage started to throw grenades into the windows of all the shops. Alice’s beloved crystal shop was blown up, leaving nothing but charred and broken rocks and tattered signage. Fiona was right there with her, holding her hand as the tears streamed down Alice’s face. They continued to throw grenades and rocks into all of the shops and local eateries. Taking everything that Alice knew and cared for away from her. 

Then, the unthinkable happened, she watched her father bravely go up to a man with a pistol attempting to shield Alice and her girlfriend from the man who was running towards them armed. Alice had a small gun in her hand and she fired towards the man as her father and the angry man were coming face to face. She missed though, and the bullet went far off into the distance, she couldn’t see where it went. Then she heard the sound of a gun firing into her father’s heart. It felt like a long time although it was only seconds before he doubled over, the breath leaving his chest with a final cry out in pain. To her surprise, the guy who had just murdered her father moved on without so much a second glance and ran towards another person making them a victim as well. Alice and Fiona ran over to him as her mother screamed and cried while she too ran over to meet them over his lifeless body. They weren’t paying attention to the other ruthless men and women that were firing at will all around them. So, one of them was able to shoot her mother in the back as she was holding her father in her arms sobbing. She collapsed over him, and Alice cried out in anguish, clenching onto her girlfriend’s hand. 

There was nothing she could do but angrily spring into action, looking for the people who had killed her parents. Unsure of who did it, she started swinging around her pistol that only had a few bullets left. She fired a few towards a band of rivals that were chasing her friend Thomas thinking that she may have spared him. Fiona gestured towards the city hall that had not yet been torn apart by a grenade. Alice followed her to the building and a few of their fellow friends followed them to it as well. Fiona tore open the door as they could hear the sound of rounds going off around them and the howls of those who had been maimed. Everyone shuffled in, sobbing and frightened. Clearance suggested they head for the basement. No one else came up with a better plan, so they ran towards the door to it in the back of the brick building. Alice hoped that if they did throw a grenade into the place that maybe they would survive underground. About half of everyone was down the short stairs into the basement when the sound of an explosion hit their ears. It seemed that in unison they all wailed as the building fell apart around them. Someone who had not made it into the basement must have pushed the door closed because the debris did not fall initially into the dark space. 

Breathing heavily, Alice moved with the others deeper into the basement and they all took positions behind the old stacks of files and creaky furniture. As Fiona crouched behind a file cabinet her fingers fumbled over what felt like a large flashlight. Taking a few seconds to find it, she was able to press the button to turn it on and it shined brightly. She aimed it towards the entrance of the basement and everyone else looked over. The door was starting to fall apart and there was the deep sound of someone knocking on the old cherry wood door. Alice expected it to be one of their friends that may have survived the blast and she saw Fiona turn off the flashlight. Then the door gave in and a few men and women covered in dirt came down the stairs aiming their weapons frantically around. None of the group of townspeople made noise until one of the people covered in grime looked down over a small desk and saw Clearance who was hiding in fear. They pulled him up by the back of his shirt and threw him onto the hard floor in front of the group of intruders. 

One of them said, “ Well, well, well, looks like we have a runaway here.” 

They all laughed a menacing laugh as one of them shot him in the head. Then they spread out looking for others. One by one those who had hidden were found and brought out into the center of the floor. To her amazement, Alice had not been found as her friends were gathered up. Simultaneously, the small group of her friends was taken out. One of the killers gestured to the door and they filed out back into whatever was left of city hall. 

Alice ran out from under the place she had hidden in that spared her the fate of her friends. Audibly sobbing, she looked at every one of them through the darkness wondering if any of them had been left alive. None of them stirred, she knew it was hopeless, they were gone. Even her beloved Fiona was on the ground, blood pooling beside her. Alice waited until she thought the coast may be clear and when she could no longer hear the sound of cries and guns firing. She went out through the busted open basement door and was met with dust and debris. The sight before her was that of horror, the hall was in shambles. She could see the dark sky through a large hole in what was left of the ceiling. Looking for an exit, she headed out of the back of the building where there was once a door. Then she darted her eyes all over the area and could not see anyone moving around or the people who had come in and tore apart her town. She thought either they must have left or most of them were slaughtered too. It was eerily quiet but some of the street lights that had not fallen were on. Exhausted, Alice headed for the only structure she could make out that was still standing. A small house just north of Main street, the one that the Leighs lived in. She found it was not locked and she went inside, their Sheppard barked at her as soon as she got in. She flicked the light on and called to Ollie, showing him who it was. Alice had dog sat for the Leighs many times before and often visited Ollie and the sweet Leighs often. After petting Ollie who was whining, she started to walk around the house trying to find any sign of life. She could not find anyone but completely drained she collapsed on the couch and slept while Ollie laid down on the floor beside her. 

The next morning, Ollie licked Alice’s face and she woke up startled. For she had to go out and look to see if anyone was alive and to make sure that she was truly safe. In the kitchen, she found Ollie some food and put it out for him. Then, having him stay because she didn’t want to frighten him, she went outside to look around. In the bright sunlight what she saw was unbelievable. Bodies everywhere and her town in nothing but piles of building materials. She ran over to where her parents lay, she called their names and cried for what seemed like hours. Then she went over to what remained of the shop she owned, something she had saved up for most of her life. Her knees buckled under her as she saw what she had dedicated her life to gone. There was no sign of the people who had stomped through the day before and had murdered everyone. Whether or not they left or they were killed as well, she did not know. It didn’t matter to her though, all of those she had known was gone. Later on, she walked the distance to the farms she grew up around. The barns and the houses were too destroyed as the town had been. Most of the livestock she saw were killed as well. When she rounded the back of the tethered barn the Felix’s had owned, she heard some chickens squawking. Alice found that the chicken coop had not been smashed like everything else. They were making so much noise and were moving around the coop, obviously spooked by what had happened. Then she heard the sound of a rooster crowing. So, she knew that at least she may have some access to eggs for food for now but what was she to do? Live out her days alone and devastated?

Shaking, Alice walked back over to the Leighs house where she had left Ollie. When she had walked by her own house she was not surprised to see that it was destroyed as well. She walked into the bright blue house and found Ollie right by the door. Happy to see her, he wagged his tail and whined in relief. Unsure what to do with all of the people strewn across the square outside, she decided to figure that out later. Then she rummaged around for some food. She found a few snacks and started to eat but she couldn’t keep anything down. Her stomach was in knots and she wretched. Completely unable to eat because of all of the awful things she had seen. Not knowing what to do, she laid back down and cried into a soft pillow she had found. A plan had to be made, she could not just lay around completely distraught. After napping, she gathered herself up and fed Ollie again. It looked to be sometime in the afternoon when she looked out the side window. All she knew that she could do, was try and make a living off whatever was leftover from the deadly fight that had happened.

Months went by and slowly over time, Alice buried her fallen comrades. She did not know what to do with the people who had murdered her friends and family but had been killed as well. Barely able to stand it when she picked up her parents and took them over to a grave she had made for them. Where she had adorned their burial place with beautiful rocks and a few crystals she found that was not completely blasted apart in her store. Throughout the trying times that she spent alone with only Ollie as a companion, she lived hard. Growing food from the leftover seeds, the eggs laid by the hens, and whatever else she could scrounge up. 

One day, she went into the basement where she had hidden from the savages that took the lives of everyone. Alice had been putting it off because she knew that her girlfriend was there amongst her friends and she had watched them all die a few months prior. The stench of death in there was just as unbearable as it had been everywhere else. She coughed at the dust and the smell and saw what remained of them. By this point, Alice had grown in strength, she had always worked out before but after lifting many bodies and working to provide food for her and Ollie she had developed strong muscles. As she looked around, she was shocked to see that Fiona was not there but Alice could have sworn that she had seen her lover dead that horrible day. Shaking, she called out her name, no response was given. Although Alice had swept through the town over and over again trying to find anyone left alive, she had not seen Fiona anywhere. Alice never went outside of the town either because she knew that it was probably unsafe. She knew that it was possible she would come across more violence elsewhere. 

Completely dumbfounded after she searched for Fiona, she went back at the end of the day to the house she had taken shelter in. A few days later, she heard a knock on the door and Ollie belted out his strong bark. Alice went to open the door, and to her amazement there was Fiona looking a little haggard, standing on the porch. Alice through her arms around her and hugged Fiona so hard that Fiona squealed a little bit. 

“You are alive,” said Alice with disbelief in her voice. 

Fiona shook her head tears in her eyes. They embraced again and Fiona came inside the cozy little cottage. They both sat down on the couch holding hands. Fiona described where she had been to Alice. Fiona had been a nurse at the only doctor’s office in Millbury. She described to Alice that when she came to in the basement, she came out into the town and did not see a living soul. Knowing where some medical supplies may be, she was able to find some supplies to stitch up the flesh wounds she had. Apparently, Fiona had only been knocked out by one of the other people who fell when they were shot. Somehow she had been spared from death. Completely scared, Fiona ran out of town and headed for Kelly hill. Where she knew some people dwelled. When she arrived there, she did not find anyone but all the small amount of structures were still standing. So, she decided to stay there, too frightened to return to Millbury. Living off of the food at the small farms there and the fresh spring of water nearby. Alice was kicking herself for not even thinking about leaving the completely destroyed town to look in other places for any sign of life. 

The two of them spent the rest of the day holding and loving each other. Alice relented to Fiona about how everyone was gone. All of Fiona’s family lived in Novia Scotia and they had heard that before Millbury was invaded, that all of Novia Scotia was wrecked. Fiona didn’t even want to go there to find nothing but destruction and her family dead. For at least the time being, Fiona and Alice stayed in what was left of Millbury and took care of each other. Before what seemed to be the apocalypse, they were planning a wedding. It was supposed to take place in the most beautiful venue in town. The place where everyone in the community gathered for town events and was shockingly still standing. Although they knew that no one would be able to attend aside from Ollie, they decided to have the ceremony anyways. By gathering flowers that bloomed in the surrounding hills, they decorated the lodge. They lit some candles they had made and began to say vows in an empty hall. Alice looked into Fiona’s bright blue eyes and told her how much she loved her. Using all of the words she could muster up to describe how relieved she was that she didn’t have to spend the rest of her days alone. They kissed for what seemed like a long time and walked hand in hand out into what was their new but difficult life.