Expectations

“You know, many people thought it would be what they called nukes that ended the world, some US vs. Russia kind of stuff. Either that or the ozone layer would give in and the earth would be scorched to cinders by the sun.” Georgy said as he chirped away at the bark of a tree with a small knife. The chirped pieces fell into a bucket conveniently placed under. “Hell, some even thought it would be a meteorite crash into earth like it happened with the dinosaurs.”

“You are forgetting one thing,” Carl interjected. He stood beside Georgy’s crouched body and rested his back on a side of the tree, “Armageddon, the hosts of heaven descending onto earth with fire and brimstone; would have been one spectacular sight.” Carl said and chuckled softly.

“Yeah, I guess it’s not time for that.” Georgy said and stood up to stretch his lean body. 

“You can imagine the surprise when people found out it was the earth itself doing the dirty job. When you think about it, it’s kinda like when you set a burrow on fire or flood it to get the rabbits out. You could say the earth don’t want us here no more.” Carl said, smiling about what he considered a wise and insightful thing he had just said.

Georgy suddenly stood up and dropped his knife into the bucket, he said seriously, “let’s get back to the others, it’s getting dark.” Carl nodded in agreement. Georgy picked the bucket and they both trudged towards their camp as the dusk fell on the earth.

*

It was over a hundred years since the people of the earth first learned that the earth’s core was rapidly heating up. No one knew for sure what caused it. As with the threat of climate change, no group or government had taken real, practical steps to preventing or managing any impending disaster. Politicians saw an opportunity for furthering their campaigns or slandering the campaigns of their opponents, businessmen had tried to sell it; natural disaster insurance, kits and solutions. The preachy ones foretold that this was like all things, a sign of the end and tried to win souls for their cause from the resulting scare. Generally though, this was received as just another ‘improbable’ prediction or science fantasy of paranoid scientists and conspiracy theorists – like the sun dying out, a zombie or robot uprising. Only a year after the first warning, people would watch with dread as Antarctica and the ice caps melted rapidly, raising sea levels unprecedentedly. The northernmost and southernmost regions of the earth would be the first to be affected by massive flooding and heavy monsoons. Residents of these areas (some of which had previously been dubbed the happiest and safest places in the world), were pushed from their homes which had become inhabitable. The same thing happened to the shoreline regions. The world was still trying to deal with the new refugee problem when the volcanoes happened. All over the world, volcanoes which had been dormant for centuries and the few active ones, erupted simultaneously, spitting fire and magma over all surrounding lands. Millions died and billions of dollars worth of property was destroyed. After the volcanoes, things happened faster than people could plan for or manage. The land and the seas were poisoned by minerals seeping from the earth’s core. More than 60% marine and terrestrial plant and animal life was lost. The crises of refugees and hunger that resulted were unmanageable by world governments. Borders were overrun by hordes of people trying to escape the water, fires and hunger to find a place that was still habitable. Countries tried to protect their borders first with diplomacy, then with their armies but they could not keep this up for long. The strong countries which were affected invaded weaker countries, alliances formed and people fought each other as much as the earth fought them. The world descended into war, anarchy and chaos which lingered for years. When the chaos settled, the few lands that were still livable were overcrowded and a new problem came about; disease, crime, strife between neighbors and the persisting hunger. Governments, economies and markets collapsed, ushering a new ‘every man for himself’ type of world. The human population which had once been counted in billions declined to a few hundred thousand. The remaining people were lone men, small groups or group aggregates traversing the world, directed by the presence or absence of food, much like the first men and the cruel earth they had lived in. The new governments were simply a bunch of hopefuls and do-gooders with little or no power, who tried stubbornly but with small results, to bring some sort of organization and order to the world.

*

The camp was set in what was once a football stadium. The grass on the pitch was withered and the ground was caked. Beams hung loosely above to the point of their attachment, some had already dropped. The walls were cracked and the glass doors and windows were mostly broken. At the center of the once-upon-a-time pitch, the camp fire flickered, dancing to the tune of the soft breeze as it illuminated the faces of the people who sat around it. The moon was a half-moon and together with the numerous stars that sparsely dotted the sky, gave a grey transparent luminescence to the night. Six people sat around the fire; George and Carl who have been introduced earlier, an aged man, two young women and a young boy - the youngest of the group. There were few available topics to talk about since apocalypse, mainly: the Apocalypse, search for food, contemporary history pre-apocalypse or any miscellaneous issue that concerned them.

"I hear there is food up north." Liz said. Liz sat close to Carl and rested some of her weight on his side. She had a plain face, but her feminine features were prominent; a large buxom and curvy thighs, all visible from the silk gown she wore.

"From where?" Carl asked inquisitively. "When I was gathering sticks this afternoon, I saw a company moving North, said they heard reliable info that there was food there; fruit and corn are budding again, according to them, there are even lots of rabbits." Liz said. 

Georgy chuckled softly, "What do you think of that Hans?" he asked, turning to the old man. "Most times, these are just rumors. There's still enough to pick and hunt around here. No need to consider moving now." Hans said with conviction, everyone seemed to agree with him. The young boy whose name was Jay spoke.

"Rabbits sure sound nice. The only things left around here are mice, bugs and edible tree barks. If I have to eat tree bark another day, I swear I'll die from constipation. Do you know how hard that makes your shit?" Jay said. There was a short laughter in the group. 

“They pacify your hunger and keep you alive, you should at least be grateful for that.” Georgy said seriously. A brief moment of silence and tension followed before Liz spoke again. “There’s hardly food for everyone and this one wants to have a baby.” She said, flicking the side of Carl’s face. 

“Really? A child?” Rosy, the other woman in the group, said with sudden interest in the ongoing conversation. She was seated beside Georgy but did not cling to him as Liz did to Carl. Rosy had a pretty and smallish face and everything about her said the same thing; the outline of her body, the quality of her voice, and the manner with which she rested herself in space.

“Hey, hey, it was only an idea, I was just thinking.” Carl said defensively.

“That’s how everything starts, you better stop thinking like that.” Hans said sagely.

“Better still, get a vasectomy the next time you see one of them government mobile clinics, just to be on the safe side. This isn’t a world to be raising a kid.” Georgy said.

“But one day it might be. A vasectomy is going too far.” Rosy said disapprovingly. Georgy turned to her and made as if to say something but stopped himself before the words left his mouth. 

“Thank you. You see it the way I do.” Carl said to Rosy enthusiastically, encouraged by her support. “I mean, if we all refuse to have kids, what will become of humanity’s future? Who will rebuild this world and civilization? In my view, making children is our responsibility to the earth and humanity.”

“Humanity is way overrated.” Jay said indifferently.

“I need to piss.” Georgy said and walked away from the group into the distant darkness. Everyone was quiet again before Liz, for the second time, broke the silence. “Are you and Georgy fighting? I’ve noticed some tension between you two.” She said to Rosy

“Just some minor arguments, nothing too serious.” Rosy said quietly, looking into the fire.

*

 “I’ve been thinking for some time.” Rosy said. She and Georgy were seated under a shade created by a weathered canopy. “You’re always thinking,” Georgy said fondly, “what is it this time?”

Rosy sighed then said, “It’s about the rumors that there’s food, better food, up north. I met some people travelling there while I was gathering sticks yesterday. They said the earth is finally cooling, plants are growing well again and the wildlife is returning. They said, the government is making special efforts up north.” Rosy said solicitously.

“You are not really considering going, are you?” Georgy asked apprehensively. “You heard what Hans said, these are all probably rumors.”

“And they are probably true too. I’m just saying, there is nothing much left around here, moving might be better for us.” 

“Better for us or better for you?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You’re always doing this; making decisions for us based on what you think and want, without considering how it affects me.” Georgy said in a wounded voice.

“I can’t believe you are saying this.” Rosy said with affected incredulity. “Do you know how much I have sacrificed for us? For you? I’m here in the first place because of you. I left the comfort and safety of my family to move around with you. How you can still say these things to me?”

“So we are talking about sacrifices now?” Georgy said with a downward inflection of his voice. “I gave up the chance to join the Mars Program for you for Christ’s sake.” He continued, raising his voice. The Mars Program was from ten years ago, when a group of scientists had managed to fix and redevelop a spaceship which had been made pre-apocalypse for a mission to mars. People had joined the mission, a desperate attempt to escape the dire conditions of earth. Georgy had wanted to go, but Rosy was scared and doubtful so he had stayed. 

“You’re still on that?” Rosy asked incredulously.

“Yes, I’m still on that. Do you realize the opportunity I gave up?”

“You gave up nothing. You didn’t go because you too, knew that it was a crazy plan with a slim chance of success. All the people who went are probably stuck somewhere in space or space debris now.”

“We don’t know that. For all we know, they are on mars right now, building a human colony.”

“How can you even think there’s a better chance of surviving on mars than on earth? Do you believe that or as always, are you just trying to paint all the things you think you might have had but never had as sacrifices you made for me?”

Georgy did not answer immediately. “I don’t like it when we argue.” He said calmly.

“I don’t either. It’s just that sometimes, you make things so hard for me.” Rosy said, suddenly breaking into sobs. “I just want what’s best for us and the baby.”

“What baby?” Georgy asked sharply, almost hostilely. Rosy continued sobbing and did not answer. “What baby?” He asked again. “I’m…preg…nant.” She stuttered in between sobs.

“You’re pregnant?” Georgy said alarmingly.

With flash movement, she turned from him and broke into a hysterical run. Stupefied, he watched her as he tried to come to terms with what he had just heard.

After some time, Georgy went in search of Rosy. He checked the rooms where they usually stayed, the bathrooms and Liz’s room but he did not find her.

“Hey Georgy,” Carl called as he walked through the pitch to the other side of the stadium. “You look glum, what’s wrong?” Carl asked with concern. “Nothing.” Georgy said unconvincingly. Carl did not seem to notice. He worked on the engine of one of the motor vehicles that had been left at the stadium. “You know, I’ll always be grateful that these solar-powered cars were made before the apocalypse. Can you imagine how life would be if we still had to rely on petrol powered cars? We would have to walk everywhere like prehistoric people.” Carl said and laughed boisterously, amused by what he had just said. “Can you imagine us trekking all across the country?” He noticed that Georgy was not smiling or paying attention to him. “What’s the matter?” He asked.

“Have you seen Rosy?” Georgy asked. Carl pondered for a while – raising Georgy’s hopes – then said no. Georgy sighed. “She’s pregnant.” He said as though he was delivering terrible news. Carl took it slowly and thought for a while what best to say. “Wow,” he let out as if the word had forced its way out his lips, “that’s huge. Maybe I should seriously consider this vasectomy thing.”

“Don’t you even dare.” Georgy said smiling weakly.

“She just told you?”

“Yeah.”

“You should be with her.”

“I know.”

Georgy found Rosy at the most dilapidated section of the stadium, standing beside one of the few standing rails and staring at the sky. He walked up to and stood beside her. “Hey,” he said carefully, looking up to the sky as she did. The sky was a clear azure with lines of white and grey here and there. It was empty up there; even the birds were scarce nowadays. 

“Hey,” Rosy answered softly.

“How long?” He asked, making efforts to make his voice as soft and appeasing as he could.

“A month now.” She said

“When were you planning to tell me?”

“You would have to know eventually.” She said, looking down at her tummy.

“What now?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Rosy said and the sobs threatened to break free.

Georgy shifted more closely to her and wrapped his arm around her. “Maybe moving isn’t so bad. We could find one of those government communities you’ve been talking about. It would be a safer and more stable environment for the child.”

“Oh Georgy…”

“Have you thought of a name?”

“It’s a little too early for that Georgy.” Rose said amidst stifled sobs.

“If it’s a girl, we’ll name her Rosy, and if it’s a boy, he’ll be Georgy.”

“Sure, that’s fine.” Rosy said, still struggling to keep the tears at bay. 

“Maybe as Carl said, our child might be the one that changes the world.” Georgy said smiling. Rose said nothing; instead she sniffled, fighting the tears.

“I still mean what I said to you all those years ago; whether the sky turns red or the earth burns to ashes, as long as I have you, life will remain beautiful.” Georgy said squeezing her shoulders affectionately.

“I Know.” Rosy said in a whisper, as though she did not want the wind to share in this secret of theirs. She squeezed his hands gently and reassuringly as the tears finally broke free, streaming down her face slowly and with it, went all her anxieties and worries. She let her head rest on Georgy’s firm shoulder and wrapped her free hand around his waist.