From Savon Hill with Love

Jenny squinted down at her computer, trying to read the email she had just frantically typed out. It was like trying to read letters written on the bottom of a swamp. Her computer was cracked in three places, and the screen had turned an ugly shade of green. Wiping away a few of the tears that had been making tracks down her dirt-covered face for days, she tried again.

Dear Leo,

It’s crazy to think that the last time we emailed, I was complaining about the bird that got stuck in my dorm when Sally left the windows open, and you were telling me about the horrors of the finance class your dad forced you to take. How could we have known that three days later the world would come to an end. 

I’m not even sure if this email will get to you or not. My phone screen is smashed so completely that I can’t even get it unlocked, but somehow my computer is still connecting to my hotspot. The cell towers must still be up. 

I’m so scared. The smoke is suffocating, and I haven’t been able to find anything to eat. Everything is on fire. I’ve been trying to make my way to Wisconsin to find you, but the Resistance is everywhere. They’re rounding up any survivors, and people say they’re not above torture. They’re trying to figure out who’s behind the explosions. 

I wish I could go back to last week, when I had no idea the Resistance existed. Four days ago, I was thinking about dying my hair blue and spending hours on Zillow searching for two bedroom apartments in New York City. I found one that was completely perfect for us. I was so excited to show you. I was waiting until I could see you in person, so I could watch your face light up. It’s a two bedroom on the Upper East Side,  with a dark room where you could develop your photos, and an office where I could review my research at home. The building was twenty stories high and right next door to a Smoothie King. It was probably destroyed along with everything else. I was so excited - we were finally going to be in the same place again.

Leo, I have to tell you something. I haven’t told anyone, but I know you’ll keep my secret. I feel so horrible. It’s probably for the best that my two options at this point are to starve or to get caught, because I don’t know if I can live with this. Two weeks ago, I was transferred to a new lab. It was all very secret, and I had to sign several hundred pages of documents, including an NDA. I was told we were one of seventy-three labs all over the world, all working on the same experiments. I had no idea what the research would be used for - I assumed it was something for national security, but I thought we were the good guys.

A week ago, I cracked the code. The one they were all waiting for. 

It was me - I’m responsible for the explosions. I’m the reason the world ended. 

I’m so sorry, Leo. I hope you’ll still love me. I hope you’ll see I didn’t mean it. I hope I find you.

Yours,

Jenny

A crash reverberated around Jenny and her head shot up abruptly. She had been camped out in the abandoned Savon Hill train stop along Boston’s Red Line for two days. The entrances to most of the subway stops had caved in during the explosions, but she had snaked her way down an elevator shaft into Park Street and walked six stops to Savon Hill. She knew she needed to keep going, but she had no idea how to get out of the city without being seen by members of the Revolution. The Red Line tracks would get her to Mattapan, but she wasn’t sure about the 1,126 miles after that. All she knew was that she had to get to Wisconsin and find Leo. She had sprained her ankle as she tried to navigate the uneven train tracks on her way here, but as soon as it healed she would be on her way to him. 

She thought about the last time they had seen each other six months ago. They were home for winter break, and they had gone camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains. While they were laying on the ground, completely content despite the knobby roots digging into their backs, Leo had looked at her and smiled. “Good things are in our future, Jen,” he said slyly, and he winked at her. 

She smiled back, “oh yeah, and how do you know that?” 

“I just know,” he said. “I can feel it.” They sat in silence for a moment. “There’s something else I need to tell you Jen. I’m not sure if you’re going to like it” Jen turned to look at him then, and her hair got tangled in a small maple tree. She shrieked, and Leo laughed as he sat up to untangle her. Then he bounded away to their tent and returned minutes later, arms full of snacks and two bottles of water. Looking uncomfortable, he changed the subject, and Jenny let him. She was too afraid of ruining the moment to press him any further.

Looking back on it now, she wondered what he had been trying to tell her that day. 

Another crash reverberated overhead. The echo was so loud, it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. It sounded like the whole world was caving in all around her. Jenny looked up. She could barely make out the top of the long escalator that led to the exit, but as she squinted, she thought she could see the rubble wobbling slightly. She took a deep breath and hit send on her email, then gathered all of her belongings and crept over to the indentation under the escalator. Above her, the neon “Savon Hill” sign whined and creaked.  

She hissed in pain as she put pressure on her ankle. The sounds above her were getting louder. She had no doubt now that the rubble blocking the entrance to her safe-haven was being shifted. She thought about running, but she glanced down at her swollen ankle and tucked herself further into the alcove instead. Her computer blinked and she watched the rainbow wheel spin and spin, stumped by the seemingly impossible feat of sending her email. 

"Please," she whispered to her computer. "Please send."

She heard the biggest crash yet, and what sounded like dozens of large feet stomped resoundingly down the escalator. She held her breath. As she considered who she was about to meet, three men rounded the corner. They were dressed all in black, and their faces were covered by bulky masks to protect them from the smoke. She slumped down, defeated. It was her worst-case scenario, one that she knew was coming. The Resistance had found her. 

“Over here, there’s a girl!” One yelled, and beckoned the others over to her. 

“You’re going to have to come with us,” he said, and grabbed her roughly. The other two started snatching up her stuff and jamming it into a backpack they had brought with them. One stood up to face her, with her laptop in his hands. As he looked at her, she saw a brief flash of recognition in his eyes. It was gone in an instant, but her eyes widened as she took him in. She knew those blue eyes and golden curls. “No..” she gasped, as she was pulled up the stairs. “Leo, no, what are you doing here!” She was screaming now, her mind swimming with disbelief, unable to comprehend Leo in his Resistance uniform. Her mind flashed back to that night so many months ago. 

“There’s something else I need to tell you, Jen. I’m not sure if you’re going to like it.” 

Jen sobbed, feeling utterly and completely defeated as she realized that Leo, the person she loved more than anything in the world, was taking her to what would surely be a slow and horrible death. She could only hope that they would never find out the massive part she played in the apocalypse. 

As Leo climbed the elevator behind her, she turned back to see that he had his phone strapped to his belt. Through her sobs, she could hear the unmistakable ping of a new email.