Fragments of tomorrow 

„Just another broken generator. Doesn‘t seem like there‘s anything useful left!“ 

„Keep searching. Surely, we’ll find something. Anything at all, other than rubble and broken cables. I refuse to give up so easily. “ 

– 

„Here! I found cans of food that still seem edible. Help me pack them up. “ 

But when they emerged from the building, night was already approaching, and the surrounding vegetation cast long shadows over the landscape. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something moving in the shadows. „The mutants are here. We need to go now. NOW!“ Tugging her little brother Alex along, she made her way toward their temporary camp, as fast as she could without alerting anyone. They never stayed out so late. What was she thinking? It was way too dangerous for Alex to be here. 

Lost in the darkness and her thoughts, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Never had she been here before, and they had been stuck in this abandoned city for months. When trying to retrace her steps, though, she found herself looking right at a mutant. They were made mostly of a mixture of old technology from the year 2100 and plants, which ultimately won. They were the most gut-wrenching things she had ever laid her eyes on. The sight of the open throat and the being‘s flesh, full of glass shards and metal spikes held together by roots, made her whirl around and run deeper into the unknown. She might not know the area, but anything was better than fighting this thing while trying to keep Alex safe. Why did he insist on coming with her so late? Why did he sneak after her? She‘d have to figure out the consequences for him later. For now, survival was the only matter. 

Running up the overgrown stairs of a building missing its facade, she could only pray that she wouldn’t end up in a dead end. Everything was so collapsed that there wasn‘t any system she could rely on. Hurdling over fallen furniture and tripping over rotten shelves, all to escape the creature ripping apart everything in its way. So many doorways and windows were blocked off. There was writing on the walls, but she couldn‘t be bothered to read it while sprinting past. When she was left with no choice but to run up a seemingly endless staircase, she could only hope not to trip and fall right into the monster‘s gaping jaws.  

„There! We almost made it to the top. Keep going, “she said, trying to motivate her own tired body than Alex. He was still a teenager and seemed to never run out of energy. Stumbling up the last steps, her worst fear became reality. Right before her, there was only a gray stone wall ending in two massive piles of broken rocks where doorways once were. It was a dead end. When she turned around to fight so that her brother could at least get away, she found herself staring at empty stairs. Breathing a sigh of relief, she checked on Alex and started to investigate her surroundings. There wasn‘t much: just an old mattress on the floor, a burnt-out fire place, and what seemed to be an old journal. Were there other survivors here before her? Could they come back and find them snooping through their things? 

„He won’t return anyway if he’s still not back for the night, “Alex said as he sprawled on the mattress. She wanted to reprimand him for taking a person’s life so lightly, but noises from outside stopped her dead in her tracks. Looking at each other in shock, they both tried to control their labored breathing to be as quiet as possible. They should be at rooftop height by now, so whatever was sneaking around out there could possibly scale buildings. And it definitely didn‘t sound human. Creeping backwards instinctively, she accidentally kicked a stone against the wall, making her heart skip a beat. Whatever was waiting outside definitely had good hearing because the sound instantly drew the creature closer, clawing at the rubble of the doorways. That’s when she saw it. The writing on the walls wasn‘t mere graffiti by long-lost souls. They were warnings. From survivors before her time. 

Keep quiet! They can hear you. Make a sound if you want them to find you. QUIET! 

Warnings were written all over the room. How many lives were lost before they figured it out and were able to warn others? She didn‘t even want to think about it. Alex gestured towards the stairs and got up as quietly as he could. Apparently not quiet enough, since the creature outside started digging faster and managed to poke its snout through the small hole it had already made. Its flesh looked unnaturally rotten, half made of silver roots with black substance dripping off and smearing the stones. They had to leave as quickly as possible, but any noise would mean their demise. She thought running away from normal mutants at unnatural speeds and hurdling over obstacles in her path was nerve-wracking, but tip-toeing away from certain death when you want to be as far away as possible was another level of psychological torture. 

After what felt like hours, they finally reached the bottom and both loosened a deep breath. They were safe. For now, at least. 

But what were they supposed to do from here? Could they find their way back to camp? They didn‘t have much choice but to go outside again. At least the mutants seemed to be avoiding this area. She just wasn‘t sure if that was a good thing yet. Turning around to face Alex, she found him holding up an open journal. The page read: „At least we can communicate like this. Good thing I took it, huh? “She just shook her head and smiled at him. Accepting the pen he was holding out, she told him they needed to find somewhere to stay the night. Hopefully, the creatures here were as sluggish in the daylight as the mutants. She took his nod as a sign to carefully make her way out the door and back onto the street. After trying to stay near the walls for a while, so she wouldn’t feel so exposed in the empty space, they found a house that looked safe enough with mostly intact walls. It wasn’t very big, but spacious enough for the two of them. Since it was already October, they huddled up against the wall next to each other, trying to keep some warmth between them for the night. 

Unable to sleep, they used the journal to talk about the day again. But not even their body warmth could keep out the cold between them. The conversation turned to that morning. Lyra still couldn’t shake her fear. She scolded him, telling him that he should have stayed at their camp. She was the older one for a reason, and he should listen to her judgment. The night had been rough for both of them, and it seemed Lyra had struck a nerve. Hurt, Alex replied that if their parents were still alive, he‘d at least have someone sensible to listen to. 

“Alex, I know how you‘re feeling. I lost them too, but you can‘t blame me for that,” she wrote. 

He got up, still scribbling in the book. He threw it at her feet and made his way toward the doorway. She picked it up and read: „They at least got to prepare you for the life they left you with. All I got was abandonment! “ 

She quickly got to her feet, wanting to go after him and tell him that wasn’t true. That their parents fought so hard to keep their children alive. That they now depended on each other. But when she touched his shoulder, he tried to increase their distance again, getting even more agitated as he turned around to look at her. His face was contorted with rage, but she could only see the sadness in his eyes. She couldn‘t bear to look at him like that. As she slowly opened her mouth to speak, he realized her mistake before she did. His entire face was now full of fear as he whispered, „No!“  

But that was enough. Everything happened so fast. There was a howl in the distance that was getting closer incredibly fast. Before she could take a step forward, a gray, rotting creature straight out of a nightmare flashed past her. When she tried to focus on Alex again, she was only met with empty space where he had been standing. She wanted to go after him. She wanted to scream until her throat was raw to release the pain filling her heavy heart. She wanted to release the sob building in her throat. She wanted to do anything to trade back the death he spared her. 

Suddenly, human hands emerged from behind and locked around her midsection, while keeping her mouth shut. She was too shocked and hurt-filled to fight back. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she wouldn’t allow herself to sob loudly; otherwise, everything would have been in vain. She had to pull herself together and figure out the matter at hand: The stranger who had just saved her life. He sensed that she had calmed down and let her free herself from him.   

He stepped around her slowly, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. His face was shadowed by the hood of his cloak, but he slowly picked up the journal she had dropped. He eyed her while quickly writing down: “You’re lucky it didn’t take both of you.” 

She stared at him, swallowing hard. It should have. How did she deserve to stand here while God knows what happened to her baby brother. Seeing the shadow over her face, he quickly wrote, “Sacrifices are what keep the rest of us breathing. Don’t waste his.” 

She slowly took a step back but then reached out for the journal to ask him who he was. For a moment, only the wind answered. The distant howl had gone silent, but that was somehow worse. Silence meant that it could be anywhere. A shiver ran down her spine. 

Finally, he wrote again. “I’m someone who knows what that thing was. I know it will come back when it realizes it took the wrong one. It was here for you.” 

Her heart froze. But that was impossible. Alex was only attacked because he spoke out loud- 

“He got in its way. That’s different,” said the next journal page being shown to her. She clenched her jaw. Why her? Was his sacrifice useless in the end? She could only look at him helplessly. A million questions were on her tongue, but she was still kept quiet by fear. 

He opened one last page: “You need answers. And I’m the only one who has them. But we have to get out of this hellhole. Now.” 

The wind shifted again. Leaves trembled. Somewhere in the darkness, a twig cracked. She forced her feet to move, stepping toward him despite every instinct telling her it might be another mistake. But then she thought of Alex. Of his final glance and the silent plea for her to live. 

She followed the stranger into the night. 

Behind her, far too close… 

…the howl returned. 

Michelle Spranger