With a sharp breath the cold air filled my lungs; I awoke into a pitch black abyss, the same as every day. My name is Vova, and I was only twelve when the great darkness fell upon us. Now I’m sixteen, and the as far as I know, I’m the only survivor in the region. I’ve attempted to scout out across the city but to no avail, I am still the only one breathing. Ash still falls from the sky, staining my clothes and face as I look into what used to be the sky, now only darkness. The great darkness fell upon us when our most intelligent scientists tried to harness the power of the sun directly, ending in an explosion of ash, flame, and lava. I can still hear the screams flood my mind and feel the heat radiating against my body.
If only we would have been happy with what we had, and not strived for more power than we could handle, I would still have my family, friends… H***, come to think of it, I’d still have strangers. After moping I decided to get up, throw my haversack on, light my lantern and set off to search for any sign of a survivor, but so far all I’ve been able to dig up are ash and blood stained cadavers. Upon walking down this lonely road I stumbled upon a heavily smoking area, so quickly I pulled my gas mask out of my haversack and put in a brand new filter, taking a deep breath of clean air. Upon entering this toxic area I come upon a heavily bushed area, quickly unsheathed my survival knife, and cut my way through, continuing my path. As I progressed through, I felt something under the ash moving, not wanting to hesitate I began to ran as fast as I could, hoping to get out of this area. Suddenly a vine burst out of the ash on the ground and wrapped around my leg, tripping me. Quickly I sliced the vine with the blade freeing myself to only be restrained by two more rough vines; cutting them as fast as I could so that I could bolt for the exit, tearing away from the grappling vines that were trying to pull me down. With both lungs holding as much air as possible, I burst through the exit, rolling down an unexpected hill before my head made contact with a concealed rock hidden under the ash. Pure darkness.
I awoke to a dim blue-tinted light, It must be night time now… The moon is the only light I have to look forward to since the great darkness fell. I wiped the fallen ash from the gas mask lenses and jumped as I glanced to the left. I saw a dark figure dart into the distant trees. Joy swelled within me; I may not be the last one here! I quickly ran towards the trees, only to see another dark figure out of the right side of my eye. I decided to change direction to stop this figure, only to be rewarded with nothing. I quickly turned behind myself and finally saw what this was. In all my years of searching, I can’t believe I’d never seen the wind blow the ash in such a foolish manner. Discouraged I began to drag my feet, still following the general direction of my chosen path. Not too soon afterward I stumbled upon a stream, polluted with ash, almost leaving nothing pure within.
Slowly I backed up and leaped over the stream, falling face first into the ash covered ground. I lifted myself up and noticed my filter had somehow been dented. Just my luck eh? Unsure of the air around me, I took one last deep breath and quickly exchanged filters, freeing some space in my haversack. I began to jog until I reached an abandoned home that I slowly made my way into, scavenging for food, water, and any other source I could use to further my survival. Luckily I stumbled upon some bottled water and well preserved fruit, and after a quick bite I filled my haversack and ventured off, once again, hoping that my goal-less adventure would bring something other than loneliness and depression. After hours of walking the moon began to fall, and dawn was nearing. Noticing I didn’t have my lantern anymore, I set up camp, burning what flammable materials I could find in the area, before falling asleep with an ash bundle as my pillow. I awoke again, to a dim blue-tinted light, only this time it seemed to be slightly dimmer. I gazed into the moon as the wind blew ash into the fire; a cold chill running up my spine, the Moon was growing distant. I think our planet is falling out of orbit…