I peeked my head around the corner, listening for something in the darkness that I didn’t hear. I had never been out past sunset, and at that moment I could feel myself regret it. I moved slowly, careful not to disturb anything on the ground. The city was deathly quiet, and I silently wondered if anyone occupied the other buildings near me. I let out a silent breath and began to move again, my bare feet making a dull patting sound against the cracked cement. I’d learned to wander without shoes. Shoes caused sound, and sound drew Them.
A bead of sweat dripped from my brow onto one of my eyelashes and I reached up, sliding the back of my wrist across my forehead, collecting the beads of sweat that had formed. I stumbled over a piece of broken cement, and slammed my toe directly into it. I hissed through my teeth and leaned against the wall next to me, holding my foot in my hand. The toenail was peeled up from my toe and was bleeding slightly. When I placed it back onto the ground and began to walk again, a surge of pain jolted up my leg and the hairs on my arms stood up.
I clenched my teeth hard and continued to limp toward the street that was oh so familiar to me. Once on that street, I allowed myself to sit on the curb of the long forgotten road and I caressed my injured foot. A drop of blood found its way down the side of my foot and dripped onto my other leg. I wiped it away with my fingertips and placed it back onto the ground, applying small amounts of pressure at a time. 
Cursing myself silently, I hobbled toward my small home. Once at the door, I pushed gently on it to prevent any sound to be made from the old wooden door. Once I’ve completely made it inside the house, I slumped against the door and began to silently weep. I wasn’t able to retrieve mother’s medicine today either. Without it, there’s a possibility that she will die.
“Michi?” my mother’s voice called from the darkness, beckoning me to reply to her plea. I stood carefully and limped toward where her voice came from. When I entered her room, I was met by the stench of human life, and the color black. “Michi, is that you?” my mother asked from her bed. I nodded and kneeled beside her, carefully peeling away the bandages across her face. When they were removed, I tore my shirt to cover the gaping holes where her eyes once were.
“It’s okay, mama. I’m home and I’m safe,” I whispered and her fingers relaxed slightly on my sleeve.
“Thank the gods for that,” she whispered weakly, and before long she slipped into a heavy slumber. She lost her eyes sometime before spring; it was almost mid winter now. She was out fetching water from the well down the way when one of Them came and attacked her. I heard her screams from the house, and ran to her aid. I scared the creature away by throwing the water at it, turns out that their paper like skin shreds when met by water.
I sighed and slumped against the wall outside my mother’s room. The creatures were made as weapons to prevent the mini war from getting too out of hand. Judging by how little people there are now, and how many creatures still lurk in the shadows, it worked, but got out of hand quickly. The creatures have no visible weaknesses, and are practically indestructible, unless water is applied to their skin.
I could hear my mother’s breathing slowing from the other side of the door. She hadn’t had her medicine in almost four days, and it was finally taking a toll on her body. She had a thing she used to call blood sickness, something that made her prone to almost everything. I remembered when I was very young and she came down with the Starving Flu, something most people would catch after they lived through the Starve. She almost died many times that year, and because of her blood sickness, she would have moments where her body would spasm and her eyes would roll back in her head. Soon, there is no longer any sound coming from my mother’s room, and I was left alone.
I buried my mother outside, next to my younger brother and father. They died when I was young, both at relatively the same time. I didn’t remember either of them well, just how often mother would cry all alone at night. She made it a habit of hers, to never cry in front of me. I caught her crying once, and she just smiled and told me that crying showed weakness, and weakness meant death. I should’ve listened to what she used to tell me.
I cried for hours, until the sky began to turn dark. I made my way into the house, the house seeming to shift slightly when I closed the door. I’d been in this house since I could remember. Mom often used to tell me about life before the great wars took over the world. She would smile when she’d tell me how many people were alive; millions, even billions of people lived in this world. Now, I feel that I am the only one still alive.
The war was fought for almost twenty years, those not in the war starved in silence, my mother and father being among them. They lost most of their family just after the war began, depending on each other to survive. I was never taught what the word love meant, but it lingers in my vocabulary as if it was said over and over again. The feeling of love is said to be light, but for me, it’s heavy, lingering on the edges of my throat like peanut butter. Every time I thought about mama or papa, every time I thought about Asher, that was the feeling that I got. We weren’t old when we met, only old enough to understand how to say simple things to each other. He said the word once before the fever of the Starving Flu took him away from me.
My body felt heavy as I moved my head. The tear in my side was still bleeding, much more than it was when I was first attacked. I stayed outside too long, and the creatures knew I was there before I knew that they were. They attacked me, and I still lay on the floor of my home, my blood pooling around me as the world begins to turn black. The bright light around me warms my face and I smile as Asher stands with my father, younger brother, and mother. They were waiting for me, waiting for me to finally let go; for me to finally join them on the other side. I leave my body behind as I take Asher’s hand and follow him into the warm light.