The Phoenix, 2022

Good News by Kimani Laumoli The morning sun shone on my face. I had just woken up, and they failed to catch me. I reached into my school bag and grabbed my watch that was gifted to me from my father. I never really wore it because the leather would always make my wrist sweat, but it always came in handy.

It was eight in the morning. I only got 5 hours of sleep last night. I then looked around me. Complete silence. You could hear the second hand ticking on my watch. Ever since the apocalypse, I couldn’t catch a break.

This morning was somewhat peaceful. My stomach made a giant yelp. I was starving. All I had for the past few days was canned beans and pudding. I needed something now. I heard a few gentle rustles in the leaves.

I stood up, stretched, and checked what was going on. A rabbit! Perfect.

I reached in my bag to take out the extra pistol my older brother found and gave to me.

All of the sudden I heard a loud shotgun cock. “Drop the weapon.

Put your hands where I can see them.” It was a man. His voice was very raspy and you could tell he’s lived to see a few things. He had a very distinct voice, but I couldn’t put my finger on who it was. “Who is it?” I said. “I don’t want any trouble. I got lost from my group and I just want to meet back up with them. “DROP THE GUN.” He yelled again. You could barely understand what the man said because of the raspiness. I gave up, and dropped my gun. “Okay, can we talk face to face at least?”

“Fine.” He replied. I turned around.

I could feel my heart drop to my stomach when I saw who it was. It was Peter, Cliff’s right hand man. I noticed he had a fresh scar on his face, and was bleeding in a few spots on his arms, probably from the thorns nearby. How did he find me out here? And what did he want?

And why was he by himself? Where’s Cliff? I had so many questions, but I couldn’t get a single word out. “Wha…uh…how…” I struggled to say. Peter looked at me and asked “Where the hell have you been? What were you planning on doing?” The truth was I escaped the camp and tried to find my old group. They told me that they would be in Akron if I needed anything. I needed their help. Cliff’s camp held me and my entire family captive, and I knew they had fighters. “You were gone for two damn nights! A wolf could’ve killed you out there, and probably would’ve if you stayed one more night alone. We’re going back to the camp now.”

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