The Aftermath Short Story

Improved Essays
1. The Aftermath

I stood before piles of burnt flesh. Ashes scattering in the air, made it heavy to breathe; torturing lungs. There were coughs from the limp body of survivors, those who slipped away from the death. Not many, of course. I’ve counted them. I’ve been walking around this destroyed village since I opened my eyes to pain that was pricking my body. At first, it was for water. My mouth tasted like cinder, my throat filled with smoke. I searched for water so desperately, until finally I found an old man coated in dust and ash, leaning against ruins, his hand holding a clay pot.

He reached out his hand and gave the pot to me without words. I took it with gratitude. There was barely water left in that pot, but it’s enough for me to
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I wasn’t a ‘people-type’ person; I didn’t like to socialize with people very much. I prefer stayed in my home, and left it only for school. So I barely knew the villagers. They might be my neighbours. They might be my schoolmates. They might be everyone but my mother and my brother, Taren. They’re dead. I knew that. Because my mother’s dead body was hugging me when I woke up from my unconsciousness. Because, six feet away there laid my brother, not breathing, skin blistered, his leather jacket roasted black; he’s lifeless. I saw their dead bodies, yet I didn’t cry. I wonder why.

I wiped away the smear of black ash from my face. Something warm blurred my eyes. I’m not going to cry. I convinced myself from breaking the tears, then turned around to the survivors who were , by now, dipping their filthy bodies into the stream. The dirts mixed into water, creating a thick layer of gray in surface. I wonder if we could still drink this. I scooped the water with my hand and let the gray liquid slipped to my throat. It tasted awful. These people just threw away our only hope to survive this aftermath.

There was a tap on my back. Gentle, but it made me winced nervously. I looked through my shoulder. A boy. I didn’t know
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Another death. One of the survivors, an old woman went to the arms of death. I remembered her wound and burnt mark. When I saw that, I knew she would not go around any longer.

“I don’t know.” My voice was barely audible. I stared blankly to the woods. It was not likely any woods you would know. The woods was not green in color. It was a deadly purple dyed with a touch of brown and green. My mother told me that it used to be green in a time slot, in the past. But now, that was our woods looked like.

“I have this plan. We could go to the woods. Cross it, and try to find another village,” Zach spoke again. My attention jerked back to him.

“I never went in there,” I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t want to go there. But I also didn’t think that I would live here. This destroyed village couldn’t be the place for living anymore. He was right. We need a new place.

“I did. It’s not very kind of course. But I think we could make it, if we smart enough to stay alive,” he said. I pressed my lips, considering his plan.

“Go with me. I don’t have anyone I could I ask but you.” His eyes found mine, and we hold that stare for a little while.

“What about them?” I pointed my index finger to the other survivors.

“We could ask them to

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