2590.

• Zoe Rice, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2009

There’s a plastic bag tumbling by my feet,
The air is smoky, my lungs struggle for breath.
The world has collapsed.
I am the only living human left.
I have a raggedly beautiful teddy placed in my lap; I named her Maisy, she is my only friend now. I hugged Maisy tighter against my body, a strange warmness filled me as I stared into her beady eyes. I was born into an already dead world, a world that had experienced centuries of abuse.
I cough and wheeze, fighting to get the air into my lungs, a fight I’ve been playing more often these days.
I cover my mouth with a piece if hessian and slowly rise from my crouched position.
I pull Maisy up with me, we walk by the labs, all the lights are off and nothing has changed.
The concrete walls stand strong as always. I wish I was a concrete building, never dying, never loving, therefore never losing.
I close my eyes and count to ten, softly, desperately hoping that when I opened them again, I’d be in some beautiful place, surrounded by people that love me, I open my eyes, disappointment floods through me; as I see the land before me, a long stretch, barren in appearance.
I’ve never contemplated killing myself; I’ve always thought there must be something that was worth sticking around for, honestly, I’ve run out of hope.
The steel lab doors are cold on my finger tips, I push them open, a fresh breeze brushes against my face, it’s a big room that I’m in now, almost like a hall.
My eyes wander over to an old mirror, I see a little girl, staring back at me, her clothes hiding her limp frail figure, her long brown hair draped over her shoulders, a fringe once cut nicely by a hairdresser, now hung untidy on her fore head.
The girl’s body was covered in cuts, and her face was almost hollow now.
It was time for her to go.
I look away from the mirror, gripping Maisy’s hand all the more tighter.
The wall I’m facing now is lined with big glass tanks containing frozen bodies,
I know they’re in there, but I’m not brave enough to look for myself.
I put Maisy in my pocket and go over to the last remaining empty glass tank,
I look out the window of the building one more time, then we step inside.
‘until next time, world’
“Come on Maisy, we’ve done our bit.”