The day is the 22nd of December. The year is 2012. My name is Korra and I am a survivor. I may be the only survivor. I haven't seen another person since the first bomb went off, at least not a living person.
We were all warned. The signs were there: a sickness that had started off small. The cases were spread out. The infected had been killed and disposed of. They told us we were safe.
It started in the Americas.
A man was shot and killed while eating another man who was still alive.
A woman was put on death row for eating her own child.
A cult was arrested and charged for kidnapping unsuspecting humans and hoarding them like food.
Those were the warning signs.
12.21.2012 11:37am
"Mom! We're going to be late!" Korra shouted towards the bathroom where her mother was still getting ready.
She let out a frustrated sigh before sitting down on one of the beds. It was a rather uncomfortable bed. The bed Korra had back home suited her. This one hurt her back. It was hard and made creaking noises any time she turned in the night.
The rest of the room wasn't much better. The yellow wallpaper was peeling off in several places. The mini kitchen looked like it was straight out of the 70's. One of the chairs at the dinning table was broken, causing it to rock back and forth whenever you sat down and stood up. The curtains smelled like her grandmother's breath and the lock on the door would break if someone knocked too hard.
Next time her and her mother came to the States, Korra would be making the room reservations.
Korra glared at the TV. It was currently tuned to an interview between a very professionally dressed woman and a man who looked as if he hadn't showered in days.
"The end is here. We were warned! All the warnings signs are there if you just look!" The man's voice rose with excitement.
"And how will the world end, doctor?" The woman leaned forward in her seat, faking interest.
The doctor smirked, suggesting the answer was simple and obvious.
"Aliens."
"Okay, okay!" Senna rushed into the room still trying to put in her second earring. "Let's go! Be sure to turn off that TV. I don't know why you even watch that thing. American shows are not appropriate for someone your age."
Korra rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh. She had heard all about why her mother didn't want her trying out for the American Olympic Swim Team.
"Mom, I'm 20 years old. You don't need to baby me anymore." Korra replied.
"But if I don't, who will?" Senna smiled and patted Korra's cheek before grabbing her purse.
"Did you get the room key?" Korra asked.
"Right here!" Senna held up the little plastic card as proof. "Now let's go!"
Korra rolled her eyes again.
Yeah, like I was the one making us late.
12.22.2012 12:02pm
Korra's calves groan in silent protest as she crouches behind a fallen highway sign. Smokes rises from a building just ahead of where she waits. The smoke is a black wall hiding the road before her. She narrows her eyes, trying to get a better look.
She needs to get out of the city. Radiation is what worries her the most about the current situation. She had learned about what it could do to the human body during her school years.
All around her buildings are falling apart. Bricks tumble onto the roads and crush cars under their weight. Cars line the roads. Some are smashed into each other, others are smashed into the sides of buildings. Here and there, bodies lie in the street. They do not move or show signs of any life. It is a ghost town.
Nothing in this place is familiar to Korra. It might as well be a whole other planet.
Korra spent hours just trying to find her way to the main highway. Now she finally comes across the entrance and of course her way is blocked by the unknown awaiting her in that black smoke.
BANG!
Korra's eyes dart to the right, seeking the source of the sound.
Out of the dark fog, a tall figure silently approaches her. It moves awkwardly as if unsure how to put one foot in front of the other.
"Uhhhh!" It moans.
Korra steels herself against the fear. There is no room for fear in this strange land. Fear is equal to death.
12.21.2012 12:02pm
"You're two minutes late." Coach Tenzin yelled from the other side of the large pool.
"I'm so, so sorry." Korra gasped in short breaths. "We hit some bad traffic and-"
"Save it. You can change in the locker rooms to your left."
Korra clenched her jaw.
It wasn't even my fault. And now I'm off on the wrong foot with my potential coach.
Without a word, Korra walked to the locker rooms. She kept her head high. She wasn't about to let anyone make her feel like shit.
Once inside the damp room, Korra threw her bag against the wall. It bounced off and landed with a quiet thump on the floor. She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself.
What am I even doing here?
Korra studied herself. She wasn't completely unattractive. Her skin was deeply tanned and smooth. Her bright blue eyes were wide and inviting. Her dark brown hair shinned even in the poor lighting.
Her mother had wanted her to be a model. Her father wanted her to be a doctor. But swimming was her passion. The water's siren song called to her ever since she was a young girl. She loved gliding through it, pushing her muscles to the limit. But that didn't mean she wanted to do it competitively.
When her parents realized that she wasn't going to model or work in a hospital, they put their full support into her swimming career. At first it had been exciting. Throughout high school, Korra had loved going to competitions and placing first every time. She was unbeatable. She broke every single school record in the books.
Korra knew she could do it. She could be an Olympic Gold Medalist. She had already been asked by her own country to try out when she was only 16. Her parents had even been supportive then. But she had declined, claiming she wanted to focus on school.
But is this what I want? Just to swim the rest of my young life?
Korra had spent so much time focusing on school and swimming, she never had a social life. She didn't go out to parties or to the movies. She went to school, practice, home to eat dinner and study and then to bed only to wake up the next day and repeat it all over again. She wasn't living. Her whole life she just mindlessly went through the motions only doing what she was good at, what she was comfortable with.
"You know what," Korra said to her reflection. "I'm not ready for this."
BOOM!
The concrete floor and walls rubbled. Bits of rock fell from the ceiling, hitting Korra in the head.
"What the hell?" She yelled, turning from side to side as if to find the source of the commotion.
"Korra!" Senna's shrill voice echoed throughout the locker room. It bounced off the walls making it impossible to hear where exactly it came from.
"Mom?" Korra raced towards the door.
"Korr-" Her mother's voice broke off in mid yell.
Korra stopped in her tracks. Her heart pounded in her chest as fear coursed through her veins.
12.22.2012 12:03pm
The figure is closing in on Korra's hiding place.
Can it smell me?
Korra holds her breath. A drop of sweat rolls down her forehead to the tip of her nose. But she doesn't dare move to wipe it away. Even the slightest sound could give her away.
It moans again. Its voice is deep like it was once a man.
Korra's fingers tighten around the broken piece of glass in her hand. She picked it up by one of the many abandoned cars. Any weapon was better than no weapon.
It's getting closer and closer, inch by a agonizing inch.
Korra debates whether or not she should just jump out now and kill it.
But what if there are others?
One loner is easy to deal with. But when the things are in a pack, it gets tricky.
"H-h-" It starts to cough out.
Now is Korra's chance. She needs to attack and kill it before it gets any closer.
"H-help… me…"
Did it just talk? Can they talk?
With a final step, it clears away from the smoke, exposing itself.
The man falls to the ground. From her hiding place, Korra can see the blood pouring from his right leg. He tries to stand up by using an abandoned car as support.
I'm pretty sure those things can't talk and this guy definitely talked. I heard him. Right?
"Is- Is anyone there?" The man coughs again. His hand slips from the car's side mirror and he lands on his knees, crying out in pain.
Okay. That is not my imagination. He's human.
Korra glances around once more to insure there is nothing lurking, waiting for her to take the bait.
She slips out from behind the bright green sign. Crawling on all fours, Korra makes her way through the few cars separating her from the injured man. When it's obvious the man is not going to jump up and attack her, Korra stands and walks carefully towards him, closing the distance between them.
Her footsteps are quiet. He doesn't even notice her approach until she's only a foot away from him.
"Who are you?" He scrabbles away from her as best as he can with his bleeding leg.
"How did you get that wound?" Korra ignores his question.
"I- um-" He glances nervously at his leg.
"Were you bitten?" Korra's hand tightens once more around the glass in her hand. It cuts into her skin but she doesn't flinch. The pain is good. It keeps her sane, reminding her that this is real but she is alive.
"No!" His gaze flickers to the weapon in her hand. "No! I swear! I fell and cut it on a piece of metal sticking out of the ground a few blocks over." His voice is frantic, running his words together as he tries to tell the whole story.
"What is your name?" Korra demands.
The man is clearly older than she is, late 20s or early 30s. He must be about 6 feet tall at least. If it weren't for his wound, he could easily over power her. His whole body is built like a deadly machine. But Korra won't let that intimate her. She is the one in control right now.
He hesitates before answering as if trying to decide to trust her or not.
"Amon." He replies in a deep voice. "My name is Amon."