A World Gone Mad

A Story by 21pens

the beginning of a story that I may or may not continue...

Swirling dust buried the brick building up to the second floor. Weak sunlight filtered through the brown clouds which perpetually covered the sky, hitting the windows, but reflecting nothing. They had long ago been scoured and covered by dirt.

On the third floor, there was one clean window, or rather one clean patch of window, letting in a shaft of illumination. But even the footprints leading to the daily-cleaned patch of window were half-dusted over. And the view inside... empty.

Empty chairs waiting patiently for occupants who would never return; lessons posted on white boards which would never be taught- never be erased, never even be forgotten again after they weren’t learned. Halls were dirty from neglect, janitors long gone.

A clock sat and looked over a silent library, it’s time long past correct, but it was stubborn enough to continue showing time during the End of Time. Saladan sat and listened to its simple mechanical bravery echo in the hollow school, echo though it was no longer there. It’s memory was her only companion in her hide-away from the outside world. The world that had gone mad.

***

“Shopping time” was brought on by darkness. But the darkness had changed from the Time Before. Saladan remembered when being wrapped in darkness was a good thing, comfortable. But that was when the stars were visible. Before the black became so thick that it choked you as you walked out into it. Back when the world was sane, you didn’t have to wrestle with the night to pass through it.

With her lightest clothing on Saladan made her way through the night. It was more like being underwater then anything, she thought, including the sounds. A muffled grunting wobbled its way through the thick air towards her, then a moan, then a sharp scream rent the disquiet. Sal sighed quietly to herself as the Damned began their nightly chorus. She had to be quick now, there was little time to venture once Satan’s Choir began to sing.

***

The broken door was only visible from the glint of broken glass in it’s frame. The lights of the convenience store had long since burned out, but Sal would have dared not used them anyway- being dead would be very inconvenient. It was, however, wonderfully stocked with food items of all sorts, dusty though the isles may have been. She walked up and down between the little shelves quickly, placing everything within reach into her bag. Even a dusty tin of cashews (which she hated above all) was taken. She then went behind the counter to look at the cash register, and see if there were still any working parts. The sight of the half open drawer with money spilling out did nothing for her, but the computer did. She quickly looked it over to see if it had any of the parts she needed. Very few were there, but it was something more then she’d had a moment ago. And moments were how she based her life now.

The janitors closet was next, and she stocked up on her cleaning supplies/bomb makings. It was a useful living in a school, you learned things every day. A quick look in the storage space provided a few useful crates to cart her haul back in, but little else.

Once she’d plundered the store of it’s goods she took one last look around. A small spinning rack in the corner caught her eye and she almost rushed over to it. With a covert glance around her, Sal pointed her low red light towards the dusty paperback books sitting so innocently before her. Books, even more than chocolate, were her one indulgence.

A shriek louder then the others hoisted her from her reverie. She quickly stuffed all the books that would fit into the bag, along with the food. Her time was up, she had to get back. Even the thickening dust on the air told her that she’d better hot foot it home. Night sandstorms were more common this time of year.

As she crunched over the still glinting glass, Saladan felt a vague satisfaction at having expanded her collection. But sliding past the door into the clinging wind and screams, she wondered if there would ever be anyone alive to share her library with.

Or if she would be alive to share it with them.