Hope Rises

Hope is a double-edged sword. At one moment, you can rally an army to fight against some designated evil. The next, you fall into a pit of despair, having it snatched away. This juxtaposition makes you wonder if hope is only useful to escape from the current reality.

And yet, that is the beauty of it. Without hope, it’s impossible to overcome insurmountable odds. Without hope, nothing can change. Without hope, people cannot exist. After all, the desire to survive stems from hope.

So, even as the world slowly reaches its end, what little hope that remains will…

Tick.

“Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!”

“Shh, shh. Everything is okay. You don’t have to cry. These are good people.” I rocked baby James up and down, trying to calm him. He seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to danger, crying to let me know. Even now, he wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t completely right either.

In this dilapidated church, the wooden seats typically pointed toward the altar were turned into barricades a few meters away from the door. Behind them were about ten people: a mix of men and women from different occupations. I noticed a few nuns and priests, a firefighter, a police officer, and a woman in a school uniform.

They each held a gun in hand, pointing them towards me. However, the only one loaded was the police officer’s – the rest were all empty. Either they didn’t have enough bullets, there was a lack of skill, or some were still scared to kill another person. I was leaning towards the bullet theory with how often the officer kept glancing towards his barrel. He didn’t have to worry about wasting one though, because…

Tick.

“Put your guns down. It’s not another faction,” the school girl ordered with a sigh, dropping her weapon to the side. The rest were slightly more hesitant.

The firefighter was excessively wary. “But we don’t know if she’s–”

“Do you think one of those, excuse my language, greedy pigs would be taking care of a child? Mothers don’t generally abandon their children, no matter what happens.” The school girl had a somewhat sad look as she said those words. It was enough to make the rest withdraw their weapons, although some were more reluctant than others.

The school girl then walked over to me, sticking out her hand with a smile. “Welcome to the Harmony faction. The name’s Andrea.” Right, a name. People introduced themselves using them, since calling someone ‘you’ would lead to downright confusion. I technically didn’t have a name, and most people just called me some random nickname based on my role at the time.

Tick.

“You know how you said you didn’t have a name… How about–” An old memory flooded into my mind. A campfire crinkled as the moon in the sky drew every closer to the planet, breaking up in the night sky. Its pull changed the tides and deformed the earth, eventually causing acid to rain down from the sky, the same that was dissolving my body at the time. In my arms was a friend, his face a blur, as he melted in my arms. He was the first person I told about my origins. But rather than locking me up, he gave me a name in his dying breath – one that I strangely resonated with.

Tick.

“Casey.” I said unconsciously, shaking the school girl’s, Andrea’s, hand with my own.

“Casey? That’s a lovely name. Are you here looking for someone or supplies?”

I shook my head to get rid of my sentimental thoughts. “Yeah, yes. That’s right. I recently ran out of baby formula for Jack, that’s the baby’s name, and I thought the church would be the safest place to obtain some more.”

Andrea nodded in understanding. “Makes sense. If you went to one of the supermarkets, they probably would’ve… yeah… Right! We have plenty of baby formula in storage?”

“That’s right,” one of the nuns confirmed.

“Cool, we can give some to you. It’s not like we have any other babies to take care of. At most a few kids. Though we would like to keep a few. I know it’s unlikely, but just in case. And we can pack some food for you as well!”

“Are you sure you should be handing out your supplies like that?” I asked, lacing my tone with suspicion.

“It’s fine. I can tell you’re not a bad person. Plus, we all need to have a bit of hope if we can ever try to bring peace and harmony before the end.”

I simply nodded in response. It seemed like my gamble paid off. These were genuinely good people. Or at least, Andrea was.

Tick.

“Hmm, the sun’s beginning to set. Don’t want to be out at night. Most of the factions are usually active then to try and gain some miniscule advantage,” she spat. “Where are you heading back to?”

Usually you shouldn’t tell a person where your base was to protect from raids, but I trusted these people enough to give a general area. “The trainyard. Was trying to see if I can get any to work.”

Tick.

Andrea’s eyes immediately glimmered at my statement. I didn’t understand why, but then I could barely hear the others whispering.

“The trainyard. Isn’t that where…”

“It is! But that would mean she’s the…”

“And she’s here?!? With her we can…”

Hmm, this was starting to become a bit worrisome. I wasn’t sure what they were saying, but judging by their pointing… there was likely some misunderstanding or exaggeration going on. But before I had a chance to correct it–

“Hey Casey?” Andrea spoke up, grabbing my shoulders with such force that I involuntarily flinched. A chill ran down my spine as I saw her grin with greed.

“Y-yes?”

“Since we’re giving you all this baby formula, I was wondering if you would, if you wouldn’t mind, and I mean if you really wouldn’t mind, be willing to join the Harmony faction. Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You could just help out here and there. Or just hang around and watch over… I mean, just sit around and talk. What do you say?”

…hope was quite oppressive sometimes.

Tick.