I’ll Never Come Back

“Hello?” Xzeyko called into the empty campsite. For a place where only one person made his domain, there were quite a few tents set up. Were they for rations? Experiments? Graves?

He tentatively walked along the forest floor— the dry leaves barely crunched under his light frame. He knew the boy was a hunter, and as such, there could be traps scattered all along the site.

Speaking of traps, Xzeyko thought smugly. He eyed a somewhat obscured wire trap near a tree. If he could see that, then surely any animal could–

“Gyaaah!” A cord snagged his foot and dragged him up into the air. As he spun slowly, hanging by his ankle, Xzeyko sighed. Nice job, moron.

He curled up and grabbed the cord. If he could sink his canines into it, it would probably snap and let him down. He pulled it towards his mouth… and slipped, falling back down.

“You coulda called for help, you know.”

Xzeyko spun around, looking for where the voice had come from. “Hello? Are you– gah!” The wire loosened, dropping Xzeyko on his back.

He sat up, dazed and aching. “Owww. Give me a warning next time…”

The boy offered a hand to him, which he took. He looked up at him and realized that calling him ‘boy’ maybe wasn’t a fitting description anymore. He was still shorter than average, but he was much taller than Xzeyko.

“What are you here for?” the man snarled.

“I… I wanted to know what the city was like. ‘Cause I’m gonna try and go out there. I don’t want to live in the woods anymore.”

“…Follow me.”

The man beckoned Xzeyko into one of the tents. The inside looked about as unappealing as the outside— the only object of note was a small tin box. “You’re the one who made the stasis, right?” Xzeyko asked.

The man sat down and scratched at his stubble. “Yep. That’s me.”

“How… how old are you? If you know, anyway.”

“Turned twenty-one a couple days ago. Probably the only one left keeping track.”

Xzeyko sat down opposite the man. “So, do you know anything about Serpho?”

“Used to live there.”

“Well, duh, we all– um, I mean, about it now.”

He looked at the fabric ceiling. “A little.”

“Can you tell me?”

“They’re all hostile. Can’t go five feet without getting the cops called on you. Had a couple of cousins that let themselves get caught, never heard from them again.”

“What if I tried to sneak into someone’s house?”

“Depends. Do you know anyone?”

“No one that’s alive now.”

“I wouldn’t go for it, but you could try. Risky, though.” He blinked his green eyes at Xzeyko. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Xzeyko.”

“I’m Niko. Nice to meet you.”

The two sat in silence for a moment. Xzeyko grabbed his tail and flipped it over his leg. “I wanted to ask about something else, but it’s less for survival.”

“I don’t like gossip.”

“It’s not gossip. I just wanted to know what it was like having to deal with–”

“If you say her name, I’m kicking you out.”

“Well, you know who I’m talking about, at least.”

“Not who, what. That thing was barely even a human. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Was she related to you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“C’mon, please? You’re the only one who knows anything about her before she started rampaging.”

“And I’d like to keep it that way. You said you wanted to know about Serpho, so don’t push the topic.”

“She killed my parents! Don’t you think I deserve to know a little about her?”

Niko leaned in close to Xzeyko and hissed. “There used to be nine people at this site, and now it’s just me. What the hell do you think happened?!”

Xzeyko backed up. “I thought it was just you and her.”

“You thought wrong.” Niko took a deep breath. “Now go away before the sun rises, you dolt. If you really want to make it to Serpho, you have to go now.”

Xzeyko scrambled to his feet. “One more question.”

“I might not answer it.”

“Those claw marks on your cheek–”

“Don’t step on any traps on your way out.”

“It was worth a shot.”

Xzeyko opened the tent and clambered out. He was tempted to go searching around the rest of the campsite, but he decided against it— he didn’t want to piss Niko off any more than he already had.

Walking away from the camp, he noticed the remains of a construction site nearby. He remembered when there was a large building there. He never knew what it was for, but it was clearly abandoned when the second pandemic hit. It had to be demolished in fear it would collapse onto the highway nearby.

That highway would make a good path to get to the city, Xzeyko realized. He found a break in the railing and walked up onto its side. Now all he had to do was follow it all the way to the lights in the distance.

All he had to do was follow it to his future.

Bye, Mom and Dad.