This Is Not the End

I woke up, blinking, as the light over my head shone unsteadily from its place on the concave concreate ceiling, now and then shutting off completely and throwing my adjusting eyes into darkness. My head was throbbing; its incessant beating speeding as my heart rate increased.

"Morning."

I rolled on my side stiffly so I could see where Zoltan was lying on a stone bench a few feet away. Between us were abandoned cots and boxes of supplies; I recognized them from my colony, and I foggily remembered Xyli and I stumbling home, dragging a semi-conscious Zoltan behind us.

"You ok?" I asked, and he shrugged, so I rolled onto my back and stared at the flickering light a little more.

We were back underground, in the abandoned subway terminal we called home, along with our colony of about three hundred women and kids. Most of the men had been recruited for the war a long time ago, and most of the teenage guys were in gangs. That's why I stayed here. It was a pretty chill place to crash after a hard day of foraging, with lots of nice ladies that would have your back.

One of these ladies approached me, a young woman whose husband was recruited then killed in Africa, leaving her with three children. I had brought her medical supplies one time her little boy was sick, and she had taken it upon herself to make sure I was fed and clothed whenever I stayed in the colony. Her concerned face blocked my view of the flickering light.

"Are ya feeling alright, sweetie?"

I nodded and stood up, taking the damp cloth she offered me and held it to my throbbing head.

"I'm alright, thanks. How bad is it?"

The lady crouched beside me, holding my chin up to look closer at my face. I took the towel down to let her look and heard her exhale softly.

"You'll have yourself a shiner, and a busted lip, but your friend over there got the worst of it. Stay feet for a while and you'll be right as rain."

She gave me a sad, but reassuring smile and I returned it.

We never talked much, but that was alright. We understood each other.

When she had left, Zoltan mumbled, "You sure are popular around here."

"I do bring the most supplies," I replied, watching the woman tend to her three children, two boys, and a girl.

"Yeah, because you stay out for months at a time collecting," Zoltan sighed, "I don't know how you do it."

I shrugged and didn't answer.

"You didn't have to do that you know," Zoltan looked over at me, and I saw a bloody slash over his left eyebrow.

"Do what?" I asked, even though I knew the answer

"Jump in there with me. I was doing fine getting myself killed without your help."

I laughed despite of myself.

"I know. But what are friends for if not to get killed together?"

"I'd prefer you'd both not get killed," Xyli walked up to us, gingerly picking her way around cots and blankets full of sleeping or playing children. Dropping her backpack beside my cot, she sat down tiredly beside it.

"I know," I mumbled, reaching over and tugging on her ponytail.

She giggled nervously, and we all joined in before lapsing into a troubled silence. We were all worried about collecting supplies and staying out of the Scorpion's way.

"I was just checking with some of the leaders here... They're running low of supplies," Xyli mumbled, fingering a strap of her backpack.

"You think we don't know?" Zoltan asked, not unkindly.