open ; DON'T DESERT ME NOW

NOTES !

TAGS.
six

WORDS.
671

LYRICS.
this is war, 30 seconds to mars.

NOTES.
first post !

to the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim.

THIS IS WAR

Thin spindles of vegetation curved alongside the white rocks, like lacerations. The sun bled into the ocean water, the waves cresting and collapsing as if they were lungs. Adrian McKinley sat with one knee tucked into his chest, the other stretched out in front of him – dangerously close to the edge of the small, rocky cliff. Below him were jagged rocks hunkered together as if they were soldiers in combat. He took a drag off his cigarette and let the smoke linger in his mouth before blowing it toward the sky. Adrian had always thought the wisps looked like a ghost – just hovering in the air until it was carried in one direction or the other. He looked down at the stub clenched between his two fingers. Most of the people on Grim’s Row would kill for a cigarette. A smile slid onto his lips as he thought of his younger brother and how he always chastised him for hording cartons of the things when they were on sale.

The smile faded as he pictured his brother, Kael. They tried escaping the city together when the virus went rampant but Adrian had been stupid – fueled by adrenalin. He still couldn’t recall what or who they crashed into. All he knew was Kael had been upchucked from the passenger seat and was lost to the horde of people that were all as desperate as they were. Maxine had been his savior then, a debt he continuously paid by being the electrician for the island.

He flicked the butt off the cliff and closed his eyes. His mind felt foggy, filled with smoke and nicotine and whatever else they stuffed into their cigarettes. Adrian had never been a heavy smoker. It was a device he used to socialize or when he became stressed about something. He could go on for days, even weeks without one. That didn’t seem to be the case anymore, however. But who wasn’t stressed these days? There was no amount of money that could buy someone a ticket of safety, the only thing that could do that was a gun to the head. Or in the mouth. Whatever the preference.

They rays of sunlight deepened in color, night was beginning to resurface. Adrian took one last deep breath before hoisting himself up onto his feet. The facility wasn’t far, the island was too small for anything to be spread apart. Everything was stacked up on each other, like some child’s building block creation. S’pose they didn’t need much space, he thought as he walked toward the entrance. Those that stood outside the building nodded in his direction but Adrian kept his head down, his mind swimming in his thoughts.

It didn’t take long for his stomach to lead him to the Dining Hall. The cooks were between shifts, so most of the food had already been picked over or had been left to cool. It seemed he only managed to eat when everything was stale or lukewarm. He glanced around and spotted a few slices of bread along with an almost demolished stick of butter. How long will it be before everything runs out? The soil wasn’t made for planting. It was riddled with rocks and it was dry, in desperate need of nourishment. His mind shifted through possible solutions while he fixed himself a plate of bread and butter – his body running on autopilot.

”just your day, zie.”

Adrian stopped and looked at the girl he had apparently knocked over. Her face reminded him of the white rocks and the vines, the angry wrinkles scouring her face. He watched her pick up the fallen water bottle and he felt like a complete ass. ”Sorry ma’am,” he said, and backed up a few paces to give her space. Adrian didn’t recognize the woman in front of him but that wasn’t saying much, considering he didn’t really know anyone on the island. He stood there for a moment longer before ducking his head and moving toward the remaining water bottles.