I Finally Died

Red. Everything was dyed in red of different shades. Crimson mist hovered in the air while the soil was tainted in deep mahogany. The smell of iron mixed with the foul odour of rotting corpses permeated throughout the lands. Limbs were strewn about, both humans and beasts. It was a ghastly sight straight out from a horror book. The grim atmosphere was made even more so by the eerie, hair-raising silence.

It was the stillness that remained after a desperate bout of struggle between life and death. A struggle that life had lost.

It was the hush of destruction.

Out of nowhere, this calm was broken by the sharp sound of metal tearing through flesh, crazed howls, and heavy breaths of people pursued by feral mutants. Creatures that dominated the chaos era. They were the natural enemies of humankind.

Once native inhabitants of Earth co-existing with humans but was forced to become the bane of mankind by the latter's actions. They were but a mere bunch of lower life forms that were put in the receiving end of humanity's uncaring behaviour, adapted to the circumstances, and now was prevailing in the bid for survival.

Terrified screams in chorus with pitiful sobbing voices that were tinged with evident tone of childhood dominated the space. But within this cacophony of desolation rang out the decisive voice of a woman whose body was painted with the blood of her kills blending with that of her own.

"Go! Run as fast as you are able to! I'll hold them off as long as I can. Protect the children and maake sure they reach the sanctuary. They are our hope."

Zera shouted at her comrades fiercely, her tone denying them of any chance to protest. She looked at them, her clear eyes conveying them a sense of security. The way it always did. The men and women, some still young while some in their peak ages and whose persons were pretty much in the same state as hers nodded in obeisance and confidence.

They turned quickly and ran to the direction of the last safe place on Earth. They took one last glimpse of that seemingly delicate back that sturdily carried them all to survival. Their eyes betrayed what they felt. Tears ran freely without shame, only pain and sorrow. These people knew that their general will not be returning. They won't be able to see the new era with her anymore.

The orders she just gave out were the last ones that she would ever give. Zera was the only individual left who hailed from the pre-apocalypse era. The other ones have all lost their lives in battle. And she, the last great general, will also perish in the same manner, in the same pursuit of protecting whatever was left of their heritage of human society.

Except, Zera was more than that to them she was their pillar. Without her, they wouldn't have gotten this far, they wouldn't have been able to live or even hope of seeing the dawn of a new civilization. General Zera was their comrade-in-arms, their sister, and their mother.

It took all of their will to leave her there on her own. However, for the sake of the remaining children of Earth they could only bite their tongues and do their utmost to follow her commands.

These people knew the moment Zera uttered those words; she had already decided to perish with the enemy. They recalled the days before when Zera acted strange. It was only then that they realized she was making arrangements for her passing. Zera knew that she wouldn't be able to survive the last battle.

With this they became even more bereaved. But, the only thing they were capable of was ensuring she doesn't die in vain. Death was commonplace in the chaos era. There is no place for mourning.

This was the cruel reality of the world's end.

Meanwhile, as the fleeing people delved on the misery of their situation, Zera was fighting a bitter battle. Contrary to despair, all she felt was resignation and yearning for a long-awaited rest. This battle was merely her last spurt of vitality. Her final stand. She had already been fighting close to more than a hundred years now.

Zera could no longer remember with clarity the times when the world was still peaceful; the times when her face dominated the billboards and magazines of modern society. There was no more trace of that life, of the person she used to be. What remained was an empty shell whose sole purpose is to fight and protect the remnants of that peaceful past.

She smiled mockingly in her heart as she thought of the reasons why the world had come to this. The apocalypse started long before common people were aware of. It slowly crept in like a malignant disease.

Signs of the mutants appeared frequently before but the governments of countries uniformly refuted everything, believing that it was better for the masses to remain ignorant. That and the fact that their pride couldn't take the truth; it was the actions of high society and capitalists, of men themselves, that gave birth to the mutants.

The collective experiments on genetics, the abusive use and indifference to nuclear power backlash; the disregard to the dying state of the natural ecosystem; eruption of civil and all-out wars between countries due to differing beliefs; the conflict about gender and equality, religion and the state; and the corruption of humanity, itself. All of these ensured a signed, sealed, and delivered death sentence to the world.

The situation remained in a stalemate for a long time that everyone let down their guards. That was until the day of the siege. Nature finally gave in, mutants started their invasion against those who caused havoc to a once perfect place for life, the real poison of the world: humans.

Everyone did not know what hit them and all hell broke loose. On that day, the siege took million of lives and erased countless of countries in the planet. The alliance of various countries disbanded and every country that somehow endured was left to their own devices.

Years passed, mankind was naturally adaptable and resilient. After the initial surprise, the people were able to regroup. The survivors regrouped and a new form of society came to—a society that anchored its principles to iron-clad discipline.

It took the world ending for men to recognize their mistakes; to realize the crucial importance of nature, and to know that gender and all other ideals and principles are negligible facts in a fight against death, in a time where the strong preys on the weak.

These changes enabled human race to last for another hundred years. It was ironic as well that the Era of Chaos made the human physique resistant and durable, lengthening the average life span.

Zera herself didn't expect that she'd even reach 134 years old. Anyone who could reach more than a hundred years during such times would feel proud. To last that long against such conditions meant that she was both strong and clever. Chaos era was unforgiving of people who lack even one of those traits.

But she wasn't proud or even happy about it. Zera was exhausted. Only she knew the price she had to pay to endure for so long. Only she knew how many lives were sacrificed in exchange for hers, lives of people she held dear in her heart.

She wasn't always strong. Zera's previous work only required her to flash her pretty face and smile in front of a camera. She didn't know one bit about fighting. She had brains but the knowledge it had was shaped by a serene society.

The siege took away her friends and family. Zera survived because at that time she was with her best friend who was lieutenant of the Army. It was this friend who continuously protected her through those first years of the apocalypse. It was also her who died due to Zera's weakness.

Along the way, Zera met people, formed bonds with them, fought together, only to lose them as well in the end. Her mind had been hardened to this scenario but no matter how much Zera denies it, every death left their mark in her heart.

As she lay down on these wasted lands littered with corpses, with the scent of blood assailing, Zera was glad to finally join the people she held dear. She was glad to finally rest in peace. Her consciousness flickered in and out but a sweet smile appeared in her lips. In that brief moment, despite the marks of old age and the deep scars from fighting, the beauty that was once famed in the entire world came back.

'I finally died.'

This was Zera's last thought.