//Several Months Later~//A young boy was sitting on a big log, the campfire in front of him burning brightly.
The surrounding area was filled with charred trees and a few nearby structures which had collapsed on themselves. The ground was barren and cracked like what you would find if a river dried up during a decade long drought. Nothing green could be seen, only the dull colors brown, grey and black.
The boy was balding, only a few tufts of hair remaining. His skin was sallow and filled with scars. The boy"s cheeks were bony and his eyes sunken and his clothes were dirty and littered with blood stains. On his waist was a holster which carried a small hand gun.
He was writing in a little paperback journal that looked well taken care of.
[Another boring day, we"ve been traveling north for almost a week now. Dad and I haven"t managed to find anyone to kill for six days now.. heh, that seems to be all I worry about nowadays. Well that and food.]
The boy"s stomach grumbled furiously. Holding his stomach, his small face grimaced in pain.
[We"ve been quite lucky recently. Not only have we managed to avoid all the monster hordes, every time we near the seventh day we run across new people to kill. Though I don"t know how long that"ll last.. I"m not optimistic about it.]
The boy seemed to notice something as his brows wrinkled, he slapped the side of his head over his little ear. "Stupid buzzing beast, you"re always making that d.a.m.ned sound!" He seemed to glare at something in the corner of his eye.
He snorted before continuing to write in his diary. [I hate that beast, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that took mama away! If I could get just my hands on it I would tear that stinky s.h.i.tty beast to pieces!.]
The boy coughed violently into his hand afterwards he wiped the hand on his shirt leaving a new blood stain.
[I wish Mama was here, even after the flash took her eyes she always cheered us up with a smile.] The boy eyes began grow wet.
[And uncle Rick and Miss Mary, we got separated from them after the bright flash and all those monsters which were running towards us. I miss them too.. ] The boy rubbed his runny nose though his expression changed to one in agony as his body began to violently shake, he dropped his journal and collapsed on the log.
The seizure lasted for 12 seconds before subsiding. The small boy gained his bearing before picking up his journal with a shaking hand.
Opening the journal again, the small boy heaved a sigh and wrote. [I don"t know how long I can continue. My body is always sore and shakes a lot, my pee is red and my cough seems to be getting worse.]
[I can see it in his eyes from time to time. Whenever father looks at me, he becomes reinvigorated as if I"m the only thing stopping him from breaking into pieces.. stopping him from giving up.]
[I know he"s denying the situation we"re in. I can"t take it. Every time I try to speak him about it he just waves it away as if it were nothing.]
[This can"t go on, I need to tell him. I can"t be a crutch for him anymore because.. I can feel it, I know my body. It won"t last much longer.]
The boy shook his head and muttered. "I don"t know what will happen to dad when i"m gone.. I have to make sure he"s alright before I leave."
The boy finished and closed the diary, standing up he stretched causing a few crackles from his bones.
Darkness receded as the sun slowly dawned from the horizon, it would be a beautiful sight if it wasn"t for the desolate landscape.
The boy perked his ears as he heard footsteps coming towards him. From behind a nearby building a tall man walked out, he was very skinny and was in a similar condition to the young boy.
His clothes were worn and he carried a large pack. Strapped on his shoulder was a black automatic rifle.
Many scars littered the man"s body, one could tell he was a previously handsome man but time, malnutrition and hideous wounds had worn away his rugged features.
He was carrying a small rabbit in his hand, the little animal barely had any fur on it.
"Jyn! I found us some breakfast." Grim smiled as he sat down on the nearby log. "It"s been a while since we"ve eaten one of these right?"
Jyn nodded as his stomach rumbled again loudly.
Grim laughed. "That"s my boy!"
The two prepared it and cooked it over the fire. As they sat down and nibbled their spa.r.s.e breakfast. Jyn looked towards his father, a sliver of determination flashed in his eyes.
"Dad.. I don"t think there"s anyone left."
Grim shook his head in disagreement. "We always find someone son, we always do. Don"t worry"
"All the water sources we find are dirty dad, it"s hopeless." Jyn continued with a firm look.
"We have enough water for the next few days, if we use it sparingly we can make last quite a while." Grim replied weakly.
"My cough is getting worse dad, I won"t last much longer." Jyn remarked in a morbid tone.
Grim smile grew a little fainter but he kept it as he replied. "It"s nothing son, there"s a village up ahead. I know they"ll have a pharmacy, I can get some medication for you there so cheer up, don"t be so negative."
Jyn looked at the ever present fake smile that plastered his fathers face so much these days, anger swelled within him as he gripped his pants so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"DAD STOP!" Jyn shouted as loudly as he could.
Grim was surprised by the sudden outburst from his son. "Stop what son? You"re not making any sense."
Jyn ran up to his father and pushed him. "Stop it! Stop saying that it"s going to be okay!!!"
Grim was baffled but maintained his balance, he was steady against his son"s weak push.
Jyn banged his small fists on his fathers chest, tears began seeping from his eyes. "I can"t keep going like this dad! It"s a dead end!"
Grim held his son firmly in a hug. "You have to keep going son, no matter how hard. You have to." Grim looked into his son"s eyes, several months ago they were bright and filled with curiosity and happiness. Now they only showed pain, stress and desolation.
"You need to face reality! I-I can"t go.. on." Jyn looked up at his dad, the acc.u.mulated stress he"s had to endure has made him reach a breaking point.
Grim looked firmly into Jyn"s small eyes as he said in a rea.s.suring but strong tone. "You can"t give up, you mustn"t!"
"But dad.. please understand! It"s so hard!" Jyn wept into his fathers chest.
Grim gently stroked Jyn head, a few of the remaining tufts of hair coming loose.
"Why dad, tell me why?" Jyn croaked weakly.
"Because.. because.. it"s the last thing I promised your mother." Grim sighed.
"Mother?" Jyn thought for a while until it hit him like a bolt of lightning. He leapt back and stared at Grim with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
"You.. mother.." Jyn pointed at his father in shock, his mouth opened and closed. Denial and despair painted Jyn"s face white as a sheet.