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Chapter1
LYRA
The world is dying, but its death whimpers seem to go on forever.
I should know. I’ve been hearing them my entire life.
“I’m hungry,” Caleb whines.
I am too.
“When are we going to get to town?” Carrie asks. “I want to see Mommy!”
My muscles shake from over-exertion, but I trudge on, because I have no choice.
Eleven years ago, when I was seven, my father moved my mother and me deep into the forest, trying to avoid the horrors of the world. We were lucky enough to have clean water, a garden, and plenty of game to hunt.
But our luck wouldn’t last.
My siblings came six years ago, and what food we had wasn’t enough. Father had to hunt more, and momma and I had to work harder in the garden.
A few years back, my father injured his leg, which resulted in an infection. By the time he sought help, the wound had already festered, sealing his fate.
I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him.
My mother carried on, but things were never the same. Our stomachs weren’t as full, and we grew colder during the winter. Eventually, the food we’d canned ran out, and the garden struggled as the environment became more polluted.
I helped as much as I could, but my mother wouldn’t allow me to hunt and she wasn’t very good at it.
About a month ago, she sat me down and told me we couldn’t survive in the wild for much longer, but she needed to see what was out in the greater world. She was only supposed to be gone for a week.
“How much longer?” Caleb says. I can tell by his voice that he’s holding back tears.
Perhaps it was a mistake to venture so far away from home, but what choice did I have? Mother isn’t coming back, and we ran out of food days ago.
I’m not ashamed to say we’ve eaten our fair share of crickets, but not enough to stop the roars of our bellies.
Out of nowhere, a dark realization hits me like a sharp slap to the face.
We might never come across civilization. Everyone might already be dead.
Before this moment, that wasn’t a possibility. Sure, the population dwindled since the world started to decline, but it seemed unfathomable that there would be no one left.
And if there truly is no one to help us, we’ll die.
Just thinking that feels absurd. I guess I just thought we were too young for that fate. That it was too cruel for children.
But when has the world ever been kind?
When my father was alive. That’s when.
There’s no point in thinking about the past when there’s so little chance for a future.
I stop, dropping the wagon handle so I can stretch my aching limbs.
“Lyra, I miss mom…” Carrie mumbles. By the look on her face, I think she’s realized we’ll never see her again.
When my parents sat me down to tell me I was getting a sibling, I was ecstatic.
