When Nature Ceases to Smile

by

Crisp they fell upon the frozen earth, danced along the night-swept street, following...

Ahead two strangers walked, heading towards the population filled centre of town... Noise, and fellowship close by.

Faster they followed at their heels, close enough to touch, and then indeed to touch. The girl first, reaching out to gain a grip on the ankle that perched dangerously upon stiletto heels.

She felt a strange sensation at her ankle. An itch that grew tight and restrictive, as though the blood were being forced from her feet... Her legs... She fell, he turned... A scream pierced the night air.

Behind closed curtains, houses lay in darkness, the unaware asleep... Rachel one such being.

It was early when she awoke. Sun streaming, but no noise. No cars. No children at play. Deathly quiet for a Saturday morning. The digital clock claimed 8:15, and though she could lay in bed for at least two more hours she felt restless.

Summer had arrived overnight: an abundance of leaves upon the frosted trees, flowers in full bloom. She stretched her arms, called to the children to awake, and opened the window wide. The air was crisp, draining all sleep from her eyes.

"Alison, Paul," she repeated.

No reply.

The promise of peace lay ahead, albeit relatively short. The children were lovely, a pleasure to mind, but every moment alone to reflect was a bonus. The door slammed shut behind her as she descended the stairs, cringing at every creak.

Despite the minutes ticking by the streets remained empty. Windows open, doors ajar, but not a sign of human life. The sun shone down upon natures’ glories alone.

Against the kitchen window branches tapped, the rose bush billowing beneath the weight of velvet leaves, and golden petals. Footsteps pattering against the floorboards of the twins room, crept from window to door, and back again... Shuffling.

"Paul... Alison. . ." A hush fell upon the house. An unnatural quiet that prevailed as Rachel climbed the stairs.

At the twins door she stood, listening for their breath. The noise had transferred to beyond her own door. She stepped forward, her hand sweating as it met with the ice cold handle. On hearing her step, the noise did not abate, continuing in its own sweeping way. She opened the door...

In her face flew leaves, and thorns, and petals. The room alive with all manner of plant life. At her skin they scratched as the wind ushered yet more through the open window. And then... Something moved amidst the haze of greenery. A definite shape, thick, like the trunk of a young tree. Seeming to notice her presence it swept towards the window, vacating the room. She slammed the door, closing out the air that grew thick with greenery. A few stragglers littered the landing, having given up their dance.

In repetition the same noise emanated from beyond the twins door, sending Rachel’s heart pounding.

Beyond vision was nil. The beds lost amid the tidal wave that engulfed her body. No breath bar her own seemed to inhabit the room, yet she was sure the twins still lay beneath the candlewick blankets. The air so thin she could not call out to the children, ascertain if they were...

Tiny sleeping figures lay amidst a bed of leaves. Their eyes, their mouths closed against the horrors. With a sweep she bundled the twins into her arms, vacating the room that thrived with life. As the door slammed all fell silent inside.

Barring the stairwell the stragglers that had escaped her room entwined into a barricade... Their leaves grown red, and crusted.

Instinctively the twins clung to Rachel. Their arms twined around her neck, simulating vines. Her foot shot out, smashing through the thick barricade of twine that scratched and tore at her skin. She could not think of the pain, of the blood, or of the weight of the twins, only of the doorway and escape from this madness.

Beyond the door sunlight streamed; streets empty, quiet except for the occasional scream that pierced the frozen air. Bodies lay encrusted... Unmoving. Keeping to the pavements, skirting the rows of trees whose arms reached out, stepping with care to avoid the grass that wriggled like maggots, she held the twins close to her chest. They lay sleeping, unaware, angelic.

Leaving the avenue, approaching the concrete city devoid of most forms of plant life, Rachel found herself no longer alone. Others too followed the same path, many with their babies caught tight to their chests.

The city lay silent, free of screams. At the largest, centre-most building a crowd milled. Pushing, and shoving to get inside. The streets lay empty of human life, every remaining soul admitted, they barricaded the doors, and locked out the day. Inside vending machines provided nourishment in the form of chocolate and fizzy drinks. Crowds huddled together, trying to make sense of it all, but no sane answers were forthcoming. Many had seen, and knew people who now lay dead.

Then came the first death to breach their sanctum. Sleep had overcome the many, broken only by the scream of a forsaken child as it fell into a dead faint upon its mothers chest. Entwined, dead twigs and leaves mingled with the child’s dark brown tresses, her skin overly tanned. They carried her stiff body away from her mothers corpse.

Another scream pierced the air... Another child’s scream... Another body. The pattern began to ripple throughout the great hall... Corpse after corpse... Abandoned child after abandoned child. The murderer was selective. Rachel looked with fear upon twins who slept on... Edged away, her eyes wide, her knees huddled to her chest.

"I am not their mother," she felt an urge to scream.

The day grew long. After the first flow there were no more deaths, though fear did not abate. No-one ventured near the great expanse of windows... Dared not look out onto the world. Once more they let sleep become their savior.

Time un-noted, Rachel woke to gasps of breath. She checked the twins who yet to awaken from the previous nights slumber. No shortness of breath there, but her own throat... Tight, restrictive... The air thin. About her, bodies lurched, gasping. The light grew dim, the world shaded, as the twins stirred. Rachel grasped their tiny fingers as they peered into her eyes... Their faces before her... Voluminous green eyes... Darkest brown hair. Yet their eyes were surely blue, and their hair had been much fairer.

Twig like their fingers scratched at her face, joined by other small specimens, all claiming to be children. Skin peeling, revealing a thick crusted layer of bark protecting their vital organs.

Breath oozed from her mouth into theirs. Her body faint as they drained to the last breath. No feeling left as her body withered upon the concrete floor, laying amidst the other remaining dregs of old civilization.