The Smile of Anubis Page 9

countries from the face of the Earth, the global cataclysm, or whatever it was that happened, the death of millions of people, including my family, all the life disappearing in a glimpse of an eye. I can understand all of it, but the dog. Why did You take the dog away from me?”

  She wanted to scream, but she had only enough strength for a husky whisper. The last time she had had a drink was three naps back, when they had found a bottle of water that was miraculously standing in the middle of the road on the edge of a huge crater, at the bottom of which she could barely distinguish crumpled car remains.

  If not for the dog, who the girl called Scout, she would have perished the first day lost in the drainage labyrinth. How he happened to find her and where he had been leading her – she did not know. She did not even know if there still was a single place left to go. But they continued going somewhere. Scout had been finding food, shelters for their short rests and he has been choosing the route, taking her further away from the center of the city. During all this time they had never met a living human being, though they had stepped over bodies several times. At those moments she was very grateful for the never-ending night, which kindly covered the realities of her new world with its veil.

  Finally they left the city behind. The conflagration in the forest ahead of them was gradually burning out. She had been scared staying so close to the fire, but she got used to trusting her companion, so she lay down near him behind the stump of a small one-storied house and instantly fell asleep. When she woke up, she did not find her shaggy friend next to her or anywhere within sight.

  She waited for him for as long as she could manage. She had a nap twice, jerking at every sound. When she woke up for the second time, she understood that she had to stand up and go unless she wanted to die of thirst right where she was. Slowly putting one foot in front of the other, trying not to lift up too much ash in the air, she went up the hill that stood nearby. Several isolated fire sites gave her enough light to notice a clearing in the woods, a tree and fire-less piece of darkness in the distance. She could be lucky enough to find a lake or a lawn there, and maybe even other survivors. She started having a feeling that Scout has been leading her to that exact point.

  The girl dropped one more glance at their last camp and moved forward.

  – I showed you the way; you can do it yourself from now on.

  Anubis stood there for a long time watching towards where she headed – the future voice of the united Terra, gaining strength with her every step to lead people to freedom.

  The dawn was breaking.

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  Thank you for reading this story. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?

  Thank you.

  Alexandra Serbay