Silence of the Apocalypse

Chapter 3: ...Now what?

The fog rolled in slowly, slow enough to see the silent mist spread. This was not a new sight to Katelyn. These woods were her home, and made the world's problems just... go away.

Kate flipped the 'breakfast' on her small skillet. She lay flat, looking up at the stars. She then turned her gaze to Armin's face.

He was almost as still as a statue when he slept, his only sign of life the grey pink flush of his face. Just like she'd remembered. The mist around her started to glow slightly. Dawn, she thought.

The yellow glow of the sun cast its first rays of light on the dreary landscape, giving it a mystical look. This view never gets old... she thought. The only thing that's been missing... is you.

Katelyn never thought she'd find him, not after the Hudson incident. Yet here he was, making good on their promise. Taking in the smell of evaporating dew in the morning air, she slowly lay on her back, next to Armin.

For the first time in a long time, she felt safe. She still had something to hold on to. She slowld closed her eyes, and laced her fingers in his. She squeezed, and she felt a faint grip back. Her consciousness slowly drifted off with the smell of the deep forest.

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A deer grazed on a small brook, flowing water and dull wind the only sound the deer hears. Suddenly, its head tilts ever so slightly, ears and about perked. It smells something.

About twenty yards away, a small fawn enters the clearing. The deer feigns, and strides towards its child. The two wander the woods, blissful.

While foraging, the fawn calls for its mother; it's found a dandelion grove in a cave. The mother joins her fawn, and they graze, blissfully unaware of where they stand.

A flashing red light glints off the honeydew on the flowers, catching the fawn's curiosity. It prances towards the odd light. It then stops dead in its tracks. Sniffing the air, it stares downward. A large warhead points upward; a weapon long forgotten by those who knew of its deadly power. The fawn is called by its mother, and they leave the odd cavern. Two more creatures leaving the old facility.

Once more, the fawn stops to graze along a broken, rusted sign. Through the fading words Arachnə, the fawn fills it's small stomach, and skips along with its mother into the trees.