So basically, I had English homework for my elementary school saying that I had to create a short story about 'friends working together to solve a problem'. Lame, huh?
I decided to step it up a notch.
It's called 'Survive'.
I wrote about Jesse, Lukas, and Petra trying to survive in a nuclear war.
...
Too far?
This may/may not turn into a story.
Enjoy.
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SURVIVE
"It's getting chilly out here."
They didn't have much time remaining. The icy wind bit hard at Jesse's cheeks, the snow blinded her. Flurries of snow roiled in the air under the command of capricious, roaring winds. Petra shuddered under her jacket, pushing through the snow, trying to huddle up with the other two to absorb some of their heat, possibly keeping them snug all together. Not a single person was in sight.
"Great. We're stuck here. Happily strolling through a forest. In the middle of a nuclear war." Petra grumbled, sarcasm filling her voice full. Jesse was annoyed of the redhead's contemptuous attitude. Lukas snapped his head towards the girl, at the same time rolling his eyes, federal blue orbs moving, then darting around wildly. Thank goodness Petra didn't notice, otherwise she'd start another one of her endless elucidations.
"Can you keep it down a bit? You're not helping." The blonde grumbled, barely more than a whisper. Jesse detected a slight tingle of annoyance in his voice. Lukas turned back, and Petra huffed n irritation.
"Try to be rational." Petra spat. Jesse wasn't able to stand this anymore. She didn't know what was more bothersome – their little conflicts, or the fact that duo had been talking for about an hour as if she wasn't even there. Jesse could either try to ignore them, or tell them to stay quiet. Jesse chose the latter since the first preference wasn't really an option.
"Come on, at least we have our similarities," Jesse blurted out without warning, making Petra and Lukas flinch. "...we've lost our family," Her heart sunk when she said that, reminding her of her departed lost twin brother. "...we're at strife, and we're trying to seek refuge from this snow. Focus on the task at hand, guys. More walking, less yapping." She protested. The others closed their mouths shut. They'd have to find a place to sojourn soon, or freeze to death by hypothermia. There was no way a human could survive this cyclone. Lukas glanced at Jesse, surprisingly, his eyes unwavering.
Time passed quickly. It was now dark, and they had mostly given up on trying to find a place to rest and sleep for the night. Another gust of wind blew upon them, making Jesse gasp. Petra slumped down, her legs loosening all of her power. She plopped herself onto the snow, much less-deeper now.
"Sorry, my stamina is just too low." Petra muttered. Lukas smirked and folded his arms, tensed them.
"Really, genius? Such an amazing ability to think. Who's the one who needs to be rational now?" He laughed, earning another scowl. Jesse barely managed to pull her companions over to a few wet logs to sit on. The trio quivered.
"A-anyone else have a-any bright i-ideas?" Jesse stuttered, her teeth chattering like crazy, her breath fading into the winter air with a puff of visible breath. She felt tired, as if her eyes were going to shut any second. Petra, the talkative one, opened her mouth for another rant of sarcastic remarks, but no sound escaped her. She closed it a little while later. Lukas, the normally reticent one, rubbed his temples with two fingers. His electric blue eyes blinked several times.
"I'm pretty broken down. Maybe if I just... Take a quick doze..." He mumbled incomprehensibly. Jesse felt her eyes widen to the size of saucers. She threw off her coat in haste and scrambled to the boy, gripping his shoulders and shaking them, not too hard, but not too gently either.
"No, you're not going to sleep out here, Lukas. You're going to die! Keep those eyes open!" Jesse barked. She was getting sleepy herself too, but Jesse didn't want to be the one to witness another death.
Especially a new ally she had just found.
"Well, what else are we supposed to do? Build a little hut and start a dang fire? I'd rather sit here and mope until I perish." Petra groaned lazily as she tossed her pack away and dusted snow off her jacket. Jesse wondered again if Petra could ever be more optimistic. Just then, on a spur of moment, as if a light-bulb flickered inside of her head, Jesse had an idea. They were surrounded by woods and trees of all sorts. It was possible.
"You're a genius, Petra!" Jesse exclaimed. Petra gave Lukas a smug look. "...We can build a quick hut! We're practically sitting on a log right now! As long as there isn't a forest fire or explosion of some kind, we'll be able to spend the night." Jesse nodded to show she wasn't joking at the last line. Lukas turned his head towards the older girl, his beryl eyes starting to glow lively from the dull grayness that had once existed inside. Petra did the same. The redhead's face brightened up a bit.
Hope.
"Sounds promising..." Petra mumbled before nodding herself. "I've built a few simple campsites in my life. Anyone have an idea for the fire? We can't sleep without one." She questioned, before Lukas raised his hand, an unreadable expression on his face.
"Well, since the wood is water-logged, we can't use these elements. I've got some flint and steel in my pack, now all we need is something flammable." He commented carefully. Jesse glanced around, spotted a few dry leaves. She hurried towards them, bent over, and picked them up.
"Dry leaves." She said. Lukas squinted as if he wasn't able to hear her. "...Dry leaves. We could use them." Jesse announced. Lukas smiled, and untied the string around his pack, revealing a pair of flint and steel. Without a word, Jesse went to gather some dry leaves while Petra went for a few rocks. Lukas decided to find some more logs to build a hut with.
"You sure you know how to do this?" Jesse asked, raising an eyebrow. Petra glanced up at her, her expression blank.. Lukas watched from the side.
"Of course." She replied with a smirk. Lukas snickered. Soon, there was a neat ring of rocks lines up by Petra, and a wooden hut by the two others. It had taken about half an hour to get the job done. The flames were now rising into the starry night sky like fireflies themselves, now dead, but once were alive. The three children huddled beneath the rickety structure, closed their eyes, their minds shutting down from the real world in front of them into a virtual one, thinking how they'd just have to survive together.
It was going to be risky, but they could survive together. It was worth it. Totally worth it.
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So... What did you think of it? Should I make this into a story or not?
Leave your thoughts on the comments below!
