The Mind | Teen Ink

The Mind

October 16, 2009
By Reginthorn BRONZE, Toccoa, Georgia
Reginthorn BRONZE, Toccoa, Georgia
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

It was the year 2054, forty-five years after the apocalypse caused by North Korea. The whole human race was extinct. These were the facts as far as Zehnder was aware of; he was the sole survivor of the nuclear strikes. An event happened in 2022 that had left Zehnder mentally unstable and ultimately alone. This is the story about a lonely man named Zehnder Mylar.
Zehnder was awake, his eyes wide open and already gazing into the eternal darkness. This was the hundredth night to be awakened by the eerie sound of nothing. Zehnder knew that it would only be in vain that he try and rest again. The middle age man rolled over in his torn and dirty blankets. Mind racing back to the time when he was just a child. The man began to recall all of his friends and strained even harder to remember what his parents were like. The only memory that he had of his parents were when they were standing over him on his last birthday party. It had been at least thirty two years since he had seen another human being. “I tried to save her, didn’t I?” Zehnder screamed to himself, “She was only trying to help me!!” Tears began to pour out of the pitiful man’s eyes.
The man showed pain on his face as he tried to clearly remember the events that played out that tragic day. It was all so blurry, he decided to drop it for the moment and find some means of sustenance. He inhaled the stuffy air and grabbed for his rotting shotgun. On the way out, he picked up his worn jacket. . Due to the clouds caused by the nukes, the sun was blocked out. As the days went on the weather became cooler and cooler. Upon leaving his fallout shelter, Zehnder began to wander the streets of Los Angeles in search of a good meal. The lovely city of Los Angeles was different from the one Zehnder knew from his childhood. Most of the advertising billboards were either filled with vines or were broken. The once nicely paved roads were now filled with potholes and cracks. The city was dust and debris. Suddenly Zehnder heard a rustling sound in the distance; he pulled up his refurbished gun. Without hesitation, the middle aged man fired a shot in the direction of the sound. What luck, his shot had pierced the heart of a bear. The majestic beast fell on the cracked asphalt. Crouching over his fallen victim, Zehnder began to feast upon his meal.

When Zehnder was done eating, he gazed down at the ground. His eyes wandered from his blood stained hands to his shot gun. Zehnder stood up in horror. “I don’t remember my gun looking so new.” He took two paces back and then passed out. He awoke to find himself standing next to a human corpse. “That’s funny,” Zehnder thought, “I don’t remember there being a corpse here”. And then it all came back to the man. He had been killing humans not animal’s. Terrified and disgusted, Zehnder reached for the shot gun and then there was nothing. Zehnder died alone and afraid.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.