Free The End Boxset: Postapocalyptic Visions of an Unstoppable Collapse by BJ Knights Page A

observing the cracks, rust, and weeds sticking out from holes in the floorboards. It was interesting to look at, but Brian wanted to keep moving. His headache had worsened. “Okay, let's go,” he said, “I don't want to be sleeping tonight.”
     
    “I should get a picture of this,” Tobias said. He reached into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out. “Shit, I forgot, my phone is dead.” He cradled the phone in his palm in disbelief, as if it was looking at a person who had deserted him. He put the phone back in his pocket, shrugged and started walking. Brian was glad they were moving again. He glanced back for one last look at the car. It was still there. It would probably always be there.
     
    It was dusk, and Tobias's house was nowhere in sight. To make things worse, the path was getting thicker and rougher. The branches and vines more thick, the clearing narrowing. Weeds started to reach their knees. Brian's face hurt. He felt the swollen bumps from his earlier school fight. His soreness and dehydration had made him impatient and irritable. It seemed like they had been walking forever and he was done with it. Over it. He wanted to be home, no more bull shit. This was stupid plan, he thought. Why did we come in the woods? Tobias is an idiot. Look, he doesn't even know where he's going . Brian's last nerve was nearing as they hunched over to avoid the branches and vines surrounding them. 
     
    “Tobias,” he said. Tobias turned around. “What?”
    “Do you have any idea what you're doing?” Brian asked dryly. He could feel another argument coming on. His irritation would ensure that. Tobias glared at Brian, unresponsive. They were surely about to have an argument now.
     
    Suddenly, another explosion shook the ground. This one seemed closer. It sounded like something accidental, or maybe it was intentional. How do you tell? Even though it seemed close, the aftershock would indicate that it was much farther away than presumed. But the boys didn't know any better. It instantly jolted their consciousness, and made them alert, not to mention afraid. For a moment, they didn't feel tired at all. A siren sounded in the distance, and then faded.
     
    “What the hell was that?” Tobias asked, after moments of silence.
    “I don't know, man,” Brian said.
    Tobias's eyes lit up.  “Look, there's a path over there!” he said pointing. Brian turned and saw a path to their right. It felt like a blessing.
    The boys raced through the branches, sticks, leaves, and vines until they made it to the other side. They felt home free. “This is the path, all right. Just the one I was looking for. We take it straight through and we'll be home in no time,” Tobias stated confidentially. Brian was too exhausted to argue any other plan. He wanted nothing more than to get home, drink thirty gallons of water, and put some ice on his face. He also noticed that his sneakers weren't really cut out for all this nature hiking. True, he had them for about a year now, but the soles were really starting to wear since the beginning of their little journey.
     
    “Follow me!” Tobias said. And he was off, down the path. Brian didn’t want to run, but he made an attempt to walk as fast as he could. His headache was growing, and running certainly wasn’t going to help. He looked a few feet ahead. The back of Tobias's head was in central focus. A thought flashed momentarily of being carried by Tobias the entire way home. It was a funny thought and almost a real possibility. After all, they were out here because of Tobias's own doing. If he hadn't tossed his trash near the jock, the jock would have never started with them. Then, rather than stumbling through the woods, they'd probably be home right now playing video games. Of course, all those cars on the road might have prevented that. Brian wasn't sure.
     
    His mind drifted back further, playing the fight incident in his head again and again, like a movie scene. He wondered if he could