Roy and the Lake City

            It was a scorching day out. The sun searing the arid landscape as it reached its peak in the sky. Barren acres of trees surrounded a lonely house. The house was a small little white cottage, surrounded by a white picket fence. At a distance it looked right out of a fairytale. However at a closer look, you could see it was in disrepair. The paint had long begun to chip, and flake, leaving a small layer on the ground surrounding the whole house. The nails in the fence had long since rusted staining the paint around them.

Sunlight streaked into a small living room through a slightly open curtain, lighting up the specks of dust drifting through the stale air. The room was furnished with a small green loveseat, a creaky rocking chair, and an oval coffee table, all sitting on a faded persian rug. As the sun shifted the ray of sunlight slowly crept onto Roy’s face, awakening him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, slowly focusing on the room. Stretching his arms he got up and began his day, as he always had. Slowly trudging his way into the kitchen, he looked at the remaining cans, and mason jars in the cupboards. Eventually selecting a can of baked beans, and opening it. Beans in hand he walked out onto the back porch to a small stone well, peering down, he frowned not being able to see the water at the bottom in the darkness. He lowered a small bucket, and pulled it back up with a bit of water, and took a drink out of the small aluminum bucket. Sitting on the edge of the well he gazed up at two wooden crosses sticking out of the ground at the top of the small hill.

It had been 3 years since his grandparents had passed away. They had always told him stories at bedtime about his parents, and the city to the west where they had lived. These stories, of course, were from back before global warming had increased the global temperature by over 25 degrees. This had destroyed most of the planets ecosystems, leaving hot, barren, dusty plains around most of the world. The majority of water was now trapped far beneath the earth’s surface, making much of the world uninhabitable. His grandparents had seen the signs, as the seasons begun to get warmer, and warmer every year. They decided to prepare for the worst, and moved away from everything. His grandparents had built this house, and planted the surrounding orchards. Unfortunately as the temperature increased the orchards had died over the years.

It had been over a year since it had last rained, and the water level in the well had slowly been lowering as each week passed. Roy was not too bothered by this, not knowing himself how deep the well was, and he continued to enjoy his blissful ignorance.

The next day, Roy got up and started his routine as usual. He slowly wandered outside to the well, still half asleep, and lowered the bucket down. To his surprise hearing a small dry thud. Roy looked down the dimly lit hole only to find it completely dry. Parched as he was most mornings, he went back inside to look for something to drink. Staring blankly at rows of cans, and mason jars of pickled vegetables. He chose a can of pinto beans, opened it up drinking the liquid inside. It wasn’t as terrible he imagined, but he didn’t want to have any more of it than he needed. Roy turned around and leaned on the counter, and ate the remaining beans in the can. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to do keep living off of the can juice for long, as he only had a limited amount of containers. Turning back around, he pulled all the cans and jars out and put them on the counter. He knew he was going to have to leave the only home he had ever known.

Roy tore through the house looking for the largest bag he could find, eventually stumbling on his grandfather’s old camping backpack. Then he worked his way through the house finding everything that he thought he would need; a small sleeping bag, a couple lighters, his one and only can opener, three spoons, a few changes of clothes, and a windbreaker. He then proceeded to fill the backpack with all the cans he could manage to cram in it, by the end it was practically bursting. Putting it on he realized it was far too heavy, and he carefully took out his least favorite foods, spinach, and artichoke hearts. The backpack was still very heavy, but manageable. He though back to his grandfather’s stories of his parent’s city to the west. However his grandparent’s had told him if he ever had to leave, to head to the north; as it was cooler, and where most people had gone after the collapse.

As dawn broke the next day, Roy got up and went to the kitchen to eat his last meal at home, one of the last jars of his grandmother’s pickled vegetables. After drinking most of the vinegar, and wincing at the taste; he put on his grandfather’s old canvas backpack, and set off heading north. He briefly stopped at the top of the hill to say goodbye to his grandparents, turning around to take one last look at the only place he had ever known as home, and continued on.

Roy had never truly realized how large the orchards were, and it seemed line they could go on forever. He had never been out of sight of the house before, and once it was the orchards felt like a maze. Luckily for Roy, he knew the sun rose in the east, so he made sure to keep it on his right as he walked. After a few hours he saw the edge of the orchard, and decided to take a lunch break before venturing into the unknown. Opening up the backpack he took out a can of carrots, and begun to scarf them down. His feet were already sore, and he leaned back on a tree enjoying the small amount of shade it provided.

Finishing the can he tossed it away from him, not wanting to carry anything unnecessary. Slowly he got up, and begun to walk towards the edge of the trees. As he got there his heart began to beat faster, unsure of what was beyond. Stepping out of the tree line, and into the bright sunlight, he squinted as his eyes adjusted. Finally being able to see a vast amount of arid plains, with scattered clumps of dead grass. Roy continued on leaving shallow footprints in his wake.

As the sun began to set Roy searched for a place to sleep, eventually arriving at a dead fallen tree. He snapped off a few branches, grabbed some of the dead grass nearby, and started a small fire. Rolling out his sleeping bag next to the tree, he broke off a few more branches to keep the fire going later in the night, and gladly went to sleep, dreading the journey he would have to continue the next day.

Roy woke to a sharp prod in his side.

“Hey, you alive in there?”

Roy bolted upright, and attempted to slide away quickly in his sleeping bag.

“Whoa there, relax.” said the person, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Who are you?” Roy said frantically. His eyes slowly adjusting to the bright morning light.

“I mean you no harm, I’m Amelia.”

Roy rubbed his eyes, and looked up to see Amelia nervously smiling down at him.

“So where are you from?” Asked Roy cautiously.

“I’m from the city to the west.” She replied, “And you are?”

“I’m Roy.”

“So where are you from Roy?”

“I’m from my grandparent’s house.”

“And where is that?”

“The orchard south of here.”

“So, you’re not from a city?”

“Nope.” Roy replied, “Also, how did you find me?”

“I found your footprints, early this morning and followed them.” Replied Amelia, “I was hoping you had some water?”

“Nope.”

“You’re out here without any water!?”

“Yeah, but I have cans.” Said Roy, “I’ve been drinking the juice in them.”

“Ew.”

“You get used to it.”

Roy slipped out of his sleeping bag, and began to roll it up.

“So, umm. Where are you headed?” Amelia asked.

“North.”

“That’s it? North?”

“Yeah my grandparents said to head north, if I ever had to leave.”

“So you have no idea where you are going?”

“I guess.”

“How about we make a deal?” Amelia asked gingerly, “I’ll show you how to get to the lake city, if you share your cans with me.”

“I don’t know… will that be enough food for the both of us?”

“I also have food, I just need something to drink.”

“Deal. As long as you share some of your food with me?”

“Deal.” Amelia replied, “So can I have some?”

“As long as you share some of your food with me.”

“Okay.”

Roy rummaged through the cans inside of his bag for a short time, finally selecting a can of corn, and the can opener. Amelia watched cautiously, not knowing what Roy had in the backpack. Roy slowly opened up the can, and grabbed two spoons.

“So what do you have for food?” Asked Roy.

“I have some dried meat.”

“Never had it. Is it good?” Roy asked.

“You’ve never had meat…” Amelia replied, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, is it good?”

“Better than canned vegetables.” Amelia replied.

Roy took a few sips of the can juice, and offered it to Amelia. She snatched the can and drank the remaining liquid.

“Ahhh, thanks.”

Amelia opened her bag and grabbed out a couple small strips of meat; tossing two to Roy. He proceeded to take a nervous nibble. His eyes lit up, and he scarfed the rest down without delay.

“This is pretty good!” Roy blurted out through his chewing, and he tossed over one of the spoons. The two finished off the can within a few minutes.

“So… where is this lake city?” Roy asked.

“It’s east of here.” Amelia replied.

“What’s it like?”

“I’ve heard that there is water as far as you can see.” Amelia replied.

“Wow, sounds amazing.” Roy said sitting up, “Let’s get going, don’t wana waste the daylight.”

“Alright, I’ll lead.”

The two stood up brushing the dusty dirt off their pants, and picked up their respective bags. Amelia looked up at the sun, shading her eyes with her hand, and took off due east.

For the first few hours the two walked in silence, listening only to the sound of the gentle breeze swaying the dead grass, and the light thud of their footsteps on the dusty ground. They passed the occasional dead tree, but saw no signs of life anywhere. Roy noticed Amelia constantly looking around, seemingly tense.

“Amelia?” Roy asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Marauders.” She replied dryly.

“What?!” Roy replied worried.

“Bandits, thieves, raiders, whatever you want to call them.” Amelia replied, “They live out here in the badlands, and plains.”

“I had no idea.” Roy sputtered, “I’m glad I ran into you, instead of any of them.”

“Same here.”

Roy’s heart had begun to pound, and the two continued to walk in silence. Roy now also scanning the horizon on every side, nervously. After a few more hours, they began to see hills in the distance, and Roy finally began to calm down a bit. However Amelia continued to look at the hills up ahead intensely. They walked, and walked, the hills getting larger, and larger eventually turning into expansive canyons. The sun slowly began to go down, and Roy was getting exhausted.

“Should we look for a place to sleep for the night?” Roy panted.

“We can’t stop until after dark.” Amelia replied, “We need to make sure there are no marauders around.”

“Can we at least take a break?” Roy begged, “My legs feel like jelly.”

“Fine, we can wait until dark but then we will need to keep moving.”

The two sat down next to a tree, and Roy pulled out a can of black beans. Opening it up Roy downed some of the liquid, and passed it to Amelia. As Amelia ate, Roy grabbed onto a branch and snapped it off, the sound echoing through the air.

“What are you doing!?” Amelia said angrily.

“I’m starting a fire?”

“Stop that! If anyone is around they will have just heard that, and if we start a fire they will be able to see right where we are!”

“Oh…”

Amelia glared at Roy. The two finished off the can in awkward silence, and Roy carefully placed the empty can on the ground when they had finished.

“Ready?”  Asked Amelia.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Replied Roy nervously.

The two walked for another hour until it had become dark, and the moon dimly lit up the barren landscape. Up ahead in the distance there was a large Cliffside, with two canyons running through it. The two had to go through one of them, or walk a few miles around the cliff.

“Amelia, which way should we go?” Asked Roy.

“I don’t know…” Amelia replied, “Maybe the canyon on the right?”

“Sure.”

The two carefully worked their way towards the canyon, the hills flattening out as they approached. Both cautiously scanning the area around them. Finally arriving at the canyon entrance, they looked up in amazement at the sheer height of the cliff. The two looked at each other, nodded, and entered the pitch black path. They walked slower than usual, shuffling forward in the dark. They continued on for a few hours, eventually reaching a bend in the canyon. The two slowly rounded the bend to see flickering light in the distance. Their hearts began to pound.

“Do you see that?” Roy whispered.

“Of course I do.” Amelia hissed.

“What are we going to do?” Said Roy, “It will take us hours to get back to the entrance.”

“Let’s see who it is before we change our path.” Amelia replied, “I’ll lead.”

Roy gulped, and before he could reply Amelia took crouched and took off towards the light. Roy wanted to tell her to stop, but he also didn’t want to be heard by marauders. He crouched down and shuffled his way after Amelia.

Amelia had gotten quite a lead on Roy, and was on high alert scanning the area. As she got closer to the light source she could make out that it was a small campfire. Ever edging closer she soon heard a few voices, and she stopped to listen, and take a look.

“Haha, did you see the look on this pipsqueaks face as Charles gutted him?”

“Yeah, priceless. Hahaha.”

“I still can’t believe the idiot didn’t have any water with him. How’d he expect to get through the canyon? It takes at least three days to get through the pass.”

Roy soon caught up to Amelia, who was staring intensely at the scene at the campfire.

“Amelia?” He whispered.

She remained silent. Roy turned to see what she was looking at. The blood drained from his face, his stomach churned.

“Turn him Jim, he’s starting to burn.”

“Ahh, alright.”

Roy, and Amelia stared in horror unable to look away as the three marauders sat cooking their latest victim over the fire. Roy winced at the sound of the crackling skin over the fire. Eventually Roy managed to regain some of his composure.

“Amelia, we need to go now.” He whispered sharply, tapping her on the shoulder.

“Yeah.” She muttered back, as she realized the situation they were in. “I’m not going back to the entrance, we need to get as much distance on them as we can.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.” Roy responded.

With that Amelia turned and slowly crawled with Roy right behind towards the furthest side of the canyon from the marauders. Luckily the marauders had chosen to make a campfire directly next to one of the sides leaving the opposite one shrouded in darkness. Once at the wall they stood up and crept their way past the three. Inch by inch trying to be as quiet as possible. Once they were past where the campfires light reached, the two relaxed a big and began to walk as normal, still keeping an eye on the three behind them. However as they were almost out of sight, Roy turned around one last time. Taking a couple steps backwards he tripped, unfortunately landing on a branch, snapping it in two.

The sound echoed through the canyon. The three marauders stood up, looking directly at Roy, and Amelia.

“Looks, like we found some desert boys!”

The marauders picked up their makeshift weapons, and one of the sticks from the fire and began to work their way towards the sound.

“Run!” Amelia screamed.

The two ran as fast as they could. Roy had forgotten how tired his legs were, the only thing on his mind was to keep running. His heartbeat so strong he could hear it, but he kept on running. They ran for what seemed like felt like an eternity. For the first 10 minutes or so the marauders had kept up, but they slowly fell behind. After about 30 minutes Roy and Amelia stopped, and fell to the ground exhausted. The two lied there gazing up at the stars trying to catch their breaths, happy to have escaped for the time being. After a few minutes, and the two recovered a bit; Roy pulled out a can and opened it up for a late night dinner. Passing it to Amelia, Roy rubbed his sore feet hoping tomorrow would be a better day. After finishing the can off, the two moved behind a rock on the side of the canyon just out of sight, and fell asleep.

Roy awoke to Amelia poking him in the side with her foot.

“Let’s go Roy, we don’t have time to waste.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Roy replied, rubbing his eyes.

Roy got up and they were on their way. The canyon was a lot more pleasant during the morning. A gentle breeze flowed through it, and it provided shade most of the day. They walked in silence the whole day listening carefully to the slightest hint of the marauders. But they were not to be found, only the quiet howl of the wind through the winding passage. By sunset the two were exhausted, having strained themselves too much the night before. They found a semi hidden area on the side of the canyon and passed out almost before hitting the ground.

Roy was woken from his slumber with a hand placed tightly over his mouth, and a knife to his throat.

“Don’t move, or I’ll gut you like a pig.” Whispered the marauder.

Roy’s eyes opened in horror. It was one of the marauders they had seen on the first night in the canyon. He looked over at Amelia, she was still fast asleep. The other two marauders were nowhere to be seen.

The marauder slowly stood up pulling Roy with him. As Roy slid back to get up he dragged his hand across the ground picking up a fistful of sand.

“Is there anyone besides you two?”

Roy nodded. He had to try something to buy some time.

“Where are they?” The marauder asked, “If you wake the girl, I will skin you alive.”

He slowly removed his hand.

“The others went ahead to look for marauders.” Roy whimpered.

“Why would they do that if you knew we were behind you?”

“Well… you never know.”

The marauder looked doubtful.

“How about we make a deal?” Asked Roy, “You let me go, and I’ll give you my cans?”

“Bullshit. I haven’t seen a can in years.” The marauder replied.

“Look for yourself, they are in the backpack to my right.”

The marauder glanced over at the backpack. Then keeping his eyes on Roy took two steps over and dragged the bag in front of Roy.

“Open it slowly.”

Roy obliged, slowly crouching down he unzipped the backpack, and pulled out a can of corn placing it on the ground.

“Holy shit.” The marauder said practically drooling.

“There is a can opener in the side pouch.” Said Roy.

The marauder forgetting to watch Roy crouched right down, and eagerly started to open the bag. Roy knew this was his chance.

“Hey, asshole!” He shouted at the top of his lungs. The marauder looked up surprised, and Roy hurled his fistful of dirt into the marauders eyes.

“My eyes!” The marauder screeched, flailing his knife around wildly.

Roy ran forward grabbing his backpack. The marauder still swinging his knife around grazed Roy’s leg. Roy winced, blocking the next swipe with his backpack, and took off.

“Amelia let’s go!” Roy shouted.

She was already up, and was soon right next to Roy. The two sprinted for a while, the sound of the enraged marauder echoed throughout the canyon.

“What was that?!” She asked.

“That was one of the marauders from the other night.” Roy replied.

“Oh damn.”

Once the marauder could no longer be heard, the two slowed down but didn’t stop. They jogged through the night only taking a few breaks to catch their breaths. They kept going till dawn started to break, the morning daylight slowly creeping down the walls of the canyon. Just as they were approaching their physical limit, they saw it, the end of the canyon path.

“Last one there, is a rotten egg.” Said Amelia, sticking out her tongue, and breaking out into a sprint

“Hey no fair!” Roy wheezed.

Roy desperately tried to catch up, using every last ounce of strength he has left in his legs. He almost caught up, but Amelia won by a hair, and the two collapsed in the bright sunlight. They proceeded to fall asleep on the spot.

When the two woke up, Roy, as usual opened up his backpack, and to his surprise pulled out the last can in it. Picking the backpack up Roy noticed a hole had been torn in the bottom left corner. The rest of the cans must have fallen out the previous night while running.

“This is the last can Amelia…”

“What?!”

“I lost the rest back in the canyon.” Roy replied, “They must have fallen out through a hole that guy cut in my backpack.”

“Damn.”

“How much further is it to the lake city?”

“Not sure.”

Roy opened up the can and drank half the liquid savoring each sip, and passed it over to Amelia. Roy looked down at his leg; it was worse than he thought. It was caked with dried blood, and he knew the more he walked, the more it would bleed. Finishing the remains of the can up, the two got up and continued onward into the unknown. The surrounding landscape was as flat as it could be, with not a dead tree, or blade of grass; just dirt, dust, and the scorching sun beating down on them. They walked mile after mile through the emptiness. The wind came in great gusts, swirling dust, and dirt around them.

After a few hours the two took a rest. They coughed, and wheezed trying to get rid of the dust in their tired lungs. Roy pulled one of his remaining shirts out of the bag, and tore it in half. He tied it around his leg, wincing as he tightened it.

They soon continued onward with no time to lose. The hours crept by, and the sun began to set. The two did not stop, they couldn’t; not without any water. Under the stars and moon they trekked ever onwards, the hours seemed to melt together. As the sun began to rise, Roy began to slow down, barely able to walk. Amelia slowed down, and they kept on trudging, until Roy collapsed.

“Roy!”

“Just leave me.” He muttered.

“No Roy, we are going to make it together!” She said, nervously.

“I can’t stand, I won’t make it another mile.” Roy replied, “Get yourself to the lake city.”

“No I won’t leave you!” She cried.

“Go! There is no sense in both of us dying!”

“Roy… I’ll go… but I promise, I will come back for you.”

“Now go!” Roy yelled.

Amelia got up, and turned away from Roy. Fighting back tears, she began to run as fast as she could. Roy rolled over onto his back, tilted his head back, and watch Amelia as she vanished off into the distance. He smiled.

“She’ll make it for sure.” He though.

He leaned his head forward, and glared at his leg. Stupid marauder, stupid leg, stupid me. He was angry, he wanted to see the lake city. He wanted to see it with Amelia.

“Damnit all.” He though as he hit his leg.

Recoiling in pain, he slumped his head down. Shedding a tear, he looked up at the vast blue sky. The sun was hot on his skin. The blood lose had finally begun to take its toll on him, and his vision began to get blurry.

“She will make it.” He though, as the corners of his eyes darkened; slowly engulfing his sight.

Roy dreamed of his grandparent’s house. The orchard, the white picket fence, and the small green loveseat. He saw Amelia, running towards the end of the canyon, and into the light. He tried to keep up, but he simply couldn’t, the light at the end of the canyon getting brighter and brighter, till it engulfed everything.

Roy bolted upright.

“Amelia!” He shouted, dazed.

“Roy, I’m right here.” She replied, running over to him, and giving him a hug.

“Where are we?”

“The Lake City, son.” Replied a strange voice, “You’ve been out quite a while.”

“How long?” Asked Roy, the room slowly coming into focus.

“3 days.” Replied the strange voice, “We weren’t sure you were going to make it, but your friend here never left your side.”

Roy’s eyes finally focusing, saw the voice belonged to a large man in a faded white lab coat, with a large moustache.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Dr. Reaves, but you can just call me Doc.”

“Thanks, Doc”

“Don’t thank me. Thank your friend here, she traded just about everything she had to get a rescue party to go and get you.”

Roy turned towards Amelia.

“I knew you’d make it.” Roy said, beaming.

He turned and got up unsteadily. Amelia putting Roy’s arm around her shoulder.

“Thanks, Doc.” Said Amelia.

“No problem.”

Amelia led Roy out of the building, and into a busy street. People were all around, and Amelia led Roy down a series of alleyways. Finally the two turned a corner to face the lake. The edge of town was covered with a series of docks spanning the length of the city. They headed down onto the docks, and worked their way past the fishmongers and to the end. Amelia sat down lowering Roy with her, and the two dipped their feet into the cool waters of the lake. They gazed out looking at the water spanning all the way to the horizon. Roy looked at Amelia and smiled, and she leaned her head on Roy’s shoulder. Roy looked back out over the water, and he knew they were going to be alright.