Honors 205 - Stories Across the Disciplines
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A group of students tell a series of stories about the different ways of knowing in a variety of disciplines.
Our group written work for this project: Work |
Kiki: A Modern Witch From the Past
In the film, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Hayao Miyazaki presents an uplifting story that follows a young witch attempting to find her place in society. This fictional piece of work was artfully crafted by Japanese animators who found inspiration for their drawings from many historical artifacts. The narrative focuses on Kiki, the protagonist, and her journey to independence in an unfamiliar setting. In Kiki’s world, witches and ordinary people coexist peacefully. However, the role of witches is gradually diminishing because magic is viewed as a traditional and old fashioned practice. Kiki, a character very much focused on traditions, is absorbed by the conventional practices of witches despite her young age. Accordingly, at the age of thirteen she sets off with her black cat, Jiji, and searches for a town in which she can learn to become independent. Not too long after her departure, Kiki finds Koriko, a European city that resides next to the sea.
Koriko is a beautifully illustrated city, with colorful buildings of varied styles and busy streets, crowded with people. The city has several European influences including a tall clock tower that looks remarkably similar to London’s Great Bell. The scenery is idyllic, devoid of the chaos and destruction, due to war, that is seen in several other Miyazaki films with settings based on Europe. Kiki who dresses in a plain, black dress, and appears to be rather introverted contrasts with the vibrant city. This contrast in appearance and behavior creates a noticeable detachment between Kiki and the inhabitants of the city. Initially, Kiki struggles to interact with the city’s residents who ignore her. Consequently, Kiki appears overwhelmed by the city’s regulations and expectations and has difficulties finding a place to live. Fortunately for Kiki, she is able to befriend a local baker who provides her with the resources to setup her own delivery business. Despite her differences, Kiki evidently manages to employ her unique abilities in a way that empowers her to succeed in discovering her role.
The film’s protagonist is a young witch with magical powers that enable her to fly and communicate with animals. The inspirations for such a character come from around the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the witch craze was at its peak. Mainly occurring in western Europe, the witch craze produced horrific stories of witches feasting on young, unbaptized children and causing death and disease (Roper 117). Such writing which was “certainly designed to shock and appeal” with its “savoring of vivid details” contributed to the rise of witch hunting during that time period (Roper 125). Witches were seen as forces of evil, demonic creatures who engaged in seduction and trickery (Roper 124). Many of these images and ideas that define the traditional witch have been preserved and adopted into the representation of the witch that we have today. Various adaptions of chilling stories that describe witches boiling venomous concoctions in black cauldrons and hunting people through the night are propagated through tales that have become an element of popular culture.
Along with the terrifying stories that were written, illustrations were made to add to the already horrific image of witches. The texts were “adorned with a series of woodcuts of witches in all the familiar lurid scenes, the witches tricked out in contemporary fashionable clothing with Devils to match,” (Roper 124). As seen in the woodcut below, witches were portrayed as typical women who engaged in awful deeds. Male “witches” are not depicted in the woodcut which reinforces the idea that witches are primarily female. The witches’ appearances are not especially frightful; the hooked noses, warts, green skin, and long nails that are seen in some modern depictions of witches are nowhere to be found in the woodcut. The witches are dressed in plain, long dresses, and a few of them are wearing hats. Not just plain in appearance and dress, the apparent ages of the witches are not especially notable. Young and old women alike are seen together, engaging in witchcraft.
Other stories of witchcraft report that witches “assume the forms of animals, generally black, and [are] restored to their original shapes at the rising of the sun,” (Crosby 305). Additionally, witches are “accompanied in due form by her black cat and other familiar spirits,” (Crosby 306). In general, witches were “wicked godmothers” who cast “magic spells,” accompanied by “broomsticks and black cats” (Crosby 304). These defining aspects of witches still pertain to modern portrayals of witches in children’s stories.
Hayao Miyazaki’s portrayal of Kiki as a witch somewhat deviates from depictions of witches in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe. Despite some glaring contrasts, certain elements from the original witches have been adopted into the modern portrayal of witches. The most significant connection is Kiki’s plain, black dress which is made from a single piece of fabric. The loose and flowing nature of Kiki’s dress matches that of the witches depicted in the woodcut. Furthermore, the witches’ dresses have long sleeves that are similar in length to Kiki’s dress. Interestingly, Kiki’s appearance is similar to other female characters within the movie in that she is also dressed in “contemporary fashionable clothing.” However, Kiki’s notes: “a black cat, black clothes...I'm all in black,” highlighting how her style is distinct from the vibrantly colored clothes of other individuals within the film. The prominence of the color black, in regards to Kiki’s clothing and cat, is a connection to depictions of witches from around the seventeenth century. Although the form of her clothing might seem relatively ordinary, the black color distinguishes her as a witch since everyone else in the film wears brightly colored clothes.
Similarly, Kiki’s closest friend Jiji, her cat, is another parallel with the portrayal of witches from the past. The traditional, chosen companion of most witches, the cat is an essential aspect of witchcraft as previously described by Crosby. Kiki’s ability to communicate with her cat is one aspect of her magical powers. The other aspect is Kiki’s ability to fly on a broomstick. These magical powers are the best representation of “witchcraft” within the film. These non-ordinary abilities are related to those that appear in stories of witches who fly through the night and communicate with spiritual beings.
The elements that distinguish Kiki from a witch from sixteenth century Europe, help to characterize her as more of a modern witch. Most notably, Kiki is characterized as a good person who never uses her magical abilities to harm others. Completely different from the stories of witches engaging in cannibalism and murder, Kiki is portrayed as an innocent, young girl who is eager to aid others in need. Additionally, witches were depicted as solitary individuals who committed their crimes alone at night. Conversely, Kiki’s friendliness is emphasized by her interactions with her customers and her friends. Rather than working in isolation, she depends on the help of an elderly lady to start her delivery business. Kiki reaches out to Tombo, a boy interested in aviation, and they build a lasting friendship that is a significant element within the story of the film. Kiki’s warmth and enthusiasm help to establish her as an affectionate character rather than a terrifying witch.
In reversing the role of a witch, Hayao Miyazaki shifts the focus from witchcraft to a young girl’s struggle to find her place in society due to her magical powers. Kiki is a regular girl, eager to find friends, even if she resembles a traditional witch in appearance. The film explores the other possibilities of the use of magic, rather than for evil, and concludes that these different abilities do not prevent people from connecting with one another. Kiki’s witchcraft serves as a tool that creates new opportunities for her to meet others, rather than as a hindering characteristic that isolates her from society.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a simple tale that redefines the idea of a witch. The film achieves this by first establishing Kiki, the protagonist, as a witch through her dark clothing and black cat. These influences for the idea of a witch can be traced to portrayals of witches from the Reformation period in Europe. Kiki’s talking cat and the flying broomstick are additional similarities to witches of that early time period. However, the parallels between Kiki and traditional witches end there as Miyazaki writes a different story for the modern witch. A story for the search of self-identity and independence replaces the nightmares that were once told.
Koriko is a beautifully illustrated city, with colorful buildings of varied styles and busy streets, crowded with people. The city has several European influences including a tall clock tower that looks remarkably similar to London’s Great Bell. The scenery is idyllic, devoid of the chaos and destruction, due to war, that is seen in several other Miyazaki films with settings based on Europe. Kiki who dresses in a plain, black dress, and appears to be rather introverted contrasts with the vibrant city. This contrast in appearance and behavior creates a noticeable detachment between Kiki and the inhabitants of the city. Initially, Kiki struggles to interact with the city’s residents who ignore her. Consequently, Kiki appears overwhelmed by the city’s regulations and expectations and has difficulties finding a place to live. Fortunately for Kiki, she is able to befriend a local baker who provides her with the resources to setup her own delivery business. Despite her differences, Kiki evidently manages to employ her unique abilities in a way that empowers her to succeed in discovering her role.
The film’s protagonist is a young witch with magical powers that enable her to fly and communicate with animals. The inspirations for such a character come from around the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the witch craze was at its peak. Mainly occurring in western Europe, the witch craze produced horrific stories of witches feasting on young, unbaptized children and causing death and disease (Roper 117). Such writing which was “certainly designed to shock and appeal” with its “savoring of vivid details” contributed to the rise of witch hunting during that time period (Roper 125). Witches were seen as forces of evil, demonic creatures who engaged in seduction and trickery (Roper 124). Many of these images and ideas that define the traditional witch have been preserved and adopted into the representation of the witch that we have today. Various adaptions of chilling stories that describe witches boiling venomous concoctions in black cauldrons and hunting people through the night are propagated through tales that have become an element of popular culture.
Along with the terrifying stories that were written, illustrations were made to add to the already horrific image of witches. The texts were “adorned with a series of woodcuts of witches in all the familiar lurid scenes, the witches tricked out in contemporary fashionable clothing with Devils to match,” (Roper 124). As seen in the woodcut below, witches were portrayed as typical women who engaged in awful deeds. Male “witches” are not depicted in the woodcut which reinforces the idea that witches are primarily female. The witches’ appearances are not especially frightful; the hooked noses, warts, green skin, and long nails that are seen in some modern depictions of witches are nowhere to be found in the woodcut. The witches are dressed in plain, long dresses, and a few of them are wearing hats. Not just plain in appearance and dress, the apparent ages of the witches are not especially notable. Young and old women alike are seen together, engaging in witchcraft.
Other stories of witchcraft report that witches “assume the forms of animals, generally black, and [are] restored to their original shapes at the rising of the sun,” (Crosby 305). Additionally, witches are “accompanied in due form by her black cat and other familiar spirits,” (Crosby 306). In general, witches were “wicked godmothers” who cast “magic spells,” accompanied by “broomsticks and black cats” (Crosby 304). These defining aspects of witches still pertain to modern portrayals of witches in children’s stories.
Hayao Miyazaki’s portrayal of Kiki as a witch somewhat deviates from depictions of witches in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe. Despite some glaring contrasts, certain elements from the original witches have been adopted into the modern portrayal of witches. The most significant connection is Kiki’s plain, black dress which is made from a single piece of fabric. The loose and flowing nature of Kiki’s dress matches that of the witches depicted in the woodcut. Furthermore, the witches’ dresses have long sleeves that are similar in length to Kiki’s dress. Interestingly, Kiki’s appearance is similar to other female characters within the movie in that she is also dressed in “contemporary fashionable clothing.” However, Kiki’s notes: “a black cat, black clothes...I'm all in black,” highlighting how her style is distinct from the vibrantly colored clothes of other individuals within the film. The prominence of the color black, in regards to Kiki’s clothing and cat, is a connection to depictions of witches from around the seventeenth century. Although the form of her clothing might seem relatively ordinary, the black color distinguishes her as a witch since everyone else in the film wears brightly colored clothes.
Similarly, Kiki’s closest friend Jiji, her cat, is another parallel with the portrayal of witches from the past. The traditional, chosen companion of most witches, the cat is an essential aspect of witchcraft as previously described by Crosby. Kiki’s ability to communicate with her cat is one aspect of her magical powers. The other aspect is Kiki’s ability to fly on a broomstick. These magical powers are the best representation of “witchcraft” within the film. These non-ordinary abilities are related to those that appear in stories of witches who fly through the night and communicate with spiritual beings.
The elements that distinguish Kiki from a witch from sixteenth century Europe, help to characterize her as more of a modern witch. Most notably, Kiki is characterized as a good person who never uses her magical abilities to harm others. Completely different from the stories of witches engaging in cannibalism and murder, Kiki is portrayed as an innocent, young girl who is eager to aid others in need. Additionally, witches were depicted as solitary individuals who committed their crimes alone at night. Conversely, Kiki’s friendliness is emphasized by her interactions with her customers and her friends. Rather than working in isolation, she depends on the help of an elderly lady to start her delivery business. Kiki reaches out to Tombo, a boy interested in aviation, and they build a lasting friendship that is a significant element within the story of the film. Kiki’s warmth and enthusiasm help to establish her as an affectionate character rather than a terrifying witch.
In reversing the role of a witch, Hayao Miyazaki shifts the focus from witchcraft to a young girl’s struggle to find her place in society due to her magical powers. Kiki is a regular girl, eager to find friends, even if she resembles a traditional witch in appearance. The film explores the other possibilities of the use of magic, rather than for evil, and concludes that these different abilities do not prevent people from connecting with one another. Kiki’s witchcraft serves as a tool that creates new opportunities for her to meet others, rather than as a hindering characteristic that isolates her from society.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a simple tale that redefines the idea of a witch. The film achieves this by first establishing Kiki, the protagonist, as a witch through her dark clothing and black cat. These influences for the idea of a witch can be traced to portrayals of witches from the Reformation period in Europe. Kiki’s talking cat and the flying broomstick are additional similarities to witches of that early time period. However, the parallels between Kiki and traditional witches end there as Miyazaki writes a different story for the modern witch. A story for the search of self-identity and independence replaces the nightmares that were once told.
It's Lit
The invention of the modern light bulb, over a hundred years ago, removed the need for our lives to be dependent upon the rising and setting of the sun. Nowadays, every room within a building is likely to contain one or several light fixtures. Indoor lights provide the illumination that people need to continue their activities and to accurately perceive what is within the room. Before a room becomes vacated however, an individual has the option to leave the lights on or to turn them off.
In the last few years the issue of leaving the lights on has escalated into a topic of serious concern. Light bulbs are one of the most frequent energy outlets that people deal with regularly while being indoors. The ease of which people can switch the lights on or off is also a contributing factor as to why the issue has accumulated attention; a small effort can result in a difference. However, this difference in financial savings is small when compared to heating and cooling costs which account for more than half of the energy used in US homes (“Heating & Cooling”). The total “savings” from leaving the lights on is generally greater when considering other costs that may incur from switching them off. Consequently, people should leave on their lights when vacating a room.
Dark rooms are not always the most inviting for people to casually wander into. In this regard, leaving the lights on can promote safety because it prevents accidents. Accidents are inherently bad because they can entail injury, damage, and general harm. For instance, when a person returns to a dark room, there is a chance that the person may stumble into an obstacle and injure themselves. The chance of running into an obstacle is increased if the person is searching for the light switch while fumbling in the dark. If the lights were on, the room would be significantly easier to navigate and the possibility of injury from stumbling would be greatly reduced.
Leaving the lights on is also a simple counter measure against theft. An unlit room within a dark house creates the impression that the house is empty. Dark rooms create such an impression because people normally turn on the lights when they are occupying a room and need to clearly see what is within. This indication that the house is unoccupied provides any thief with the better opportunity to break in and steal something without being caught. Conversely, leaving the lights on, even if the room is unoccupied, creates the impression to outside observers that people are within the building. This impression is often enough to dissuade a thief from attempting to break in.
Repeatedly switching the lights on and off also evidently have an impact on the bulb’s operating life. The site energy.gov reports that each light bulb’s rated operating life is directly affected by the number of times that it is toggled on or off (“When to Turn Off Your Lights”). Compact fluorescent light bulbs (or CFLs), which are still commonly used, can generally experience a longer operating life if the number of times they are switched off is reduced. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also experience a slight inrush of electricity when they are switched on which does consume a measurable amount of energy. However, as energy.gov notes, more energy will saved than consumed if the lights are turned off for five seconds or longer. As a result, the major concern with switching the lights on or off in a small period of time is not with the amount of energy consumed, but with the duration of the bulb (“When to Turn Off Your Lights”). Wearing down a bulb by turning it off when it is going to be turned back on within a time span of an hour will increase the frequency of which the bulb needs to be replaced. Replacing a light bulb presents the direct cost of purchasing a new bulb and disposing of the broken one. Evidently, the frequency of replacing these CFLs can be minimized by not turning off the lights when it is known that the lights will be needed again within at least an hour.
Those who believe that the lights within an empty room should be turned off might respond with the claim that leaving the lights on is wasteful. The basis for such a claim is that lights require energy resources which can be financially costly depending on the timeframe of the lights being left on. However, this claim fails in multiple regards. One of the key words to highlight in the faulty argument is the term “wasteful.” The word wasteful is commonly used to mean the usage or expending of resources to no purpose. For example, throwing away fresh food is wasteful. Similarly, spending a large sum of money on material items that one will never need is wasteful. Sitting around and daydreaming when one could have been doing something productive can be also seen as wasteful. In this context however, leaving the lights on cannot be identified as wasteful. If a light is turned on so that a person may read a book or finish an assignment, it cannot be considered wasteful as the individual was able to be productive due to the light. Consequently, by leaving on the lights, if an accident involving tripping over a chair was prevented, it cannot be considered a waste as the lights had served a purpose. Similarly, if the lights being left on had given the impression that the room was occupied and dissuaded a potential thief from stealing an object of value, the lights must have therefore not been wasteful as they had served a purpose. The financial cost of leaving the lights on for the few hours that the room is unoccupied would be less than the money lost in a robbery.
In preventing avoidable accidents and break-ins, lights that are left on serve an essential purpose in many peoples’ daily routines. Whether or not all the lights should be left on is a different question that remains to be explored. It has not been determined whether a single light can achieve the same effects as several lights and whether or not these effects directly correspond with the number of lights that are left on. Additionally, while the operating life spans of CFL bulbs are directly affected by the number of times that they are switched on and off, LED bulbs remain completely unaffected. As the usage of LED bulbs increases as people search for more energy efficient lighting, determining the cost of switching off the lights will change. Despite these smaller nuances in the variance in amount of light that is left on, lights in an empty rooms still provide a set of positive possibilities.
In the last few years the issue of leaving the lights on has escalated into a topic of serious concern. Light bulbs are one of the most frequent energy outlets that people deal with regularly while being indoors. The ease of which people can switch the lights on or off is also a contributing factor as to why the issue has accumulated attention; a small effort can result in a difference. However, this difference in financial savings is small when compared to heating and cooling costs which account for more than half of the energy used in US homes (“Heating & Cooling”). The total “savings” from leaving the lights on is generally greater when considering other costs that may incur from switching them off. Consequently, people should leave on their lights when vacating a room.
Dark rooms are not always the most inviting for people to casually wander into. In this regard, leaving the lights on can promote safety because it prevents accidents. Accidents are inherently bad because they can entail injury, damage, and general harm. For instance, when a person returns to a dark room, there is a chance that the person may stumble into an obstacle and injure themselves. The chance of running into an obstacle is increased if the person is searching for the light switch while fumbling in the dark. If the lights were on, the room would be significantly easier to navigate and the possibility of injury from stumbling would be greatly reduced.
Leaving the lights on is also a simple counter measure against theft. An unlit room within a dark house creates the impression that the house is empty. Dark rooms create such an impression because people normally turn on the lights when they are occupying a room and need to clearly see what is within. This indication that the house is unoccupied provides any thief with the better opportunity to break in and steal something without being caught. Conversely, leaving the lights on, even if the room is unoccupied, creates the impression to outside observers that people are within the building. This impression is often enough to dissuade a thief from attempting to break in.
Repeatedly switching the lights on and off also evidently have an impact on the bulb’s operating life. The site energy.gov reports that each light bulb’s rated operating life is directly affected by the number of times that it is toggled on or off (“When to Turn Off Your Lights”). Compact fluorescent light bulbs (or CFLs), which are still commonly used, can generally experience a longer operating life if the number of times they are switched off is reduced. Compact fluorescent light bulbs also experience a slight inrush of electricity when they are switched on which does consume a measurable amount of energy. However, as energy.gov notes, more energy will saved than consumed if the lights are turned off for five seconds or longer. As a result, the major concern with switching the lights on or off in a small period of time is not with the amount of energy consumed, but with the duration of the bulb (“When to Turn Off Your Lights”). Wearing down a bulb by turning it off when it is going to be turned back on within a time span of an hour will increase the frequency of which the bulb needs to be replaced. Replacing a light bulb presents the direct cost of purchasing a new bulb and disposing of the broken one. Evidently, the frequency of replacing these CFLs can be minimized by not turning off the lights when it is known that the lights will be needed again within at least an hour.
Those who believe that the lights within an empty room should be turned off might respond with the claim that leaving the lights on is wasteful. The basis for such a claim is that lights require energy resources which can be financially costly depending on the timeframe of the lights being left on. However, this claim fails in multiple regards. One of the key words to highlight in the faulty argument is the term “wasteful.” The word wasteful is commonly used to mean the usage or expending of resources to no purpose. For example, throwing away fresh food is wasteful. Similarly, spending a large sum of money on material items that one will never need is wasteful. Sitting around and daydreaming when one could have been doing something productive can be also seen as wasteful. In this context however, leaving the lights on cannot be identified as wasteful. If a light is turned on so that a person may read a book or finish an assignment, it cannot be considered wasteful as the individual was able to be productive due to the light. Consequently, by leaving on the lights, if an accident involving tripping over a chair was prevented, it cannot be considered a waste as the lights had served a purpose. Similarly, if the lights being left on had given the impression that the room was occupied and dissuaded a potential thief from stealing an object of value, the lights must have therefore not been wasteful as they had served a purpose. The financial cost of leaving the lights on for the few hours that the room is unoccupied would be less than the money lost in a robbery.
In preventing avoidable accidents and break-ins, lights that are left on serve an essential purpose in many peoples’ daily routines. Whether or not all the lights should be left on is a different question that remains to be explored. It has not been determined whether a single light can achieve the same effects as several lights and whether or not these effects directly correspond with the number of lights that are left on. Additionally, while the operating life spans of CFL bulbs are directly affected by the number of times that they are switched on and off, LED bulbs remain completely unaffected. As the usage of LED bulbs increases as people search for more energy efficient lighting, determining the cost of switching off the lights will change. Despite these smaller nuances in the variance in amount of light that is left on, lights in an empty rooms still provide a set of positive possibilities.
When Tomorrow Comes
Dull beams of sunlight filtered through the dusty shades that covered the kitchen windows. Due to the mildly cold temperatures and slight humidity, the windows were partially fogged up. However, one could still get a good look of the landscape by getting close to the glass and peering out.
The environment outside looked quite miserable. It was one of those days with scattered clouds and persistent light rain. Dust and dried leaves flew in circular patterns, agitated by the cold wind. The patches of dried grass growing on the cracked dirt ground appeared unsaturated in color. Built on the uneven ground, clusters of old looking homes were situated in a scattered manner. A few withered trees that surrounded a dried pond cast gloomy shadows across the swampy land.
Ellary Porterfield, a slender teen with dirty blonde, shoulder length hair, sat perched against the chilly glass, listlessly staring off into the distance with her blue eyes. Her breath added fog to the windows which glowed white from the reflection of her wool sweater. The interior of the aging home was considerably warmer than the outside; the glass windows providing a protective barrier for Ellary from the distant world beyond the four walls.
Quite suddenly, large beams of sunlight broke through the clouds and cast a glowing circle on Ellary’s neighborhood. The bright sunlight brought a revitalizing glow to the previously depressing scenery. Excited, Ellary awoke from her quite daze and dashed towards the dining table.
The table was occupied only by Jimmy, Ellary’s childhood friend, who was sprawled out, quietly dozing. His navy blue flannel shirt loosely defined his hunched outline as he leaned over the table, napping. Ellary’s excited kick sent Jimmy flying onto the table as his eyes opened in surprise. The chairs that he had been sitting on fell to the floor with a resounding boom.
“Let’s go!” Ellary exclaimed. “Now’s our chance!” She straightened the chairs and grabbed a brown canvas knapsack. “The sun’s out and the rain’s finally stopped,” Ellary said as she slung the knapsack onto her back and raced out of the dining room.
Jimmy, not quite fully conscious, pulled himself together before downing a half empty mug of coffee that was sitting at the edge of the table. He sluggishly followed Ellary’s lead through the kitchen room and out the front door.
Outside, Ellary shivered from the slight chill as she trudged across the small puddles of rain water in her padded boots. Behind her, Jimmy’s warm breath could be seen in the air. Despite the cold, the two happily basked in the bright sun as they trudged up the hill towards the neighborhood’s orchard.
***
The neighborhood was situated on the outskirts of Aggron, the main city. Aggron was the first zone that had been established out of a total of a hundred zones. The zones had been created after an event that had nearly wiped out the human race.
Ellary distinctly remembered her grandfather repeating the story about the Catastrophic Event which had happened about 300 years ago. In the year 105 BCE, Before Catastrophic Event, or 2341 CE (common era), the earth had almost been devastated by a serious of disastrous occurrences. Ellary’s grandfather had recounted tales of a massive droughts, countless diseases, and hundreds of ‘natural’ disasters that had occurred in the course of a few months. It wasn’t too long afterwards that the earth had become nearly uninhabitable. Fortunately, humans had been able to execute a Solar Radiation Management plan at the last moment, in a desperate attempt to save the planet, which prevented the extinction of all life on planet Earth.
Unfortunately, the lack of scientifically sound evidence regarding the effectiveness of Solar Radiation Management had resulted in countless further disasters. Several geo-engineering techniques that had been implemented caused undesirable side effects that resulted in more disasters. Eventually, somehow the humans had been able to find a balance which allowed them to control and prevent the disasters that would follow. A new plan, STEP, for Save The Earth Plan, was established which called for the implementation of many different techniques to reduce global warming and prevent further natural disasters.
A part of STEP was the creation of a hundred zones. The population of Earth at 0 AD, After Disaster, was less than a million. The habitable land was divided equally into a hundred zones and families were randomly assigned to the different areas. However, the creation of the zones had taken the course of roughly a hundred years to complete. As a result Aggron, the first zone to be created, was considered an ‘old’ zone, and was a century behind the newest zone, Milano.
Ellary’s shabby neighborhood and home were a product of the lack of maintenance and care for several decades. With only sixty five people living in the rural neighborhood area, it wasn’t exactly a top priority for the government to provide support to the community. Recently, however, new acid-rain shelters had been constructed as toxic downpour had been becoming more frequent. The local community had also worked together to provide everyone with air-filter masks, for when levels of dangerous particles in the atmosphere became too high.
***
Jimmy and Ellary walked past an acid-rain shelter, marked with bright yellow neon lights, and entered the orchards. Their community had attempted to develop a sustainable method for producing food. With such a low population in the neighborhood, it hadn’t seemed like a problem at first. However, producing crops and raising animals in such miserable conditions turned out to be extraordinarily challenging. Every family was expected to farm an acre of land that had been assigned to them. In times of difficulty, the families of the neighborhood shared extra supplies with one another. Yet there were also times when there was simply not enough food to share. Fortunately for Jimmy and Ellary, this year had provided their families with more than enough sustenance to last through the oncoming winter.
“Catch.” Jimmy grabbed a basket from one of the supply shed that stood at the corners of every plot of land and tossed it to Ellary. “If we work quickly, I think we’ll have time to harvest enough to distribute to the others at the neighborhood center.”
Ellary glanced at the slowly setting sun and the looming clouds. “Walking here took half an hour, but it looks like we’ll have another hour before it gets too dark or before the rain comes again.”
“Let’s go then,” Jimmy grinned as he hoisted a small metal ladder onto his shoulder and grabbed another basket. He kicked the supply door shut and began marching down the dusty path.
Together, they trekked to plot 18 and began filling the baskets with vegetables and fruits. They worked quickly, having become efficient from years of practice. Working in silence for the first few minutes, they listened to the whistling wind that blew over their heads.
“Do you think that things will ever be different here?” Ellary paused momentarily in her harvesting work.
“Ellary, we don’t have much time,” Jimmy noted. He looked in Ellary’s direction, “What could possibly change anyways?”
“Right,” Ellary continued. “This year hasn’t been horrible for us – we have enough food, and we haven’t been hit by any freakish disasters. But what about next year, or even next month? How do we know for sure that things will always be the same?” Her voice lowered to a whisper as she tried to imagine the unthinkable. “When will ‘tomorrow’ stop coming?”
Jimmy, without stopping to unearth several clusters of brown potatoes, pondered for a moment. “I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure. But I do hope that we won’t have to live in fear forever. I hope that we’ll always have enough food to live comfortably and that no sudden disaster will come destroy our homes. Anyways, we’ve got the scientists working with the government to develop plans to prevent such things from happening anyways.”
“Remember three years ago? Zone 13 was nearly wiped out because of the aerosols that had been released into the atmosphere! Weird wind patterns had concentrated those chemicals into Zone 13 and they were totally unprepared. Even now, those chemical aerosols are spread to other areas because of changing wind patterns.” Ellary’s look became more concerned as her nose wrinkled in frustration.
“Right,” Jimmy paused, before adding, “And the extinction of nearly all the species of fish due to ocean fertilization. Dumping iron into the ocean seemed like a pretty desperate action. But hey, we’re still alive. All that iron helped our oceans contain a lot more carbon dioxide than it could possibly have without the added chemicals. Without doing that, we might have drowned in carbon dioxide a long time ago. We can’t eat fish anymore, but we have air and we’re not suffocating.”
Ellary looked even more worried. “That’s ridiculous. How many more sacrifices can we keep making before we start harming ourselves? In fact, we’ve already harmed so much life. Soon we’ll all be living just to keep living. What kind of life is that? We’ll all be alone, desperately surviving in this mess that we’ve created.” She sighed, “We might not be suffocating from carbon dioxide, but without freedom, freedom from fear and apprehension, I feel like I’m suffocating anyways.”
Jimmy chuckled, surprised by Ellary’s sudden surge of emotion, “I’m sure it won’t be like this forever. What’s the worst that could happen? Could our Earth be any worse? If you think positively, I believe that we can only improve our planet from this point.” He shifted his feet and looked into Ellary’s eyes. “I think people do realize that they need to discuss the ethics of such methods for protecting the earth before using them to ‘save’ the planet. Otherwise, it’s a downwards spiral. One catastrophe leads to another.” Jimmy did a tiny spin, as if to physically illustrate the spiral he had just mentioned.
If the conversation’s topic hadn’t been so depressing, Ellary would have laughed at Jimmy’s dance. Instead, she looked at him sadly. “But that’s the problem we had around 200 BCE! Haven’t you heard the stories? People could never agree! The ethics around Solar Radiation Management were too complex and nothing ever got done until the last moment!” Ellary exclaimed. “And our last minute efforts were just barely enough to prevent human extinction, but not enough to avoid extinction of countless species on earth!”
Jimmy’s extended silence startled Ellary. Glancing up, she saw Jimmy staring blankly at the barren mountains in the distance. His look of concern caused Ellary to shudder slightly. “There’s a large dust storm of some sort headed towards us from the mountains. It doesn’t look like it’s moving too fast.” Jimmy motioned for Ellary to look in the same direction.
Standing up, Ellary could finally see what had attracted Jimmy’s attention. An immense expanse of land was obscured by dark particles that swirled in a turbulent manner. The mountain range that stretched across the eastern border of the zone was nearly completely obscured by the clouds of dust and chemicals. Brief flashes of lightning flickered across the dark mass accompanied by resonating booms of thunder. Gloomy shadows cast by the dark clouds hid the land beneath and seemed to swallow the entire ground into a dark endless void.
“Let’s clean up for the day then,” Ellary sighed. She tied her basket shut and gathered the tools she had brought. But before she could finish, Jimmy grabbed her hand tightly. Ellary could feel his warm hand slightly shuddering from the cold and from the fright.
“Wait, this isn’t something we’ve seen before. What if, in the end, it’s actually a massive disaster. We’ll need more food than this to sustain us for a while. I think if we harvest for a little longer, we can still make it back in time.” Jimmy continued his work with renewed energy, doubling his initial pace. Jimmy’s stern expression conveyed a mixture of fear and anxiety.
Ellary reluctantly followed Jimmy’s lead and continued her work. As they resumed their work in silence they could hear the fluctuating pitch of the howling wind that began to roar above them. The chilly air became even colder and Ellary felt her fingers gradually growing numb. Suddenly, the sky darkened as the sun beams that had shone upon the neighborhood vanished behind the scattered clouds. In the distance, a resounding siren began to wail, the warning echoing across the entire landscape. The clouds began to cluster together into larger clumps of darkness.
“Rain in ten minutes! That’s the alarm Jimmy!” Ellary scrambled to finish packing the remaining food she had grabbed. “We’ve got to go now!” She grabbed her knapsack and tugged at Jimmy’s sleeve.
“Alright.” Equally panicked, Jimmy jumped off the small ladder he had been standing on and covered his basket. He covered his basket, grabbed his ladder, and burst into a sprint.
Together, they dashed towards the supply shed and threw in the metal ladder which landed with a loud clatter. Jimmy clutched Ellary’s hand as they resumed their hurried pace. The darkness seemed to spread across the ground like flowing liquid, chasing them towards the neighborhood’s center. The looming clouds had extinguished almost all light from the sun and it was getting harder to see. In the distance, Ellary could spot the emergency lights in the neighborhood that were automatically turning on. A shrill ringing sound could be heard from the neighborhood center.
“We won’t make it Ellary! Let’s camp out in the acid-rain shelter! The rain’s going to hit in another minute!” Jimmy’s face had become incredibly frightful.
Ellary, mute from the initial shock, continued running. Just then, a massive gust of wind flew past them from the side. Losing her balance, Ellary tripped as her basket of food tumbled over a hill and rolled into the darkness. Jimmy, reacting from instinct, lifted Ellary upright and dove after the basket.
“Go on! I have a light with me, I’ll catch up in a minute!” Jimmy disappeared into the dark, his small flashlight flickering into the distance.
Ellary, incapable of responding, grabbed Jimmy’s basket and headed towards the glowing, neon shelter which was lit by bright LED lights. Her pace had become a sluggish limp due to her twisted ankle from the fall. Ignoring the pain, she stumbled forward, leaning against the strengthening wind. Just as she dived into the shelter, heavy rain began to splash the ground. Ellary, quickly shut the door to the shelter, and sank to the floor, breathless. Outside, hissing sounds could be heard as the heavily acidic rain began dissolving the rocks and plants within the ground.
***
Ellary awoke in the dark with a beam of light flicking around the corners of the small room. Jimmy’s grinning face suddenly appeared in front of her. The right sleeve of his flannel shirt had been severely torn and his boots seemed to be darkened from acid burns.
“I made it.” He whispered. “I was so lucky that there was another shelter at the bottom of the hill. When the rain stopped, I dashed up here before the dust storm hit. It was a slow trek since there were so many puddles of acid rain. You can hear the storm going on outside right now.” He gently brushed the dust from Ellary’s cheek and clutched her hand tightly.
“Are you alright?” Ellary stared intently at Jimmy’s face. She slowly scanned him over, checking for injuries.
Jimmy shook his head, “I’m alright. Slightly bruised from rolling down that hill, but I avoided anything bad.” He gently held Ellary’s right ankle and noticed her wince from slight pain. “Seems like your ankle was hurt from the fall. But we’ll get it checked out once we get back in the neighborhood.
With tears pouring down her face from relief and exhaustion, Ellary pressed her head against Jimmy and listened to the thunderous pounding of wind and particles against the shelter. The apocalyptic-proof shelter seemed shake and lean in the direction of the wind.
“Thanks for grabbing my basket” Jimmy hugged Ellary. “I realized that I had left it when I dashed off the hill. Fortunately, we’ll have enough to last awhile if this storm continues. But it had better end soon. We need to get some supplies back to the others in the neighborhood.”
Jimmy reached over to pick up Ellary’s knapsack. With a single hand, he untied it and flipped it open. After digging around for a while, Jimmy pulled out a flare gun and two air filter masks. “I can’t believe you remembered these! I actually never imagined that we would ever use them. Now seems like a good time to give them a try.” He slipped one onto Ellary’s face before putting on another onto his own. Jimmy’s brown eyes seemed to glisten, reflecting the light from his flashlight and from the pale LEDs of the shed’s interior.
“Are you crying?” Ellary pulled closer to Jimmy, finally feeling the cold that permeated the inside of the shed. She pulled out the emergency blanket from the shed’s supply kit and wrapped around the both of them.
“Of course not. Aren’t you the one who looks like she’s about to cry?” Jimmy laughed and looked away, blinking intensively.
“Will we be alright?” Ellary whispered as tears finally began to leak down her face. “Will we survive? What’ll happen next?”
“I don’t know,” Jimmy propped himself up against the shelter wall looking back at Ellary. “I guess we’ll have to see when tomorrow comes.”
The environment outside looked quite miserable. It was one of those days with scattered clouds and persistent light rain. Dust and dried leaves flew in circular patterns, agitated by the cold wind. The patches of dried grass growing on the cracked dirt ground appeared unsaturated in color. Built on the uneven ground, clusters of old looking homes were situated in a scattered manner. A few withered trees that surrounded a dried pond cast gloomy shadows across the swampy land.
Ellary Porterfield, a slender teen with dirty blonde, shoulder length hair, sat perched against the chilly glass, listlessly staring off into the distance with her blue eyes. Her breath added fog to the windows which glowed white from the reflection of her wool sweater. The interior of the aging home was considerably warmer than the outside; the glass windows providing a protective barrier for Ellary from the distant world beyond the four walls.
Quite suddenly, large beams of sunlight broke through the clouds and cast a glowing circle on Ellary’s neighborhood. The bright sunlight brought a revitalizing glow to the previously depressing scenery. Excited, Ellary awoke from her quite daze and dashed towards the dining table.
The table was occupied only by Jimmy, Ellary’s childhood friend, who was sprawled out, quietly dozing. His navy blue flannel shirt loosely defined his hunched outline as he leaned over the table, napping. Ellary’s excited kick sent Jimmy flying onto the table as his eyes opened in surprise. The chairs that he had been sitting on fell to the floor with a resounding boom.
“Let’s go!” Ellary exclaimed. “Now’s our chance!” She straightened the chairs and grabbed a brown canvas knapsack. “The sun’s out and the rain’s finally stopped,” Ellary said as she slung the knapsack onto her back and raced out of the dining room.
Jimmy, not quite fully conscious, pulled himself together before downing a half empty mug of coffee that was sitting at the edge of the table. He sluggishly followed Ellary’s lead through the kitchen room and out the front door.
Outside, Ellary shivered from the slight chill as she trudged across the small puddles of rain water in her padded boots. Behind her, Jimmy’s warm breath could be seen in the air. Despite the cold, the two happily basked in the bright sun as they trudged up the hill towards the neighborhood’s orchard.
***
The neighborhood was situated on the outskirts of Aggron, the main city. Aggron was the first zone that had been established out of a total of a hundred zones. The zones had been created after an event that had nearly wiped out the human race.
Ellary distinctly remembered her grandfather repeating the story about the Catastrophic Event which had happened about 300 years ago. In the year 105 BCE, Before Catastrophic Event, or 2341 CE (common era), the earth had almost been devastated by a serious of disastrous occurrences. Ellary’s grandfather had recounted tales of a massive droughts, countless diseases, and hundreds of ‘natural’ disasters that had occurred in the course of a few months. It wasn’t too long afterwards that the earth had become nearly uninhabitable. Fortunately, humans had been able to execute a Solar Radiation Management plan at the last moment, in a desperate attempt to save the planet, which prevented the extinction of all life on planet Earth.
Unfortunately, the lack of scientifically sound evidence regarding the effectiveness of Solar Radiation Management had resulted in countless further disasters. Several geo-engineering techniques that had been implemented caused undesirable side effects that resulted in more disasters. Eventually, somehow the humans had been able to find a balance which allowed them to control and prevent the disasters that would follow. A new plan, STEP, for Save The Earth Plan, was established which called for the implementation of many different techniques to reduce global warming and prevent further natural disasters.
A part of STEP was the creation of a hundred zones. The population of Earth at 0 AD, After Disaster, was less than a million. The habitable land was divided equally into a hundred zones and families were randomly assigned to the different areas. However, the creation of the zones had taken the course of roughly a hundred years to complete. As a result Aggron, the first zone to be created, was considered an ‘old’ zone, and was a century behind the newest zone, Milano.
Ellary’s shabby neighborhood and home were a product of the lack of maintenance and care for several decades. With only sixty five people living in the rural neighborhood area, it wasn’t exactly a top priority for the government to provide support to the community. Recently, however, new acid-rain shelters had been constructed as toxic downpour had been becoming more frequent. The local community had also worked together to provide everyone with air-filter masks, for when levels of dangerous particles in the atmosphere became too high.
***
Jimmy and Ellary walked past an acid-rain shelter, marked with bright yellow neon lights, and entered the orchards. Their community had attempted to develop a sustainable method for producing food. With such a low population in the neighborhood, it hadn’t seemed like a problem at first. However, producing crops and raising animals in such miserable conditions turned out to be extraordinarily challenging. Every family was expected to farm an acre of land that had been assigned to them. In times of difficulty, the families of the neighborhood shared extra supplies with one another. Yet there were also times when there was simply not enough food to share. Fortunately for Jimmy and Ellary, this year had provided their families with more than enough sustenance to last through the oncoming winter.
“Catch.” Jimmy grabbed a basket from one of the supply shed that stood at the corners of every plot of land and tossed it to Ellary. “If we work quickly, I think we’ll have time to harvest enough to distribute to the others at the neighborhood center.”
Ellary glanced at the slowly setting sun and the looming clouds. “Walking here took half an hour, but it looks like we’ll have another hour before it gets too dark or before the rain comes again.”
“Let’s go then,” Jimmy grinned as he hoisted a small metal ladder onto his shoulder and grabbed another basket. He kicked the supply door shut and began marching down the dusty path.
Together, they trekked to plot 18 and began filling the baskets with vegetables and fruits. They worked quickly, having become efficient from years of practice. Working in silence for the first few minutes, they listened to the whistling wind that blew over their heads.
“Do you think that things will ever be different here?” Ellary paused momentarily in her harvesting work.
“Ellary, we don’t have much time,” Jimmy noted. He looked in Ellary’s direction, “What could possibly change anyways?”
“Right,” Ellary continued. “This year hasn’t been horrible for us – we have enough food, and we haven’t been hit by any freakish disasters. But what about next year, or even next month? How do we know for sure that things will always be the same?” Her voice lowered to a whisper as she tried to imagine the unthinkable. “When will ‘tomorrow’ stop coming?”
Jimmy, without stopping to unearth several clusters of brown potatoes, pondered for a moment. “I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure. But I do hope that we won’t have to live in fear forever. I hope that we’ll always have enough food to live comfortably and that no sudden disaster will come destroy our homes. Anyways, we’ve got the scientists working with the government to develop plans to prevent such things from happening anyways.”
“Remember three years ago? Zone 13 was nearly wiped out because of the aerosols that had been released into the atmosphere! Weird wind patterns had concentrated those chemicals into Zone 13 and they were totally unprepared. Even now, those chemical aerosols are spread to other areas because of changing wind patterns.” Ellary’s look became more concerned as her nose wrinkled in frustration.
“Right,” Jimmy paused, before adding, “And the extinction of nearly all the species of fish due to ocean fertilization. Dumping iron into the ocean seemed like a pretty desperate action. But hey, we’re still alive. All that iron helped our oceans contain a lot more carbon dioxide than it could possibly have without the added chemicals. Without doing that, we might have drowned in carbon dioxide a long time ago. We can’t eat fish anymore, but we have air and we’re not suffocating.”
Ellary looked even more worried. “That’s ridiculous. How many more sacrifices can we keep making before we start harming ourselves? In fact, we’ve already harmed so much life. Soon we’ll all be living just to keep living. What kind of life is that? We’ll all be alone, desperately surviving in this mess that we’ve created.” She sighed, “We might not be suffocating from carbon dioxide, but without freedom, freedom from fear and apprehension, I feel like I’m suffocating anyways.”
Jimmy chuckled, surprised by Ellary’s sudden surge of emotion, “I’m sure it won’t be like this forever. What’s the worst that could happen? Could our Earth be any worse? If you think positively, I believe that we can only improve our planet from this point.” He shifted his feet and looked into Ellary’s eyes. “I think people do realize that they need to discuss the ethics of such methods for protecting the earth before using them to ‘save’ the planet. Otherwise, it’s a downwards spiral. One catastrophe leads to another.” Jimmy did a tiny spin, as if to physically illustrate the spiral he had just mentioned.
If the conversation’s topic hadn’t been so depressing, Ellary would have laughed at Jimmy’s dance. Instead, she looked at him sadly. “But that’s the problem we had around 200 BCE! Haven’t you heard the stories? People could never agree! The ethics around Solar Radiation Management were too complex and nothing ever got done until the last moment!” Ellary exclaimed. “And our last minute efforts were just barely enough to prevent human extinction, but not enough to avoid extinction of countless species on earth!”
Jimmy’s extended silence startled Ellary. Glancing up, she saw Jimmy staring blankly at the barren mountains in the distance. His look of concern caused Ellary to shudder slightly. “There’s a large dust storm of some sort headed towards us from the mountains. It doesn’t look like it’s moving too fast.” Jimmy motioned for Ellary to look in the same direction.
Standing up, Ellary could finally see what had attracted Jimmy’s attention. An immense expanse of land was obscured by dark particles that swirled in a turbulent manner. The mountain range that stretched across the eastern border of the zone was nearly completely obscured by the clouds of dust and chemicals. Brief flashes of lightning flickered across the dark mass accompanied by resonating booms of thunder. Gloomy shadows cast by the dark clouds hid the land beneath and seemed to swallow the entire ground into a dark endless void.
“Let’s clean up for the day then,” Ellary sighed. She tied her basket shut and gathered the tools she had brought. But before she could finish, Jimmy grabbed her hand tightly. Ellary could feel his warm hand slightly shuddering from the cold and from the fright.
“Wait, this isn’t something we’ve seen before. What if, in the end, it’s actually a massive disaster. We’ll need more food than this to sustain us for a while. I think if we harvest for a little longer, we can still make it back in time.” Jimmy continued his work with renewed energy, doubling his initial pace. Jimmy’s stern expression conveyed a mixture of fear and anxiety.
Ellary reluctantly followed Jimmy’s lead and continued her work. As they resumed their work in silence they could hear the fluctuating pitch of the howling wind that began to roar above them. The chilly air became even colder and Ellary felt her fingers gradually growing numb. Suddenly, the sky darkened as the sun beams that had shone upon the neighborhood vanished behind the scattered clouds. In the distance, a resounding siren began to wail, the warning echoing across the entire landscape. The clouds began to cluster together into larger clumps of darkness.
“Rain in ten minutes! That’s the alarm Jimmy!” Ellary scrambled to finish packing the remaining food she had grabbed. “We’ve got to go now!” She grabbed her knapsack and tugged at Jimmy’s sleeve.
“Alright.” Equally panicked, Jimmy jumped off the small ladder he had been standing on and covered his basket. He covered his basket, grabbed his ladder, and burst into a sprint.
Together, they dashed towards the supply shed and threw in the metal ladder which landed with a loud clatter. Jimmy clutched Ellary’s hand as they resumed their hurried pace. The darkness seemed to spread across the ground like flowing liquid, chasing them towards the neighborhood’s center. The looming clouds had extinguished almost all light from the sun and it was getting harder to see. In the distance, Ellary could spot the emergency lights in the neighborhood that were automatically turning on. A shrill ringing sound could be heard from the neighborhood center.
“We won’t make it Ellary! Let’s camp out in the acid-rain shelter! The rain’s going to hit in another minute!” Jimmy’s face had become incredibly frightful.
Ellary, mute from the initial shock, continued running. Just then, a massive gust of wind flew past them from the side. Losing her balance, Ellary tripped as her basket of food tumbled over a hill and rolled into the darkness. Jimmy, reacting from instinct, lifted Ellary upright and dove after the basket.
“Go on! I have a light with me, I’ll catch up in a minute!” Jimmy disappeared into the dark, his small flashlight flickering into the distance.
Ellary, incapable of responding, grabbed Jimmy’s basket and headed towards the glowing, neon shelter which was lit by bright LED lights. Her pace had become a sluggish limp due to her twisted ankle from the fall. Ignoring the pain, she stumbled forward, leaning against the strengthening wind. Just as she dived into the shelter, heavy rain began to splash the ground. Ellary, quickly shut the door to the shelter, and sank to the floor, breathless. Outside, hissing sounds could be heard as the heavily acidic rain began dissolving the rocks and plants within the ground.
***
Ellary awoke in the dark with a beam of light flicking around the corners of the small room. Jimmy’s grinning face suddenly appeared in front of her. The right sleeve of his flannel shirt had been severely torn and his boots seemed to be darkened from acid burns.
“I made it.” He whispered. “I was so lucky that there was another shelter at the bottom of the hill. When the rain stopped, I dashed up here before the dust storm hit. It was a slow trek since there were so many puddles of acid rain. You can hear the storm going on outside right now.” He gently brushed the dust from Ellary’s cheek and clutched her hand tightly.
“Are you alright?” Ellary stared intently at Jimmy’s face. She slowly scanned him over, checking for injuries.
Jimmy shook his head, “I’m alright. Slightly bruised from rolling down that hill, but I avoided anything bad.” He gently held Ellary’s right ankle and noticed her wince from slight pain. “Seems like your ankle was hurt from the fall. But we’ll get it checked out once we get back in the neighborhood.
With tears pouring down her face from relief and exhaustion, Ellary pressed her head against Jimmy and listened to the thunderous pounding of wind and particles against the shelter. The apocalyptic-proof shelter seemed shake and lean in the direction of the wind.
“Thanks for grabbing my basket” Jimmy hugged Ellary. “I realized that I had left it when I dashed off the hill. Fortunately, we’ll have enough to last awhile if this storm continues. But it had better end soon. We need to get some supplies back to the others in the neighborhood.”
Jimmy reached over to pick up Ellary’s knapsack. With a single hand, he untied it and flipped it open. After digging around for a while, Jimmy pulled out a flare gun and two air filter masks. “I can’t believe you remembered these! I actually never imagined that we would ever use them. Now seems like a good time to give them a try.” He slipped one onto Ellary’s face before putting on another onto his own. Jimmy’s brown eyes seemed to glisten, reflecting the light from his flashlight and from the pale LEDs of the shed’s interior.
“Are you crying?” Ellary pulled closer to Jimmy, finally feeling the cold that permeated the inside of the shed. She pulled out the emergency blanket from the shed’s supply kit and wrapped around the both of them.
“Of course not. Aren’t you the one who looks like she’s about to cry?” Jimmy laughed and looked away, blinking intensively.
“Will we be alright?” Ellary whispered as tears finally began to leak down her face. “Will we survive? What’ll happen next?”
“I don’t know,” Jimmy propped himself up against the shelter wall looking back at Ellary. “I guess we’ll have to see when tomorrow comes.”