End of The World

Zoe's POV

"My name is Jake Drew, after the pandemic broke out in Mars and killed almost everyone, a few people survived and are now on planet Earth. We need to know if some people still survived the pandemic, call this line if you get this." Jake said as he dropped the phone.

"It's useless." I muttered and pulled a chair close to him. Sitting down, I squeezed his hands gently.

"It's not useless, we left some people to die in Mars." He said, his voice wasn't calm.

"We didn't leave them to die, they didn't want to abandon Mars and besides, we don't know if Earth is safe." I replied and he looked at me. I didn't even know what was going through his mind.

We were never friends, I just wanted to have a talk with someone since most of the guys went into the forest to look for items.

"You're not our commander." He reminded as he scrunched up on his face which made me shudder.

"We don't have a commander yet." I said with a ragged sigh as I stood up.

"We should go back to Mars." He suggested.

"It sounds like a good idea." I replied and walked out of the tent.

He followed me outside, I felt myself growing impatient. "I've spoken to the other guys, they've agreed that we'll vote for a commander today." He said with a side smirk.

I tried maintaining a calm voice. Looking at him, I felt the urge to just fight him but I couldn't. Alexa came behind us holding a basket of fruits. "I brought this for us to eat, where are they?" She asked.

"They'll be back soon, they went to monitor the forest and look for something to eat." I answered.

She looked at me, then looked at Jake. "Are you guys having issues again?"

"Ask your silly friend." Jake answered and entered into the tent.

I looked at her, I felt anger growing up in my body, tears tickled in my eyes. "You should take some fruits." She suggested.

"Have you lost your mind?" I asked, rudely and she looked at me confused.

"I'm not the reason for your frustration."

"I'm sorry, it's just that we didn't eat in Mars and we stayed alive but when you guys tasted fruits, you became addicted to it." I said.

"You're just being so insecure, I know for a fact that we survive without food or water but we've found food here, shouldn't we eat it?" She asked, a faint glimmer of humor in her eyes.

I looked at her and sat down on a log of wood besides a tall tree, she also did the same thing. "Jake has been getting on my nerves right from Mars, I don't know what I've done to him." I said and she frowned.

"He's been like that." She simply replied and a small puppy ran towards us.

"There's a puppy on Earth?" She asked, surprised. I was also surprised, I didn't even know things could be on Earth, I thought everywhere would be deserted.

The puppy yipped while it turned in circles, she picked him up and gave him an Eskimo kiss making his little tongue dart out to lick her chin.

"Put him down." I ordered.

She held onto the puppy tightly, "I love puppies." She protested.

"It might be a spy." I replied as she dropped the puppy down, it ran away immediately.

"A spy?" She asked and laughed loudly. "C'mon, we're the only ones on Earth." She reminded, laughing as she stood up.

"I don't know, the war probably affected almost all the planets. Since we survived, people from another planet might have survived too."

"No one survived, we ranked the highest in the technology leaving the remaining planets with a gap so there's no possible way anyone survived." She reminded, feeling like an intelligent girl.

"Yeah, I guess so."

I stood up and sighted our people already coming back to the camp with a sack. My eyes looked for my boyfriend among them but I didn't see him. "They're back." She said, excitedly.

"So what's going on with you and Noah?" I asked, changing the topic as I nudged her with an elbow.

"I love Noah a lot but he's in love with Liam." She said and I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Now, how do you know this? Is he gay?" I asked.

"Yes, he's gay, surprisingly he's never really told Liam about his feelings."

"He shouldn't, Liam would just embarrass him and turn him down." I replied.

Suddenly, they reached where we stood and smiled to us. "So how many of our people went out?" I asked.

"30 actually, 10 stayed back in the camp while 10 are still in the forest." Matteo answered and I frowned.

I was going crazy. "Look, you agreed you would stay together, we're not sure if Earth is safe? I mean, the radiation killed many of our own in Mars, it could still kill us in Earth." I reminded, angrily.

"Zoe!" Alexa called out and I turned to look at her. "You need to keep calm and behave like someone who's okay." She added.

I chuckled. "Do I look okay to you?" I asked.

"You don't fucking tell us what to do, we are not dominated by women, fucking give yourself respect for us." Matteo said and walked away with the rest of the guys into the tent.

"You got served." Alexa mocked.

Picking up a gun from the other side of the wood, I walked into the forest. "Wait for me, I'm coming." I heard her shout from behind me, I didn't answer.

She ran past me and stopped in my front. "Look, the others will be safe, let's just head back and go back to the camp." She pleaded.

I scoffed. "I'm not going back to the camp."

"You're not a superhero, fuck you!" She replied and went back to the camp.

I stood for some seconds, I had to go and look for them, my boyfriend was there with them. I started walking through the forest. I just didn't know why they felt I was being too big and more experienced.

"Fools." I muttered and heard the echo of my voice. Suddenly, I heard someone say the same thing. Was it someone or something?

I turned back and saw a parrot on a tree. I knew a lot about animals because I always studied about them, I also felt like they might be wizards.

I was confused at that time, it was a parrot. I pointed my gun at it and fired a shot. The echo of the sound rang in my ears.

Watching it fall to the ground dead, I continued walking deep into the forest. I wondered how I would find them when the forest was big.

Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me and I stopped dead in my tracks.

Noah's POV

I walked into the tent with the other guys, they were all talking about Zoe. I looked at Liam who was busy eating the fruits they shared. Immediately, he looked back at me, I avoided his gaze.

"Zoe shouldn't be controlling us." Matteo said and the rest people agreed.

"It's not like she's the only girl here." Tracy added, she cleaned the guns and handed them to Liam.

"She's just scared, I totally understand her." I said and they looked at me and laughed.

Jake stood up. "She has a boyfriend so if you think she'll fall in love with you if you always defend her, you're a big fool." He said, scrunching up the piece of paper in his hands.

My eyes darkened and I frowned. "I'm not in love with Zoe, I'm in love with someone else, it really doesn't make sense for you to make her feel like she's not one of us."

"Her mother was a prostitute."

"That was in Mars, this is another planet and I'm sure Zoe won't be like her mother, she's strong."

"You're such a big fool." He cursed and I wanted to kick his legs when Matteo stopped me.

"He's not a fool." Liam replied him and looked at me. I walked out of the tent in anger and walked into another tent.

I wondered why they thought I was in love with Zoe. Liam walked in and smiled at me. "You did great, I was happy you guys didn't fight. The first attribute we need here is unity." He said and I sat on the floor resting my head on the ground.

"Thanks for defending me." I appreciated.

He walked towards me and sat down facing me. I was so excited that my crush was taking to me.

"So I have a question to ask." He began. I looked at him and smiled. A genuine smile that eased the tired lines of my face. "I'm in love with Tracy but I don't know how to tell her."

My heart broke immediately, I couldn't even say a word, tears forming in my eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked and I nodded. I wiped away my tears quickly.

"Tears of joy." I muttered and he laughed.

"I actually thought you were sad." He said and smiled charmingly.

I nodded. "You should go for who you love." I advised and climbed the double-decker bed.

"Are you going to sleep now?" He asked.

"No, I just want to get some rest." I answered and laid on bed. I just didn't want to talk to anyone, I was feeling like a total stranger in the camp.

Zoe's POV

I turned back, It was Scott. I stopped to catch my breath. "You scared me." I muttered dropping my gun on a wood.

"Babe, I honestly didn't mean to scare you." He replied. Scott was my boyfriend, he was the one who took care of me back then in Mars, he always defended me when I needed help.

"I wasn't scared." I lied, feigning boldness.

He laughed. "You looked scared when you found me behind you." He said.

I knew he caught me, I quickly nudged with an elbow and stared at the sun.

"Where are the others?" I asked as he wrapped his hands around my waist.

"They've gone back to the camp, I prefer this planet to Mars." He answered and I frowned.

I was surprised that he was not bothered about losing his real home and family in Mars. "You don't care about your parents?" I asked, surprised.

He drew out a ragged sigh and looked at me. He paused, looking deep in thought. I didn't want to ask him that question but I couldn't help it.

"You're right, Mars is our true home but it's not safe, we've got to have fun in Earth." He said as I picked up my gun and we began walking back to the camp.

I stole glances at him, I noticed silence draped the atmosphere. "Did you hear of their plans to choose a commander?" I asked, breaking the silence.

He stopped and looked at me. "Who told you?" He asked.

He obviously knew of it and he didn't tell me. "I should be angry with you, how could you not tell me?" I asked.

He ran his fingers through the front of his hair. "I didn't want to hide it from you besides, I thought you knew already." He answered with a broad smile.

"I don't actually care who becomes the commander."

"So what do you want?" He asked.

"I want our people to be safe." I answered as we walked into the camp.

"You don't get it, we've been on Earth for two weeks and nothing has happened, there's no radiation. We're the only ones on Earth."

"I'm not saying you're lying." I replied and entered the tent.

I sat down on the floor and looked at them. I stole glances of Scott as he talked with the boys.

"You found your boyfriend." Alexa said as she walked towards me.

I frowned at her and shot her an offended look. "Fuck you, I was expecting you to support me." I replied.

"It's not like I'm not supporting you." She said, rolling her eyes.

Sometimes, I didn't know if I could trust her. She was always trying to compete with me. "Do you miss your mom?" I asked.

"I don't, she's dead and gone. Everyone died because of the pandemic." She answered.

I shrugged.

Suddenly, someone screamed outside. "Radiation."

We all ran outside, water was falling from the sky. "Get inside, the radiation will kill you." I shouted to the guy who was busy playing under the rain.

"It won't." Jake replied and the rest of them joined the guy to play under the rain.

"You should not mislead our people, we don't know if Earth's water will destroy our people." I reminded.

He laughed and went back into the tent. I followed him inside angrily. "You're selfish, why won't you play in the rain if it won't affect you?" I asked, my expression troubled.

"Earth's water won't affect us." He answered.

I couldn't believe that he wanted to endanger our people. "We're people from the Mars, we're not from Earth. I don't think I always need to remind you."

"That's what you fail to forget, you're a woman and you can't lead us. Mars never allowed it and Earth will never allow a woman to lead men." He replied.

Ignoring him, I went outside. I began shivering, THE RAIN HAD AFFECTED ME!

Zoe's POV

Scott noticed me shivering and walked towards me. He ushered me into the tent and I sat down. He took of his leather jacket and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I muttered.

I tugged on the jacket and managed to smile a little even though it was oversized.

"The rain..."

Scott interrupted. "There's nothing wrong with the rain, you only developed a slight fever. You'll be fine soon." He assured and I nodded.

Jake turned and looked at us. "Your girfriend always get scared alot." He mocked and Scott laughed.

I shot him an offended look and he stopped laughing. The rest people started coming in, they were all wet with water dripping on the from their body to the ground.

I looked at Scott who held my hands and squeezed it gently. "I love you." He mouthed.

I wondered why no one seemed to understand me. Was it because they thought that I was crazy?

Jake clapped his hands, jerking me back to reality. "It's time to vote." He said and they all gathered around him.

I looked at Scott who also looked back at me, I felt weak and useless.

"Where's Noah?" Tracy asked sitting down on the ground near Jake.

"I asked him and Liam to make tents for us." He answered.

"Tents?" I asked, getting up.

Scott stood up too and tried to stop me from doing anything stupid but I was so pissed off.

"Any problem with that?" Jake asked, rudely. He looked vivid, eyes bulging, ready to smack me.

"There's every problem with that, we were always staying together in a building as teenagers before the pandemic. We don't want to be separated." I said.

"Speak for yourself, bitch." Tonia replied, standing up. She tried to shove past me but only succeeded in knocking us both to the ground. I sprang up quickly and clenched my fists as my body arched into an offensive stance.

"Come closer and I will fucking hurt you and rip you off." I snapped.

Scott stepped in immediately and held me. He dragged me to the edge of the tent. "Stop this madness, Zoe." He whispered.

"What madness?" I asked, angrily.

He frowned and scratched his cheeks. The rain stopped falling and the noise heard on the tent had also stopped. "They don't want you to be their commander." He answered.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" I asked and pushed him away, I walked out of the tent and sat on the wooden table Noah made. I saw Noah and Liam making the tents and silently hissed. Alexa came out of the tent and made her way towards me. She also sat on the table but I avoided her gaze.

"You shouldn't really be angry over unnecessary issues." She advised. I wondered if she was ever my friend, we were completely opposite.

I scoffed. "Really? James is trying to destroy everything we worked for back in Mars."

"He probably has a reason for that, they've voted already and they're counting the votes, it's likely James will win."

"I don't care about who wins, I want us to be united." I replied, a raspy breath escaped my throat.

"You should really get along with the others, having enemies amongst ourselves will only bring us down." She said.

I didn't answer her as I stared at the ground. I heard footsteps approaching me and I assumed James was there with his loyal people.

"Zoe, thanks for making things simple, your fight with Tonia proved to them that you'll only be a stubborn leader and an hypocrite." He insulted.

"You should tell her the results, man." I heard a boy say from the crowd.

"I won, majority of the votes were in my favor and that means I'm now the commander." He said and I looked up.

All eyes were on me, they totally expected me to become angry. "Congratulations man, I'm happy for you." I replied with a smile on my face and stood up.

"That's not all, there are some rules we must follow." He said and my eyes widened. Now he just wanted to make me angry, I looked at him and smiled.

"Fine, what are the rules?" I asked.

Scott came outside and wrapped his hands around my waist. I gently removed his hands and shifted a bit from him.

Jake let out a slight grin and looked at me. "We're now called Islanders." He began and I chuckled.

Islanders? Really?

"I love the name." I replied, a slight glimmer of humor in my eyes. I managed to stop myself from laughing out loudly.

"Of course, you'd love it. So we are you to be divided into four teams, we have the Fighters, watchers, Team science and the mercenaries." He said with pride.

"What the fuck! Are you bent on totally separating us?" I asked.

He ignored my question. "You'll be among the Fighters team, you're only five in that team." He answered. He handed me a paper and I looked at it.

"It's getting dark, we should get in." Matteo suggested as I looked at the paper. My heart skipped a beat when I discovered that Scott was not in the same team with me.

"What is this? Scott is not a fighter?" I asked, terribly shocked. James looked at me with a grin and I felt like punching him. I couldn't believe that he could do this to me. Looking at Scott, I wondered if he was even bothered.

He wasn't paying attention to what was going on, he was chatting with Alexa who seemed to be laughing at his jokes.

He snapped his fingers bringing me back to reality. "Scott is not a fighter." He answered and turned to look at the Islanders..

"I hope you're doing the right thing." I said and handed him the paper.

"One more special announcement," he said and grinned, twinkling his fingers at them. "Oh yeah, have fun and have sex with each other, I'm your Commander and I give the orders." He said and my heart stopped functioning.

They began jubilating and hugged each other. I walked towards him and dragged him to a secludedness place. "What are you doing?" I asked in a low-piqued voice.

He zoomed in closer, the intensity of his eyes made me shiver for a second. "You heard what I said, that's exactly what I asked them to do." He answered.

"What if the girls get pregnant?" I asked.

"Then we kill them." He answered and walked away. I couldn't believe my eyes, I imagined when my mother was killed by Jake's father for prostitution and fell to the ground.

Tears filled my eyes as memories of my parents bubbled to the surface. I fought them away but it was impossible.

My heart sped up, whacking my chest until I couldn't breathe.