She wasn’t positive where she was currently, but she had a feeling she was back in New York City. In the past couple years since everything happened, she wandered through the ruinous landscape that used to be known as New York and the surrounding areas. Anywhere food could be found, Lizzy – or rather the former Lizzy – could be found.

When New York was destroyed a couple years ago, Lizzy could remember returning to the sight of her former apartment as soon as she could. She was supposed to be home that night, but she wasn’t. Lizzy saw the wreckage of her apartment, saw the grave for her parents and countless others in that building. At the sight, she collapsed and broke down in tears. Time had no meaning for however long Lizzy knelt at the ruins.

When she stood up and turned her back on the sight, she was no longer Lizzy. No, that part of her was gone. That life was over, and there would be no turning back. She was now Melody. The girl who could sound like your favorite person or worst nightmare. The girl who could make your ears bleed with a simple screech.

Melody slunk into some store’s ruins. At first glance, it looked like it had once been some sort of bar, but sorely picked through in two years. Melody with her pocketknife at the ready searched for any intruders. To her delight, no one had claimed this area. She plopped herself down in the corner. It had been a long day of foraging for something to eat, and she had come up with nothing. Melody was hungry, but that was usual these days. She was never as full as she used to be.

Leaning against the damaged wall, Melody’s eyes began to shut for some well-needed sleep. She succumbed to the exhaustion, but her sleep was anything but peaceful. Her parents haunted her dreams. She dreamed about being in her old kitchen cooking with her mother. Her father came in and kissed her mom on the cheek. The old Lizzy went out to retrieve something from her room, and as she travelled back, her parents looked at her from the kitchen before the walls fell, crushing her parents to their death.

Melody jolted awake screaming. She whispered to herself saying, “It was just a… just a dream. Nothing more.” Even though she told herself this over and over, she was still shaken and a few tears left her eyes. Melody thought Lizzy was only in the past, but her former self still haunted her.

Her thoughts then turned to the scream she let out a few minutes ago. Sitting watchfully in silence, Melody grasped her pocketknife tighter, ready for anything to attack her. No one ventured into the ruins, but Melody spied a rat running across the room. Hungrily focusing on her next meal, Melody remembered the ding of metal upon glass. She took a deep breath, plugged her ears, and screamed the high-pitched noise.

The rat squirmed in pain on the ground because of the deafening sound. Melody jumped on the rat, clutching it in her hands. It squeaked, longing to be free of the death of him. Without mercy, she snapped its little neck and smiled upon her prey. Even though someone could come up and attack, Melody created a small fire in the store with some of the wood she found in the ruins. The rat would be the perfect meal. And if someone came to steal her feast, it was nice knowing them.

Melody ate her roasted rat in silence. She closed her eyes to savor the smoky smell the food gave off. Hey, a rat was better than some of the bugs she had eaten before. Roaches were by far the worst, but they were found very easily. They were supposed to be able to survive anything, and that was apparent to Melody whenever she was searching for food.

After finishing her small yet satisfying meal, Melody nestled herself into the corner and drifted away in sleep. Luckily, the dreams of her parents stayed away this time. For that, she was glad. When she awoke, Melody could tell it had been several hours. For once she had a good night’s sleep – a rare find, but gladly accepted.

The ghost of a girl ran her fingers through her dirty blonde hair as reacquainted herself with the living world. Could it really be called “living” though? The rubble was everywhere – well except for where the few civilizations were. Melody scoffed at the idea of living in the town. There was too little food to go around and Melody didn’t want to share. She didn’t want to rely on anyone else. There was a point in her life when she would probably want to join the town, but everything changed when New York was attacked.

Besides, look at everything she’s been able to do on her own. She can hunt, make fire, find food, and anything she needs for survival. Melody muttered to herself as she sat in the corner of the rubble, “I don’t need anyone. I – I don’t.” She attempted to assure herself as doubts ran through her head. Maybe it would be better if she had company. “Besides, they’d only desert me. No one can be trusted.”

It all came down to fear for her. If she let someone in, they might leave her like her parents did. Melody didn’t want to feel the hurt of losing someone again. She felt it with her mom and dad. No one else would – no one else could make her feel that way again. She was determined for it to be so.

The day continued to march on, and Melody did not want to be stuck in the confines of the ruinous building. She packed up what little belongings she had: her pocketknife, leftover guitar strings from Wilson, a small canteen she salvaged from an old camping store, and some other broken pieces from Wilson. They all fit into the backpack she fashioned out of an old navy sweatshirt.

Melody took one more look at the damaged building before turning away from it for once and all. Somehow she felt like she had changed in this little bit of time spent here. Maybe it was the rat feast she had; or maybe it was the fact she had a good night’s sleep here; or maybe it was because of the dream about her parents that made her remember Lizzy, her old self. Whatever it was, she felt connected to the ruinous wreck.