A Boy Needs His Mother

Greta changed her filters as her eye caught sight of Eli watching her through a window. His broken face was filled with a smile that had the glow of a half-burned light bulb. She felt bad for Eli, but it didn't compare to how disgusted she was by his face. She stood after adjusting the worn leather straps she fitted to her mask to make sure the seal was air-tight. Finally, after she was satisfied she exited the home, ready to fulfill the request made by the boy.

"Are we going to find my mommy now?" Eli asked reaching for Greta's hand.

"Y-yes we are." Greta said shakily taking Eli's hand.

"I saw her last by the market." Eli spoke with a high pitch in his voice.

"Can you take me there?" Greta asked looking down at him.

"Yes, it is right down this way." Eli let go of her hand and started running down a small side road.

Greta struggled to keep up with him as she trailed behind, her mask filling with fog. Her vision began to become blurry as her chest tightened with each breath she took. She thought back to when she was in high school being able to run the 100 - meter dash without breaking a sweat. When her head became swimmy causing her to fall against a nearby wall; which she felt shift when her weight was applied to it.

"Be careful Ms.Greta these buildings aren't what they used to be." Eli spoke shifting back and forth on his feet impatiently.

"What happened here?" Greta asked through her gasps.

"Well, when the fog came in people went crazy and started to hurt each other. During the fighting people started setting buildings on fire. Some of the buildings had women and children in them." Eli looked down at the ground and fidgeted with his fingernails as he spoke.

"A boy your age doesn't need to see something like that and I'm sorry that you did." Greta tried to sound as sincerely as she could through her lack of oxygen.

"It's okay and the market is this way." Eli bounced on his toes in excitement.

"Okay, I think I am ready. Let's go find your mom." Greta said as she followed Eli into the fog.

Soon she found herself standing in what seemed like a dumping pit for bodies. Eli started pulling bodies to the side checking all of their faces as he kept digging. It started to bring tears to her eyes as she watched on. She had to rip herself from who she was in order to dive into the pile of bodies. Every single body she came across stunk of a putrid, rotting smell that seeped through her mask. She made it almost to the bottom of the pit when she finally found a female body. She couldn't see their face through the fog-covered lenses that covered her eye as she dragged the woman's body out of the pit.

"Is this her Eli?" She asked as she finally pulled the body over the lip of concrete at the edge of the pit.

"Yes, that's her!" Eli yelled as he saw the woman's face.

Eli started screaming as tears poured down his face. It was like they had been pushed out by his rage and sadness that ran from him like a river. Greta moved to him with her arms held out to him as he collapsed into her. His body jerked as he sobbed unable to pull himself together after what he had just seen. Greta scooped the crying hideous boy and carried him back to the house he had shown her. She felt like she couldn't leave him alone anymore not after knowing what she knows now.

She rushed into the house and laid him on a nearby couch and brushed his hair away from what's left of his eyes. Even with how torn up his body maybe she could still see what was left of the boy that he used to be. She placed a cover over him as the air filter hissed to life cleansing the air around her. From the other room, she could hear Eli beginning to choke and cough violently.

"Eli!" Greta ran as fast as she could to the other room fear rising through her body.

As she cleared the barrier between the room she could see Eli sitting up fear forming on his face. His hands seemed to be tightening around his neck as the color that remained in his body started to fade away. She tried to pull his hands off of his neck, but they seemed to be welded to his neck as they continued to tighten. She fell back as a red spray went across the room as his hands turned his neck into nothingness. In what to her seemed slow motion his head fell to the floor and for the first time seemed to be human.

"Oh god. Eli I am so fucking sorry. I don't know what happened, but it is my fault." Greta said as her emotions began to shut down.

She shakily picked up his head and cradled it in her lap as tears began to pour down her face. As she continued to cry she felt a small hand land on her shoulder. When she looked behind her no one was present, but something could be felt in the room. After she acknowledged the presence she began to calm down and got up placing Eli's head back into his lap.

"Eli, I will give you a proper burial. I am sorry for not protecting you better." Greta said as she walked out of the room.

She went to the garage to search for a shovel determained to give the child a proper burial. When she finally found one she placed Eli on a nearby rug and carefully pulling him out of the house into the backyard. For hours she dug a child sized grave and before putting him into his final resting place Greta allowed Eli to see one last sunset. After lowering him into his grave she slowly placed the dirt back into the hole.

"Eli, I will stay here with one for a while but I do need to move on soon. I want to escape the coming storm and for that fact be glad you are gone now. I am guessing from the way you sounded I have made it just across the border to the north of Germany. I am a fourth of the way to my journey and I think I can afford a break." Greta pulled out a blanket and layed next to Eli's grave for another three hours before going inside.