Chapter Eleven

I think I've lost my sanity.

In pure disbelief, I walked, past the evergreen wrapping around my life. It felt like the Earth had erased every part of humankind, save the actual species themselves. I knew I needed to find people, those that possessed the answers to my hurricane of questions. In a way, it was intimidating having contact with another living being, my moments filled with confidence were once again replaced, and the years filled solely with my company would surely impact my already low ability to have a conversation with another human. However, the nerves and the anxiety were quickly pushed aside by the wave of my curiosity. My growing necessity for answers is as strong as the waves pull towards the sandy beaches.

I wandered around, the feeling of simply being lost entering my veins. Every corner I turned, every path I attempted to follow only led to the same destination: vines. It felt like nature itself was taunting me as I glared at the sharp thorns, ready to inflict harm. They were doing that without physical contact as well. My anxiety started to act up, overthinking and thoughts clouding both my judgment and mind. The familiar feeling of my throat closing up accompanied by my lungs running wild was enough to make me stumble.

It had been a while since I had an episode, as always it was caused by people, though indirectly it was always related to them. Caring about their opinions far too much had always been my biggest hurdle. However, instead of their presence making me falter, it was their absence that left me anxious. With how big the growing toxic population of humanity was, why were these streets, if one could still describe them as such, left stranded? Prior to my detainment, humanity had staked its claim on this piece of land, while no sidewalks filled to the brim with humans existed, one could still place a bet on a lone wanderer or a happy couple. Yet, nobody was caught red-handed cutting the ever so troublesome vine with a silver, jagged-edged contraption. Not a single soul lowered the height of the grass. When humans do not meddle, one can automatically assume something is amiss.

In a way it was ironic, nature had essentially reclaimed its land. The sharp thorns act as a shield against earth's inhabitants. Perhaps, it had finally had enough of the constant torture humanity had put it through as it finally stepped in to put a stop to the factories, cars, and pollution invading its every sense. The vines and grass were simply a result of nature's dominance over humanity. And what a rule it was, the army of green had managed to turn the whole town into a picturesque scene from a Disney movie set in the wild. Humans couldn't even begin to compare. In more ways than one was my previous statement true, the best things in life were often associated with mother earth. The sheer beauty of an early morning sunrise, the inspiring new beginning of life displayed within flowers blooming and emerging from the dark soil, and the vastness of the starry night sky that more often than not humbles oneself. After all, you are simply one person in the midst of the rest of the human population, on one planet amongst many others, in one of the universe's numerous galaxies, in perhaps one of the many universes in the vast land we call space. One could simply name themselves meaningless. It was almost laughable, how exactly mistaken I would find myself in the future.

I let out a sharp shout of pain, feeling the sharp prick before I saw the thorn embedded into my smallest finger. I grunted, trying to pull out nature's weapon that had pierced my skin, it was almost as annoying as my younger brother when he got bored and decided that his destiny in life was to irritate me as much as possible. However, right now I would give away every piece of me if he would just appear before my eyes, calming my fears that rose higher every second. Minuets that resembled hours had passed, yet not a single soul appeared before my eyes. I made no move to soften my steps on the grass-filled ground, nor to hide the sound of my heavy breaths. Yet not a single soul appeared.

My fears started to heighten the longer I searched, going farther and deeper or as far and deep as nature permitted me to. I was constantly on guard, not wanting to risk the arrival of the creature that had attacked me or perhaps its family members. However, I still made sure to provoke enough of nature for humans to be aware of my presence. Yet my efforts yielded no results as not a single breathing creature came into my sight, while at least a dozen thorns had attacked my skin. If only I had known that the thorns would be the least of the troubles that nature had caused.

My mind worked overtime, yearning to find a reasonable solution, or rather an excuse to my current predicament. For a few seconds, my mind even wrestled with the possibility that this was some cruel joke that they were playing on me. Was I going to become the next meme of social media, the person responsible for millions of giggles around the world at my own expense? At this point, did I stop helping the same people who only wished to see me humiliated? They viewed me as scum, a person they locked up in a freaking bunker for fifteen years. Granted that was an action only a few took, but I would bet all the cookie dough ice cream in the world that those few had only put into motion the thought that was in the heads of many.

Perhaps it was in the heads of my closest confidants as well: My family. After all, it had been 15 years without a search party, or even police missing report, those actions would have surely led them to me, just like the actions 15 years prior had solidified my hatred against my fellow humans.

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Author's Note

Hello,

Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I had finals and then vacation, so I was pretty busy. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, if you did please vote and comment, it really means a lot! Also, keep your eyes open for any new books! :))

Have a great day or night,

Anusha