Survivor's Guilt

A Reason to Keep Going

"What's the point of it all?" 

This phrase is something that Joseph would continually repeat to himself, as he sat there in front of the small campfire he had made. He lost everything on the day of the storm; his friends, his house, his dog, and his job at Lowe's. As one of the handful of survivors of such a cataclysmic event, he would also always wonder:

"Why me?"

And 'why him' indeed. There were countless other people who would have been able to rebuild society had they survived, but instead, the world is left with a man who had nothing to offer in terms of restoring the former world. Joseph would repeat these self-deprecating thoughts over and over to himself over the course of six years, slowly chipping away at his sanity with each one. At one point he would have still been optimistic and hopeful about maybe one day getting to live a normal life, but that Joseph is long gone. 

However, above all, he was still a survivor. Joseph gathered his things and placed them into his Kobalt 11.5 inch Backpack in Polyester Blue, it was his favorite backpack back when he stocked shelves for Lowe's. He then started making his way to the nearest waterfall, which was the only water source available to him since the local ponds dried up. When he finally got there, he filled his Brentwood 16-fluid-ounce Stainless Steel Canteen with fresh water from the waterfall, and then looked up towards the billowing streams of falling water.

"Would I die if I fell from up there?"

In the state that Joseph was in, he didn't even try to stop himself. In fact, he could only help but notice that he was already making his way up to the cliff face where the water spewed from. It was almost as if he was possessed, and before long, he reached the top. Joseph turned to face the edge of the cliff and stared downwards. He inched forward, one step at a time. As he got closer and closer to the edge, his mind started flooding with memories from his former life; his 16th birthday, the day he graduated high school, his first kiss, his first interview at Lowe's. He was one step away from oblivion, and as he lifted his foot to take the final step, a miracle happened.

"No way, is that a Kobalt 11.5 inch Backpack from Lowe's?! And in Polyester Blue?!"

A voice shouted in excitement from behind him. Joseph stepped back and turned around to see another person, another man. The sight of another person shocked Joseph to the core, he hadn't seen another live human in over six years.

"Well are you going to answer me?" The stranger asked.

"I..." Joseph struggled to get any words out, it had been so long since he last spoke out loud.

"There's no need to be shy friend, I don't bite... Well, unless you want me to." 

Joseph blushed, he hadn't been spoken to in half a decade, let alone flirted with. Deep down he knew that he didn't actually want to die, and this handsome stranger was just the thing he needed to cling back on to life. Which is why he hastily agreed when the stranger said:

"You don't seem to be okay, want to come back to my camp? I can treat whatever wounds you may have there... And whatever desires too..."