Exploring the Wasteland.

Present Day (Day 35)

Vines trailed from the walls and ran back and forth across the floor. This place had been abandoned before the virus, long before. A large industrial sized generator crouched in the centre of the room, a huge hole torn from it like it had been blown up, the metal charred and melted.

"I don't like this place Colbs" I mumbled.

"Me neither" He replied

I scanned the room, on the far wall there was a metal staircase bolted to it. It looked similar to the one on the outside and I wondered about the stability of it.

"Looks like we're going that way" I pointed to what I was looking at.

"Are you sure?" Colby was hesitant.

I looked at him, questioning. "Are you good?" 

He was never like this. We crossed the room and climbed the staircase. I pulled my knife from its sheath and in my peripheral vision saw Colby do the same. I tried the door, it was stiff but would give. I leaned back and then kicked out. The door broke off the hinges and fell into the room, taking with it a row of filing cabinets that crashed to the ground, filling the empty space with a loud clang. 

The cabinets were full of documents that looked official, with big headers and professional looking crests. Colby shifted uncomfortably, what was with him today? I knelt down and grabbed a fistful of the papers. I scanned them and stopped, they had "Colby" written on them, along with graphs, tests, and data, most of them dated over 10 years ago. It could be a coincidence, how many Colby's could there be in North America alone? I flicked to another page and there was no denying it now. On it amongst the graphs and figures, was a picture of a younger, thinner, paler looking Colby, one I'd never seen except for the glimpses of sadness he let slip through. 

I knew enough about trauma to not go bulldozing through this. "Colby?" I spoke softly, raising my hand with the sheet of paper into the light so he could see. He met my gaze and visibly wilted. He looked like someone had taken all his strength away and suddenly resembled the scared boy in the photo. All the colour had drained from his face and he looked like he might be sick. I started to read from the sheet "Colby is showing positive signs of continued immunity against the virus" I glanced away from the words towards him, he reached out the for the papers, I let him take them. He walked towards a wall, leaning against it, and then sliding down, letting his knees buckle till he was sat on the floor knees drawn against his chest. I stood in front of him, waiting for the answers, wondering what had happened. He began to speak slowly, his voice cracking, he looked so scared and vulnerable. "I once knew this place as my home, I was an experiment here"