Project Holiday

Chapter Five

"Fuck life!" Lara yelled a large smiled on her face. "Lets just have the best life we can before we die.""What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused."I mean, we're all gonna die eventually, might as well enjoy ourselves while we can. This fucked up world isnt going to get any better, so let's make the most of it. We've got each other, and we've got our weapons. We can face anything that comes our way together." She took a swig from her flask, her eyes flashing with determination. "We already knew that this world was fucked, so let's just live like there's no tomorrow."I glanced at Jack, who seemed unconvinced. "What do you think, Jack? You in?" I asked him.Jack hesitated, scratching his beard. "I don't know, Lara. This world is fucked, but we still have a purpose.""Like what?""Well," His voice trailed off."Ya, I really dont think we have one." Leo added, "But if we wanna be happy, I'm down for it.""Well," Jack began again, "We could find Darkthorn and-""And what?" Lara cut him off. "Pay our dept off?" Just then a large moutian lion creacter ran past. I shot it in the side with an arow, and it feel to the ground , writhing in pain.Jack sighed. "I suppose you're right. We might as well enjoy ourselves." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "All right then, let's make the most of this fucked up world. Holiday, lead the way."Together, we continued on our journey, our spirits somewhat lifted by Lara's unconventional outlook. The horses moved in a canter through the barren landscape, their hooves pounding against the rocky ground. The sun was setting in the distance, casting an eerie glow over the horizon.As we passed by another abandoned village, we decided to stop for the night. There was a small stream nearby, and we were able to find some firewood in the ruins of a nearby house. Leo pulled out a small disk, "The air is clear here. Thats odd, I guess that we are farther from the nuclear waste then I thought."Lara scoffed, "More like the monsters have killed everything else off. Well, we can't complain. It'll be a nice change of pace to have a warm fire and a full belly tonight." She rummaged through her pack, pulling out a small bag of dried fruits and nuts."You know the drill, sleep or a warm meal, what do you want." Jack asked, looking at the group. "We'll need to keep watch, just in case.""Lets sleep, and just make a fire." I said. You could either get a warm meal or sleep, if you did both then the mutant would smell the food and follow the sent. I found one of the abandon house that looked sicure .Together, we made a small camp inside the house. I gathered wood while Lara and Jack set up the fire. Jack went out to see if the horses were comtorbal. Lara sighed, "He has always been more a animal person than a people person." She lit a candle and we all sat down.We ate our dried food in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. The fire crackled and popped, casting dancing shadows on the walls. I glanced outside, where Jack was still tending to the horses, his figure silhouetted against the night sky.When we had finished eating, Leo took the first watch, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. He seemed to be dozing off, but every now and then he would sit up straight and scan the darkness. I lay down, trying to get some rest. The hard floor and the sounds of the creatures outside made it difficult, but eventually I managed to drift off.Lara took the second watch, her eyes alert as she scanned the shadows. The fire had died down to embers, and the room was filled with the soft crackle of the flames. I didn't know how she managed to stay awake, but she seemed content, her rifle cradled in her arms like a child.The night passed slowly, the hours creeping by like a dying animal. But when the first rays of dawn finally crept through the cracks in the walls, Leo roused us from our fitful sleep. We stumbled outside, rubbing the sleep from our eyes and stretching our stiff limbs."Well," Leo said, "one day done." He looked down at his disk that told him if the air was toxic. He eyes grew wide, and he grabbed his gass mask, before passing us ours. "The toxicity went up, keep the masks on."Lara sighed. "Of course it did. Just when I was starting to feel human again." She put on her mask, then glanced over at Jack, who was asleep, leaning agains log near the horses. "He's going to need to get up soon. We've got a long day ahead of us. He needs a mask too."I yawned, rubbing my eyes. "I guess we should wake him, then. We can't afford to lose any time." I walked over to jack, who opened his eyes as I approached."Is everyone awake?" He asked."Yes. You need to put the mask on." I tossed him the mask and he slid it over his dark brown hair.He sighed and stood upright, stretching his limbs. "Good. Let's get going, then." He went to the horses and started to saddle them. Leo helped him, feeding the horses a last minute snack. I grabbed the horse's saddle and swung my leg over it. "You ready, Lara?" I asked."Almost. Just need to check the map." She pulled out a small map of the area and studied it for a moment. "Looks like we have about three days till we reach the next abandon village. It's not too far, but we'll need to keep moving."As we rode out of the town, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, casting a warm glow on the desolate landscape. The air was still chilly, but the masks made it bearable. The horses' hooves clopped against the ground as they made their way through the wasteland.Throughout the day, we stopped occasionally to rest and eat some of our dried rations. The toxicity in the air continued to rise, making it difficult to breathe at times. We kept the masks on whenever we stopped, not wanting to risk inhaling any of the polluted air.When the weather got cooler, we urged the horses into a faster pase. The animals seemed to sense our need for haste and pulled their own weight, despite their tiredness. The landscape around us began to change from the desolate wasteland to rocky hills and narrow valleys. There was no water and we were relying on the large bottles we had filled at the sentiment we left three days ago.As we rode, I found myself thinking about the people who had once lived in this area. They must have been hardy souls, able to survive in such a harsh environment. But even they had eventually succumbed to the toxic air and disappeared, leaving only their ruins behind. Most people died from the bombs and even more died from the aftermath, it left about 4 million people alive. The bombs left a lot of survivors but the toxic air killed most of them. There were only a few people left alive. I wondered how long it would be before all of us died.