Remainers

A Fractured Mind, Part 2

Eric ripped into the jerky and crackers he had been offered with a force that surprised even him. Well, he hadn't eaten in days, so this much was probably to be expected. The jerky was dry and the crackers lacked flavor, but they may as well have been a full course meal after all he'd been through.

He glanced at the two travelers, who sat beside him around a campfire under the evening sky. If he remembered correctly, the man's name was Caleb while the woman's name was Hope, and if they were telling the truth, they were out searching for him. He didn't know why he warranted a search order, but at the very least they didn't seem like bad people.

"Eric, could I ask you a few questions?" Caleb asked once Eric was done with his meal. "Nothing too personal. I just want to understand your situation a little better."

"No problem," Eric replied.

"First of all, how'd you end up all the way out here? It's a pretty remote place, you know."

"I'd like to know the same. I woke up in a dark building and just ran for my life. Before I knew it, I was out here."

"And you don't remember how you got there?"

"Not at all. I thought my memories would come back with some time, but I've got some huge gaps here and there."

"You do? How bad is it?"

"Er, what year is it?"

A complicated expression flickered across Caleb's face. "That's... a difficult question. But it sounds like you've been out of it for a while. What's the last concrete memory you have?"

Eric scratched his head. "I can't fully remember everything, but I the most recent memory I have is watching ongoing coverage of the war. Speaking of which, what happened with that? Is it over? I've been worrying about being exposed to nuclear radiation out here."

Caleb chuckled. "I don't blame you, especially if that's the last thing you remember. Don't worry. It's been a very long time since the war was over."

"I see. But a long time? I wonder how long it's been since then. Ah! You don't think I was cryogenically frozen, was I? Maybe the freezing did some damage to my brain?"

"Kind of leaping to conclusions there, aren't you? Well, I guess it's not a bad theory."

"I see," Eric groaned as he scratched his head. "So I'm in the future. Then what happened? Did the world end? Is humanity living in a ruined wasteland now?"

"Hold on there," said Caleb. "You're still getting used to your horizons right now. There's a lot you don't know about, and all that information could overwhelm you if you don't take it slow for a bit. For now, you should get some rest. Then we'll talk about what to do tomorrow."

"I see. I guess that's fine. It is getting dark anyway."

"Right? Anyhow, we'll camp out here, but you can sleep inside if you want."

"What? That'll just make me feel bad. Why don't you come in too?"

"We're used to camping outside," replied Hope. It was the first thing she'd said to him since they'd met.

"Well, then maybe I should camp out, too," Eric suggested. "I mean, it's probably something I should get used to as well, right?"

"You'll have plenty of time to get used to it when we start traveling," Caleb replied. "For now, go on and rest inside the house. You won't be able to experience that kind of comfort for a long while."

Persuaded by Caleb's firm words, Eric headed back to the house to get some rest. When he glanced down at the rotted hardwood floor that served as his bed for the past few days, he chuckled. This was comfort he wouldn't find often outside of town, was it? That didn't give him a good feeling about the state of the world.

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Eric was woken up early by a knock on the front door. It was Caleb and Hope, whose things were already packed up and put away before the sun was even up.

"You ready to go? I don't know if you have anything to take along, but I'd recommend traveling light anyway."

"Huh?" Eric could barely keep his eyes open. "The sun's barely over the horizon."

"The earlier we start traveling, the better. Don't want to be sweating all day, after all."

Eric grumbled, but he couldn't deny it. In any case, he did want to get out of this town. If he had to wake up a little early to do it, it was a small price.

As they walked, Caleb told Eric a little more about what had happened since he was gone. To his surprise, the gap in his memories was far, far deeper than he had initially expected. He'd assumed that maybe ten or so years had passed since his last salient memory, but in fact it had been hundreds. That was such a big shock that Caleb and Hope had to give him some time to let that settle in.

"So I'm hundreds of years in the future, huh?" Eric muttered to himself. "And this is what's left of the Earth after all of humanity left."

"Pretty much. There's not a lot of people left behind, so you can have as much personal space as you'd like."

"That's a pretty casual way of telling me I'm basically all alone," Eric frowned. "I guess the best I can hope for is that my mother made it onto that expeditionary ship. Not that it'll matter if I can't ever see her again."

"There's no need to lose hope," Caleb smirked. "Who knows? Maybe the ship will come home tomorrow."

Eric scoffed. "And what are the chances of that?"

The trio continued walking until the wasteland eventually gave way to slightly greener plains. There were a few trees nearby, and the group decided to rest in the shade for a bit. As they rested, Eric began reminiscing about the past. He was so desperate to survive before, but now that he had some time to reflect, he began to wonder what happened to the town he called home.

"Is the whole world like this?" Eric suddenly asked. "Just empty plains and forests?"

"Pretty much," Caleb replied. "There are still a few urban areas left behind, but even nature has started to take over there."

"Do you think my hometown is the same way?"

"I don't know. Where is your hometown?"

Eric scratched his head. "Er... I'm pretty sure I used to live near Seattle. That's odd, why can't I remember?"

In response, Caleb pulled out a bundle of rolled-up parchments and laid them out on the floor. On one particular map was a rough sketch of what used to be the continental United States. Caleb pointed to the middle of the country, around where Nevada used to be.

"This is where we are right now. In order to get all the way up here," Caleb said as he moved his finger to the Pacific Northwest, "we'd have to travel through this area here. There'll be a lot of mountainous ranges on the way, so it'll probably take us a few weeks to get there."

"You're forgetting that one of us here is not used to hard travel," Hope pointed out. "With him coming along, it might take a whole month to actually do the trip."

"Come on, we're not in any rush," Caleb remarked with a wry smile on his face. "What's wrong with taking it slowly every now and then?"

Hope clicked her tongue, but she didn't say anything further. Caleb then turned his attention to Eric. "She is right, though. If you were to embark on a long journey without being used to it, you won't last."

"Then what should we do? Any way I can take a crash course in roughing it?"

"Not exactly a place for formal training out here," Caleb chuckled. "Don't worry. We can show you the ropes while we travel. Kill two birds with one stone."

"Great!" Eric declared as he hopped up onto his feet. "Then let's get going. I'm a fast learner, so I promise I won't slow you down."

Caleb simply smirked in response. "Well, we'll see how true that is."