Hunters

Chapter 1 | Mike P.O.V

Then, I was running.
And no, not at a track meet. Running for my life.
I could already hear the S.I.S following me. Foot steps, not too far behind, echoing against the cobblestone path. If only I could make it outside, I thought. Then I'd know that I could make it.

I saw the huge door at the end of the path, once I went through that, there'd be enough rubble to lose the S.I.S in. After everything the radiation had done to earth, all the cities were reduced to debris and ash, if not a mangled structure barely holding itself up with its destroyed base and foundation. After the dramatic change in temperature, the air quality had gone from bad to worse, so I had made sure to bring a mask to cover my mouth and nose.

Their footsteps sounded heavy from the lead in their boots. Every inch of them was terrifying. From their coal black helmets to their dark, spiky boots.Their giant guns didn't help much either.

When I was at the gate I slammed right into the middle of it. I did this partially to open it, and partially because I was running too fast. Either way, it didn't move.

At this point, I was in a large metal hallway with gigantic metal doors at either end, and a hallway which was decorated with steel columns, that were even bigger than the doors, running all the way down the grand hall.

So, I have options: turn around, face the S.I.S and essentially, die. Or, I could find a way out.

It just so happens, I know another way out.

I turned into the wall between two large columns and began feeling around the smooth rock. It was warm. I slid my fingers down the concrete where it began to get cooler. Then, my fingers touched something rough, a flaw in the concrete, a small gap where one of my fingers could easily slide into. I guided my finger in as far as the rock would allow. There was a small flash of light and a part of the wall slid open. I turned on my side and went through.

Behind the wall there was a lot of...darkness. Luckily, I had been here before when I was a kid. I stepped out of the hallway further into the slit in the wall and it closed behind me. I reached out in front of me, blindly, until I reached a mossy wall. I moved my hands to the sides of the wall. No moss. My hands returned to the moss and descended as I crouched down.

I knew the ceiling was low because when I was a kid, my dad took me here with a flashlight. Right under this patch of moss there should be...a block. A block made of stone that I pushed out of the way, holding my breath, hoping the S.I.S couldn't hear me. I moved my hand on the wall beside me for support, but I found a crevice in the wall, inside was a piece of paper, I shoved it in my pocket.

When the block was removed there remained a small square where the wall should've been. I could fit through easily when I was little. So I held my breath again and wished I still could.
In the end, it was a tight squeeze, but I made it out, replaced the block and turned to the living hell that is earth. I quickly grabbed my plastic mask and strapped it around my head.

Evidently not much survived the radiation bomb. I've only been outside a few times, but each time I do it looks more grim.

Where there was once a city there was mountains of debris for miles. The buildings were sky high but looked extremely precarious. They had a jungle of vines draped over them and stretching out along the cable lines. Glass shattered in every window. The stone that the buildings were made of were now corrupted and cracked. It had rained. I could tell because there was fumes coming from every inch of the mangled landscape. The broken buildings burnt from the acid that now falls from the sky.

Dodging the puddles was tricky. I burnt part of my shoe but kept running alonh the rocky remains of a sidewalk. Soon, I heard more S.I.S running after me.