Town of Sadness (RoyalChaos)

Goner

Nanners awoke at exactly seven after two in the morning, according to the electric alarm clock beside the bed. He also woke alone. Gassy had already tried, or should he say was trying,  to make his way to the bathroom and was bumping against every corner in their tiny living car. Adam laughed, standing up and flicking on the lights.

"Thank you, babe," Max called as he slid into the bathroom to relieve himself.

Adam just chuckled and got dressed. Apparently the pair instinctively knew this was about when the train would be rolling into the city, and they were right. This place looked absolutely desolate from out the window, though. The train station was barren of any form of life, rats included. Nanners opened the window and immediately closed it, the smell making him gag. No one had been in this place in a while.

Over the speakers, the conductor announced "Hey there, passengers. Y'all gotta debark within the hour. Have fun in New York!"

Max exited the bathroom and retched, covering his nose. "Jesus, Adam, what is that smell?"

"I opened the window for half a second and that happened. Let's just pack up quickly and get out of here. It's gonna be a long day." Adam stretched, popping his back, and began to refold his dirty clothes.

Within ten minutes, their place was cleared out. Knowing they were going to be surviving on the streets for a long time, Adam snatched up the alarm clock, the towels, and all the complimentary toiletries.

The couple ran down the rest of the train, stealing toiletries from every other room. Finally, they knocked on Smarty and GaLm's door, and the four moved to the front of the train. Chilled and Ze still sat snuggled in a booth in the front car. Nanners couldn't help but giggle and nudge them with his foot.

"Wakey-wakey sleepyheads," he chuckled, stepping back as they jolted awake. "Time to get off."

"Damn..," Steven yawned, elbowing his boyfriend. "You didn't wake me."

"I wasn't awake either," Chilled complained, smiling a bit.

Ze and Chilled quickly made their way out of the booth, readjusting their packs and waking up a bit more. The doors opened, letting the rank odor of New York City flood the cabin. Coughing, they exited the train and looked around. As Adam had seen from his window, it was deserted.

"Where do we go?" Ze asked quietly, glancing down the row of platforms to where the train tunnel led into the sunlight.

"Out of here, please. It smells like no one has cleaned this place in ten years," GaLm muttered, readjusting his duffel bag in his hand.

The group made their way towards the sunlight, realizing what GaLm had said was probably the truth. It seemed like no one had set foot in the train station for quite a while. Their feet left tracks in the dirt that covered the floor like a blanket.

When they stepped into the light, Adam took a deep breath, happy for some fresh air. It wasn't fresh, though. It tasted stale and old, like cement dust and smoke. He let out a retching cough, trying to get a solid breath of air.

Max quickly ripped open his bag, grappling a towel and his water bottle. He wet the center of the rag and gave it to Adam. "Put this over your mouth. All of us should. The air is full of debris and dust. It's dangerous."

Gassy passed around the collected towels and water, and everyone followed suit. The dust in the air clouded the sun, making it seem as though night was quickly approaching.

"We need to find a building and hole up for the day. Somewhere up high. We can start travel tomorrow," Smarty sighed, covering his mouth.

"Smarty, there is no where high." Chilled shook his head, looking to the sky.

It wasn't a lie, although Adam wished it was. Buildings that had once been twenty stories were not hardly anything, smashed flat. The concrete jungle was no more. All that remained was an almost collapsed city, the jungle deforested.