After the End

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Will walked through the lush forest, looking around with awestruck wonder on his face, looking at the different shades of greens, the vibrant reds and vivid blues. He walked along a dirt path shaded by large maple trees, stepping over the roots sticking out of the ground. The bright sun peaking through the breaks in the leaves and branches, he walked along, squinting when the sun was on his eyes.
He wore a black shirt with a red firefighter emblem on the front left side of his chest, and black shorts with white sides and a red stripe down the middle of the white. A plain black hat on his head, and a handgun at his side. Despite being only 18, darkness, war, and destruction have been all he has known.
He stopped for a moment and kneeled at a blueberry bush, plucking off the delicious berries, the darker the better, and stuffing his mouth with them.
He reached into his black medium tactical backpack, pulled out his thermos filled with coffee, and washed the berries down, wiping his mouth when he was finished.
He stood to his feet and continued walking, taking in the sweet smells of the grass around him, the flowers, and the air.
Everything smelled so fresh, so clean, so peaceful. The wind blew gently through the trees, gently ruffling the leaves. As he looked around, he could not see and end to his path, just trees all around.
He felt a nudge at his side and looked down to see a rottweiler with a pink collar and a friendly look to her face.
He smiled and knelt down to pet her.
"Hey Bella! Good girl! I haven't seen you in a while!" He said while happily petting her, scratching her head and back as she sat down and perked her head up, enjoying the scratching.
Her soft fur felt tickled his palms, making his remember all the good times.
He heard a quick running in his direction and looked up in time to see the excited face of his husky, her brown and Blue eyes confirming she is his. She jumped on him, knocking him down, and licking his face excitedly as he tried pushing her back, laughing.
"Luna!!" He yelled, very excited to see her. Bella joined in on licking his face, and he tried getting away, until he finally succeeded and turned around to pet them. They were gone.
"Huh.."
Hebsaid, staring at the dirt where he rolled around with them, seeing no paw prints running away.
He slowly continued along the path, looking around and listening to the birds chirping, the wind blowing, the bugs, and the sound of his own footsteps.
He came to a large lake, and he sat on the edge of it, skipping rocks and throwing rocks, snickering.
When he finally stood up, he turned around to see his jacket on a branch, blowing in the wind.
"Uh... okay?" He said, looking around with confusion on his face.
He took off his bag, and took the black jacket with a thick red stripe down the sleeve, velcro near the top on either side, and put it on. Not bothering to zip it up. And then on goes his bag, this time connecting the waist strap to better hold it to him.
He reached into each pocket and took out Medic patches, putting them on the velcro sides.

As he walked around the lake, he heard gunfire erupt from behind him, a whizzing going past his head.
He ducked behind a tree, pulling out his sidearm, a black and red 1911, aiming at where the gunfire came from.
Again, he found nothing.
His heart beat and breathing slowed, but he kept the sidearm in his hand, walking at a slightly faster pace this time.
Around him, raindrops started to fall, one by one, slowly at first, until it turned into a rainstorm. The sky blackened with the storm clouds, being lit up every minute or so by lightning.
The thunder was the only noise louder than the rain hitting around him as he moved quickly to find a way out, or find shelter. Soon, he came back to the lake, but this time, he fell in. He was normally a good swimmer, but ended up getting pulled deeper and deeper down, unable to hold his breath any longer.

One loud crack of thunder, and Will jolted up in his bed, taking a gasp of a air, feeling like other was all real.
He looked around to remember where he was.
A bed beneath him, and light gray walls surrounding him. His eyes adjusted to the darkness in time to see a figure in the bed on the other side of the room.
Based in the size of the room, he concluded he was in a hotel room.
"Hey?" Came a familiar Australian voice. "You Alright?" She said, sitting up from her bed. She lit a lantern, casting a small amount of light across the room.
"Yeah.. I'm fine." Will said, laying back down.
The woman walked over and sat on the edge of his bed, looking obviously tired.
She yawned and said "Dream about the greenery of home again?"
"Yeah... and the dogs..." Will said, yawning sadly.
"I know what you mean. I miss mine too."
"I'm going to try going back to sleep. Thank you, Cal" Will said with a slight smile.
The girl with black hair and brown eyes, same age as him, smiled and nodded.
"Good idea. Sleep well, man."
She stood, and walked to her bed, laying down.
He couldn't fall back asleep. He just laid there waiting for morning, not even knowing what time it was. The brief talk with his most trusted friend, one he considers his sister, did help calm his nerves.