Date:Unknown
Time: Early Evening
Location: The Bazaar, Loscisco, America
The scale of the explosion suddenly hit Theo as he stared on in disbelief. The destruction was beyond belief. As far as he could see corpses of once busy high street shops lay shattered and defeated. The remains of these proud buildings now formed a bed of dust coated brick. Windows now glinted from every inch giving as if the ghostly scene had been rained on by explosive glitter. Vehicles of all sizes littered what was still visible most had been crushed or burnt. Theo looked down in dismay. The floor was wet. Was it blood? He bent down and an overpowering stench swept into his nostrils. Petrol. Theo turned to see he was in the shadow of a fuel tanker. The tanker itself must have been turned on end in the blast, it now stood like a cylindrical obelisk, fuel still trickling out from the crumpled end. Theo would need to be careful. Any flame could be the end of him. What ever had happened it was big. Huge, something must have kicked off a war or something. China and America had been at each others necks for years. Both sides had been building new weapons to eliminate the other knowing that when the time comes who ever has the biggest advantages wins, or at least lives long enough for bragging rights.
'Speaking of life, where is every one?' Theo questioned the world at large. He hadn’t seen any one, no rescue teams or army help. Not even any injured. The city seemed devoid of life. The city seemed devoid of death too. Normally the street was packed with rushing commuters and customers. No sign of them dead or alive could be seen throughout.
'I believe we may be the only ones left Theodore Pen-Truche, my scans show no life and no emergency broadcasts on any frequency.' the droid answered honestly.
'Is that why you're following me? Not trying to find your master.'
'on the contrary. I have established I have no master. Technically speaking I am a free droid. However wandering around looking for people will achieve nothing. I must aid humankind and as yet your the only human I h--- -ound.' it said, sparks falling from the cut wire.
Sparks. Theo pelted forwards as a crackle and hiss of flames announced the presence of a new danger. Acrid smoke blew outwards in all directions as if racing Theo to a safer place. The smoke won. Within seconds Theo was effectively blind and stumbling around dragging the troublesome droid with him. All he needed to do was to get around that corner and...
The deafening explosion tore at Theo's ear drums. The heatwave licked and roasted the backs of his legs. The thick shroud of smoke filled his lungs. Dark blotches and stars swam across his vision making it difficult to know how little he could actually see. The rubble beneath him wasn’t comfortable in any description. A steel rod protruded only centimetres from his chest if it wasn’t for the blast the fall might have been deadly. After only a few moments the dull throbbing pain of fresh bruising started to come through. Theo lifted himself up on weak arms and started to look around. Time was slipping away, night was creeping up on him like a predator stalks its prey. Theo was the pray. Darkness would make it impossible to recognise any thing from this unrecognisable city that surrounded him. Although the smoke had gone the air was still thick with brick dusts and the acrid smell of burning fuel. The dark of the sky was penetrated only by flames licking away at the up-ended tanker. Theo got up slowly and dusted himself off, an act that was quickly becoming habit.
Walking at a glacial pace Theo soon realised that planning would be of the essence. Food and clean water would be needed, shelter too. It was unlikely that he would find a nice comfy bed so anything with a roof over it would have to do.
'What I need to know is did any one else survive?' he asked the world at large.
'I could scan radio frequencies if you would like me to. There is a strong possibility that others have survived' replied the malfunction-prone droid. What followed was two long hours of varying white noise.
During this time Theo decided to stay put. There was enough food in the basement for many months of...well, guessing the future was best left to the fair ground mystics. Theo spent time finding scraps of fabric to cushion himself from the chill of the ground beneath him. The white noise continued. **********VIV****AS*****SE******.
'Stop!' Theo burst out. 'Go back I think I heard something' the whine of the radio stopped and started a few times before a message became clear.
******TH*S ME*S*GE HAS BEE* BROADCA** FOR 36 HO**S. A GRO*P OF SURV**ORS HAS BEEN S*T UP AT TH* ***** ******* ** ********OOK. WE UR*GE YOU TO F*ND US THER*. MESSA*E END.
'Damn it! Do you know where they are?'
'I now know the frequency, its a simple matter of...'
'Ok just do it, we're leaving when the sun is with us.'
