The Decay

Chapter 4 - A New Beginning

4

The next morning, Mike woke up looking around, not recognizing where he was. He then remembered why he was out here and what had happened during the night. He shivered, eyes swelling up with tears. He wiped his eyes with a sleeve. To survive he needed food, water and chemI, the modified iodine which was so effective at absorbing radiation. Weighing his options, Mike decided to go inside the remains of the hospital North West from where the camp used to be. Middlesex County hospital had been closed some 60 years before the war. It had been converted into a condominium complex, so he wasn't sure how much medical supplies he'd find there, but currently it was his best option.

It was a 3 mile walk to the old hospital. When he arrived, he noticed that the Eastern half of the complex had collapsed completely. He found a hole in the wall on the opposite side and, after looking for signs of movements, he entered, gun in one hand and knife in the other. On the ground floor, there were 3 doors and a flight of stairs at the end of the corridor on the right side. A lift was next to the stairs, but the doors had been blown open and a dark shaft revealed itself.

Mike moved silently towards the first door. It was locked. He contemplated shooting the lock, but decided against it when he realized that anyone close by might hear that. He searched on the ground and found a small piece of metal and what appeared to be a screwdriver in a toolbox next to the hole in the wall. It took a few tries and a bent piece of metal, but eventually he was able to pick the lock. He turned the knob slowly and pushed. The door opened with a rusty squeak. The inside of the room looked as if a bomb had exploded: things were all over the place, a wardrobe had been turned over, raided of its contents. The same could be said for a dresser on the left side, whilst the couch on the right had been torn up. Mike moved further into the apartment, past the kitchen and into the bedroom. He recoiled at the sight of a mutilated body lying on the bed.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a backpack lying up against a wall. He opened it carefully. Inside was a flashlight, spare batteries, a small purse containing 2 gold coins and a pack of cigarettes. Smiling to himself, he picked up the backpack. He turned the knob on the second door, it opened. Inside was nothing but rubble: the ceiling had apparently collapsed. The same was true for the room behind the third door. As he was about to walk up the stairs, Mike suddenly heard a noise. A small stone hitting something. He instinctively crouched, pulled out his pistol and looked around. Nothing. Cautiously, he began moving up the stairs. On reaching the top, he turned left into the corridor and saw a skeleton. Mike shivered before forcing himself to move on, still on alert by the earlier sound. And there it was, ahead of him, a door was ajar and he saw a shadow moving inside the room.

Mike took a deep breath and began walking towards the door. Standing in front of it, he kicked it open with full force and aimed his gun ready to shoot. A dog met his gaze, growled and showed its teeth.

Mike breathed a sigh of relief before leaving the room, closing the door behind him quickly. There was only one more room on this floor. The collapsed staircase in front of him prevented his progress onto the floors above. Still gun in hand, Mike turned the knob and the door opened. As he stepped into the room, all he saw was more chaos. Thankfully, no one else was present, dead or alive. He began searching the kitchen and living room for anything useful, but only found a box of matches and an old bottle of water, both of which he took. On entering the bedroom, he found a pistol and a small box containing 8 rounds in a drawer. He picked up the items and placed them in the backpack. Exiting the building, Mike headed West in search of water. He knew that there should be a pond nearby. He was more concerned about finding chemI. Without it, he wouldn't be able to drink much of the irradiated water before suffering from radiation poisoning.

Mike walked for about a quarter of an hour before reaching the small lake called Hardy pond. He reached for the bottle found earlier, emptied its contents and filled it up with water from the lake. He cupped his hands, collecting some water and, after briefly smelling it, drank it. The taste wasn't as bad as he had expected. After gathering his things, Mike started moving in a South Eastern direction, through vegetation and broken buildings. He was walking on what used to be a road. On his right hand side, most of the buildings were reduced to mere rubble. On the left, a few buildings still stood standing, their contents long gone. Plants started sprouting from cracks in their walls and from where the windows used to be. He thought he saw a movement inside one of the buildings, but dismissed it as a figment of his imagination and kept walking.

As Mike moved away from the area which he knew so well, exploring new territory, he saw more of the same: broken buildings, ruined roads, shatters from the past. Ahead of him, he could now see a large building. Mike had never been there before. On approaching the building, he could see the obvious structural damage the building had sustained. Written on one of the walls was the text “Gann Academy”. It was getting dark, so he decided to take shelter in the building. On entering, he found a large wooden door ajar on his left hand side. He turned the knob and entered a massive hall. The place was damaged, but it was obvious that someone had been there recently. On the ground was a mattress and a small wooden bench. Hanging on the adjacent wall was a map. Mike went over to take a closer look at the map. It showed the city known as Boston and its surroundings. He saw his old home on the map as well. Of interest, was the location called Camp Cedar Hill, which was encircled in red on the map. An arrow pointed towards the circle, and at the other end of the arrow was the word 'people' and a question mark.

The thought of meeting new, possibly friendly people, was exciting for Mike. He ripped the map off the wall, took a last look around the hall and proceeded South to Camp Cedar Hill.

Camp Cedar Hill wasn't too far off. It took him about half an hour at a steady pace to reach it. The place was an open field, which had clearly been modified, with a make-shift fence having been set up around a rather large perimeter. On the top of a gate was a large sign saying 'Mountain Side'.

If people lived here, there'd be quite a few. It was a much larger establishment than where he had come from, he thought. A guard spotted him and raised his rifle. “Halt! Who goes there?” the man asked. The man must have been in his fifties. He had gray hair and short beard. His eyes were blue and wary. Mike raised his hands. “Please, don't shoot. My name is Mike. I used to live some place North of here but we were attacked by raiders. I am the only survivor.”, he said, trying not to speak in a wavering voice. “What are you doing here?”, asked the man. “I saw this place circled on a map. I wanted to get to know it. If it's really a town, perhaps I could offer my services.”, Mike replied.

“And what is it exactly that do you do, boy?”. “I hunt. It's all I know how to do. I can kill.”. The man scratched his beard. “A mercenary of sorts, huh? Alright, come to the gate boy, I'll let you in. Might be the sheriff has some work for you.”, he said.

Mike lowered his hands and walked towards the gate. With a loud creak, the gate opened, and the man waved him inside. “Name is Sam. I'm one of the few guards we have here. You said your name was Mike, boy?”. “That's correct.”, replied Mike. “Alright, Mike. Come with me.”, said Sam.

Mountain Side was the biggest town Mike had ever seen. There were multiple tents, some larger than others, set up in a H pattern. Sam told him that the tents on the right were those containing people offering services. There was a tavern, a medical clinic, some shops, and the like. On the left were the residential tents. In the middle there was the administrative part of the town. The Sheriff's office was here, along side the guard barracks and jail.

Sam showed Mike into the middle tent. “Jack, we have a visitor.”, said Sam.