When we looked around we only saw red dust and sand. It was abandoned. Nothing was left. We saw some sort of glowing laser in the distance going off and sounds of gun shots. We went towards it and realized this wasn't the situation we wanted to be in but we went on anyways we needed answers and they seemed to be the only living things out here.
We snuck up behind them 2 on one, 2 on the other and we hit them in the head with wrenches knocking them out. We retreated with the bodies to a nearby house. We tied them up to chairs with rope they had on them and waited for them to wake up. We waited a couple minutes and when they didnt wake up on their own we hit them till they awoke.
As they came to it they started pleading for their freedom. We told them to shush. And i told them i wanted them to answer my questions. They agreed as long as they got to live. I asked what year it was and they both said 2307. Me and the others all looked at each other. We had to believe them. It made sense. All the desserted land and no people. And the cryogenic whatever stuff freezing us for years.
We took their things, clothes and all. We left them alive and untied them but we didn't let them fight back. We held them at gunpoint till they were far enough that they couldn't just run at us. We saw a wooden sign that looked old and worn. It was sun bleached to the point that the paint was only blue and white. It pointed and we looked.
It was a giant metal wall. We started for it first walking, then sprinting, then full on running. We got there and we kept circling the place not sure where the entrance was. There was an almost cave like place on one side so we went under there. We started knocking on the wall and thankfully someone heard us. They peeked through the 'door' but it was more like he tore off a piece of the metal containing whatever was inside.
He asked for our names. I realized i didnt know the others' names so i listened closely for theirs.
Judy said her name to him with confidence. Judy held herself up high with a her chest up chin upsort of way. She was just about my height. I was just 5'4 so she wasnt as tall as she made herself feel. Her hair was curly and she looked like a natural redhead. She had freckles all over her face. She was always sure of where to go and so far its gotten us to this place so everyone seems to trust her.
Finn. He said his name quietly compared to Judy. Finn didnt seem too confident. But he was beautiful. His sun kissed skin glowed in the nuclear sun. His bleach tipped coily hair bounced when he walked. He was way taller than me. 6' maybe. He walked slouched over and wore his suit tied around his waist. His chest was sculpted like a god. He had abs like ive never seen. He was really fit. He could probably do 50 pushups with all of us on his back.
It was my turn. I said my name. Joseph. I said it as loud as i could. My voice didnt seem to get very loud after being frozen for so long. I think i was the only one affected by this. I wasnt so confident about my name. I felt a hand touch my back in support. It was Finn's. I felt 100 times better.
Next was Alejandro. He had is chest puffed up and turned to us and smiled. He went back to standing like he usually does. Slightly slouching but straight enough that you wouldnt notice it. He wasnt much taller than me. Maybe by a few inches. He rolled up the sleeves of the suit like Judy and i had done.
"Okay," the man peering out said, "come on in." We went through the opening and it was a little tight but once we all squeezed through we took in the scenery. It was amazing to look at. It looked intricate. It was mostly metal and almost everything was rusted but it was messy but organized. It was fascinating.
I asked what this place was and i was met with a confused look and was told about the history, apparently this place was famous for how old it was. He was the mayor. He ran the town of Nuk-lear. It was built 50 years after the bombs fell.
They made the walls and buildings inside the walls out of the metal on the airplanes from the nearby airport. It was built around a bomb that hadn't gone off. The small group that was left from the original makers were grandchildren if not great grandchildren of the people who made this town. They worshipped the bomb like it was a god. The rest of the town as far as the mayors standpoint could tell, either didn't know what religion was or cared enough to practice it. Most books were burnt or ruined because of the harsh environment from the nuclear war.
We were all led to the town's pub. We sat and listened to all the tales the bartender had. He explained the currency was bottlecaps and that the creatures were mutated from being exposed to gamma rays.
I’m not so sure of the science behind of what he was saying but we understood the baseline. That we were stuck in hell. With gigantic creatures that wanted us dead and a constant nuclear summer.
