The Hand of God [The Open Novella Contest | Ambassador Pick]

Chapter 3. The Camp

There really is something wrong, Isaac thought when he stepped outside. He did not expect that in about a month things would be like this. No one walked the streets. Cars were scattered, open doors, or broken glass, waiting for the rust. The leaves on the ground, accumulated, flew to the winds. But it was the grass that called his attention. Growing everywhere, it already showed that before, in fact, the city was minimally taken care of.

"Where are we?" he asked, after some time watching. Rachel was a little confused, but then understood.

"I had forgotten that you don't know anything. We are in Espírito Santo, Brazil, remember?"

"I remember it exists, only."

"Weird." she said, starting to walk. "Well, despite being the capital, Vitoria is a relatively small town. We never liked to hear this, but now I see a great advantage. We can find anything here, and everything is close."

"How so?"

"Imagine someone in Sao Paulo at this time, needing to find a hospital. He probably will have to walk a lot more than I walked to get here."

Isaac also remembered Sao Paulo, and it was a very big city, but didn't remember if he had ever visited it. Thinking about the hospital, he decided to ask one more question.

"And what were you doing at the hospital?"

"There is no shortage of drugstores here, but they were all looted in the early days. Sarah was a nurse, and said that there might be something here yet. People are always afraid of hospitals."

The mention of Sarah made Isaac remember that he was about to meet other people. Maybe someone would recognize him? Rachel was proving to be patient with his questions, but she didn't have much disposition to answer questions a little more complicated.

As they passed near the first building that was on their way, Isaac noticed the broken pieces scattered on the floor.

"I think that's something survivors, like us, did, but some believe they are part of the building roof." She looked at Isaac's face and added: - These are those who believe that people were snatched. Apparently they can fly up to the sky, but can not go through the roof without breaking it."

That intrigued Isaac more than anything, and he had no idea that it intrigued Rachel even more. When she was a teenager, she no longer believed in God. For a guy who knows everything, he did many wrong things, she used to think. Now, having gone through what seemed like the end of the world, she was obliged to think about the possibility of something bigger.

"Wait here." she said, when they came to a highway, which she intended to investigate before crossing. Until then, they were walking by residential blocks. Across the road, however, there was only woods. While waiting Rachel to return, Isaac noticed the houses around him. They were beautiful, large, and appeared to have been well cared for in the recent past.