And Then There Was Nothing

Chapter 1: Meeting

*So this is my first attempt at writing a full length story in a very long time and would very much appreciate feedback and constructive criticism. I really hope you enjoy. Also I've edited the first chapter now.*

The world is a horrible and disgusting place if you really look into it, when your entire way of life is completely ripped to shreds by dirty bombs and viruses you had no idea existed it really puts a lot of shit into perspective. The shit hole that was once my home is now nothing but barren stretches of road and housing complexes with rusted out windows and smoking ashes. I've adapted to this new way of life a lot nicer than would've been expected of me, turns out I quite enjoy being under pressure and having to kill to get my food. Survival is the basic human instinct and I seem to tap into my wild side fairly well, if you know what I mean. The whole country, well the whole world if you want to talk big picture, has fallen into what people would have called the "apocalypse" you know the thing that people would write teen novels about. We barely got any warning either, just a simple emergency broadcast when the first missiles launched. We were told to hunker down and pray, well I wasn't much for praying so I got my pretty little ass down in my basement and waited till the explosions and screaming silenced. I stayed down there for a while and survived on the provisions my brother had set up a while back. When I emerged once more I saw that not everyone made it, and those who did were desperate. I learned a lot from my brother and one of the main things was that desperate people were dangerous and were better off dead than a threat to me. I ain't proud of the fact that I had to put down plenty of people that I may have called friend at one time or another, but if I wanted to live I'd do what I had to. Oh I'm sorry did you want me to start off this with talk of hope and perseverance? Well you're shit out of luck darling, you're going to get a taste of the real world now.

I've been travelling on my own for a good while now, due to the fact that I never got along well enough with anyone to care if they had lived or died. I wasn't much of a people person to tell the truth and I never will be I assume, seeing as every person I've met so far in this wasteland is more willing to put a gun to my head than have a nice chat. I was somewhere in the western area of Texas and continuing to travel the same direction, I was hoping to reconnect with my brother if he wasn't dead yet. Though I did get a little held up seeing as how I was now crouched behind a rusted out shell of a car and waiting for what was beyond the rise of the hill I just traveled. I was hoping the noises I heard was just the sound a car door falling off one of the hunks of rust somewhere far behind me, but knowing my luck it wasn't. Soon a male seeming figure crested the hill, followed by a good sized pup, and kept striding confidently down the middle of the road, his fearlessness irritated me but if he was still alive after this long and still acting like that then I knew he had the skills to back it up. I snarled to myself, knowing I'd need to make a decision and fast. I glimpsed back around at him and caught a glimpse of his arsenal, that made my decision for me.

"Don't shoot!" I yelled out at him, not standing right away in case he was as trigger happy as he looked. I slowly stood with my rifle raised above my head and turned to face him. I saw he had a pistol drawn and trained on my chest with a steely look in his eye like he'd had to take a life one too many times.

"Put your gun down and slide it away from you," He said with a chilling confidence, this man would shoot me and leave me for dead with no remorse. I begrudgingly placed my weapon on the asphalt and slid it away from both him and I, giving myself some fighting chance.

"You got anything else on ya?" he spoke once more still standing a distance away.

"I'd be one dumb broad if I didn't," I replied with as neutral face I could muster, my statement seemed to amuse him as I could see his lips pull up slightly at the corners.