Europe, distant future. A meteorite impacted on the area of Russia, turning the area into a dead zone. Moreover, it emits a strange radiance which increases the impact survivors and their offsprings' endurance and strength, but also causing them to...
"Neoclash matches outside official arenas, without the use of INF-system, are strictly prohibited. Treatment of injuries suffered during such matches cannot be covered with any insurance."
The Law of the Castaways, abridged
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The following days are hard, but the vision of what can I become keeps driving me forward.
Roughly after a week after our visit at the shopping centre, I learned to walk steady, without using cane. Even though I ditched that simple, ugly piece of metal, I decide to keep it as a memory. It broke too much falls to just throw it out.
Maybe one day, I'll be looking at this cane while nostalgically remembering what it used to mean. Who knows where I will end up.
Damn, I didn't know I'm this sentimental.
My artifical legs are now a natural extension of my body and I learned to control them to the point my walking is undifferentiated from a standard human walk.
At the beginning, I thought my progression is too slow. But I learned to be patient and appreciate every slight progress I make. So does Ryan. He keeps pushing me forward, motivating me. We go for a long walk almost every day. That way, I almost didn't notice that I don't need the cane anymore.
Since I've mastered the basic, I try to experiment with my new skill a little. Sometimes, I try to walk a bit faster. I have to be careful since I still feel some disbalance when doing so; my body has to get used for normal bipedal movement. But I'm getting closer every day.
I keep growing, just like the flowers on Ryan's garden. Wait. I think I can freely say it's my garden since I do all the gardening myself. Every day after I wake up, I go to the garden to water and fertilize the plants. It's relaxing, almost like a therapy.
As soon as the first shoots appear, I touch them. Just gently, so I won't damage them. Sometimes, when I'm sure nobody is watching, I also sing to them. Even though I'm slowly getting into this world's music, I don't know any songs yet. That's why I stick to simple, folk songs popular in the Dead Zone.
Withering, withering
Summer, winter, fall and spring
Left alone, left for dead,
Fighting for the daily bread,
Watching time slowly fly,
Counting down to the day I die...
I know, it's not exactly a happy tune. But all the songs from my past life are like that. Well, maybe except anthems of some hostile Tribes which told us about slitting throats and cracking skulls. The omnipresent gray took away all the motivation to create something positive, hopeful.
Unless I try to create something myself.
The negative vibes of the song can negatively influence their growth. When I look at the beauty in the meadow, I know they're somehow alive. Maybe they can't hear or see us in the kind of way we're used to, but I'm certain they can sense our mood, emotions.
