Ashes

Chapter 2

Rishi woke, feeling well rested and ready for another day of scavenging. With the sky as dark as it was, day and night barely existed. Although during the day, it was usually just a little bit brighter. Not enough to clearly see anything far away, but just enough to be able to make out anything right under your feet. He stood up, stretched his skinny, meatless arms, and looked around to see if he could find his sister between the many others sleeping in the tent. None of them were family, yet they all were in a different way. There was Thomas, a somewhat tall blonde boy who rarely scavenges, and mostly stays as a guard.  There's Nieve, the girl who found a warehouse full of canned goods a while back. She hasn't gone out scavenging since, and has gotten a bit lazy. Her short cut black hair was all you could see of her, the rest buried inside her sleeping mat, only a bit of her pale skin showing. It wasn't unusual. No one here except Rick and a few others had ever seen sunlight. Nieve rolled around, showing her cute, well defined face. Rishi would be lying if he said he didn't fancy her at least a little. Rishi moved further up the tent. He saw Oliver, a young kid with red hair. He had only recently went on his first scavenging trip. Rishi had a feeling he had a thing for Lil, despite the age gap of a few years. "Keep hoping, kid." Rishi thought as he passed Oliver, and went outside the tent. 

It was surprisingly quiet, and almost pitch black. The fires had died, and would have to be reignited. Great. Rishi still had gashes on his hands from lighting one last time using the old stick-rubbing method. He moved Marco's tent, only to see that Marco was absent. Even better, he'd have to wait before eating. Marco's job was to keep track of how much someone ate. If people ate more than they needed, or deserved, Marco would know, and would tell Mackinley, the leader of Silverlight. That's what they called this place. Silverlight. It was surprisingly fitting for a warehouse company name. Almost like they'd know their warehouse would be used to harbor some of humanity's last survivors. Hell, some of Earth's last breathing things. "Rishi? Daydreaming?" Rishi looked up, and saw Marco's somewhat dirty, bearded face. "I had to say your name three times before you looked up." He grinned, showing off his rotten teeth. Looks like he left his dentures around. "Sorry. I was just thinking. Mind if I grab a can?" Marco nodded. "But make sure you go scavenge some more. Take Lil with you, too. She's starting to slack." Rishi nodded, grabbed a can and moved over to one of the fire pits. "Alright, of course I have to light it again..." As he went to grab some flint stones to light a fire, he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned around, and saw the same face he saw when he returned yesterday. "Oh, Mackinley. I didn't realize you were awake." Mackinley chuckled. "No need to grab the flints.";He said, and pointed to a nearby fire. "Elizabeth just lit that fire there. You can go eat there." Rishi nodded, got up, and went to the lit fire, cooking his meal and beginning to eat it. He sat there, when his sister's hands on his shoulders woke him from his daydreams. "You know, I was thinking. Maybe it's better if we stay out a while. We'd be able to collect more." Rishi, still a bit tired, replied "Are you sure? I don't want to have to bother with packing a sleeping bag as well, or getting it all figured out with Mackinley." "I wasn't asking for your opinion. I already asked Mackinley and got it in order. Pack your bag, we're going in a scavenge."

The cold, black snow under their feet crunched with every step they took. Their thick clothes protected them from the ice cold temperatures that killed all green. The skies were as black as they always were, the only source of light being the flashlight in Lil's hand. They were going further than either of them ever did. Rishi kept binding around a bright red wire around anything he found, this way they'd know their way back. He also tried to keep note of any landmarks he could find. A collapsed statue, a broken grave, and a burned down house. Not a lot for how much they've been walking, but it'll help. He bumped into Lil, who had stopped unexpectedly. "This place looks good." She grabbed a rock off the floor, and smashed in the glass door to a light-brown building. From what Rishi could see, it was a pharmacy. Good, medicine is important, and he could already see some bottles left in the shelves. They walked in, and looked around. "Expired, all of it. To be expected." Lil chuckled, and placed a blanket down near the entrance. They placed anything they found on it, and took inventory. "Viagra? Yeah, that's not gonna be necessary." Lil tossed the bottle behind the counter, and kept reading labels. She was actually one of the five people in the entire warehouse who could. "Heart medication could be handy." Rishi said. "Rick's ticker's been going off." Lil nodded, and put the bottle in her bag. "Oh, cold medicine! Must have." "What about this? Looks good." Lil began giggling "Rishi, I seriously need to teach you how to read some day. This is laxitive." She tossed the bottle away. "I'm beat. Let's take a nap and do the rest tomorrow. Rishi agreed, and grabbed his purple sleeping bag, rolling it out, and crawling in. "Good... Night? I don't know." Rishi chuckled, and both drifted off to sleep not long after.