The Century Project

vii

Chapter 7 by KnightRolePlayer, published by Wyrdkey

edited by multicoloured- on 10.6.15

In another part of the city, a man could be seen, scavenging nearby buildings for food, or anything to eat, really. His appearance is an unexpected turn of events, since most people assume there are no signs of life on the surface of Earth. Not since the fallout. But under the surface is a different story. Humans have adapted to living in underground bunkers, or tunnels that have been dug out. For many years, people have lived like this, unbeknownst to this man.

Meet Neilson Watkins, a scavenger. He goes into abandoned buildings to look for food, water, supplies, or a place to sleep.

~Neil~

"Hmmm... nothin' here." I tossed a box aside, looking for something to eat. I ran out of food a few days ago, and had to resort to scavenging every building I came across. It wasn't so bad.

Mostly.

You see, unlike most of my friends in a small scavenging group, I had decided to leave and explore the world. I didn't like being cooped up in a block of cement for years on end, our shelter nothing but the skeleton of an industrial building. Pretty good decision, I had thought.

Until I met those 'things.'

They were made of vines and leaves, but.. they looked like animals. So, I decided to just call them 'plant monsters'. They also tended to attack on sight. I remember one time, I had run into one that looked like a rhino! I nearly crapped myself! Anyways. Let's see what we got here...

"Sweet! An MRE!" An MRE was a Meal Ready-to-Eat kit. It always contained all sorts of usually good food. I stood up straight, reading the box. "Ribs in BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes, corn, and bread. Mmmmm.. Sounds good to me!" I shoved it into my bag, delighted at my find of supplies. "Another one! How many are in here?" I pulled out four more of the same thing.

I'm so lucky! I thought.

Then I shot my head around, alerted by a shuffling sound from somewhere close by.

What was that..

A.. pew?

What sort of weapon makes that sound? I better go find out..

After about five minutes, I found a building. The sounds had been coming from there. But there was only one thing making the sound.

I can take it.

So, I drew my weapon and snuck towards the building. "D**n! How many shots can this thing take?!" A girl shouted.

Hmmm... they're having a hard time with one...

So I kicked the door open, and charged towards the beast. "YAAAHH!" I took one mighty swing downwards with my trusty sword, cutting the creature in half easily, since the blade was pretty big.

Only after this did I look around to see how many people were here. And then I noticed a girl lying on the ground, covered in blood. Oh no.. The LNR must have gotten to her.. But no one else seemed to bother about this, all focused on me, instead.

"Whoa! Who the hell are you?!" A man in futuristic looking armor asked - though there was another man in an similar outfit - immediately leveling his weapon at my face. Simultaneously, he was scrambling up some stairs to have the high ground. I put my weapon my back, my hands up.