"The world ended with a bright white flash. Everything fell silent, no engines, no singing birds and no muttering. Then, the screams erupted."
It has been years since the earth burned to ashes and humanity fled into the last place inhabitable: The S...
I will not always be there with you; you need to know how to survive on your own.
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"All right sweetie, focus."
Tension filled my body as I looked at a distant point in front of me. Pure and utter darkness filled the long tunnel in front of me. Silence ruled the scene, my breath echoed off the concrete barriers surrounding me. My hand laid on the trigger, I would need only a small pull and the deadly projectile would pierce nearly anything I wanted.
The narrow corridor lying before me seemed smaller through the plastic scope, I could see for felt miles. I could almost catch a glimpse of the next barricaded settlement. What I saw instead was a small, ever shifting light. A camp fire burned a couple of hundred meters away, filling the air with the smell of burning wood. Over the flames, a small stick was struck up. It carried a big lump of meat, sizzling with fresh fat.
I heard my stomach rumble as a faint scent of cooked ham filled my nostrils. A shadow next to me shifted to catch a glimpse of my being. Kenny looked at me with caution.
"Don't let the smell distract you. Tell me what you see," he told me with his slightly rasping voice.
"The camp fire is still untouched. I haven't seen anyone or anything approaching it yet but..."
I stopped and closed my eyes. It helped me to diminish all unneeded senses to leave way for the one I needed the most. My ears twitched at the echoes coming from ahead. A slight rumble and the sound of stones being shifted reached me, definitely something coming nearer. When I opened my eyes again, I saw the shadows in the distance grow denser, becoming more lifelike than they should have.
"...there is something coming. It's big and heavy, maybe one of them," I concluded. Kenny nodded in approval.
"You're right, someone seems to be hungry out there. Is the safety off?"
I scowled as I flicked the small switch securing my weapon. The mechanism had always unnerved me, I would always forget to turn it off. With an audible click the switch hit its holding and the trigger beneath my fingers felt easier to pull, less resistance to end a creature's life.
"You forgot it? Again? Clem, you know this can cost you your life out there. I will not always be there with you; you need to know how to survive on your own. If you need to protect yourself and can't shoot you are..."
"I know Kenneth, it's the last time, I promise. And now shut up, I need to concentrate," I rudely interrupted his explanation. I knew how dangerous it could be to have a firearm that wouldn't shoot. A guy on the last perimeter guard had left his weapon in the secured mode and all they had found were some drops of blood and his boots... with the rest of his feet still in them.
He looked at me and furrowed his brows. "Clem..." he said in a dangerously calm way. Tension hidden in his words made me flinch.
"I am still your adoptive father, speak with me like that one more goddamn time and I will leave you grounded for the rest of the week young lady." He pressed out these words, his teeth gritted and a mad look on his face. The two orbs floating in the impenetrable darkness next to me glowed with angry disappointment. A huff of air left my lung as I sighed out loudly.
