flawed

f i f t h

District_103
year 02 post great shock
•••
A few hours earlier...

Peter POV

"Thank you sir, have a good day," I thanked the broad-shouldered and muscular Farmer.

He grunted. "Safe travels."

I took my bags of jerky, tucking them into my belt as I began to head towards the city.

After District 211 had failed me I had decided to just travel, in hopes that eventually I would finally find Amara, or someone who could find her.

The scenery was beautiful- for after all of our factories and cars had been destroyed there was nothing to pollute the air.
Vines had begun to grow over crumbled stone buildings and forests had risen in the place of tumbled homes.
Soon wildlife would begin to multiply- which would hopefully solve the worldwide hunger crisis.
It would just take time.

But did we really have time?
As I moved into the city I caught glances of various lifeless bodies that hadn't yet been disposed of.
Humanity was tearing itself apart- fighting like rabid pack animals when we should have been banding together.

But if there was anything I had learned was never to trust anyone, and never to believe that an individual would do what is right when money is on the line.
My memories that had been stolen from me in the Reminisce Chamber had flowed back over these past two years, including the painful memory of Anastasia's words.
Her words about my father.

I knew now that she was telling the truth, that the father I had grown up with, the father I had sobbed into the shoulder of when mother was killed was the very man who killed her.

I could lie, and say that it didn't effect me.
But I had never been one for running when things were tough or complicated... I only wished Father was here now so I could plant my fist in his face.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the smallest sound from a nearby ally.
Could have been rats, but than again...

I casually moved my hand to the hilt of my knife, beginning to whistle softly as I walked.

The sound came again. Human footsteps. Behind me.
I sighed.
"I know you're there."

Silence.
I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough there was fluffy brown hair sticking out from behind a ruin of what once had been a grand skyscraper, no doubt.

I quickly reached into my pocket and drew out a small stone, chucking it (with precision) towards the ruins.
The stone skimmed the top of the hair, but as I intended, did no harm to the boy.

"You can come out, kid. I'm not going to kill you or anything. As long as you don't try anything."

A pair of brown eyes peered at me, followed by the boy's whole face.
He looked young, in his mid-teens.
Not much younger than myself, come to think of it.

"What's your name?" I asked, hand still resting lightly on my knife.
No matter how innocent this kid looked, he could still be a killer. Almost everyone was these days.

"Logan," he muttered, looking warily at me.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Peter. Now, I know that there's more of your little friends hiding around here, and you're going to attack me and take my food to feed your little gang, but sorry- I simply cannot let that happen."