The Lost City

Perry

Perry, Oklahoma was smaller than Elanor expected. Standing on the outskirts of the city, the dog by her side, whom she had taken to calling Bubba, Elanor felt larger than she'd ever been before. It was late, dark, and she was tired, but she felt accomplished.

"Whaddya say we find somewhere to rest for the night, huh, Bubba?" she cooed, giving the dog a few scratches on the ear. Bubba gave a soft bark in the affirmative and leaned into the scratches.

Flicking on the light attached to her gun, Elanor took the first step into the town. She scanned for any signs of life, not finding any immediately. Her gander around let her take in the sights, even in the dark. The ruins, the old, decrepit buildings, weakened from nuclear war and years of neglect, were almost poetically beautiful. A reminder of humanity's past mistakes.

Broken glass, scattered bricks, and stone littered the ground, serving as no more than empty memories. Elanor inadvertently kicked a bottle as she walked the empty streets, passing under a fallen traffic light. No noises sounded in response as the empty bottle rolled down the street. To her right, an old car was crashed into a storefront, the only evidence it was ever used being an old, charred skeleton in the driver's seat.

Bubba followed Elanor closely behind, sniffing along the ground as he walked. He seemed to just be happy to have a person with him, willing to follow his companion anywhere. He trotted up to stay next to his new person, walking in pace with her.

The young woman peered inside one of the old buildings along the street. It appeared to be some sort of clothing store. None of these clothes look practical at all , Elanor thought, scanning her eyes over the rows of dresses, skirts, and suits. Still, it was the first fully-intact building she had come across, so that warranted some measure of investigation. Cautiously, she approached the old store's door.

The door was, at one point, clearly made of glass. That point was long passed, as broken shards were strewn about either side. Taking her hand out from under the grip of her gun, Elanor applied pressure to the door. It took a few pushes, but sure enough, the door came creaking open.

Elanor brought her hand back to support her gun as she stepped inside. The interior was dark, the only illumination coming from her attached flashlight. Careful to be quiet, the young woman walked slowly inside the old building. She figured that something like this would be either terrifying or heartbreaking for someone who knew what the city had looked like before the war. Fortunately, she wasn't one of those people.

Elanor's light crossed the room as she looked around until it fell upon a door. It was behind a counter towards the back of the store. Squaring up and taking a defensive stance, she crossed over to it, walking around the counter once she got to it.

Bubba, sensing his person tensing up, took a defensive stance himself. He jumped up onto the counter, directly opposite the door, and crouched down, preparing to run if needed. He locked eyes with his person before turning back to face the door.

Carefully, taking cover behind the wall, Elanor pushed the door open. A puff dust was all that exited the room. She mentally counted to three, giving herself as many seconds to prepare herself. Once her count was up, the woman pushed herself off of the wall to face the room and aimed her gun, all in one fluid motion. As her light shined into the room, she took in its features.

The room looked like it was meant to be some sort of office before the war. A desk was set up in the corner of the room with a computer that surely didn't work anymore. It was devoid of life of any kind and covered in a thick layer of dust. As she stepped inside, dust kicked up around her, obscuring her view ever so slightly.

On the floor, Elanor saw, was a bedroll. It clearly hadn't been used in some time, being coated itself. Still, it was a place where she could sleep for the night. She crouched down and patted her hand upon the old makeshift bedding, brushing the dust off of it. It kicked up into the air, making Elanor glad she kept her rebreather on.

A noise from outside the building caught Elanor's attention. It was hard to discern exactly what it could have been. If she had to wager, she would guess that it was the sound of crashing into something.

"Bubba," the woman spoke quietly, catching her companion's attention. "Let's check that out, boy." The dog panted in understanding, hopping down off of the counter. Elanor approached the door quietly, looking around. Switching her Scar's laser sight on as well, she crouched and stepped outside.

The streets looked just as empty as when she had left them. The cars looked as abandoned as before, the buildings just as decrepit and broken, the street just as cracked. It looked as if no one had set foot in this town for at least 40 years.

"Bubba, can you get a scent?" Elanor whispered to her dog. Bubba, in turn, tilted his head before crouching to start sniffing at the ground. The canine's acute nose didn't take long to pick up on an oddity. He stood up and pointed himself down an alleyway opposite of him and his person.

"Good boy," Elanor said with a smile, giving her dog a few rewarding pets. She then turned toward the alley, a narrow path in between two buildings. One of the buildings, she noted, was entirely missing its north wall, the one facing the alleyway.

Boots crunched against the ground as Elanor moved slowly towards the pathway. As she got closer, she began to make out other noises. Panting, wincing, and sharp breathing were audible from inside the destroyed building. A sudden yelp of pain drew the woman to the noise quicker. She rounded the corner and came face to face with another person.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" a feminine voice cried. Elanor kept her gun trained on the figure, who had her hands thrown into the air. A bleeding gash was visible in the stranger's left arm, and a shard of glass was sticking loosely out of the right leg. "Please, don't shoot me! I'm not gonna take anything from you! I was just trying to get across to the next building over, but I fell and got hurt."

Elanor lowered her gun and approached the stranger. "What's your name?" she inquired as she stepped closer to get a better look.

"Abigail. I'm alone, so you don't have to worry about an ambush. And I'm only 19, so I still have a lot I'd like to live for," the girl pleaded.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Let me see your leg," Elanor replied calmly. She crouched down to be at eye level with the stranger, clad in a gas mask and hoodie, obscuring her face entirely. Elanor set her bag down and pulled out some bandages. "This might hurt a bit," she warned.

Bracing the stranger's leg with one hand, Elanor set her rifle down and carefully gripped the piece of glass with her other. She began to pull, a sickening squelch sounding as she removed the sharp shard. Once she was done with that, she wrapped the girl's leg and arm wounds.

"Thank you, miss... uh..." the girl in front of Elanor trailed off.

"Pheonix. Elanor Pheonix," the young woman replied. "Come on, let's get you laid down somewhere. We don't want to be out in the open at night."

"Right. Thanks Elanor," the girl replied as Elanor helped her up. The woman could hear the smile in the girl's voice.

"Save it. We'll talk more tomorrow. For now, let's just get you some rest," Elanor replied decisively as she began to walk the girl back over to the old clothing store.