Meet the Mailman

Mailman's Mission: Survival

The radio was actually working today. The music played almost perfectly with minimal static- the little box with wheels really did feel new and improved, singing and sailing smoother than ever. Engineer gave this fix-up so much attention- you had four cup holders now.

But thinking so much about them made you ache a little. It hadn't even been twenty minutes, and the temptation to turn around and pop back in was still on your mind. Maybe you really should have told everyone and not just Medic. Would that have been more polite..?

Or would that have just made things harder with procrastination?

You sighed. Stop thinking about it.
Seriously. Stop thinking about it.

You moved a hand to the radio and turned up the volume with a twist of the nob. It wasn't your favorite jam, but the lyrics were distracting enough. Sometimes listening to the random-ass lyrics of modern music that played on Teufort's radio station was a healthy distraction.

There was a new "popular" artist that arrived just a few days back in Teufort that already became so influential to the deranged people that they were making a trash monument for them. Not that the monument was "trash" but it was trash. Literal trash. Since they were using parts that could be found around the town center landfill. You didn't catch their name, but the weird lyrics were...something else.

As the odd music blared, you rolled down your windows, not caring how the wind tried to snatch you up - you had your seatbelt on. Just the simplicity of flow took your mind away from...whatever it was on, and gave you an opportunity to lean back as you drove...

Relax...

Everything was fine in the moment...

Well, it was fine until you felt a peculiar sting of a needle point at the side of your neck. Your foot slammed on the breaks and a hand snapped to getting the gear in park.

What the hell-

You glanced in the mirror, and noticed something sticking out of your neck, as if the sensation of it wasn't enough to tell you that. Swiftly, you yanked it out and looked at it. What the hell was it even? It was small like a pin, but it stung...and had something in it...you could feel something warm in your system, going up to your head.

You unfastened your seatbelt and swung open the car door without thinking, trying to find the source of where it came from. If this was some prank, it was not going over well with you.

As your feet hit the ground you felt dizzy...nauseous...
A hand went up and covered the side of your neck. You were almost a bit startled by your own actions. Things were getting burry, but you saw a car driving out from the direction that the needle must have come from-

But that was all you saw. You couldn't even really tell the color nonetheless model.

You dropped.
Dropped hard...you would need another ice pack if you could get one cause now it wasn't just your ass that was bruised.

...

How much time had passed? It was so still and silent...and everything was black.

If you strained your eyes, you could swear that you could still see color, faint as it was. Your lids were closed though; not sure if it was because you couldn't move them or because fear wouldn't allow it.

...Were you dead? Did you die-? Probably not...you could feel something beneath you.
Earth? Dirt?

You could smell dirt. Not sand. Dirt.
It wasn't covering you though. It was just underneath you- you were resting on top of it.

And trees...leafy trees-
You could hear leafy trees rustling with passing wind- and you could feel the wind.

No, you were definitely not dead.
And with that confirmed in your mind, you finally had the strength to move your arm...then your other arm...then let them drop. You had muscle movement...

You opened your eyes and they took in the light. It wasn't that bright, but for however long you had your eyes shut, they had become adjusted to the darkness behind your lids and weren't expecting this attack of natural light. You're hands moved quickly to block the midday-ish sun.

Sitting up slowly, you felt the drowsiness creep away from your body, and your mind getting ready to process some logic thought because now it was time to access the situation. And what was the first and absolute most important question on your mind?:

"What the everliving FUCK!?"

Your loud, questioning verbal shout pierced the silence of the forest environment you were in, sending the birds in the trees to the sky and soaring far away from you.

Okay. Stay calm...
You had to control your breath. "Oh god, where the hell am I?" You said out loud, grabbing your face with your hands. "How? How?!"

Talking to yourself right now was your only grasp of coping with your anxiety and not sending you into an anxiety attack. Your heart was already thundering- you couldn't lose control right now though-

You were in your mail truck...something hit you...and you...what did you do? It was all a blur. You weren't remembering, but you woke up here. You woke up in what looked to be the middle of a forest. The trees were mostly pine, there were some small wild cacti in the area, and the air felt about the same, if not a bit thinner (but that could be because you were breathing so shallowly)...you must still be in New Mexico at least.

But where? Not Teufort for damn sure. There weren't any mountain forests like this in miles of that place. More than that, you couldn't think of anywhere that had pine trees this tall...Sure, pine trees were generally a decent size, but these trees were some of the largest, most healthy you had ever seen in the wild. Not that you dropped by in the middle of the wild like this often.

Your head was still spinning; if not from whatever was in your system, just because all of this was a lot to take in all at once. And so sudden...

Was this the outcome of getting too close to all those strange mercenaries...? Was this what happened when the Administrator found out about people inside and getting too "up in their business?"

...You were trying not to get involved with any of their illegal stuff- This wasn't fair! This wasn't fair at all-
But then again...when was anything in life supposed to be "fair." Not that it was a good justification for this situation. You were a person with a life and things to take care of. Saying "this sucks" is a massive understatement.

Very steadily you stood up. You were coming to the reality of this situation, and if you were going to survive out here long enough to find your way out, then you had to get prepared, didn't you? Like in those shows...except you had no camera, no map, and other than clothes and a racked-with-anxiety mind that you were trying to tame, absolutely no materials...

Maybe you could trace tracks?
You looked around you on the dirt and past piles of leaves, but other than where you were laying previously, there was no sign of disturbance on the ground, and you had no way of knowing where you came from.

Great. You had little to nothing.

Your phone!
With the glint of hope you scrambled to your pocket you normally kept it in...and then your other pocket...and the other pockets- The damn heathen took your phone!

Okay, it was official now: You really had nothing but clothing and your wits. You were alone in the middle of a weird forest environment with giant-ass pines, high heat, and danger level...unknown.

Looks like you have a new mission as a Mailman - survival.

Definitely not what you signed up for with this occupation.