Page 6 of Hero

I was surrounded by people back then. Dreamed of peace and quiet.

Ironic that my entire world is now only three of us.

I spend a few hours searching the rubble of five different houses. Two of them I make quick work of since the roofs were completely blown off. Everything left was exposed to the elements, so there’s nothing salvageable to be found.

With the others, the walls collapsed inward, so everything inside is buried under the old structure. It takes a lot of time and brutal effort to find rotted furniture. Mildewed clothes and drapery. The remnants of books and electronics and wall art and rusted kitchen utensils. Not much of any use to me.

I do find a doll in one house that’s in pretty good shape, so I brush it off and tuck it into my bag. And in the kitchen of another house I uncover several cans of beans and vegetables. They’re so old now there’s a good chance that they’ve gone bad, but canned food lasts a lot longer than the arbitrary expiration dates they used to stamp on them. So they might still be okay. Definitely worth taking with me.

In the next house, I manage to dig out a heavy-duty plastic storage tub that’s filled with children’s clothes. I sort through it, finding a few pairs of almost-new girl’s jeans and a handful of cute tops. At the bottom of the tub are several pairs of girl’s shoes in a range of sizes. They fill up the rest of the room in my bag, but I bring all of them. If they don’t fit Rina now, they will eventually.

I’ve already found enough stuff to make it worth the effort of the hike here, but it’s still midmorning, so I search one more house. In this one, the debris is less stable, so moving around is a risk. Zed would tell me not to bother, but he’s not here right now.

I find extra-large size bottles of shampoo and bath soap protected in what used to be a bathtub, and there’s a good sleeping bag stored in plastic.

I’m having such good luck I want to search more of this house, but a wall almost collapses on top of me as I move into a bedroom. I barely dart out of the way in time, so I decide it’s not worth the risk.

I can hear Zed’s voice in my head, telling me it was stupid to risk that house at all.

I’ve got as much as I can carry with me anyway.

It’s time to head home.

Balancing out my haul between my two arms, I move quickly through the abandoned streets of the town, heading for the old hiking trail that’s the shortest route to the cabin.

The faint sound of a voice jerks me to an abrupt halt. I listen until I locate the direction of the noise, and then I run into one of the empty houses nearby to get out of sight.

No one lives in town anymore. The only people who might be around are fellow scavengers or travelers passing through.

As far as I know, other than me, Zed, and Rina, there’s no one else settled permanently within thirty miles of the cabin.

Wanderers might be harmless, but there’s an equal chance they’re not.

I can’t see anything from the house I’ve taken shelter in, so I dart across the street to yet another one. The back section of the house is still secure, allowing me to look out a window.

Three men are camped out near the old local grocery store. There’s nothing left in the shop. It was cleaned out by looters even before the asteroid hit.

My first impression is that these men aren’t the kinds of ruffians who move in gangs or droves. Those are usually easy to recognize. These guys look like the good ole boys I used to see in town all the time—in their forties or fifties. They’ve actually got a small pickup truck. It’s old and rusty but must be working because the truck bed is filled with supplies and the vehicle definitely wasn’t here when I came to town two weeks ago.

I haven’t seen a working, fueled vehicle in more than a year. There are plenty of abandoned ones littered around the region, but none of them have any gas.

Intrigued and still wary, I keep watching. The men are lounging on the ground, drinking bottles of what I’m guessing is beer.

Beer.

Where the hell did they find it?

Where did they get the gas for the truck?

Why have they shown up here right now?

I can hear the murmur of their voices but not distinct words, so I take a major risk in moving to the other back bedroom where I know there’s a busted window.

I want to hear what they’re saying.

Listening through the window opening, my estimation of the quality of their personhood sinks dramatically.

They’re talking about a farmhouse they raided yesterday and how much loot they found there. That’s where the beer came from. And the jerky they’re gnawing. And a lot of the stuff in the back of the truck.

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