The Stranger

I raise the soul of my tattered brown leather boot roughly an inch off the ground before pushing it forward one step, and into the seemingly endless flat bed of dry soil. Once again, lifting my opposite foot I take another step, pressing it down as I walk aimlessly. “I’m not sure where I’m going but it’s most certainly better than where I’m at now.” I ponder to myself.

For a half a mile or so I continue walking, eventually reaching a stopping point. I reach one hand into my ripped white hoodie, grabbing a small note pad and a ballpoint pen. “The bombs dropped 7 days ago; I’ve finally ran out of food.” “There’s nobody left to provide for me, everyone I know has perished” I write. I pause for a moment, eyeing my surroundings.

Nothing is to be seen apart from a slow-moving cloud of thick smog approaching me. “Guess this is what Mom told me I should worry about.” I mumble to myself. There’s no use in running, my sore battered legs are no match for the cloud, and slowly I am incased within it. For a brief couple of seconds, I wave my hand in front of my face searching for it with my eyes, but ultimately it is of no use. I inhale deeply, then I let out a big sigh.

Taking another step, then yet another, I venture deeper within the thick cloud of smog. I push the note pad and the pen back into my pocket. I glance around as I walk, still nothingness. “It’s just a small cloud of smog, nothing I can’t handle.” I thought to myself. Suddenly I stop, unsuspectingly hunger strikes me down hard, pushing me to the ground as I clutch my chest in agony. Temporarily acting as a reminder as to why I am out here in the first place. I grunt, rolling over and onto my side. I push my hands against the ground and with every bit of energy left I manage to push myself up and onto my feet.

I turn my gaze forwards, restless; I stumble onwards practically dragging my feet behind me. I walk for what feels like hours, never stopping never giving up. The smog grows thicker, and realization swiftly sets in. “How much longer will I make it without food?” “Will this field of smog ever end?” questions rush through my mind. Not long after, panic begins to set in.

The slow painful walking that once occurred swiftly changes into a fast sprint. I ran, going as fast as I could to hopefully seek salvation from the smog. The smog began to lighten, I could almost see an exit. I sprint towards it but suddenly I trip. My body slams to the ground before I have time to react. Dirt is kicked up all I around where I lie, most of it landing back on top of me. I wince, my body feels shattered and sorer than usual. I look around and notice that I’m finally out of the smog, and a wave of relief washes over me.

The terrain around me now appears rough and rocky, I question whether or not this had been the reason for my fall. None then less I reach my hands towards the front of my body preparing to lift myself up again when I spot something rather strange. It appears metallic, and the glare created by the sun hit’s my eyes like a bright laser. I reach forwards, grabbing it. It’s a locket, shaped like a heart. “Might be worth something, maybe even enough to buy food if I run into any merchants.” I tightened my grasp around the locket grinning.

I continued to fantasize about my newfound treasure till I suddenly I felt something hard touch the back of my skull. A faint click followed after. A raspy voice then spoke “Turn around.” I positioned my body towards the voice without standing.

My eyes met with the solid gray piece of steel that had poked my head. It had 2 circular holes on the front, and the rest of it was made of wood. I raised my hands realizing what it was, for it had been a gun. Behind the gun stood a tall figure much older than myself. They had short dirty blonde hair, smooth blue jeans, orange backpack, white boots, and a brown trench coat made of what I presumed to be leather. “Please, I don’t have anything!” I pleaded. The person with the raspy voice had adjusted the gun now, then they spoke. “The locket.” I hesitated for a second before swiftly unlocking my grasp and handing the locket over.

The gun lowered now. The individual stepped forwards and proceeded to Identify themselves. “Sorry for the scare kid, but that locket is worth more than both you and I combined.” They paused for a moment. “My name is David, what’s yours?” I stumbled to my feet before speaking. “A-Adam.”

David nods now, “Nice to meet you, Adam.” He extends his hand forward and I grasp it, exchanging a handshake. “You too.” I reply back. My stomach begins to erupt like a volcano. The both of us glance down at it. “I hate to ask, but can you spare any food?” I beg.

David seems to contemplate his next words for a while, but finally he speaks. “Yeah sure, come with me.” He tossed his gun over to his left shoulder and offered me a hand. I took his hand, using it to help me stand up. “I’m held up just north of here.” He said.

We then began our journey up north. It wasn’t too long before we reached David’s camp site. He already had a fire set up and two logs for the each of us to sit on. We sat down across from each other.

David sets his bag down in front of him, unzipping it. He prods his hands through the bag as he looks at me. “What brings you out here anyways?” He questions. “My Mom had just passed away recently; I have nobody left so—now I have to fend for myself.” I answer back. He shakes his head slowly, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He peers down, then retrieves a knife and a rusted can from his bag. With one quick motion he slices open the top of the can just enough that it can be easily accessed. “Catch.” He tosses the can over. As the can flies over towards me, I catch it. I rip off the top, examining what it contains. Several peaches laid on the bottom of the can. “Thanks!” I smiled. I positioned the can up to my lips and slid them all in my mouth at once. My mouth was watering, I hadn’t consumed a somewhat decent meal in so long. I chewed the peaches up and swallowed. I looked over at David who had now been holding the locket. “What’s the deal with that thing anyways?” I asked, setting the empty can down now. David looked back at me. “It’s a key, there’s an old tree not too far west from here and the people who inhabit the area claim there’s some kind of hidden treasure within it.” He paused, “Thanks for finding this for me by the way, I dropped it and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.” I nodded now, “No problem.”

He leaned in towards me now. “But I’m not the only one after this thing, ever since the bombs dropped this key has been a prime target for scavengers such as myself.” “Some might even kill for I--.” He was instantly cut off when the sound of a bullet rang out around us. I looked around frantically. “What the hell?” I glanced back at David. His lifeless body slumped against the ground and a small round bullet hole was carved out of the back of his head. I began to cry out screaming. “Oh my god!” I dove on top of him, shaking his corpse. “Wake up, please, please!” I stopped, looking over to where I had thought I heard the gun fire. I couldn’t see anything, the cover of darkness had given them the advantage and now I was left to fend for myself, again.

A voice spoke out just then, “When did you get so cocky, David?” The individual snickered. I could hear them as they stepped closer. I shivered in fear, “Now or never.” I told myself. I looked over to David’s backpack, then his gun. “This’ll do.” I snuck forwards, crawling towards the gun. When I finally reached it, I gripped it tight, holding it close to my face. I slid over and behind one of the logs we had been sitting on with the gun in hand.

The person who had killed David stepped into view. He appeared to be a lot shorter than David was. He had brown hair, sported a white dress shirt, a pair of khakis, and black sneakers. He proceeded to bend over, grabbing the locket from David’s cold dead hands. I steadily positioned the gun on the log, aiming over at the man. The moment he turned to walk away I squeezed the trigger firing off a shot. The man flew forwards, landing on his face. I stood up from behind the log, pushing the gun over my shoulder. I took a moment of my time to retrieve the locket from the man. “It’s probably best if I get going, but how will I be able to see anything during nightfall.”

I paused for a moment, thinking. I took a glance over at David’s backpack and made my way over to it. I crouched down, searching through it. All that I had managed to find was a single can of food, a knife, and a solid piece of flint. Carefully, I put the knife and the can of food into one of my sweatshirt pockets. Though I held onto the piece of flint for a minute, examining it. I slung the gun from over my shoulder and into my hand. I then proceeded to rub the barrel against the flint creating sparks. That’s when an idea had popped in my head. I dropped the gun for a moment, attaching my grasp onto the log I had been sitting on earlier. I then ripped off a stick of wood, dropping that too.

I grabbed my knife, cutting into the fabric on my hoodie. I wrapped the fabric around the stick and used the barrel from the gun and the solid piece of flint to ignite it. I held my newly crafted touch up proudly. I proceeded to gather all my things and make my way west.

By morning my torch had completely disintegrated, but thankfully light was no longer an issue. I only ever stopped once to eat before I arrived at what appeared to be the tree. “He said it wasn’t too far west, and this is probably the most noticeable tree around.” I shrugged. I shuffled around the tree as the hot sun beat down upon me. I paused for a moment then, examining the bark