Posts
The Ruins
By Thomas Miller
The streets were eerily quiet as the two brothers made their way through the desolate landscape. The once bustling city now lay in ruins, its buildings reduced to rubble and its streets filled with debris. The sky was a dark shade of gray, as if mourning the loss of the city and its people.
Ethan and Jack had been living in this world for as long as they could remember. The Great War had destroyed everything they had ever known, leaving them to fend for themselves in a harsh, unforgiving world. But they were survivors, and they had learned to adapt to their new reality.
They moved cautiously through the ruins, their senses keen and alert. They were on the lookout for any signs of danger, for in this world, danger lurked around every corner. The brothers had seen things that no child should ever have to see, but they had also learned to steel themselves against the horrors of this new world.
Ethan, the older of the two, was the leader. He was tall and lean, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He walked with a sense of purpose, his gun always at the ready. Jack, on the other hand, was smaller and more wiry, but he was just as tough as his older brother. He had a mop of unruly brown hair and bright green eyes that shone with determination.
As they made their way through the ruins, Jack's stomach growled loudly, a reminder that they needed to find food soon. They had been scavenging for days, but the pickings had been slim. The city had been picked clean by other survivors, and there was not much left for them to scavenge.
“Do you think we'll find anything today?” Jack asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.
Ethan looked around, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of life. “I don't know, Jack,” he replied. “We'll just have to keep looking.”
The brothers continued on, their footsteps echoing through the empty streets. They passed by buildings that were once grand and majestic, now reduced to nothing more than piles of rubble. They saw the remnants of what used to be a thriving city, but now it was a ghost town, haunted by the memories of its past.
As they walked, they came across a grocery store that had somehow escaped the looters' grasp. It was a small miracle in a world that seemed to thrive on chaos and destruction. Ethan cautiously made his way inside, his gun at the ready. Jack followed closely behind. They had learned to trust no one in this world, not even each other.
The store was dimly lit, with the shelves mostly bare. But to the brothers' relief, there were still a few cans of food left on the shelves. Ethan grabbed a couple of cans of beans and a loaf of bread, while Jack found a few bottles of water. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to sustain them for a few more days.
Just as they were about to leave, they heard a noise coming from the back of the store. Ethan motioned for Jack to stay put while he cautiously made his way towards the sound. He found a young girl huddled in one of the aisles, her eyes wide with fear.
“Please don't hurt me,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
Ethan immediately lowered his gun and held out his empty hands in a gesture of peace. “We're not going to hurt you,” he said gently. “We're just looking for some food.”
The girl eyed him warily, but eventually relaxed and motioned for him to follow her. She led them to a hidden room in the back of the store, where there were shelves upon shelves of canned food. The brothers' eyes widened in amazement. They had hit the jackpot.
“Who are you?” Jack asked, still keeping a cautious eye on the girl.
“My name is Emily,” she replied, her voice still shaky. “I've been living in this store for a few weeks now. It's the only place where I feel safe.”
Ethan and Jack exchanged a look. They knew all too well the feeling of not being safe in this world. “Do you have anyone else with you?” Ethan asked, his mind already racing with the possibilities.
Emily shook her head. “I've been on my own ever since the war,” she said sadly. “But I've managed to survive this long.”
“Do you have enough food to share with us?” Jack asked, hoping against hope that the answer would be yes.
Emily smiled and motioned for them to help themselves to the food on the shelves. “There's plenty to go around,” she said. “I was starting to worry that I would never find anyone else out here.”
Ethan and Jack couldn't believe their luck. They had stumbled upon a hidden treasure, and it seemed that fate had brought them together.
As they sat around a small fire, enjoying the first real meal they had in days, Emily began to open up to them. She told them about her life before the war, about her family and her dreams for the future. But when she asked about their own lives, Ethan and Jack became guarded. They didn't trust anyone easily, especially not someone they had just met.
But there was something about Emily that made them want to trust her. Maybe it was the fact that she was just a young girl, barely sixteen, trying to survive in a world that was not meant for children. Or maybe it was the sense of kindness and hope that radiated from her, a stark contrast to the harshness of their reality.
Before they knew it, the night had fallen, and the three of them were fast asleep around the dying fire. It was the first time in a long time that Ethan and Jack had slept without worrying about being attacked or having to keep watch.
As the sun rose the next morning, Emily was the first one to wake up. She looked over at the two brothers sleeping soundly and couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude. For the first time since the war, she didn't feel completely alone.
She quietly got up and made her way to the door. She knew that she couldn't stay in the grocery store forever, and she didn't want to overstay her welcome. She grabbed her bag and was about to leave when Ethan woke up.
“Where are you going?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“I have to keep moving,” Emily replied. “I can't stay in one place for too long.”
Ethan nodded, understanding her need to keep moving. “Thank you for sharing your food with us,” he said sincerely. “We wouldn't have made it without your help.”
Emily smiled. “It was my pleasure,” she said, before heading out the door.
Ethan and Jack watched as she disappeared into the ruins of the city, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. They had finally found someone they could trust, and now she was gone.
But they couldn't dwell on it for too long. They had to keep moving, keep surviving. They gathered their things and made their way out of the grocery store, their minds already focused on their next destination.
As they walked through the desolate streets, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. He kept his gun at the ready, his senses on high alert. Just as they were about to turn a corner, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of armed men, their guns pointed directly at them.
Ethan and Jack immediately raised their hands in surrender, knowing that they were no match for this group. They were outnumbered and outgunned, and they knew they were in serious trouble.
One of the men stepped forward, a sneer on his face. “Well, well, what do we have here?” he said, his voice dripping with malice. “Looks like we've hit the jackpot, boys.”
Ethan and Jack were silent, their hearts racing with fear. They knew that this could be the end for them. But they refused to go down without a fight.
Just as the men were about to attack, there was a loud explosion from the other end of the street. The armed men turned their attention towards the sound, giving Ethan and Jack a chance to make a run for it.
They didn't look back as they made their way through the streets, unsure of what had just happened. But one thing was clear – they were lucky to be alive.
As they finally made it to safety, Ethan and Jack couldn't help but think about Emily and the other survivors they had met along the way. They had all been through so much, and they had all lost so much. But in this world, the only thing that mattered was survival, and they would do whatever it took to stay alive.