From Ashes and Dust - 2. Chapter 2: Socialization

I found myself awake before the moon had sunk below the horizon. It was a dim gray splotch against the hazy black sky. Although my body told me I hadn't gotten enough sleep, my brain, accustomed to the eternal presence of danger told me to get moving. That was one thing that I learned early on in life: you should never stay in one spot for more than a day unless you had a death wish. And I had a dozen or so scars as a testament to that. I suppose I should be thankful for them though. They do give me the appearance of a warrior, which makes me less likely to be attacked; however I could do without the sling. I always make a point to take my arm out of its sling when I'm traveling through some questionable territory, because a cripple may as well be wearing a giant target and be screaming "Here I am!". Regardless, this was one of those days that I just didn't feel like adding to my collection of scars, and so I decided I may as well get moving. At least the night would hide me just as well as it would hide any predators.

 

Before leaving the car, I checked out my supplies in my backpack. Three candles, two boxes of matches, some expired water purification pills, a half full bottle of water, two rolls of bandages, and a knife. I never carried any food with me, because canned food is too heavy and fresh food just attracts savage animals. I decided to make food my first priority of the day, considering I have not eaten much recently, mainly because all the shops in the city I passed through were pillaged long ago, which would also explain the lack of civilization there. Normally small groups will form within cities, but to do so they require at least a base of materials to support themselves while they scramble to get established. I have always been curious about these groups. How can so many people gather under one person and unconditionally listen to everything they say? What can that person possibly offer that would make them willingly become mindless slaves? Perhaps that's why this all happened. The world noticed that humanity was fucked and so it decided to solve the problem itself, leaving the few survivors to begin anew and hopefully not mess it up this time. Well, so far I'm not impressed.

 

Nevertheless, I thought It would be best if I stopped off at a 'civilization' if I can call it that. I figured there would be one nearby, as they usually do not stray too far from cities, and almost always form on main roads, like the one I was currently standing on. Finding one would at least give me a chance to get some food, and see what the local theories for our current status are. I've heard almost every theory there is, so at this point, I'm kinda just waiting to see which is the most popular, and then I'll deem that one as fact. I don't know why I want to find out so much though. I mean, can the information really be of use to me? I'm not sure, but all I know is that somewhere deep inside of me, I have a yearning to know. Even if I'm aching and starving to death, that little flicker for knowledge within me never seems to be snuffed out. And so, once my restless stomach reminded me it was time to search for food, I set out, this time with the moon watching over me.

 

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