Wasteland (Writer Branch Tale)

When he woke up, he checked the child sleeping beside him inside the tent they had made. You couldn't call it a tent - it was made with tarpaulin. "Hey," he whispered. The child slowly opened her eyes. "Let's go. It won't be safe around here anymore," he said. The child sleepily arose to help her dad pack up. They packed all they could find inside two backpacks and tossed them onto a broken wagon. They neatly folded the tent's tarpaulin alongside the fabric and strings before putting it on there. "Here, I'll carry it," the child offered. "No, it's fine," he reassured. "You sure?" He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure." She paused, with worry swelling in her eyes. "Okay," she finally answered. He smiled at her as he pushed the wagon. The area was a barren wasteland of sorts. Most of the trees had fallen. Most of the ones still standing had died due to the bad air.

"Remember, wear your fabric masks," he reminded. "I know," she responded, pushing the mask up to her nose. A few minutes later, they were on the road. It was empty, as always. Nobody was around, just the desolate, rotting structures cloaked in the clouds. The child grabbed a pair of binoculars from one of the backpacks and scouted ahead. "You see anything?" he asked her. "There's a house up ahead," she spoke. "Good. Maybe there's some food," he said as he pushed the wagon further.

Until their layers were restored, they'd have to live like this. They both didn't want to. It's been so long since they've last seen anybody. They couldn't keep count of how many years they have been stuck here. The child thought it was somewhere around April. He thought it was June or October. All those were just guesses though, they haven't even seen a calendar for years. Still, those thoughts gave them glimpses of hope. They crossed a tall, broken bridge.

The water beneath it was still and motionless. No sign of movement. It looked clean enough to drink. At least, that's what they hoped. "Let's keep movin'. We can come back here later," he instructed. The child nodded to this. There was only silence after that, with the mundane hum of the wagon's wheels being the only thing accompanying the two of them. "Dad?" the child suddenly said. "Yeah?" he turned to look at her. "When we get to the tower towards the West, will we be able to go somewhere better than here?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Do you think we'll find mom there?"

"I... I don't know. Life's unpredictable. Do somethin' heroic the world is cruel. Leave evil be and you're free to go."

"That's not true, right?"

"Sometimes it is," he said. "Sometimes it is." Silence took over once more.

"I just hope," he said, "that you don't think I’m a... well, you know."

"It’s fine. This world’s hard on people, so you gotta learn how to survive," she said. "Oh. Thank you," he stated. "So you do think I’m a killer?"

"Yes. I do. But a good one. You’re always there to help me."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What else do you know?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

A few minutes pass and they eventually reached the house. “Here it is,” he said. “I’ll go take a look. You stay here,” he instructed once more. “Here, take this,” he handed the child his revolver. “You know how to shoot a gun?” The child nodded. “You just pull the trigger, right?” He smiled. “Partially, but yes. Just gotta aim well too,” he winked, “get the full effect.” “O-okay.”

“Alright, let’s see if there’s anyone home first.” He rang the doorbell. No response. He rang it again. Still, no response. He turned to face the child, who nodded with him. “Don't be long,” she said. “I won't.” He climbed the fence and headed over to the backyard. He tried the back door. It was locked. He scanned the area for something to use before settling his eyes on a shed. He moved closer towards it. He tried to open the door, but it was locked as well. He backed away before ramming into it with the sides of his body, alongside his right shoulder. He did it again repeatedly before the door broke and fell inside the shed, carrying him along with it. He slowly stood up and looked around him before spotting a sledgehammer.

He picked it up and dragged it towards the back entrance. He then slammed it into the door’s windows. The glass broke, leaving him free to reach inside and unlock the door. The back entrance slowly swung open. He headed over to the kitchen. A few flies were floating around. The irritating hum of them didn’t distract him, though. He opened a cupboard. Nothing inside except a few dirty spoons. Seems like the owner was in a rush to get out of the country. Couldn’t blame them. There was a gallon of water in the corner. It would be useful, he thought to himself. He continued his search until he opened up the top shelf. There, he spotted canned food. He quickly took it with him. After all, he and she haven’t eaten in days. “Hey! I’m back!” he called. “Oh. Did you find anything?”

“Yep. Canned salmon,” he laid them on the wagon. “Woah! We’re gonna have a good lunch then,” she smiled. “We could just eat them now if you’d like. I gotta get some water inside though. Saw a gallon of water in the corner. Wasn’t much left in it, but it’ll do.” “Yeah, that’ll be nice,” she said. “Want me to come with you?”

“No, you stay here and guard the wagon,” he explained. “Saw some people ‘round here. They were carrying a dead person with them. Seems like they butchered him or somethin’.” The child’s anxiety grew. “R-right,” she stuttered. “They got nothin' on ya, kid. You’ll be fine. I’ll kill em’ if they come close.” She nodded. “Okay.”

\*\*\*\*\*

“Aight. Got the water. Let’s eat.” The two of them opened the canned salmon and ate with their hands. The spoons inside were too dirty.“This is good.”

“Probably because we haven’t eaten in a while.”

They finished their meal in silence, savoring every bite of the canned salmon. It was a rare treat, something they hadn't tasted in months. As they cleaned up, the child looked up at her dad with a glint in her eye. "Do you think we'll ever find a place where we can live like normal people again?" she asked. He sighed, the weight of their situation bearing down on him once more. "I don't know, kid. It's tough out here. But we'll keep looking, and we'll keep fighting. That's all we can do."

The child nodded, determination etched on her face. "Okay. We'll keep going." They packed up their things and continued on their journey, the wagon creaking beneath them as they made their way across the barren wasteland. It was a tough road ahead, but they were in it together, fighting for survival in a world that had long since lost its humanity. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” he said, as they pushed onward, never looking back. The wagon was packed to the brim with supplies, food, and water. They had everything they needed to survive, but the journey would be long and difficult. They would have to work together, trust each other, and never give up. And as the sun began to set on the horizon, casting a warm glow across the desolate landscape, they knew that they had made it through another day. “Should we set up another camp?”

“It ain’t late yet.”

“Best to be safe. I’m not risking bad guys coming and… Killing us,” she gulped. He sighed. “Yeah, sure, we can set up camp further away.”

“I wanna sleep.”

“Alright,” he sighed. “I'll go set up the tent.”

“Thanks,” she sighed.

“No problem,” he said. As they set up camp for the night, the child drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the day's journey. Her dad sat beside her, watching over her as she slept. He couldn't help but think about how far they had come, and how much further they still had to go. But he was determined to keep going, to keep fighting, for the sake of his child and the hope of a better future. "You’re the bravest little girl I know," he whispered. "And I promise, no matter what, I will never give up on you." Then, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

\*\*\*\*\*

As the group of survivors set up camp, one of them ran up to another. "Hey, guys, I think I just saw someone," he called out to the others. They all turned to look at him. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“They cannibals?”

“Don’t know. I’m just reporting back as instructed.” The group turned to look at one another. “Right. Maverick, you go inform the chief, we might have some fresh meat on our hands.”

“Now hold on a minute,” another one intervened. “They could be armed, now. Don’t forget that.”

“Yeah, but I doubt they fight well,” the first speaker said. “One’s just a kid. The other, probably the father. And they're scared to death. They won't do anything.”

“We'll see,” the second speaker said. “Very well then, report back, Maverick.”

“Yessir.”

“And,” the first speaker said, “if the saboteurs start anything, shoot them."

“Gotcha.”

“Okay everyone!” the third member spoke. “Let’s move out.”