Blame The War

His name is Joseph Smith. He is 45 years old and he lives in what used to be Kansas. His family died off along with most of the rest of the world during the war that has been raging on for the past 25 years. The people that are still alive are frail and malnourished, Joseph included. He can't remember the last time that he ate or drank clean fresh water nor can anyone else who crawls upon the dark, dirty, empty streets. The feeling of hunger came on several days ago and is now excruciating pain. He knows he is just days away from death and he blames it all on the war.

It was the third world war but what was different about this one was that it was nuclear. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty from 1963 meant nothing once the war had broken out. Countries rapidly built up their weapons and bombed each other until there was almost nothing left of them. They bombed mostly on the coasts which was the most accessible. The coasts were completely demolished cutting off our trade supply. Although the coasts were the worst no part of the country was left untouched. If your town wasn't demolished by the bombs then the radioactivity of the atom and hydrogen bombs sickened and killed most of your town. If you were one of the lucky few far enough away to not be directly affected by the bombs then you were indirectly hit through starvation. There was not enough food once the fields ment for growing crops were destroyed. Ninety five percent of the population of America was wiped out and hope was as scarce as a snowflake in June.

Under the overhanging roof of what used to be a Walgreens Joseph witnessed something incredible. There was a man walking down the street stapling flyers to anything that they would stick to. That was not the incredible part though. No, the incredible part was the man himself. He was walking upright without a limp or even a stumble in his step. The man had a full head of dark hair and green eyes. He seemed like he was about 30 years old and looked as if he had not gone a day without food his entire life. Joseph watched in awe as the man walked by stopping only once to pick up some fliers that he dropped on the ground. The man did not take notice of Joseph for in the state that he was in he probably looked dead. It was not uncommon nowadays to come across dead bodies lying in the street. In fact it was quite common. After Joseph could not see the man anymore he pulled himself up and slowly made his way to the nearest flier. The flier said, "Sanctuary ten miles north of Mayville. Come join us if you need help." The first thought that came into Joseph's head after reading the flier was that it must snow in June somewhere.

It had never occurred to Joseph that he could be saved. He had always thought that he would die in the street, his name forgotten. Now that there was a chance that he could possibly live it was very tempting. Mayville was a very small town which was a 20 minute walk from where he was currently standing, but the overall journey would be long and he may not even survive it because of his poor health. Although he could run for longer than that in his younger days there was no knowing if he would be able to make it to the sanctuary now. He was faced with a decision, and it was not one that he would easily make. He could pack up his bags and trek across the city on a journey that may take days in the condition he was in. If he made it at all. The other thought is that he could prolong his death and stay right where he was and hope for a miracle. Joseph, being the pessimistic man that he is decided that he didn't want to take the risk to make it to the sanctuary. He simply had no hope.

As Joseph lie on the ground waiting to die he suddenly heard footsteps on the ground. Joseph had his eyes closed; therefore he could not see the person who was approaching. Although, he could hear the footsteps. They were light on the ground, not heavy like a grown man, indicating that it was a child that was approaching him. Joseph knew that in the state he was in he looked dead and he waited for the footsteps to continue on. They did not though, in fact they stopped right next to Joseph's head. Joseph suddenly felt warm breath fanning his face.

"Uncle Joe?" the all too familiar voice said.

Suddenly Joseph's eyes snapped open. It couldn't be. Joseph could not believe his eyes! It was his nephew Tom.

"Tom?" he said.

"I knew it was you! I knew you would still be alive!" said Tom.

At first Joseph was surprised to see that a child was still living in this horrid world. Tom was only 12! As he thought about it more though he was not as surprised as he originally was. Tom was a survivor. His father passed away when he was only 8 years old. It was before the last big strikes of the war when death was still relatively uncommon. Tom stepped up to be the man of the house and never shed a tear. He only ever asked what he could do to help.

"Do you have any food Uncle Joe? I'm starving and you always had the best food!" said Tom.

This made Joseph frown. He had a small store of food that he had been saving up before he had lost all hope. It was only about 500 meters away from where they were but it would still take quite a bit of effort to get there. He looked back up at Tom and knew that he had to do it for him. A child didn't deserve to live like this. Joseph had to be strong for him.

"Yeah, come with me kiddo." he said.

Joseph peeled himself off the ground and started to slowly limp his way in the direction of the food he had stored.

They stopped in front of an abandoned shoe shop. Joseph led Tom to the back of the shop and pulled a few shoe boxes off the shelves. The boxes were filled with canned goods. Tom stared at the food wide eyed while Joseph pulled out the knife he always kept in his back pocket and crudely opened two cans of peaches. Joseph and Tom quickly slurped the peaches from the can careful to not cut their mouths on the sharp edges. When they were done they both sat down on the ground in silence.

"What are we going to do now?" said Tom.

Joseph thought for a moment. He remembered the flier that he saw earlier in the day. Now that Joseph had someone that was dependent on him going to the sanctuary seemed like the best option. He thought again about how he needed to be strong for Tom. He looked to Tom and his hope filled face. He made up his mind, he was going to the sanctuary.

Joseph had a compass with him and he knew that when it was too dark to see the compass he only needed to follow the North Star. The clothes that they had on their backs would have to be enough.

As he looked around him he realized something. There was only enough food to sustain one person on the trip to the sanctuary. Joseph knew immediately what he had to do.

Joseph turned to Tom, "Now, Tom." he said, "I want you to take this food. We will travel to Mayville together. From there you will need to continue on your own, travelling north until you come across a sanctuary. Here is a compass so you know which way you are going and during the night when it's dark just look to the North Star and you will be able to find your way."

"Why can't you come, too?" asked Tom.

"I will meet you there." lied Joseph with a sad smile.

They walked solemnly to Mayville. When they arrived they said their goodbyes and parted ways. Joseph watched Tom walk until he could no longer see him in the distance. Joseph then proceeded to lay on the ground and wait for death to find him. When it did he happily walked into its arms knowing that his death was not in vain.