Truce Fallen

Chapter 1

        It's a beautiful sunny day, as I sit in the back seat of my mom's car enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face. We are on our way to our local park for our annual family reunion party. It is something I look forward to every year. There is nothing better than my grandfather's barbecue, my aunt's cookies and the whole family sitting around telling jokes and funny stories. It is days like these that I wish would last forever. Crack. I bolt up, grabbing my gun and crouching low behind a log as I scan the forest for what made the noise. Sweat is starting to form on my forehead as the anticipation of a fight draws near. That's when I see the culprit. It was just a pesky squirrel looking for a place to bury his nuts for the winter. Letting out a sigh of relief, I shake my head. Stupid squirrels.

        It was yet another cold, brisk day and the sun was already completely above the horizon, I had overslept again. I couldn't help it, I had been traveling non stop for weeks, I was tired, but staying in one place too long could mean death. I packed up what little belongings I had and searched the ground for the little arrow I had made the night before, to remind me which way was south. After finding it I smeared it with my foot so that no one could use it to follow me. Throwing my gun's sling over my shoulder I once again continued on my journey south in hopes of beating the winter's icy grasp. I should have left Ohio sooner, but I was reluctant to leave my home. I knew I would probably never be able to come back. A lot has happened in the last year, it was hard to come to grips with it all. After all there really isn't a handbook explaining what to do after a nuclear fallout where everyone you knew and loved is gone and chaos has broken out everywhere. If there is one then I certainly didn't get the memo about it. At first everything wasn't that bad after the bombings, but when the power went out and food started to become scarce, that is when all hell broke loose and hundreds of years of "enlightenment" and "civilized thought" went out the window. People became animals, killing each other over a piece of bread. Gangs were formed and the once quiet, safe neighborhoods became bloody battlegrounds. I was one of the lucky ones who made it out of the city and into the rural farm land of Ohio. The rest of my family and many others were not so lucky, but even out here there is danger. I once saw a small family, with young children, kill a man in his sleep just to take his backpack. Rule number one out here, trust no one.

        I looked up at the sky, realizing that I only had a few hours before darkness would wash over the country side. Once again I spent the majority of the day slinking my way across the country side seemingly avoiding anything and everyone. I had to start looking for someplace hidden to stay for the night. I began my search for an area with a dense overgrowth of brush, so that the only way someone would ever find me would be if they literally stepped on me. Unfortunately I was having no luck finding such a spot tonight. Darkness was quickly falling upon me. Its not that I wanted to find a place, so I could hide from the unknown in the dark. Unlike most people, I actually prefer the dark. It embraces me and makes me practically invisible, allowing me to move in safety and with confidence. In fact when I first started out, I only traveled at night.  It is daylight that I do not trust and because of that I refused to sleep during the day. It wasn't long before it all caught up with me, doesn't matter what is happening in the world, you have to sleep.

        Finally, after trenching through the darkness for several hours, I found the perfect spot. Just one problem, there were people across the clearing about a quarter mile out. Looking through the scope of my rifle, I saw it was just two girls. One was a bit younger than me, in her early 20's, the other, much younger in her teens. They had made a terrible mistake. They built a fire. Fires are practically signal flares telling everyone where you are. They obviously were not a threat to me I didn't see any weapons on them. The problem was there could very well be half a dozen predators making their way towards this fire. Perhaps stumbling upon me on the way. After pondering the situation for a few minutes, i decided the risk was worth the rest. Who knows how long it would take to find another spot like this, if at all. I performed my little nightly ritual of making an arrow in the dirt, and I laid there, peering through the brush, watching the fire and the two girls till I eventually drifted asleep.