move on {not final title}

prologue

It was one sentence, one single sentence. Because of one sentence the whole world collapsed in chaos. Everything collapsed. Sometimes I think back to that one sentence, and ask myself, could it have gone different? And if, where would I be now? How would the world have turned out?

I look a few more minutes at the sunset I can see from the house on the hill I rested in for a few hours. I thought by myself. How many friends Have I lost to this godforsaken war in this post-apocalyptic world. The only thing I haven't lost yet is myself.
I get up. I have to get moving, I have a long way to go. I better use the night for cover. As I am dusting of my pants, I hear a noise behind me. I keep on dusting of my pants, then suddenly grab my rifle and turn around. Ready to shoot. It's just a small rat. What a relief. After I walked for a few miles I came to the village I saw from the hill. It is a rather small village, five streets, one church in the centre, one shop, one pharmacy and some rows of houses. I walk towards the shop, to see if there is anything left. As I walk in I see that it is completely empty, even the furniture is gone. I walk from house to house, street to street. After half an hour I finished the first street. I am back at the church. There is something strange about it. Its front door is blocked of and the windows are barricaded from the inside. I walk towards the side door to check if it is locked too. As I come closer a voice calls out: "Stop right there stranger!" "If you come one step closer I will shoot you!". "Well if that is your wish," I said "live on in peace, I won't trouble you and your village any longer". With that said, I turn around and walk away. As I walk out of the village just moments later, I see a burned army truck at the right side of the road. Probably American, destroyed by the rebels, or perhaps the Russian? It is a very old truck, that's for sure. Probably 2020 or maybe 2025. After walking for three more hours I see a big city on the horizon. I assume it is Amsterdam. The war is still going on in Amsterdam. I can even see it from here. Some big explosions and many small ones. From the SRRL, the Short-Range-Rocket-launcher and from the many drone bombers. Looking at the quantity of the explosions I can tell that the Americans are moving hard against the rebels who occupied the city since their leader led them to victory. That's a long time ago. It was even before I left the army. I don't want to be remembered of that time. Joining the army was the biggest mistake I have ever made. The things I saw, the things I had to witness, the things I had to do, it was terrible. I won't think about it anymore, I promised myself. I have to move on.