"It's been 17 days since the apocalypse started, and I still haven't found an orthodontist," Carl murmured to himself as he scribbled in his journal. The wind howled around him. He lifted a hand to his mouth and touched his braces. Light shone across the sky. Carl glanced eastward, staring at the sunrise. The town he was in was vacant. Not a thing stirred except for one 13-year-old boy. He rested his hands beside himself. The stone stairs that he sat on were cold to the touch. A slight frost coated the library that he sat in front of.
He stood up, grabbing his backpack. He slung it across his shoulder, until it was stationed on his back. "I have to find a dentist!" he exclaimed aloud. His voice echoed through the streets. No one could hear him, for no one was there. He jumped down from the stairs of the library, and the frost crunched under his feet. There wasn't much snow, but it was fairly chilly. Carl grabbed the collar of his winter jacket and pulled it in a little closer.
1He had been looking for an orthodontist ever since the apocalypse started. If he didn't find a dentist to take off his braces, he would have them forever. Carl knew this, and it was his mission. He had been going from town to town to see if anybody could help him. Most towns (like the one he was in now) were completely empty. Not a soul for a mile in every direction. Carl wandered through these towns in search for supplies, food, and people. For the past 17 days, he hadn't been very successful.
He had been walking alone for quite a while, now. The streets were barren and silent. The only sound came from his footsteps, along with newspapers fluttering across the sidewalks. Carl kicked stones across the paved road. He watched as they skipped across. All of the sudden,...
CRASH!
A sound like thunder came from the house right beside Carl. "People!?" he immediately thought to himself. He darted inside to see what was the ruckus, running up two flights of stairs before arriving at the third floor (where the noise came from). The door flung open and slammed against the wall. The noise echoed throughout the (almost) empty room. Carl scanned the room, then fixed his eyes on the corner of the room. A man sat there, in a white lab coat, reading. "Hello!" Carl said, "I'm looking for an orthodontist, do you know one?"
The man looked up from his book, startled at first, then smiling. He began to chuckle a little, and that's when Carl saw the title of the book. "How To Be An Orthodontist!" he said aloud. "Why, yes. I am a dentist, myself. What do you need?" The man replied. "I have braces, and I need to get them off. Could you help?" "Of course, I could," the said as he stood. He walked over to Carl, and shook his hand. "Ever since the apocalypse started, I haven't had much business." Carl minded jumped to the sound he heard. "What was that sound I heard from the street?" he questioned. "Just a machine I made," the dentist answered. "I've been making something that will project a message to all of the fallout shelters. Everyone thinks that it's too dangerous to live up here, but it is actually perfectly safe."
Carl thought to himself for a few seconds, then asked, "Have you transmitted the message yet?" "Sadly, no. I'm missing one piece." The dentist fell into silence for a while. "But I think you can help! Come." He gestured for Carl to follow him, and he walked into another room. It was empty with only a dentist chair in the middle of the room. "Sit," the dentist said. Carl rested in the chair, and it began to go backwards. "I'm about to take you're braces off, and use the parts to finish the machine!" A little while passed, and the dentist and Carl walked out of the room. They hooked the braces up to the machine, and the world was saved!
