A ruined and fallen world where it's every man for himself, it's kill or be killed in the eyes of Crow, who's experienced a pain that he chooses to tell no one. His stone cold heart is challenged upon meeting one young girl, as they venture through...
"The farm-macy!" Ellie exclaimed, as we ride Dutch down the empty road. She's been passing the time by- you guessed it- telling puns. She had an entire book full of them, some being entertaining, while other were purely terrible. But, Ellie took extreme pride in each of her deliveries.
"If a book falls on my head when I'm alone... I have no one but my shelf to blame!"
"Ok that was a good one." I replied with a chuckle.
"Why didn't the kids want to go to the soda factory? Because there was a POP-quiz!" The amount of inflection she used on the word 'pop' was enough to make me laugh. "One more, don't want to waste all my ammo." Ellie continued, "What did the grape do when he got stepped on? He let out a little wine!" She could barely keep herself together after that one. Dutch even let out a little neigh as if he found it entertaining.
"Those weren't too bad I'll admit." I put my hand back for a high five, which Ellie was happy to give.
"You got any jokes up your sleeve Crow?"
"Not really, I'm not that punny."
Ellie sat in silent thought for a moment, until I saw her face light up. "Oh that's the joke! Oh my gosh that was actually the pun! Man that took me way too long to get." She laughed as she jokingly pushed my shoulder.
As we rode down the empty street, rusted trucks and cars passed by us. The corroded tail gate faintly read, "Chevrolet".
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Man... that's kind of sad to see." Ellie said, troubled.
"Why's that?" I asked as I look through the trucks, trying to see if I could find the model my dad use to drive.
"Just... I dunno don't you ever wonder what it was like back then? Before the fall?" She replied looking up to me.
"I don't remember much considering how young I was, but it seemed great. Endless food, got to go outside without fear of dying... my brother and I had our whole lives ahead of us... then anarchy broke out and everything crumbled from there." I replied flatly.
"Yeah... it sounds like it was nice." Ellie grabs my arm as she readjust herself on the horse. Speaking of which, Dutch as been doing well in case you're wondering. We've been on our journey west for quite some time now, and he's been trucking on for us. The horse listens to me well and I'd even say he likes me, but it's obvious to see his bias towards Ellie, what with her always giving scratches behind his ears, and constantly calling him a good boy.
It's funny, normally during these quiet times I would find myself wondering why I was alive, why I wasn't buried in a shallow grave... but I think I finally figured it out. All I worried about now was keeping Ellie safe, and I think my best bet was in my brother. Last I remember, he was somewhere out in Kentucky. I only wonder if he's anywhere near our old home. Before the fall, we lived just outside of a little town called Grayson. We had a cute little house, a barn, a huge yard, everything you can imagine. I remember we were so close to the Daniel Boone National Forest, that my brother and I would always be so tempted to wander off into those woods. I needed more information however, and my best bet would be an old drunken buddy of my brother Arthur's. He lives just around the state line that separates West Virginia from Kentucky, and I think I know just where I could find him.
