Bruzzrad
New member
The Comeback
Things always seem to go from bad to worse these days. Then again, Time was never really on anyone's side. My home-town wasn't spared during my absence. The entire town seemed to have went forward twenty years with no maintenance to keep it up and running. The sun hung high in the air but the sky had an eerie grayness to it. I looked back as the state bus sped off, leaving me in the dust. I looked back at the city and heaved my military-grade back pack onto my shoulder. I started my walk.
The populations here dropped to an all-time low. None of the shops were open for business, most of them were boarded up. I looked left and right as the city started to get worse and worse. Then something caught my eye up ahead. I walked up to one of the telephone poles on the street corner. A yellow warning sign with the bio-hazard symbol on it, what happened while I was deployed? I looked past the sign and saw two men walking down the street. Both of them wore marine uniforms, similar to mine. Each wore a gas mask and carried a M4 rifle. I wasn't sure if I should approach them or stay out of sight. Too late. One of them pointed at me as the second started walking towards me.
"You've got balls to walk around out here without a mask." He told me.
"What are you talking about? What happened here?" He looked around, the back at me.
"Did you have any family in Sunny Orchard?" He asked. I nodded. He looked down and sighed. "There's nothing left, the Enemy have leveled the entire residential district with one of their newer toys. A compact nuclear bomb. Sunny Orchard was unlucky enough to get targeted in a bombing run." He hit my should with his hand and walked forward. "Sorry for your loss." Everybody? Gone? I shook my head, this can't be right. The second soldier walked up to me.
"Here, use this spare mask. If you want to pay any last respects, you'll need it." I was still trying to get over the sudden grief that my entire family is dead as I took the mask from him. He walked my opposite direction as I proceeded forward.
It wasn't long before I met the radiation fog. My radiation ticker went off like crazy as I trudged deeper into the blast zone. I had no idea why I am still going forward. Everyone is dead, there is nothing left for me to go see. What hope did I have for anyone's survival from a nuclear strike? Apparently, enough to keep me moving.
I finally found the first residential home. More like, what is left of it. Only the cement foundation remained where the home stood. All the other homes were the same, except for the rare piece of wood still standing. All the trees were black and leafless against the fog. I managed to find where my home stood. Nothing remained, but I still walked up to the foundation. I looked around the floor, trying to hold back my emotions. I saw shadows of mom and dad, holding each other in a corner of where the living room was. My younger sister's shadow was in mid sprint, trying to reach mom and dad. I bowed my head and walked back to where the front door used to be.
I sat there for what felt like hours. Everyone is dead, and I came home to nothing. Where will I go? What will I do? Re-enlist? I've had my fair share of killing. I pulled my M9 pistol from my holster and looked over the barrel. I pulled the safety and put the tip of the barrel to the side of my head. Right before I pulled the trigger, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see a person standing behind me. However, it wasn't a person. This charred remains of a human had their hand on my shoulder. The face looked singed off. All of the flesh was burnt and the hair, gone. Then I saw the gold ring melted to the creature's finger. I looked back up as it looked at me. It had no eyes.
"Mom?" I felt the grip tighten on my shoulder as it started to lunge down at me.
Things always seem to go from bad to worse these days. Then again, Time was never really on anyone's side. My home-town wasn't spared during my absence. The entire town seemed to have went forward twenty years with no maintenance to keep it up and running. The sun hung high in the air but the sky had an eerie grayness to it. I looked back as the state bus sped off, leaving me in the dust. I looked back at the city and heaved my military-grade back pack onto my shoulder. I started my walk.
The populations here dropped to an all-time low. None of the shops were open for business, most of them were boarded up. I looked left and right as the city started to get worse and worse. Then something caught my eye up ahead. I walked up to one of the telephone poles on the street corner. A yellow warning sign with the bio-hazard symbol on it, what happened while I was deployed? I looked past the sign and saw two men walking down the street. Both of them wore marine uniforms, similar to mine. Each wore a gas mask and carried a M4 rifle. I wasn't sure if I should approach them or stay out of sight. Too late. One of them pointed at me as the second started walking towards me.
"You've got balls to walk around out here without a mask." He told me.
"What are you talking about? What happened here?" He looked around, the back at me.
"Did you have any family in Sunny Orchard?" He asked. I nodded. He looked down and sighed. "There's nothing left, the Enemy have leveled the entire residential district with one of their newer toys. A compact nuclear bomb. Sunny Orchard was unlucky enough to get targeted in a bombing run." He hit my should with his hand and walked forward. "Sorry for your loss." Everybody? Gone? I shook my head, this can't be right. The second soldier walked up to me.
"Here, use this spare mask. If you want to pay any last respects, you'll need it." I was still trying to get over the sudden grief that my entire family is dead as I took the mask from him. He walked my opposite direction as I proceeded forward.
It wasn't long before I met the radiation fog. My radiation ticker went off like crazy as I trudged deeper into the blast zone. I had no idea why I am still going forward. Everyone is dead, there is nothing left for me to go see. What hope did I have for anyone's survival from a nuclear strike? Apparently, enough to keep me moving.
I finally found the first residential home. More like, what is left of it. Only the cement foundation remained where the home stood. All the other homes were the same, except for the rare piece of wood still standing. All the trees were black and leafless against the fog. I managed to find where my home stood. Nothing remained, but I still walked up to the foundation. I looked around the floor, trying to hold back my emotions. I saw shadows of mom and dad, holding each other in a corner of where the living room was. My younger sister's shadow was in mid sprint, trying to reach mom and dad. I bowed my head and walked back to where the front door used to be.
I sat there for what felt like hours. Everyone is dead, and I came home to nothing. Where will I go? What will I do? Re-enlist? I've had my fair share of killing. I pulled my M9 pistol from my holster and looked over the barrel. I pulled the safety and put the tip of the barrel to the side of my head. Right before I pulled the trigger, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see a person standing behind me. However, it wasn't a person. This charred remains of a human had their hand on my shoulder. The face looked singed off. All of the flesh was burnt and the hair, gone. Then I saw the gold ring melted to the creature's finger. I looked back up as it looked at me. It had no eyes.
"Mom?" I felt the grip tighten on my shoulder as it started to lunge down at me.