Something to Live For

Chapter 1

It was a simple task. Go into town, grab medicine, and get out. At least, that was the original plan. I woke up in my little bomb shelter that was on the outskirts of the town, dimly lit from a fire pit I had put in after the generator went out. I sat next to the fire and cooked some rat I had managed to scrape together form a trip to the town pharmacy. I slowly turned my "meal" as I sat and sipped at my canteen. As I sat and nibbled on my breakfast, I grabbed the T.V. recording DVD and stuck into the old computer that I had set up. It was mainly for playing games, watching movies and T.V. shows that I got from the old video store, and my journal. These things kept me sane and prevented me from killing myself many times in the past. As I forced down the last bit of my rat, I leaned back and watched some Saturday morning cartoons. This little bit of innocence was enough to keep me alive every day. I watched one episode of a little girls show called My Little Pony. I laughed at the color and the wacky adventures. For if you acted that way here, you would be killed. I switched my computer to off and began to head up the ladder to the outside. As I unlocked the hatch, I looked behind me at the safety I was leaving behind. I hade made a decent 3 bedroom, underground house in the time I had spent here. I shrugged it off and went farther up the ladder. I turned the lock on the large door that I had managed to scrap off a battleship. I forced the door open and the creaking was intensely high pitched. The sunlight came in and filled my whole dwelling with the sweet sunlight.

I was on the outskirts of what used to be New Orleans. It was a good place to live, but not inside the city. It was festering with mutants, bandits, thugs, psychopaths, and any other horrible thing you could imagine. Jungle animals also roamed, after being set loose after the Governments fell. I came to New Orleans with one of the four main tribes of the afterworld. I came here and just decided that I was done hurting people, and I decided to hole up till death came to take me. I stood up with my shoes in the grass of the park where I had put my home. I leaned back and popped my back loud and I felt great. I looked off to the city and basked in its former glory. I liked to imagine that it was just a little dirty, and that if everything was cleaned off it would be home to people again. But that was just a dream. It would never happen. As I grabbed my bag and bike from a nearby tree, I ran trough the list of items I needed.

A first aid kit

Food

Water

Ammo

A new machete maybe

Some DVDs

It was a pretty basic list but it was difficult as hell to get. I decided to get the items in order I had listed them in my head. So first it was to the center of town.

I pedaled as fast as I could to not waste anytime. As I hit the center of town, I noticed how quiet it was. Usually there were some bandits or some sort of animals but not today. I decided to grab my rifle just in case. I took it off the side rack of my bike and began to head into the pharmacy. The stench was horrible; I slid my goggles on as well as my bandana over my mouth. I waked down the aisle for first aid supplies and grabbed a premade First aid kit. I walked up to the counter and looked to see what was on the other side. Nothing. So I sat on the top of it and put in my headphones. I was scrolling through my music when I heard a crashing of pans from the back room. I grabbed my machete from its sheath and jumped off the counter. As I walked to the back, I heard a growling noise from the back as well. I quickened my pace and when I turned the corner I saw a large black wolf. But it was cornering a small, Orange, pony. I couldn't focus on this and I jumped between the wolf and the pony. The wolf eyed me with hatred for inconveniencing it and it lunged at me. I jabbed it in the gut with my machete. As it slumped to the ground, I wiped off my blade and put it back in its place. I turned around to look at the pony to see it still backed into the corner. I pulled down my mask and goggles and smiled softly at the pony. I kneeled down and said," it's alright. I aint gonna hurt ya." This didn't seem to change the pony in anyway so I offered it some bread from breakfast. It slowly reached its head out, eyeing the bread and me at nearly the same time. Then she picked it up and curled up next to my knee, devouring its catch. I picked it up, which frightened it at first but it eventually got used to being handled. I put it into my bag and slipped its head out so it could see. I walked out to my bike and hopped on it and continued out of the town. As we pulled into the park I stopped and made sure I wasn't followed. All clear. I pulled the hatch up from its hiding place and climbed down. As I touched the floor, I reached around to get the small pony from the bag. It objected at first but eventually let me handle it. I set it down and let it crawl out of the bag. It looked around in awe of the new area that surrounded it. I walked into the kitchen area of the bunker and brought out a loaf of bread. I turned to see it standing right behind me. Begging for more. I took out four slices and put them down on a paper towel for the little pony to eat. I walked into the living room area and sat down on the couch to think of the days occurrences. As I did this, the little pony trotted into the room and stopped in front of the couch. It stood there and stared at me for a while. Then it simply jumped up and lay right next to me. I didn't want to disturb its rest so I grabbed a blanket and joined it in some well deserved rest. I would think about everything else tomorrow.