A World of Grime

Prologue

When post-apocalypses are perceived, the world is in ruins, humanity at its worst. People scavenging, fighting each other, like before. But there is some possibility that people see this dark, horrifying future, or even present, and put differences aside. They may Help others, or create new ways to entertain, or even just become a better person overall. 

At the time the natural disasters were about to shake the earth to its very core, everyone became equal. no amount of money changed what was to come. No one knows how many died, the tv and internet cut out long before that news could come about. Even radio's stopped working. This didn't just lead to panic, it led to riots globally. But the government didn't know what was to come. The earthquakes began, and although some areas, like the long-forgotten British Isles, were safe where they were, Japan was gone quick. The tsunamis were next. Huge 100 ft waves crashing into land, drowning the grass and peppering the foundations of every city with weakness. And finally, the volcanoes. It didn't matter whether or not there was a volcano near your country, the entire sky went black with ash. Fire rained down upon cities, levelling them. Continents began to be set ablaze, and people had no idea it was even happening. It was the end of days. but that is when our stubbornness broke through. Most bunkers were destroyed, but some survived. People set up makeshift turbines to begin generating power once again, and powered UV lights to slowly make plant life. There were even whole countries that survived, or one whole country. Australia managed to come out of the entire deadly event practically unscathed, with only a few deaths from Arachnids. 

Around the world, volcanic ash and debris littered the landscape, and began to decay buildings faster, seeping into cracks, weakening the foundations. Whole cities filled with knowledge crumbled before the people, and they had to turn their backs, begin a new life. Builders helped create new houses in small towns. Cleaners began removing dust in the new streets laid by stonemasons. people began to talk about the 'information age' like it was centuries ago, chatting and gossiping like the world wasn't in flames, figuratively and literally.
An amazing thing began to happen. People just, without thinking, made peace with each other. It was as if the disaster was necessary to make them realize how similar they all were in life, now that everyone had a level playing field. Of course, there were grudges, but they were quickly overturned by helping hands. And, people who lived their whole lives spoon fed had a difficult time, to say the least. A few major cities began to form, and a few years later, when the dark skies began to clear, the lack of cars and burning fossil fuels meant the sky was the clearest it had been in decades. Some people would look up and never look down again, the stars bright and blossoming in the night sky, the sun blazing and angry in the day. The world was healing from the conflict and misery not eight years before then.   

The world was at its end, cities had crumbled, and new ones had formed out of the rubble. From one came many, and now bustling continents re-emerged, but finally there was peace and co-existence forming in the re-emerging civilisation. Now it all seemed so far away, 8 years and still kicking. Some group even got radios working again, crackly ones. It was as if technology took a hundred steps back and now is dragging its feet along the ground towards the finish line. No more TV's or games to play, all gone. It was a good thing, in some respects. It meant some people could get a good night's rest for once, one of which being Manuel.