The World After

On The Horizon

After waking up I grab my canister and fill it up at a nearby river. It's one of the only places I know that I can get water that isn't contaminated. But out of the corner of my eye I spot something staring at me. I turn to look and it's a dog. A white and grey husky. He looks a bit hungry so I give it some of the canned meat I was going to have for breakfast. The husky accepts the food and eats besides me.

His coat is a bit dirty, so I use some of the water in my canister to wash him off. It wasn't the best job but I tried my best. The husky barks happily and follows me as I begin to depart. He follows me all the way back to Dan's. He makes himself at home quickly knocking over all the stuff I've saved or collected in order to find a place to sit.

"What am I going to call you?"

The dog stares at me blankly. Almost as puzzled as I am to the question.

"How about Max"

Too generic.

"Dan"

Too personal.

Then the perfect name hits me like lightning.

"River!"

The dog seems content with the name and cuddles up next to me. I use some rope and an old belt to fasten together a leash. I slip it over the dogs head to see if it fits. It's almost perfect but could use some adjusting. In any case, it'll do for now.

We spend the whole day together. I even took him on my mid day walk to scavenge for supplies. We don't end up finding much. Most of these buildings have been looted either by me, or by others who've come through here.

I know I can't stay here much longer. But it's hard to leave since I have no other place to go. I guess I'll just have to test my luck and see what I find.

When we get back I prepare my bag with everything I'll need and take one last look at Dan's and the city I called home. I turn and begin my walk West with River following close behind.

The sun sets before us us and a strange rumbling sounds behind us. I turn to look and there are three buggy's headed in our direction. I begin to pick up the pace with River following close behind. The buggy's catch up and surround us. Four people in armored suits step out and walk towards us. River trots towards them happily. One of the men rubs his head and loads him into one of the buggy's. Another one walks right towards me and without saying word. Smacks me over the head with a baton and then it all goes black.