Future's End

Chapter 1

Thwock

"No."

Twhock

"No."

Twhock

"No!"

After the third try, I decided it was time to give it a rest. My current record stood at twenty hits in a row, but I couldn't even manage five today. I sighed, and went to retrieve my knife at the base of the tree. The trunk was scarred from the years spent perfecting my throw, but I suppose I was a little distracted. Everything was feeling off today, I guess. Stupid TinCan. I hated going there. I grabbed my knife from the ground and returned to my backpack, about 15 feet away. I angrily sheathed my knife in the clip at my waist, and unzipped the top portion of my backpack. Inside was a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, and some crumpled paper from past reminders. I grabbed the lighter and a cigarette from the pack, inhaling deeply as I lit it. The smoke drifted lazily through the leaves above as I breathed in the toxic stuff.

I gave a small cough of satisfaction.

My mind returned to the TinCan. Wild place. It's a large factory that stands on an incline, rusting here and there from nearly a decade of inactivity. It contained our town's supply of food, canned stuff mostly. Crates and crates of beans, tomatoes, soup, other bland stuff. The Deafening was to blame for that. For the people, the silence, the regression. I would have loved to have perused a "grocery store", aisles filled with things that weren't cans. God, I hated cans. However, they were all looted, in the blink of an eye. The stores, I mean. I've never seen a stocked store before. I wonder what it looked like, seeing things such as milk, bread, jam, butter, candy, chips, soda...

My stomach gave a small growl. The cigarette wasn't helping on an empty stomach. I flicked the ashes of the butt and dropped it, smooshing the glowing cinders under my faded sneakers. The backdoor to the TinCan had been busted open to access the area inside containing the crates. Unfortunately, quite a few thugs crept around the area, generally being annoying as they attempted to intimidate people. There wasn't any need to steal food, but they tried demanding various items, whether it be weapons or everyday supplies.

I had just returned from there. Dropped off near my tree to get rid of some anger. Stupid asses, thinking they can get off on me. It was times like this I wish I travelled with somebody else. Maybe they'd leave me alone without some snide remark about my chest, or my butt, or my eyes. I get it. You want sex. Piss off.

I always felt better when I saw Aidan. Maybe I'd give him a visit. I'd already been planning to when he told me he had recently found an old chess set belonging to his older brother. He didn't talk much about his family, but he could rave for hours about the ventures of his older sibling. He had loved him a lot, I could tell. Yet, when The Deafening came and went, his brother was lost to the riots and gangs running free in the chaos.

"I wish I could remember him more clearly," Aidan said, "but all I can remember is him going out to protect our house and never coming back inside. He told me he would come back, Helen. Why didn't he come back?" This was usually when he began to cry, and I didn't have the heart to tell him his brother has probably been dead for a long time now, probably shot somewhere and lost among many others that day.

When Aidan found the chess set, he told me it was like finding a piece of his brother. I tried to understand, but really couldn't. How do you find a piece of someone in an object? It didn't really make much sense. Besides, the only reason I would want to play chess would be to escape heading home. Anything to avoid the Residents. Anything. With a shake of my head I cleared my mind. Aidan's house it was.

I packed away my lighter and shrugged on my backpack. The trek back to town usually took about half an hour; twenty minutes if I was feeling well enough for a light jog. With the weight of the food in my pack though, I felt like being leisurely today. I whistled as I walked my way through the pines, a tune that seemed to change every time. I glanced back every now and then at the scarred tree I frequented to.

"See you tomorrow," I said under my breath.