I didn’t because sometimes the only way fight back against your demons is to make friends with them, turn their darkness to your advantage, use their darkness as your strength. You see their darkness is strength in its purest form and as I let the darkness surround me I felt free, they say bury your past, move past it, forget it. I say learn to use it, harness it, and in doing so I grew stronger I learnt to fight back and I learnt to use those demons to survive.
The moral of this is simple rock bottom is never rock bottom there always darkness and worse beneath, we all have our demons its what we do with them that defines us.
In the early part of 2100 the Earth’s population had completely spiralled out of control, every country across the globe was forced to implement measures in an attempt to control the rapid population growth, they failed. It isn’t known exactly what happened or when, only that as was inevitable with life nature chose to intervene, a contaminant in the food and water supplies had adverse reactions on the population, it took lives and it took them quickly. Almost a year passed before the science folks found a way to slow it down, but the population of the world had fallen dramatically. On the upside the death rate had slowed as they figured how it was transmitted once introduced into the human body, but for another 10 years being infected would always result in the victims death.
The science folk found a vaccine or so they thought, but one single random genetic trait turned a bad situation worse, the vaccine did stop people dying. Once infected with the new strain it starts shutting down parts of the brain, those responsible for cognitive thought, right and wrong, turning ordinary people into psychopathics and this is how it is today, hordes of psychs that trample the earth and attack anyone in their path, strangely they no longer react to each other. It sounds like a Zombie apocalypse right? It’s close but these don’t eat you at least not at first their instinct is even more primal the need to acquire, to conquer and the need to copulate.
So that’s the state of the world today, out of doors it’s dangerous but inside can be just as dangerous. You see the people of the world today are out to protect themselves, to run into anyone that falls under the category of normal is a few and far between experience, even if you do it’s unlikely you can trust their intentions, with the Psychs we know what we’re in for, with a real functioning human, you don’t. I generally travel alone but I’m different I have a purpose, one of a handful or people who traverse the country we live in to take and deliver various items. Communication in the world is harder than hell, so a bunch of us will take these packages to and from locations, this is how we survive, it’s how we eat, it’s lonely and it’s dangerous but at least we’re alive. The rest of the human population are trying to survive the only way the human race knows how, violence and mayhem almost always ensue when humans get together these days, some travel in groups and they are even more dangerous, but they are also usually the first to turn on each other, you really can’t trust another in this world.
And so my story starts here, it was cold October tonight, I’d set up shelter on the fifth floor of some abandoned block of flats, I liked to stay high when I needed to rest, gave me warning if anyone tried to get close, I also picked less obvious hiding places for that reason too. I’d blocked the all the doors to the room, and was contemplating a fire for a little warmth when I heard a scream, it came from below me but in the building, someone was in trouble and there were also the groans of psychs. I froze in place placed flat to the wall as the patter of feet in the stair well told me they were moving up then the thud as they attempted to enter the room I’d sealed off, another scream of “Oh god someone help me” sent a ripple through me, not fear, I had long since shed my fear of dealing with Psychs, I was also fairly good at evading them and if needed my volt gun was pretty effective at shutting them down, this ripple was somewhere between panic and guilt, the voice was female.
Instantly I bit down a string of would be curses and made my way to my entry point, a window that I’d bridged between two rooms, quietly I climbed back across and quietly pressed flat to the wall waiting on her to enter the room, slowly I drew a breath and held it in as I unholstered my weapon and stepped into the room, she screamed and I heard them coming “Oh that’s right give the fucking game away” I muttered and shot across the room toward, as I neared her I grabbed her arm spinning her toward the window “Go now!” I barked, she went to scream and I clamped my hand over her mouth firing a shot that sent a Psych into the wall of the outside hall “Go or they get you, you’re fucking choice” I snapped and then spun taking steps back toward the balcony and the open glass door, she chose to stay alive as she followed me before stepping out I followed suit and slammed the glass door closed the psychs piling hard against the glass.
“It wont hold” She squealed “Yep, aware of that” I pointed to the planks now bridging the 10 foot gap between the two rooms, she looked to me and I simply shrugged, gingerly she climbed on the and squeaked as the first crack began to form in the fragile glass “Wanna get a move on?” I snapped and she did making her way over to the other side, I didn't wait to follow and was over with much more ease, after all I’d done this a few times before now, the glass door shattered sending two psychs over the balcony and hopefully to their deaths as I reeled in the bridge planks, the psychs looked at us before groaning and pawing the air toward us I just fired at one of them before holstering my weapon and walking back into the room I had previously occupied, the poor girl simply stood in shock looking back at the cluster that had almost been her end.
All that action had at least helped me decide it was worth making that fire after all. I bent in the fire place to force scraps of wood and paper together, the lighter in my pocket brought it to life, I looked back to the girl, she was still stood looking back at the now empty balcony opposite us, the skies had decided to begin emptying upon the grounds below a heavy rain and the balcony door been opening made my fire almost pointless, finally I made my way taking her arm and yanking her into the room, and back to reality it seemed as she now went into full panic mode skittering away from me to the other side of the room pressing tight into the corner, I sighed and closed the door, immediately the warmth of the fire began to make a difference as I made my way back to it, I sat on my heel my coat now tucked behind my gun as a reminder I was armed if she was going to try anything stupid I’d make her regret it.
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