by
Sam, sent out by a group of men after a devastating end-of-the-world blast to search for others, stumbles upon an old ranch. Exhausted, hungry and near collapse, he falls into a deep sleep in one of the last remaining buildings in the area. The last thing he sees as he drifts off is a light coming from under the door.
Bandits! It has to be, Belle thinks as she hears the creaking of the floor above her. She waits for them to steal whatever it is they’re going to steal before investigating. But, oddly enough, the bandit’s footsteps stop at the master bedroom. She waits an interminably long time until curiosity gets the better of her and - heart racing - she tiptoes into the room the bandit’s hiding in.
However, it’s not a bandit she finds…
Genres:
"I don't know, Sam," Jeff said as he paced back and forth, scratching his head. "I just don't see how we're going to make it through the winter."
"What do you mean? We have supplies. The nuke didn't destroy everything," Sam jumped up. At nineteen, he was the youngest of the surviving members of the worst nuclear attack the world has ever seen. Every major city was hit simultaneously and only a few had advanced warning that it was coming.
"That may be, but who knows how much of it is inedible from the radiation." He turned toward the younger man, who used to be a cowboy before all of this went down. "No, we're running out of options. I need you to scour the nearby farms for food or unaffected animals or something."
When Sam stood and turned toward the door, Jeff added, "Sam. We're all counting on you. Don't come back empty-handed."
READ MORESam nodded curtly and tipped his stetson at the elder. He knew what coming back empty-handed would mean to their little clan. As he stepped out into the silent world, he shivered at the thought. He was pretty sure that nothing survived the blast. They were lucky that John had been on the CB when it all went down - that five extra minutes saved their asses.
As he trudged forward through the barren wasteland that he once proudly called home, he pondered the one thought that none of the other men had allowed anyone to speak of: there were no women. And the prospect of finding one was even bleaker than the town he now traveled through. They could raise no one on the CB, the radio was just static and there was no electricity for the TV. As far as any of them knew, they were the last survivors on earth. And they were all gay men who just so happened to be having a retreat where they were celebrating their independence from women.
The irony burned.
Sam walked until his legs became too sore for him to walk any further. He'd checked a dozen farms around the area, but none of them contained even one live chicken, let alone anything else. He hadn't given a thought until now about women and how they were needed to sustain life. When there are 8 billion people on the planet, a few guys who didn't want to mate with women wasn't much of a big deal. But now...
His legs wearily carried him to the last farmhouse for fifty miles. He was too tired and sore to search for anything. All he wanted was to find a nice, soft bed and collapse in it. Besides, it was getting dusk and he didn't want to be searching in the dark.
Even though he was dead tired, Sam took no chances. He made sure that the farmhouse was secure before finding the closest bed and collapsing on it. As he sank into the luxurious bedding, his mind dimly wondered why there was flickering light coming from down the hallway. That thought would have to wait as he was far too exhausted to check it out now. He didn't think he could even make it out of bed. Before he knew it, darkness enveloped him and he fell into a fitful, dreamless sleep.
COLLAPSE
