Waking up from my bed, I gazed at the beautiful view outside my window.
Today is the day. It's about time I made up my mind.
I walked into the living room, spotting Amy sitting on the couch.
"Hey Ames, I'mma head out. I'm going to be back late, alright?" I told her.
"W-Where are you going?" she asked.
"Don't worry, it's a secret," I answered.
She nodded and went back to what she was doing.
I stepped outside, got into the humvee, and began heading toward the coordinates I picked up from the radio—coordinates pointing to a civilian outpost.
It wasn't far, and I had my rifle with me, just in case.
After a while of driving, I saw a huge makeshift sign in the middle of the road:
"OUTPOST"
I followed the path that led to the place and eventually reached some gates.
After a moment, they began to open. A man gestured for me to come inside.
Once I was in, the gates closed behind me.
He walked up to my window and leaned in.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm John. I heard about the outpost over the radio. I'm planning to hand someone over to you."
He eyed me for a moment, then gave a slow nod.
"Alright. Seems good enough."
I drove forward, parked, and stepped out of the humvee.
The man met me at the side of the car.
"Want a quick tour of our little community?" he offered.
I nodded.
The place wasn't big, but it had the essentials: food, shelter, and people. It felt almost normal. Almost.
But something threw me off—the stench near the butcher's shop.
It smelled... familiar.
Too familiar.
Like her.
Like that girl in the hospital when I woke up.
"Wait... How is that possible?" I whispered.
I marched up to the man who gave me the tour.
"The meat. The same we ate earlier. What kind of meat was it?"
His expression cracked—just for a second—but it was enough for me to suspect that something is wrong.
"W-What could you possibly mean, sir John?" he replied with a forced smile.
I grabbed his shoulders.
"WHAT KIND OF MEAT WAS THAT?"
"N-Normal meat!" he stammered.
I reached for my holster.
"Tell me. Now."
He finally cracked.
"F-Fine! It's human meat..."
My hand went to my mouth, bile rising in my throat.
"You sick bastards..." I whispered.
"How cou—"
Before I could finish, an explosion tore through the air behind us.
A massive cloud of smoke climbed into the sky.
"Shit... it's the bandits again," he said, panic in his voice.
"Bandits?!"
"The ones that come to steal everything!"
That was all I needed to hear.
I sprinted back to the humvee, heart racing, adrenaline taking the wheel.
Jumped in, started it up, and hit the gas—running over a few bandits on the way out.
As I sped down the road, I flipped on the military-grade radio.
A frequency lit up, talking about another outpost—one filled with military personnel and survivors.
But it was too late to go there.
The sun was already setting.
I still managed to grab a few water bottles, so the trip wasn't entirely a waste.
I kept driving.
Almost home.
The roads were silent. Too silent.
The kind of quiet that makes your ears ring.
It felt like I was driving through a sci-fi horror novel—but this was real life.
And I wanted it to end.
But I had a goal in mind.
Tomorrow, I would find a safe haven for Amy.
I whispered it to myself as the house finally came into view.
Pulled into the driveway. Parked.
I stepped inside.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back," she said.
You could mistake this for a normal day...
But reality hits where nobody predicts...