Riley Irvin

Afterscape

I crouched down, trying to warm my hands over the burnt-down embers of a fire. I couldn’t build it up too big, as I was inside an old, run-down, damp building, and would smoke myself out. But I needed the warmth, or this building would be my tomb, as it was for many before me. I’d stepped over their bones on the way in, already picked clean of meat, clothing, or valuables by those who came to scavenge before. I’d been scavenging for years – almost my whole life – in the Afterscape.