The After War

It was the year after the last war, after Covid, after the massive amount of deaths caused by the vaccine. 70% of the world population – gone… There was a shift in the world caused by global climate change, and everyone was told that they had to evacuate. There was a shift to the north and large buses were brought in to transport everyone out of Old World to New City. Many were left behind and many were affected. So many that were left behind formed gangs an communities that were ridden with starvation, hunger, disease, and all manner of chaos plagued the world outside New City. Ines had come out of her mountain and was hiding in the rocks when she found them. She had seen them on the scanner first and decided to follow and monitor their activities. This was the first time any one had come this close to her home since her brother had died. Another victim of the vaccine. She watched them set up camp, the five of them, two women, two men who were white and a black male who seemed to be looking around and listening. Oh, no! He stopped.

He had sensed her. A wizard! One of those affected by the vaccine and other chemicals released during the After War. He turned and looked at the exact spot where she was hiding. She started to run, just maybe she could make it. He didn’t need to run. He had her in his tracking sense. He calmly turned to his companions and told them that he was going to look around and he would be back soon. They didn’t care. Wizard always brought back something good when he went out on these excursions.

She had made it. She was back at her mountain. But just as she pulled the lever to open the entry way he grabbed her from behind. He pulled her to his chest and held her letting her struggle and fight until she had no fight left. After she collapsed, he picked her up and quickly proceeded into the entry way. Once inside he looked around in amazement. What he saw was astounding. Inside this mountain was a hidden military compound, bigger than any he’d ever seen and if his memory served him correctly it housed weapons, food stores, supplies and equipment to last a hundred years. He laid her on the sofa by the bathroom door, then went in to get a towel. After wetting it he came out to where she lay and gently lay it across her forehead. Now he really looked at her. She was about 40, maybe 45, clean, no signs of having taken the vaccine and man, was she beautiful.

A real flesh and blood woman. How was she living outside New City, unaffected? Who was she and why was she here? Ines began to come around. As she woke up, she heard his voice speaking softly, “I’m not going to hurt you, please listen, I’m not going to hurt you, I promise you,” Her first panicked thought was to bolt for the door but that would place her on the outside of her own home. Everything that she had was here and even though there were other places she could escape to; she didn’t want him to know this. So she decided to calm down and wait for whatever. “Who are you and what do you want from me?” she asked without looking at him. “They call me what I am, Wizard.” And why were you spying on us?” he answered arrogantly. She slowly raised her head and looked at him. “You’re the first people I’ve seen since the vaccine deaths. I meant no harm and I was hoping I could give the women some things that maybe they could use. If you hadn’t seen me, I would have brought them in the night and left them by your camp. I have so much, and they didn’t seem to have…” she stopped her words as not to offend them. “Do you have things for men too?” he asked. “Do you have gas and food, maybe?” She replied that she did and offered him some food from the dinner she had prepared for herself. “It won’t be enough for everyone,” she shared, “but I can cook some more pretty quickly.” “No,” he said quickly. “They’re going on to New City and I don’t want them to know that you’re here. So, gather the things you can give them so that I can send them on their way.”

Wizard then followed her into a large warehouse that was through a hidden door when she waved her hand over a blue light above a painting on the wall. Inside the warehouse there was so many things, everything. In the left corner was three covered Army trucks. When he asked her who the trucks belong to, she told him that he could take anything he wanted and give as much as he wanted. She then started to go through the racks and racks of female clothes, she could tell their sizes just by looking at them. Then she heard one of the trucks crank up. He let it idle for a few minuets and drove it around to where she was still gathering female items. As she filled bin after bin with cosmetics and toiletry items, Wizard gathered items and clothing for the guys. After about an hour they had fill twenty bins.

“We’ve got to leave room for the bikes,” said Wizard. “On the top of the truck are racks for you to hang the bikes on the sides and there needs to be a deep freezer put in the back for meats and frozen foods,” Ines added.

So, one freezer, two microwaves, twenty bins of needful items, not to mention, Four, mattresses, cases and cases of canned meats, vegetables and four bath bags and he was on his way back to camp. His only thought was that they were going

Love the ten cases of ham and spam. When Wizard drove into camp, he noticed that the group was getting ready to eat the last of the dried beef he had been able to find in an old, abandoned shack he had manage to sense on one of his look arounds that he always conducted when they would set up camp somewhere. His sensing skills were getting better.

“Wizard, what in the world !?” exclaimed Asher, the eldest of the group. “What, How?” Wizard laughed as he climbed down saying. “I found a campsite about ten miles back in that patch of woods we passed by that didn’t seem to have a pass. It was covered by foliage to hide it. There was a small tent and this truck just like you see it now, and an old man who had apparently died in his sleep. Here, catch.” He tossed a canned ham to Gordan. The girls added the ham to the evening meal declaring that it was the best since their journey began. They were delighted again when he pulled a solar powered cooler from the back of the truck filled with beer and sodas. Wow! It even had a freezer with ice cream. As they sat enjoying their food, they all noticed that wizard was in a kind of trance, of he did this from time to time, so they kept silent and waited. After they had finished their meal and was cleaning up, wizard spoke. “I have seen the future for us, come and sit.” They all came and sat down quickly, looking hopeful, as they had now been granted the fortune of the truck load of goods.

“I have seen you reaching New City and living there.” He said looking into each of their eyes. “In the back of the truck you will find a box wrapped in brown paper. Do not take it out until you reach New City. This is the key to your future and you will know what to do with it once you get there and open it. I won’t be there with you, my journey ends here. There is a blank wall in my path, and I can’t see past it. I can’t go on from here….