I was the first to rise. The sky still had a grey tone to it, and the city had quieted down almost an eerie amount. Smoke no longer rose from the city as the fire went out, leaving only the concrete and metal buildings. I wonder what's going to happen to the people in the city: both those who fled and those who stayed. Every day that passed without the power returning made me lose more and more hope for it ever returning.

I turned to Sam's sleeping frame, his chest rose gently up and down, his head resting on his backpack. I wonder what will come of him. I couldn't imagine myself ever making the active choice to leave him, but I'm not sure he's going to make it if this is real. I feel my eyes swell up, and my vision blurred slightly. I took a deep breath and blinked back my tears, I had to remain strong.

I turned my attention to my supplies that I quickly packed up and recounted. I looked at the fancy bottle of liquor again, now a grim reminder of that woman in the store. I turned my hand around, looking at my raw knuckles. The skin had broken slightly, leaving my hands red and achy, but the cuts were relatively small, so I didn't have to worry about infection. I heard someone begin to stir behind me.

"Good morning," Sam croaked out while rubbing his eyes with his hands. He faced changed when he glanced down at my raw knuckles, but I could tell that he didn't really want to bring it up, "Dr. Cooper!"

Dr. Cooper stirred, rubbing his neck before looking at us, "This bed sucks."

I let out a small laugh, slinging my bag over my shoulders, "Now that were all awake, why don't we start moving again?"

Sam groaned and rubbed his ankles, "I don't think I've walked this much ever."

"Remember that one time we hiked Katahdin?" I brought up.

"How could I forget?" Sam exclaimed, "I genuinely thought about jumping off the side of Knife's Edge."

I chuckled, and he lifted himself up from the ground.

"My knees hurt so much!" He continued, "I feel so old."

"Just wait until you are actually old," Dr. Cooper spoke up, his bag slung over his shoulder as well, "There's the Amtrak Downeaster which would end in Brunswick, Maine. It would be far enough away from the highways that we could travel and be pretty hidden from the forests."

I pondered for a moment. I remember going to Brunswick when I was a kid. It felt like the biggest city ever until I went to Portland, then the same until I eventually came to Boston. Even then, none of those compared to New York City. I remember just staring up at the towering buildings the entire time I was there with Sam for a summer trip between our freshmen and sophomore years of college. I nodded at Dr. Cooper's proposition, and we headed up into the distance. The sky is now an orange color.

~~~

The rail is stretched out again through landscape like a scar. The steel tracks were rusted from their years of use, and weeds had overgrown much of the railway sleepers. Dr. Cooper continued to lead us through the wilderness. My steps were deliberate as I did my best not to trip. The air was colder here; the ocean breeze smelled amazing. The silence wasn't eerie like it was near the city. It was calming and reminded me of home.

Dr. Cooper walked in the middle of us, Sam on the left side of the track, and me to the right. I saw Cooper glancing at the tracks occasionally. Sam's head turned at every sound: a snapping twig, a bird singing, the whispers of the wind traveling through the trees.

"This is... eerie," Sam spoke up, "It feels like we are the only ones left."

"We can't be the only ones left," I spoke up. A lump formed in my throat as I thought about my family being dead and me being the only one left.

The train tracks curved ahead into the trees, and we came upon a set of abandoned trains. The paint is still pristine on the sides of it, though one of them was tipped over off the track. I stopped in my tracks, trying to see if I could see any movement.

"Morgana-" Sam started, but I shot him a sharp look. He closed his mouth, and we walked forward cautiously. The doors gaped open like a mouth. I glanced inside, seeing the remnants of people's lives: children's toys, luggage, and laptops.

"It's empty!" I called to them, planting my feet back on the earth.

"Do you think there's anything of value?" Cooper asked, I shook my head.

"Unless you want random people's luggage," I responded.

"Do you think they made it out?" Sam asked.

I remained quiet, I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer honestly or not. I turned back towards him, and he looked at me expectantly.

"I hope so," I said, moving onto the next train car. In almost comedic timing, we saw a splatter of dried blood. I stopped in my tracks, my stomach turning at the thought of someone dying here.

"Maybe it's from an animal." Cooper tried to brush it off.

Then, we passed a set of graffiti that read, "TURN BACK. DEATH AHEAD."

"That's a bit dramatic," I said, trying to brush off the eerie feeling that the graffiti gave me.

"It's just scared tactics. People panic. They write things like this to keep others away," Dr. Cooper reassured us. Sam's face paled, and he didn't really speak. His hands just gripped around his backpack straps tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The graffiti warning continued to look in my mind as we continued down the train tracks.

"Are we sure we're going the right way?" Sam finally broke the silence, "What if this is the wrong track, and it leads us nowhere?"

"From that train car, we can deduce that this line is still running, worse thing that can happen is it takes us in New Hampshire or Vermont," Dr. Cooper responded.

"Are you sure we're going north?" Sam asked him in an accusatory tone.

"Yes," Dr. Cooper responded curtly.

"Yeah, but how sure? I don't want to get lost in the middle of the woods and mauled by animals." Sam's voice rose.

Before Dr. Cooper could respond, I saw a plume of smoke in the distance in the trees and held up my hand.

"What's that?" I asked rhetorically.

"Could be a campfire," Dr. Cooper said, adjusting his pack, "Maybe people are settled nearby."

I tensed up, "Do you think they're friendly?"

"I don't know," Dr. Cooper answered, "Do you think they're the ones that wrote the graffiti?"

"It would make sense," Sam interjected.

As we crested a small hill, we found the origin of the fire: a group of people in the remnants of a train depot. The settlement was small, probably around a dozen people, from what I could tell from a distance. A few small raised beds were enacted in the cleared area.

"Looks... safe enough?" Sam didn't sound very convincing,

Before I could respond, a man called out to us. He was sitting in a tree platform commonly used for hunting with a rifle on his lap.

"Who goes there?" He yelled, his hands gripping the wooden stock of his rifle.

"Were from the Boston area," I held my hands in view, hoping that he won't shoot me, "We're just trying to get north, away from the city."

The man motioned for us to walk closer, and we obliged. I was able to then get a clear look at his face; he was an older man, probably in his 40s, wearing jeans and a fleece jacket. His face was tanned and weathered, his wrinkles cut deeply into his face, especially on his forhead.

"Are you armed?" He asked.

I paused for a moment. Should I lie?

"No."

"Why'd you hesitate?" He asked.

"Because I thought about lying," I answered, "We're not here to cause trouble. We just need a place to rest."

It was going to be dusk soon, and it was already starting to get a bit chilly.

"Alright, but I'll be watching you." He motioned for us to walk forward, which I happily obliged, "Talk to Elias before you poke around too much."

I nodded, and we walked towards the heart of the settlement. My previous estimates were grossly inaccurate as there had to be at least three dozen people milling around. Buildings were enacted of patchwork pieces of metal and wood, while other people lived in the old abandoned trains cars. Many crude pastures full of chickens and goats were placed around the minimal cleared space between the forest.

We entered the nicest looking car, which I could only guess is where Elias is. Inside the air was faintly smokey and warm. The scent of firewood mingled with the metallic surroundings. A man sat at a desk covered in guns: pistols, rifles, shotguns, etc. It was like he was some weird doomsday preper. His hair was salt, and pepper cut into a fade where it was longer on top. His beard was about three inches long and had patches of red in it. His eyes were a dark brown and set deeply into his face, causing his brow bone to constantly shade his eyes. His face was oval, and his cheekbones were high. Judging by his torso, he was probably around five foot, ten inches to six foot.

He smiled when we entered, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Welcome! Who might you be?" His eyes scanned us over, "I am Elias, I run things here."

"My name is Morgana, this is Sam, that's Dr. Cooper." I gestured to those around me, "We're just passing through, I'm trying to go north. I was hoping we could rest here for the night, and then we can be gone in the morning. Please."

"It's so nice to see someone with manners. Dr. Cooper..." He turned to Cooper, "Our little town could use a doctor."

Cooper let out a small chuckle, "I'm not that kind of doctor, I was a professor of history."

"A professor, huh? That's impressive. What about the rest of you?" Elias asked. His eyes lingered on me. My jaw tightened as I felt my stomach turn. Sam shifted uncomfortable beside me.

"Her and I both studied at the university that Dr. Cooper taught at," Sam spoke up.

Elias smiled, and he got up. His hands gripped the back of his chair, "You'll have to forgive me for being... cautious. Times are tough." 

"Totally understandable," I answered, "Like I said, all we need is one night, and then we'll be on our way."

His eyes studied me for another moment, "I'll have my people prepare some supplies for you. In the meantime, get to know the community... maybe you'll decide to stay."

He continued to make my stomach turn, but we quickly left the train car.

"I like him," Sam started, "He seems nice."

I nodded half heartedly. Was I the only one who got the creeps from him? I tried to shake the feeling as we wandered around the settlement.

The air was heavy with the multiple fire barrels scattered about, their light flickered against the growing darkness. There was a rough perimeter around parts of the shelter to block where the tracks diverge into the forest. Although it was uneven and full of gaps, it offered psychological protection more so than physical: a symbol of safety. The guards that patrolled the barrier had weapons as mismatched as their buildings supplies; some carried guns, other baseball bats, and other pipes. Their eyes darted around nervously, making their inexperience obvious.

At the center of the settlement was the former train station. Looking closely, this had to have been abandoned before the blackout. The paint was extremely chipped, and the wood had begun to rot off. Its cracked facade was hastily covered with tarps and plywood. This station served as a communal hub, it seemed. The inside was packed full of boxes with what I could only guess we're supplies. The waiting room became like a meeting place. The mismatched chairs were scattered in a vague circle pattern.

Just outside the station were lean-tos, crude cabins, and tents that formed a haphazard neighborhood. Blankets and other items provided a sense of comfort and domesticity, while children's drawings provided a sense of normalcy.

However, it was clear they were still finding their footing. Many of the children cried in their parents' arms, and people argued about supplies and sleeping arrangements.  Was Elias's authority absolute?

My concentration was broken by Elias walking towards us. He was grinning and was trailed by another, younger man.

"You'll stay in one of the tents on the other side of the station," Elias said while gesturing in a general direction.

"Thank you so much," Sam said, making his way in that direction.

"I'm sorry we aren't able to provide you better shelter, but we're still in the process of building our own." Elias smiled.  

The tent was your average six person tent. My dad used to say "six person, three comfortably," when talking about tent sizes. I wonder how they're doing right now, especially Claire. I blinked back tears as my anxiety made me think about all the worst possible outcomes.

Sam opened up the zipper and threw his backpack inside, "This is nice!"

"Thank you," Dr. Cooper said. I set my backpack down with the rest of their stuff and turned back to Elias, who was smiling down at us. Maybe I let my gut feeling judge him too harshly in the beginning. Elias nodded before walking away, leaving us to our own devices.

"Something seems off about him..." I commented.

"Please don't ruin this. We should be grateful he even let us in," Sam responded.

"We should leave quickly. This place seems like a powder keg waiting to explode," I said.

"Or... we could stay for a little while," Sam suggested. Dr. Cooper continued to look between us, waiting for us to continue.

"We need to get back to our families, Sam," I pleaded, "Elias must know where we are, and we can go from there."

"I'm not saying we never go back. I'm just saying that we maybe catch our bearings, maybe even wait for the power to come back," Sam responded.

"Sam, you're delusional if you think that the power is going to come back. We watched

A PLANE

Fall out of the sky! This isn't a normal storm where a power line fell down," I borderline yelled at him.

Sam got quiet and looked down at the ground, "I'm just so tired, and I don't know if I can keep going at the rate we are."

Very few times has Sam looked so broken: when his mom died, when he was outed as gay to our entire conservative school, and now. I immediately regretted what I said regardless of how true and justified I felt in saying it.

"Fine, we can rest here for a few days at most," I said even though it killed me inside.  I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and there was more to Elias than Sam was realizing.

I tossed and turned in our makeshift camp, unable to fall asleep. I hate hearing the sounds of people around me when I'm trying to sleep. Every time I felt myself drift, I would hear someone cough, sniffle, or snore, and I would be shot awake. Something about being here made me want to peel off all of my skin. Was it Elias, or was I just being crazy?