No one is looking for me.

CENTER HOSPITAL PART I

I woke up in the usual room, with the usual anxiety. I made it through the night, but how was I going to eat today, how was I going to survive? Why would I survive this?

No one is looking for me, and how could they find me, I don't know where I am.

Outside...since the Obliteration, there has been minimal reconstruction. The buildings that are intact, are the only buildings that are intact. Everywhere else, is wasted.

But I wake up nonetheless, and get moving.

I was in an old hospital, on the cafeteria floor beneath a window. Most of the doors were gone, and people were still sleeping. I walked past a room with a black couple That had a Rottweiler on the bed sitting next to them. The Rott jumped right off the bed ran to me playfully, I felt no malice.

"Hey." The brownskin girl noticed, "She likes you. Who are you?"

"Nobody." I wanted to walk away, but I was still petting their dog.

"W-who?"

"I am nobody."

"Oh, oh -okay!" The other girl had a sweetness in her voice. Like she didn't want to offend me.

Anyway, times like these, no one asked too many questions.

I looked around their "room" they had a bed, blankets, some plastic bags and a phone plugged into a portable charger. There was no electricity in this building, but they seemed to have it all in here.

"Where are you going?" The brownskin girl never took her eyes off me.

"West" I said blankly. I really had no direction. I just, was.

"We're going to the cafe later. Come with us."

The brownskin girl was skinnier with a small face, a red head scarf and eyes that could care less. Her partner was darker and thicker with braids, a dark blue shirt, and eyes that cared too much. They were clean, had healthy skin and a healthy animal...what were they doing here?

"Is there any food in here?" The cafe used to be a cafe, now it was just a safe zone, no food. Between strangers it was a risky topic, but it had already been a few days for me.

"There's a girl out there selling food." They were annoyed and looked away.

I went into the hallway and could see the bright lights blaring in through the windows I turned the corner and there was a plump white girl, with ratty blonde hair, and a brown baseball cap on backwards.

"Hi!" She was cheery, but desperate. Standing by a singular round table filled with different plastic bowls of strawberries.

'...That's all she has....', But I kept my thoughts to myself

I could feel my stomach grumbling. Still I should be grateful there was anything.

"How much for the strawberries?"

She held up a large juicy, red strawberry,

"Its 10 dollars for the large strawberries, and 5 dollars for a bowl of smaller strawberries."

I looked at the bowls, and the strawberries were a strange, deep bluish color...they were decayed.

....There's no way....

I didn't have time to feel bad for her.

"Thanks anyway...", I walked away. She smiled, another customer gone.

I don't get it...what's the point of life, if you suffer everyday? What lesson is there then? We only get such a short amount of time, and that time is spent constantly learning, where is the respite?

Hungry, I went back to the room and hung out in the doorway. The couple at this point had gotten their things together and when skinnier one nodded to me, we all left the hospital.

It was bright outside, a few clouds I looked back at the hospital, half of its face was blown off, probably why she was so attractive.

We walked through the all of the disturbed concrete and pavement, everything was torn apart or blown up. The roads were mostly destroyed and detached like broken bones. We walked in silence, being outside was dangerous.

Although it wasn't a far distance, we stayed close to the shadows. The girls had their Rotty, a rare gem. Her nose was perceptive, and stayed ahead of us.

We could see the cafe, so close, when our ears filled with sirens.

Loud, distant and close. Digital screens appeared and floated wherever there was a human being walking. Being suddenly exposed, was such an awful feeling.

"Please follow the daily instructions. 1, 2, 3, Please follow the daily instructions. 1, 2, 3."

I see the girls pull out masks and put them on. The skinny brown skin girl came up to me, "Yo, you didn't see the alert earlier? We gotta wear masks today."

How the hell was I supposed to see an alert? Most of us don't even have cellphones anymore...

"You don't have a mask?"

Why were they being so incredulous? I understand the pressure, but whats it matter to them if I get caught?

I had a notebook on me and there was an abandoned car nearby.

"I don't have a mask, but I'm going to make one really quick."

I hopped in the grey sedan, and pulled out my notebook and some string I had on me and made the notebook lines go horizontal across my face. The couple waited around for me in front of the car, I thought they would've kept moving...

As soon as I stepped out the car I could hear strange voices,

"Inspection! Is this your car?" I could feel fear aiming towards me.

A white man with a brown beard and casual clothing approached me, a black security screen floated behind, which meant he was a Soldier.

"No, its not." I tried to keep my cool. His digital bracelet spun around in alert. Only the rich could afford bracelets, and Soldiers who sold their souls.

Telephones were obsolete.

"Then what were you doing in it?"

"I was just resting my legs, Sir." The girls watched nearby, wondering what was going to happen. They knew better than to run off now and look suspicious. That screen would catch them before their next breath. Digital weapons.

He looked at me for a second and said, "Wait right there while I do a check."

He opened the car and within no time found a 9m Beretta, with no magazine and no rounds in it. Emptied and slid back.

"Whats this?" He said bending out of the car.

"I have no idea. I literally just sat down in it for a second-"

"Oh really? That's really convenient don't you think?"

"Sir, I-", as soon as I went to defend myself another siren went off,

"Alert. Contaminated oxygen levels detected. 1, 2, 3, Alert. Contaminated oxygen levels detected."

He had his hand up in the air as if he was asking permission from the screens to speak,

"Just go ahead. I'll let it go this time."

I hurried away and so did the girls and the dog. We all still, stayed in silence.

The cafe was only a few hundred feet away, it was the entrance to a mall, another cafeteria. This one was nicer though, with fake plants and a large floor plan. The rest of the building had been shelled, back when everything first happened.

Inside we found a booth and relaxed. The sun found us here too, and the glare reflected off the plastic plants. It was warmer and there was electricity, so it was over-crowded with humans and their families. I could hear water running somewhere, which perked my ears up, and everyone else's too.

...I need to get out of here...

The girls sat across from me, looking at something on their phone, giggling and cuddling. Brown skin and dark skin, I could feel a little jealousy coming from my past, but those desires, were long gone. Like my hunger, I put it away.

I looked out the window to my left, and watched people being harassed by the security screens, and some other poor souls making their way to nowhere. I don't know how much time passed watching them...go nowhere...

There was nowhere to go.

"Hey," the brownskin girl interrupted my thoughts,

"We have a friend nearby here. We think they might still be there, come with us."

I thought about ditching them. Traveling in groups wasn't a great idea, but it wasn't a bad idea either.

"Okay." We got up immediately and rolled out. I put the loose leaf mask on, and we walked again in silence for a few hours.

The daylight stayed, and we ended up going past a park with a complex of apartment buildings at the end of it. They seemed new, and more importantly intact.

...There must be strict security around here...

I followed the girls inside of a building, and realized this was a small college campus, and this was one of the dorms. Televisions with tv static lined the walls, we didn't dare walk past them, and instead hit the stairs. We ended up going to the top floor, and we finally made it to the door at the top of the steps, next to another window.

We could hear laughter and chatter behind the door, but even soft knocks killed the noise and it was dead silent until the door swung open.

"Oh! Hey! Come in!" A clean stud with long dreads, answered

"Babe! Its Andrea and Licia!" We walked in, relieved to be inside and not out.

"Woah! Hey!" In a sort of, you're still alive voice, came from a back room.

"Who are you?" The stud eyed me up and down as I walked in.

"She's cool, she's with us." Andrea Redscarf reassured her

"Alright Andrea." The tension relaxed, and I looked around awkwardly.

The apartment was standard, grey carpet, blinds, it was like the Obliteration never happened here. There was a young black guy with a VR headset on standing in the middle of the room. I watched him power-up in his blue and yellow onesie and the digital connection outlined his entire body with blue lights.

"Aaaaaaah!" He pulled his arms in like a cartoon character.

"Okay D." Andrea rolled her eyes, she probably saw this every day.

"You want a drink?" Andrea was in the kitchen opening the fridge and yelled out to me.

"Like...Alcohol...?", Was she crazy? Also I might be interested...

"No, I mean just water." She looked at me a little funny.

"Hecks yea, please!"

The water might as well have been alcohol, because as soon as we all got some in us our moods changed.

Andrea turned on some old music and we all started to connect. I found out that the three of them had lived together for a while and established residency under strict ordinance in exchange for security. They were only given electricity and connection for a portion of the day, and could only eat and drink what they were given. They weren't allowed outside, and they weren't allowed guests.

The girls also had an old phone and we all crammed into the bathroom and started talking selfies with it. We laughed out of control at some of the faces and for feeling safe again. For feeling the old world again.

They had leftover cheese and we ate, thankful. It was a party, and we couldn't be happier. Even the dog ran around us playfully. Watchin "D" play on his VR was a little unnerving, how did he get that thing? Did they pay for it? How do they have so much...?

I felt a pull on my arm and then someone frantically grabbing me, "Look, please help me, I need help, can you hide me here, please!"

I was shocked, there was a random black guy pulling on my arm and grabbing me begging me for help. I was pulled back into this reality

I could only manage out, "How did you get in here...?!"

"I followed you in here, I saw you guys walking and I knew you were going somewhere I could hide."

...They must've left the door unlocked...

Andrea, Licia and the two girls all started to panic, then we heard the alarms,

"Alert. This is a building wide inspection. 1, 2, 3, Alert. This is a building wide inspection. 1, 2, 3..."

"We gotta leave right now!" I heard one of them yell,

"I'm sorry!", I yelled to the man and pulled my arm away from him. He looked eerily like Eddie Griffin, it was tripping me out.

I started to run out, but realized D hadn't stopped VR-ing.

"D!" yelled out for him

"One more minute!" He yelled back.

"What!?", I couldn't believe the stupidity and the stubbornness

I ran down the stairwell and from the window could see the girls looking for me from outside. I was so worried about D. tho, my conscience wouldn't let me leave, and I turned around and ran back. I could see Eddie Griffin waiting at the top of the steps, as if he was waiting for them to find him. A strange calm in death coming that I hated to sense.

I went back in and D wasn't there. He had already left. My heart didn't have time to react, the security team busted in and I hid behind a wall in the kitchen, a stream of pops came in and I heard Eddie lose his life. I decided in that moment that if I didn't announce myself, I would be killed anyway.

"Don't shoot! I'm back here!" More pops towards my directions and I hit the ground.

"I live here!" I screamed

"What are you doing here?" The security team came back to the kitchen in formation and aimed their rifles at me.

"I live here!" Hands raised I cowered again.

A Soldier nearby spoke into the radio, "Objective has been obtained. All clear."

I heard his echo come in from the radio, and the man above me respond.

"All clear." He didn't even take a second glance at me and they all left.

...How did he not know I didn't live here...thank god he couldn't tell us apart...

I waited, for a while, scared to relax and eventually got up and went to look for the others. But when I went outside, they were gone.

I was alone, again.