Dark Washington Part 4

Chapter 4:
Two Paths South

Paul hurried across the fields, leaping over plants and ditches. The dark made it hard to see where he was going. He tripped several times and sometimes cut himself on sharp rocks. His wound still sent searing pain through his body, and his hunger was torture. How long had it been? Several hours of walking? It seemed like years.
He was better at talking than he thought. At least it was only a bandit, and they have a very weak alliance, held together only by greed and threats. Just as Paul was about to faint from exhaustion, up ahead he saw what looked like an abandoned farmhouse. Maybe there would be some stores of canned food inside. If not, he could at least sleep there.
Walking into the farmhouse, it was clearly abandoned. Several of the windows were broken. It had likely been like this robbed by thieves and hoarders already. It had already been nearly an hour since he left Snohomish. He could still see the faintly see the smoke rising out of the cracked farmhouse windows.
Somehow, a few barrels of water and canned food were lying in a room. It tasted stale and innutritious, but at least it ridded him of his awful hunger and thirst. He ate it within a few minutes, and even the staleness tasted wonderful to him. He looked up after his meal and saw sunlight coming through a window.
“Had it been a whole day already?” wondered Paul. Time seemed to pass so slowly. His mind started to clear, and the pain from his wound in his side was subsiding. Paul still felt tired and decided to rest for a while, feeling safe as he was far from the town. The last thought he before he fell asleep was, “I wonder what will happen to that bandit?”


Silvia walked past row after row of burned-out buildings, dead bodies scattered about like dust. The smell of smoke was strong enough to bring tears to the eyes, and was like a dark fog. She thought about what the strange man under the bridge had said. She couldn’t remember the last time she contributed to a person’s happiness, only seeing the shock of someone realizing they had just lost everything, which was so familiar to a bandit. She felt guilt at this, wondering if she could do something to help like the man had described. She had saved enough money. If she sneaked away, would anyone notice or care?
As horrible as her superiors might be, she still felt some kindness toward them, as they had helped her out of the terrible situation she was in after the war. With her parents dead from an atomic bomb and all her money lost in the collapse of government, she hadn’t known what to do. She sighed and turned toward the main camp. She would try to tell them, and leave.


“Well, this is an unfortunate turn of things,” said Deke, the leader of the Northern Bandits, “You were a large help to us. You may leave. But do not expect mercy if you cross paths with me or any of the North Bandits again. We do not care about non-members. They are our source of income. Don’t think you will be different.”
Silvia nodded and left. She quickly packed her few things and some food and left camp. She was nervous. Would she be able to survive without their help? Would she be lost in the middle of the wilderness? She decided to head south across the river, same as the strange man had. Maybe he knew somewhere to go. Without a look back at the camp or the burning town, she began walking south, to a new place, and a new lifestyle.