Dark Washington

Here is a post-apocolyptic story, set after a nuclear war. It is set in Washington State. It is called Dark Washington because of the fact that society is destroyed, and most of the world is dark. Walking around, there wouldn't be any lights from a city. There are no governments anymore, either. Anyway, enough talk, here's the story.

Chapter 1


The sun was setting in the hazy sky. The air was unusually cold for May. Snow was on the ground. It felt much like winter, and was cold even for Washington. Crows squawked on distant trees. The trees had few leaves. No flowers had bloomed. Ice covered the ponds. It had been this way for 15 years.
Paul Roberts looked down at the cracked black line below him. It was the only road around the area, and frequently patrolled by bandits. No one could be safe on it, much less drive along it anymore. Not even if there were any gas stations still in operations, or anyone who still owned a car. The broken pavement that lay out in front of him was once known as Interstate 90. It was used by cars to get to and from towns, and even states. Who would go to another state, wondered Paul. It took effort, when everything one needed was right in front of them!
Maybe the ones raised before the war thought differently. They lived in a time someone could go to another country at a moment’s notice. Another country! They were all miles away! It could take months, and thieves would loot anyone on any road. They lived in a time with artificial lighting, with control of the temperature, where all one had to do to survive was sit at a desk and write. That’s how the old society worked, the people at desks rich and the people who worked hard were poor. People think the war ruined society, thought Paul, when it really fixed it!
Paul began the trip home. It was no good to be out after nightfall. Bandits and animals lurked about, ready for any unwary traveler. Even worse, without the sun to power a Geiger Counter, one could be caught in a fallout storm and not even know it. No worries, though. The town of Snohomish was not far. He could find an inn there. And there it was! Right by the Snohomish River. One of the few towns unaffected by the war. Some even had pre-war technology, but that was limited. It was one of the few towns to survive this long. As Paul strode into town, he heard a gunshot from behind him. They shouldn’t have taken the road.
Paul walked into the inn and reserved a room. Having nothing better to do, he sat down and ordered a drink. The innkeeper, handing him the drink, asked him, “So, what are you doing in town?”
Paul thought a bit, and said, “I guess I’m just stopping here for the night. I’m not really coming from anywhere or going anywhere, just trying to survive until some new government comes up.”
The innkeeper nodded, “That’s what most of the stories I’ve heard are. It’s been bad times.”
Paul looked up at the innkeeper, saying, “But I appreciate you people in the towns trying to hold things together. I would suspect we’d be in a far worse condition without at least a bit of society remaining.”
The innkeeper laughed, “Ha! We’re really not doing much. We’re the same as you, trying to last until a new government comes up. It doesn’t do much to the state of things. I just use this inn to survive.”
“Still, it does help,” Paul said, “It’s nice to be able to find a nice bed to sleep in, in a town with at least some defense from bandits and some remaining technology. And I’m surprised you can continue to use US dollars so long after the government fell.”
“Well, there’s not any other way to print much money, and there still are a reasonable number of bills. And I’m glad this inn is as important to you,” the innkeeper said, with a smile on his round face, “I feel glad that I can make people happy while running this inn.”
Paul thought about that for a while. What had he done? He had hunted food for himself, not working for others. He stayed mostly out of society, while people like the innkeeper kept things together. He wished he could say the same of him, that he helped other people and was rebuilding society.
As he drifted into sleep in the inn, overlooking the Snohomish River, it occurred to him. “I will have to do something,” he thought, “something that will be remembered, something that will bring society back to the world.” With that he fell asleep in a bed in the town of Snohomish, a cluster of people in the Snohomish County, a region in what was once the state of Washington. And maybe, someday, it would be again.

Chapter 2
NOTHING! YOU MUST WAIT! DON’T LIKE IT? TOO BAD! MWAHAHAHSLAUGHHAHAHAHAHAHHA!