by HL TRUSLOVE
You tighten the straps of your pack firmly onto your back and head out.
Your footsteps are firm and steady, not giving away the shaking in your hands. You’re incredibly nervous. Scared, even. But with words of encouragement ringing in your ears you keep going with your head held high.
By midday you’re alone. The camp is long behind you, you’re neither able to see it nor hear the bustling sounds of everyday life. You’re truly on your own. It’s fine, you knew this would happen. Expected it. But somehow you didn’t think it would be this quiet. There’s the sound of the wind, obviously, you had that on the ocean too – but apart from the odd squawk of a bird flying overhead on its own journey there really is nothing. You try and hum to yourself, little songs from your childhood, but they sound eerie against the silence of the landscape. It’s better to just walk in silence than attempt to fill the air with artificial noise.
It’s hard to tell how long has passed. You have no way of tracking the hours precisely. But the sun rises and dips back, your shadow echoing its decline and stretching far behind you. The world goes from being bathed in a pale silver to a hearty orange. Just as you’re beginning to think about when you should bunk down for the night, you see a shape in the distance. You continue onwards, your curiosity piqued.
The more distance you cover, the clearer it becomes. Silhouetted on the horizon is a squat little building. It’s a sort of cottage, only one storey, and absolutely isolated. The closer you get, the odder it becomes. Why is this building here, of all places? In the middle of nowhere? As far as you’re aware there aren’t any towns around. It’s strange to find this place completely on its own.
Soon you’re close enough to get a good look at it. It’s a rundown little place with its only company being a little copse of trees nearby. A truly bizarre sight – and almost certainly worth investigating.
Look at the flora – Turn to 2.6.
* * *
Look at the fauna – Turn to 2.7.
* * *
Look for people – Turn to 2.8, Needs Survival.
* * *
Inspect the house – Turn to 2.9, Needs Knowledge.
2.6
You’re interested in the tiny forest the building sits next to. It looks like it was planted here on purpose; up to this point trees have appeared only sporadically and all seemed to be oaks or hazels. These seem to be a different type altogether. They’re a pretty silver colour and they reach into the sky like spindly fingers, only leafing a good halfway up.
You spend a bit of time investigating them. The bark is brittle beneath your fingers and flakes away easily, though it’s difficult to say if that’s because of how they are naturally or if it’s to do with the radiation having an adverse effect on them over the years. You scribble some notes down into your book about the trees and decide it might be worth asking someone about them when you get back to camp in a couple of days’ time.
Looking around the base of the trunks you decide that they can’t have grown naturally. Each tree seems to be a specific distance from its neighbours. Like it was planted intentionally all in one go.
Stepping back you try to take in the whole picture. The wind picks up and whips around you, fiercely chilling your ears. You clamp your hands over them for warmth when an idea occurs to you… what if the trees are protection? A natural wall to stop the wind from buffeting the inhabitants of the house? It’s an interesting idea, certainly, and not one you were sure that the people of the old world knew about. You make some more notes and then decide to test the theory yourself, ducking behind them and out of the way of the wind.
You hear a little crack under your foot and look down. You’ve probably only stepped on a twig or something but you can’t see the culprit as your foot is surrounded by a patch of wildflowers. They’re pretty purple things and despite the harsh weather seem to be thriving. You find yourself smiling. It’s nice to see a little slice of beauty out here, you think. Gently you snap one off of its stem and pop it between the pages of your journal, closing it and pressing it to look back on later. Maybe you could give it to someone as a gift.
Add Sketch of Tree (F.5), Pressed Flower (F.6), and Berries (F.14) to your notebook.
* * *
Head on from the cottage – Turn to 2.10.
* * *
Inspect further – Turn to 2.11.
2.7
Though the air was full of bird’s cries as you approached the cottage, they’ve now all fallen strangely silent, leaving you alone with nothing but the soft sound of the wind. Shielding your eyes from the sun you cast your gaze upwards and see if you can spot any silhouetted against the clouds. There appear to be a few riding the updrafts and heading on their various journeys but from this far away it’s impossible to tell what species they are.
You sigh and are about to resign yourself when you see movement in the branches of one of the silver trees that surround you. You wait a moment for the action to repeat and see that in amongst the fresh green leaves, something is darting about. It’s carefully shrouded by the foliage and is doing quite a good job at hiding, but cautiously you approach to see if you can get a better look – making sure your heavy boots aren’t causing too much of a ruckus in the undergrowth to scare the creature off.
You’re about two feet from the tree when a little orange head pokes out from amongst the leaves. It makes you jump but you manage to suppress a yelp, opting to instead catch your breath in your throat to silence yourself.
The animal is rodent-like and scurries head first down the bark. It darts through the patches of flowers on the floor and sits for a moment within touching distance. Its huge bushy tail twitches as it sniffs the air with a tiny nervous nose. Its eyes are completely black and it’s difficult to tell where exactly it’s looking but it must be aware of you – you want to reach out to it but it darts off, disappearing into the tall grass back towards the trees.
The memory still fresh, you take out your notepad and do some rough, quick sketches of the curious animal. Perhaps someone back in the camp will know something more about it.
Add Curious Animal (F.7) to your notebook.
* * *
Head on from the cottage – Turn to 2.10.
* * *
Inspect further – Turn to 2.11.
2.8
You spend some time rooting through the grass around the area, looking for any blades that might have been crushed underfoot, or any footprints left where it’s been weathered through into dirt. Nobody has trodden around the outside, you decide – apart from you of course.
The dirt and grime on the windows of the cottage is thick and layered from years of neglect, suggesting that it’s unlikely anyone is inside, but you suppose there’s always a chance you’re wrong. You grab a handful of leaves and use them as a makeshift cloth to wipe some of the gunk away before peeping inside.
The house is dark, lit only from the inside by whatever sunlight is filtering through from the dilapidated roof. You’re surprised by the amount of furniture that’s inside. It’s not dissimilar to your home in the vault – a little kitchenette, a worn sofa in one corner with once-colourful pillows thrown haphazardly on it, and a table which has had the chairs placed upside down on it. As if the owners were trying to keep it clean and expected to come back.
You wonder if they were evacuated, but you can’t imagine getting any more out of the way of danger than all the way out here. Whatever happened to the previous owners will forever be a mystery, you suppose, sadly.
Head on from the cottage – Turn to 2.10.
* * *
Inspect further – Turn to 2.11.
2.9
The cottage is definitely old, and not just ‘old’ in the sense it was built pre-war. Well it was, obviously, but it seems like it was made even further back than you thought at first glance. Looking at the architecture of the roof, the support beams inside… this might even have been constructed in the 1900s.
It’s an astounding thought that something
over two hundred years old could have survived the dropping bombs. Then again, you’re probably far enough away out here that none of the actual explosions caused any damage, there was probably only the lingering impact of the radiation to worry about. The single thing the structure has had to weather was the actual weather. Then again with nobody to look after it since god knows when it really has begun to fall apart, you think, noting the way the whole building is beginning to slope to the side.
Nevertheless it’s an incredibly interesting piece of history. You make a note of it on your map and decide to check in with someone about it back at camp.
Add Cottage Sketch (F.2) to map near Location 2 (The Storm).
* * *
Head on from the cottage – Turn to 2.10.
* * *
Inspect further – Turn to 2.11.
2.10
Satisfied with your research for the day, you tuck your notepad back into the side pocket of your pack. You think you’ve wrung as much information as you can out of this site for the moment, and you’re excited to see what else the world has to throw at you.
The sun is setting but if you start moving now you think you can probably get a couple more miles under your belt before the day is out. Yes, you decide, the best thing to do is to get a bit more travelling done and then bunk down for the night. You can decide which way to head tomorrow morning.
You set off in high spirits towards the horizon, making sure to keep yourself on track with steady footing and your compass. About twenty minutes go by uninterrupted when you feel the first drop on your cheek. It makes you jump; you weren’t expecting it and it’s shockingly cold. You put out a hand to feel if there’s a deluge on the way. A few more spatter onto your hand and leave shiny little circles in their wake. So far, it doesn’t seem to be too bad, but weeks of sailing have taught you that it’s foolish to underestimate the flightiness of weather.
Try to check the weather – Turn to 2.12.
* * *
Keep going – Turn to 2.13.
2.11
You think there’s probably more that’s worth exploring here. It’s your first trip out after all, and you want to make sure that you’re researching the area as thoroughly as you can.
Look at the flora – Turn to 2.6.
* * *
Look at the fauna – Turn to 2.7.
* * *
Look for people – Turn to 2.8, Needs Survival.
* * *
Inspect the house – Turn to 2.9, Needs Knowledge.
* * *
If you have exhausted all of the above possible options – Turn to 2.10.
2.12
You scan the sky, using a hand to protect you from the orange glare of the low sun. Inland the sky is clear, but as soon as you turn and look back the way you came, the sky’s story is different.
Heavy storm clouds are coming in from over the sea, swallowing the horizon with their breadth. They’re a thick, dark grey, pregnant with the promise of torrential rain and thunder. Even from here you can see where they streak from the underside, already letting a downpour loose – it’s probably beginning to soak the camp given how close to the coast it is. Rain like that will wash away everything in its path with destructive and unforgiving force, and the lightning will crack down into the land, scorching whatever it hits.
It’s not something you want to get caught up in.
You could try and hope it will be lighter by the time it gets to you and push on, or you can make an expeditious retreat. There’s no way you’re going to be able to get all the way to camp before the storm gets to you proper… but you might be able to get back to the cottage you passed on the way here. It’s not ideal but at least it’ll be better to wait out the storm in a solid structure rather than your flimsy tent, which could blow away with you still inside it.
Turn back – Turn to 2.14.
* * *
Head on – Turn to 2.13.
2.13
You keep going for a while, putting one foot surely in front of the other, but the weather only gets worse. Soon not only is the rain heavy enough to stick your hair to your forehead but the wind is also desperately trying to buffet your pack off of you. All around you the grass is turning into thick mud which tries to keep your shoes sunk down inside it, almost as if it wants to keep you prisoner, locked here forever to be left as a victim of the storm. Each step is getting harder.
You think back earlier to Jan offering you a shower. Maybe your answer would have been different if you’d known you’d be stuck in this weather, your clothes getting rained through and you soaked to the bone.
There’s no point. You’ve tried to brave it but if you stay out in this weather you’re going to suffer, and that’s the very least that will happen. You don’t want your first expedition to be your last.
With an irritated sigh because already the old world has got the better of you, you turn around awkwardly in the mud and start the long trek back to the cottage.
Turn to 2.14.
2.14
You’re fighting against the wind, and every moment you stay out in the weather you’re only opening yourself up to more battering. It’s approaching gale force now, sweeping your legs out from under you and making you land face first in the rapidly rising mud. With effort you pull yourself along but it’s gruelling, tiring work. It’s you, just a single human against the rhapsody of nature. You can’t even tell how close you are to the cottage; any effort to look forward is thwarted by the sting of the wind. All you can do is clutch your trusty compass in your gloved hand and hope you stumble across your destination if you keep going.
Someone must be looking out for you, you think, because soon you’re passing those silver trees you recognise from only a couple of hours ago. Before they were enchanting, a little mysterious, but now that the clouds have overtaken the sunlight, they look dark and eerie, like gnarled broken fingers desperately reaching up towards the bleak sky, a traveller fallen.
You shake your head to clear the thought from your mind and use the last crumb of strength you have to hurry to the door. You try the handle and find it sticks. That’s not good enough for you. Stepping back as far as the wind will allow, you take a run at the door, shoulder first. Thankfully, it gives way on the first attempt and you find yourself tumbling into the dank interior of the little squat house.
You’re met with a cloud of dust that has you choking wildly. This place has clearly not been touched for years. You’re an invader here and that has unsettled something fierce. The wind rushing in doesn’t help, with gusts blowing up everything around inside. You clamber to your feet and shove the door back into its frame, cutting off the wind and shoving a chair under the handle to make sure it stays closed. It still rattles fiercely but at least it isn’t letting the weather in.
Finally safe you take a moment to observe your surroundings. The cottage is quite dark and cold, but even though there’s a few gaps where the walls have given way it’s still a heck of a lot better than outside. You cup your hands over your mouth and blow into them, desperately trying to force the heat back into your extremities, with only the sound of the storm outside to keep you company.
Set up for the night – Turn to 2.15.
* * *
Inspect the cottage – Turn to 2.16.
2.15
You tread carefully over the worn wooden floor and try to find a dry spot to hitch your tent up in. It might seem excessive but you’re not sure how well this place will hold up in the storm and you don’t want to risk going to bed in just your bedroll only to wake up completely drenched anyway.
Eventually you find a little cupboard door which opens without any resistance. The inside of the tiny room is lined with shelves, perhaps suggesting it was once for food. It sits empty now, save for a few cobwebs of long-dead spiders. You erect your tent in the space and take off your wet clothes, laying them across the back of the sofa to try and dry them out before the next day. You consider lighting a fire but decide against it, inst
ead opting to turn in for an early night. You’re incredibly tired and just want to get some sleep.
You tuck yourself away in your makeshift bed, watching the way the lightning starts to light up outside. It’s hard to ignore the horrid clap of thunder – at least last time you weathered a storm you had Viktor and Gaia to give you support, to make jokes and get through it together. Now you’re completely alone, hidden from the outside world. You snuggle down and think of the warmth of the vault before you close your eyes and fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion.
