Cain
Vincent Cain had been teaching chemistry before the bombs hit. He had always been fascinated by disease processes, but he lacked the dedication necessary to grind through the medical schooling. The scientist in him was sated with the intricacies of the purer studies, and he comfortably found his niche in the educational arena. Never in his wildest dreams did he envision having to dodge mutant and zombie infested areas or pay witness to the outbreaks of some of the most horrific diseases imaginable. There was so much more he had wanted to pursue, to uncover…so much more to seek in the future.
Now. What in jumpin’ Jesus’ name was he to do now? The days were broken blurs of scavenging for the bare essentials to scrape out a meager existence. His mind raced to the ignorance of mankind prior to the fall, and he snorted, “I would punch those fuckers in the throat, if I could.”
His eyes blinked and his attention snapped back to the present as the sun crested the smoky horizon, setting the hazy sky on fire. Vincent’s gaze flicked further south, to the greenish glow which pulsed there. The hot storms had been moving closer to the encampment, sealing off parts of the city with their radioactive burn. If there was one horror he couldn’t get past in this aftermath, the radiation poisoning and twisted scarring of the earth was it.
The reinforced gate rolled back on grating wheels, breaching the small sanctuary from the ruin that surrounded them. Vincent sighed and mumbled to himself, “Time to bring home the bacon…” he paused, and then added, “God, I’d kill for a piece of bacon.”
Then again, you’d kill for anything after sixty-seven straight days of rat.