After All These Years

June 29, X106.

Down deep in the facility after 86 years of sleeping, Trevor suddenly woke up. "What is this place? Where am I?", he asked himself. Then he starts banging the capsule where he was kept, It opens and he falls to the ground naked. "What the hell is this?".He starts to look around looking for clothes to wear, and later he found a room with slightly torn apart military uniforms.

As he puzzled his way out of the facility, he saw other capsules that were already opened, it seems like they're forced to open. And as he walks by he starts to smell a very foul odor but then he accidentally stepped on a decapitated hand with some maggots already eating its flesh from inside out. "What the ****!", he said and just run straight forward. But then he found the rest of the body already decomposing, dried bloodstains everywhere and maggots all around the body. "What the **** is this place?!", he screams as he runs in terror.

As he runs through a straight hallway, he saw a light from a distance. He continued running until he reached the light. What he thought was the door outside, is a door full of nightmare. Corpses, corpses everywhere. A mountain full of bodies, some are what it seems to be burned and the others are decapitated to bits and pieces.

He can't move from his spot for the horror that he saw. He looked down to his hands and constantly open-closing his eyes with nothing in his head except... "It' just a nightmare... This is a nightmare...". As he repeats, he is slowly starting to cry out. he leaned back behind a wall and covered his eyes shut and kept on repeating the sentence, "It's just a nightmare... it's just a nightmare... it's just a nightmare."

After a while, he snapped back to his senses and walked back to where he came from, back to where he got his clothes. But then he saw a handgun laying on the ground. He picked it up, but it only has 3 bullets, but none the less he put the gun on his pocket then suddenly he heard a gunshot not that far away from his location.

"A gunshot? So there is still a person alive in this place.", he pulled the gun out and headed toward to source of the gunshot. As soon as he arrives, he hides behind a wall, then he saw a man sitting on a ground begging to someone.

"Please, don't kill me. I didn't do anything.", saith the man.

"Save your words for your friends in hell.", saith the other guy, then he fired two shots to the guy's forehead. Because of shock, Trevor doesn't have a choice but to run but he accidentally tripped on a wire and broke his ankle he screams loud enough to him to obviously noticed. So the guy shoots Trevor but it hits his shoulder. he shouted even more. But then the guy is closing in so Trevor tried to aim the gun at him but for the reason that he is weak and can't aim properly, he just dropped the gun and looked up.

"I had a very short life, a very unsatisfying life. If I were to be given another chance, I want to be with my family once again.", he said to himself. Then he saw his life flashed before his eyes and already starting to faint. The guy walked closer and ready to fire what a girl suddenly showed up.

"Wait!", the girl shouted. "I know that guy.", she rushed to Trevor torn her clothes and tried to stop the bleeding.

"What are you doing?",

"I told you, I know him. I can't leave a bleeding innocent guy die here, can we?"

"Yes, we can. So what if you know him, there you go again on your soft heart. The world you grew with is gone and conscience doesn't exist anymore."

"If I were to be the last person who has a conscience in this world, that's fine with me. I'd rather die with a clean conscience, than having a heavy load on my shoulder for not helping someone I know even the ones that I don't know".

"We've only come here to gather food and water. We didn't come here to treat the wounded.".

"You're the one who shot him. And besides all those who kill the one who already admits defeat is the worst people who could have ever existed.", the girl answered. She carried Trevor on her shoulder, "If you're not going to help me, then get out of my way.".

The girl was struggling to walk and can barely make a step, but as she almost falls the other guy holds Trevor. "I don't really know what to do with you.", saith the guy. Then they went to a truck then start traveling to another location.

It was a six-hour journey from the facility to their destination. A village made up of junks that were left from the battle years ago. A kid playing just outside of the wall saw the truck coming. "They're back, they're back.", saith the kid and the whole village started to welcome them back. As soon as they arrive the village elder was already waiting for them.

"I'm glad that you are back, it's been two weeks since you leave. We are expecting you to find our people fresh food, and clean water to drink. Winter is coming so we really need to stock-up our food supply.", saith the village elder.

The girl stepped forward and said, "Don't you worry now, we've gathered food enough for us to live until the next month. But until then we need to grow our own crop too at the same time. They are all at the back of the truck."

As they all gathered to unload the truck, other kids noticed a man at the backseat. "Who is this guy?", one of the kids asked. "What is he wearing?", the other one asked.

The girl rushed up and opened the door and carry Trevor once again on her shoulders. Everyone was shocked. "Who is that? What is he doing here?", asked the elder.

"I'll answer that question later, but for now we need to treat his wounds.", the girl said. They quickly rushed him to the village doctor and treated his wounds. After a while, the doctor came out. "How is he?", she asked.

"He's going to live but he will not be able to walk normally and will not be able to use his left arm not until the wounds heal themselves naturally.", he answered. " But I have got to say, he is the only person I saw with the most perfect body structure in my entire life. Tell me, where did you saw him?", the doctor asked.

"Well... you see...", as the girl was hesitant, to tell the truth. The guy interferes and sais it, "In the facility." Then a man showed up.

"Did you say 'the facility'?", said the man angrily as he approaches the guy and the girl.

"It's the chief.", saith the guy.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from the facility?", he shouted.

"But if it weren't for that we will not be able to get food to keep ourselves alive. And besides, no one's gonna know.", the girl reasoned.

"Not only you take resources near the enemy's territory, but also took in a man who's also from there. You're going to get us all killed sooner than later.", "Take this man out of this place, if not. Then I'll do it myself.", he said with the menacing eyes upon the girl then he turns his back.

"Am I not allowed to feel a sense of hope anymore?", she said as she cries. The chief looks back to the girl. "After all the horror I've seen in my life... my only shine of hope... will be gone once again?", she pulled out her gun and pointed in below her neck. "If so, then I should better end my life here and now. If I'm going to be consumed again by the darkness, then I will be willing to give my whole body to the darkness.". As she loaded the gun and ready to fire, the chief rushed in and slapped the gun out of her hand but she accidentally pulled the trigger near her ear, and her right ear bleed and became was not able to hear temporarily.

The chief embraced her. "Don't be stupid for the second time, being stupid a day is just how life goes but for you to do another stupidity right after the other, that's just beyond stupidity. If you are willing to take your own life away for this guy then tell me... Who is that guy?", he said but then he later noticed that she already fell unconscious. They quickly take her into the room and treated her ear.

After several hours of sleeping, Trevor finally opens his eyes. Then the guy who shot him was sitting in a corner. "So you're awake, how do you feel?", the guy asked.

"Argh!", Trevors shouted as he tried to move his arm. Then he pulled out the blanked and saw his foot covered in leaves and bandages. "What the hell is this?",

"Seems like your still not. Take your medicine now it will ease up the pain.", then he gave him a glass of herbal medicine, and Trevor drank on it.

"Who are you? What is this place? Why am I here?", Trevor asked.

"We can't talk about that right now. You need to gain some strength first before we can exchange questions but for the meantime, wait patiently. Just stay there and rest, I'm going to go get your dinner.", right after that he went out of the room and Trevor was left by himself.

"What's happening to me? This can't be the same world that I know. This is just too much. I don't understand anything anymore, I need answers fast.", he says to himself. He tried to stand up and picked the staff beside him and broke it in a way for it to have a sharp-pointy tip and hid behind the door with a pillow acting as a decoy on the bed.

Then the guy went in with a tray in his hands. But as soon as he's inside, Trevor makes a move. He pushed the guy down, the food was dropped, and points the broken staff on the guy's neck. "I need answers... Now!!!", he said. But then the girl interferes, "Stop now!", she shouted. "I'll tell you all that we know.", she continued.

Trevor looked in her eyes and paused for a second until he realized that the girl is someone that he knows from years back. "Emily?", he said.

The girl ran towards him, embraces him, and cried. "Thank god, you remembered me... thank god. I can't be happier than this, after all these years waiting for someone I know to show up... thank god", she cried in his arms.

"Hey! Tell me, what's going on? Where are my mom and my siblings?", he asked.

Emily stopped crying and helped Trevor back to bed. "Just rest for the day for now. Don't you worry, by tomorrow I'll tell you everything that you'll need to know.", she said then she picked up the tray and put the food beside his bed then leave. Trevor ate his dinner then went back to sleep but little did he know that what he is going to know about the world outside will break him and will show him real despair.

On the other side, back at the facility. A mysterious man lurking in the shadows saw the capsule where Trevor was kept. He touched the liquid substance and liked it. "He's alive, the perfect vessel. The Master will be pleased.", he said and took a sample of the liquid then went on his way. As he rides on his bike he raised a flag on his back and every living thing he saw, he's cutting them in half. "With this, we will be all..."