Flashlight

Davis followed protocol as he walked the streets. The flashlight told him he didn’t have to be so uptight. It claimed that it could sense any disturbance, dimensional or not, but Davis felt more relaxed when he was doing his job.

They made another turn down a street lined with long low buildings. Some of them had bars and Asian restaurants and others housed book stores and pawnshops. They had all been deserted since the shift. With the first attack, people left behind everything they couldn’t carry. The zone was closed off as quickly as the military and corporations could manage. Dust, time, and the first creatures had their way with everything in the zones, but that didn’t stop people from trying to get in and scavenge. Davis pointed the flashlight at the broken windows and occasional holes in the walls of the stores, happy it still served its purpose. The crunch of Davis’ boots on the scattered debris was the only sound. Continue reading →

By Ben V

A red light mounted on the wall flashed as an announcement warned the guards that the door would be opening in fifteen minutes. It reminded them to double check their gear before the nightly orientation.

The room was simple. A large door took up an entire wall and separated the bureau, and the outside world, from zone five. Two rows of benches lined up facing the door where the guards sat and waited for their shift to start. A single door led off to the locker rooms. It was the only way into the staging area and the huge blast door was the only way into the fifth zone. The afternoon shift was ending and the night guards were preparing to take over, some of them for the first time. Six guards sat quietly waiting for the trainer to give the final announcement. Continue reading →