Survival of the Fittest, Part 3

Rain came again in the morning, and Jack woke up to the pitter-patter sound on the tent walls. After taking a moment to push the memories of home from the forefront of his mind, he prepared himself mentally for the day. Once he felt ready, he stepped out into the morning rain. Looking over the camp, he saw Alli, sitting at the base of a tree, munching the last of the venison from yesterday.

"You snore, y'know."

Jack shrugged. "If you say so. I've never heard it."

Alli chuckled, then tossed the last piece of meat into her mouth. As she chewed it, Jack turned to the other tent, and started to wake Jon. "Jon, morning again. We gotta get going if we want to make that village by nightfall."

Jon opened the tent, climbing out into the rain. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this, I'm really looking forward to getting out of here tonight, and hopefully that village is the key."

Quickly, they set to work on the tents, then got on the way. As the rain cleared, the air warmed up again, and by afternoon, it was clear they wouldn't make it to the village without more food. There didn't seem to be any animals in the area, so they were keeping an eye out for plants that might be useful. Towards the middle of the afternoon, they found one. A small berry plant, completely safe to eat, was planted just a little off their path, and provided enough for them to eat for the afternoon.

But there was no time to stop for long, so they continued at a good pace, reaching the clearing that held the village, just as the sun was setting. The dim light made everything a bit eerie, and the long shadows from the sunset made the village look odd. But something else was wrong - the village was empty. There was no movement at all, and no people, alive or dead. The whole area was deserted, abandoned at some point long ago.

As the three explorers searched the buildings, they didn't find much. A small cache of weapons and ammunition, including a shotgun and a rifle, provided relief for the pistols and dwindling ammo they carried, while four beds in one of the houses provided a good place to spend the night. A stockpile of canned vegetables in one of the other cabins provided some small amount of dinner, and they agreed that perhaps it would be best to look over everything else in the morning.

Night in the cabin was a bit quieter, and the three occupants slept well, a metal roof and wooden walls isolating them much more from the outside then the tents ever could. Jack fell asleep last, thinking about the work he had tomorrow, and the disappointment of the empty village. The lack of people was disappointing, but at least there were some resources they could use. He wondered what the other cabins held, but there wasn't really time to think about it. At last he drifted into sleep.