I'm outside, in a field. The sunlight is extremely bright. I put my hands above my eyes to try and get a good view on what's in front of me. I could see a woman, and a small little girl. They were both looking at me. The woman was extending her hands towards me, motioning me to walk over. I walk over limping, still being blinded by the bright sunlight. I slowly smile as I get closer to the woman and child. Just as I was about to touch the woman's fingertips, everything disappeared and I was surrounded in pitch-black darkness. Then I woke up.


I sat up in my cot quickly and looked around. I saw the broken down room that I stayed the night in. Small box room with broken windows, empty crates that used to hold ammunition, and the cot I was in that was across from the door. I also saw the cat sitting at the window sill right next the cot. It was a black cat with yellow eyes. It always followed me wherever I went. At some points it'd seem like it had disappeared, but then when I stopped to rest it would show up again. I stood up from my cot and felt pain in my right leg. I rolled up the right side of my pants to see the bandage wrapped around my calf. I had run into a couple of bandits a while back, while running from them one of them shot me. With the living conditions during an apocalypse, it’s hard to get the proper treatment. I rolled my pants back down and grabbed my backpack from under the cot. I zipped it open and grabbed a bottle of painkillers. I took two then put the bottle back in the backpack. I slung the backpack over my shoulder and walked to the door and opened it, the cat followed.


I walked outside of the room and went down the spiral staircase. I limped outside into the ragged run down streets of a once beautiful city. That once beautiful city was Manhattan, New York. The skyscrapers that used to fill the city are all torn down and half the height they used to be. The streets were filled with dirt, trash, and all sorts of poisonous, chemical leftovers from bombs. The fallout that occurred world wide five years ago had affected the large cities the most. Not just in the United States, Shanghai and Hong Kong in China were affected. Tokyo in Japan, Paris in France, famous cities all over the world. All because this world's leaders couldn't settle their differences like men. I started to walk through the streets, still limping.I looked around as I walked, watching trash float through the wind. My objective was to get to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan. It was rumored that there's a safe camp at the top floor, where the air there was breathable. You could breathe the air on the ground levels, but it was hard, and it hurt.


I continued walking through the streets, I came a very long way to get where I was. I've walked for miles, my legs ached and cramped. I was also hungry, extremely hungry. I had nothing to eat whatsoever. I hadn't eaten in days. I tried not to think about food while walking, I had to stay focused on my objective. I kept on walking and from the corner of my eye, I could see a person. I turned and looked to see a little man trudging along pushing a shopping cart. The man turned his head and looked at me. I slowly walked towards the man, he didn’t do anything but stand there. I got close enough to the point where I can see his facial features. He was an old little man, he wore broken glasses, had a long white beard and had wrinkles on his face.He wore a red beanie and torn up clothing. "Here to take my stuff?" The old man asked. "No, I'm just glad to see a man that isn't trying to kill me." I replied. "Who isn't trying to kill somebody these days." The old man said. I chuckled at the comment. "Where are you heading?" The man asked. I looked and pointed to the tallest skyscraper in the city. "There, to the very top floor. I heard that there was a safe camp up there." "Those are just rumors" The old man said. "I don't think you'll find anything but disappointment up there." The man continued. "Well, I can't just sit here and rot, if it's rumored I might as well give it a shot." I replied to him. "Suit yourself." The old man said as he started to dig into his shopping cart. He pulled out an orange, and a plastic knife. Then he held out his hands, offering me the orange and knife. "Here, seems like you need this more than I do." He said. I took the knife and orange, then smiled slightly. "Thank you." I said as I started to peel the orange. "My name's Bill." The old man said. "David." I replied to Bill. "It surely was a pleasure meeting you David. It's great to see people that have the slightest chance of hope." "The pleasure is mine" I replied to him. I took a bite of the orange. It was just a regular old orange, but at that moment it seemed as the most delicious thing in the world to me. "You, better get going if you're going to reach that skyscraper." Bill said. "Right, I hope to see you again some time." I said as I handed him the knife back and threw the orange peel on the floor. Bill just nodded and smiled. I walked away from the small little old man with a smile on my face as well. Maybe there is some sort of hope for all of us. I sure hope there is.


After about maybe a hour of walking, I had finally reached the skyscraper. I walked inside he building. It looked like all the other buildings, rugged and run down. I walked to an elevator and pushed the up button. Nothing happened. I guess I had to take the stairs. I climbed the stairs, the long stairs that seemed endless. I continued to walk up the stairs, stopping to look around and check every floor for anything that could seem helpful. So far, no luck at all. I just kept climbing and climbing those stairs. My injured leg only got worse. The pain kept getting worse and worse with every step I took. I stopped to talk a break after maybe half way there. It was a long thirty minute break. I took my time, even though I didn't have much. I got up again, and continued to climb up those stairs. It took about maybe a hour before I reached the top floor. I looked around seen a sign with an arrow pointing to the left on it. I followed the arrow, speed walking. As I kept walking, I kept seeing more arrows. I was thrilled, maybe there was a safe camp here. I finally reached two big double doors that look liked the led to a conference room. On those doors I seen a sign that said, All Are Welcome. I walked over to the doors and opened them. It was a conference room in there. There were also people in there. Plenty of cots, for just about every one in the room, and a few more. Everybody in the room stared at me, most of them were smiling. I limped over to one of the windows that were wide open, and stuck my head out the window. I took a deep breath and smiled. If only my family could be here to see this. It was as if I has just walked up the stairway to heaven, and opened to gates. It was amazing. I put my head back inside, walked to an empty cot and sat down. I looked up, and started crying small tears of joy.