Streets of Perdido

Driving their dark blue jeep, Marcelina and Natalia found themselves inside a mysteriously abandoned small town, somewhere in the jungles of what used to be Veracruz, Mexico. Considering this wasn't a very large settlement, usually these places survived the great collapse. The big cities were the ones that fully decayed and rotted away, as trade routes and supply lines on the world stage collapsed, and large population centers were no longer sustainable.

As such, the world population dropped drastically as many died from starvation in the ensuing famine. Not counting Greenland, the pair's destination, the only population centers that were left were rural towns and villages that could make self-sufficient farmlands. Really powerful villages and towns became city-states, imitating states and governments of the before times and the government of Greenland.

The areas in between are ruled by marauders, groups driving together and armed taking and looting what they want, if there is a really powerful group they can rule over several villages that provide food for them and even in some cases enslave entire communities. A mixture of the nomadic hordes of Asia and Europe's medieval lords in a sense. City-states are so terrified of them that most of them pay a sort of tribute, their walls sometimes aren't enough to keep them at bay.

And then there is Greenland, a true anomaly in today's world, a faraway utopia the two girls desperately want to reach before the inevitable solar fissure effect and the end of life on Earth as we know it.

They still have a long way to go, almost halfway there, and with most of South America behind them, they can feel their goal in reach. Right now, they have the mystery of solving what happened in Perdido. A rural town like this should have a flourishing and thriving community, it even has a small river passing through it. If it was destroyed by a group of marauders, there should be evidence of death and destruction, instead of that, only signs of decay and abandonment.

Natalia put her hand on the doorknob preparing to exit the jeep when Marcelina shouted at her: "Are you crazy! We haven't checked for radiation or pollution!"

"Sorry! Natalia bowed apologetically, "I forgot…" She laughed nervously.

"You're going to get us both killed," Marcelina pressed on the computer screen inside their jeep, "We need to first check if this town is radioactive, that could be the reason why it's abandoned." As Marcelina typed in the commands, the car's internal Geiger counter examined the surroundings.

Natalia raised an eyebrow as she remembered, "Didn't you open the window while we were on the road?"

"We were in the middle of the jungle, stopping into a town is different, although I guess I should have checked…" Marcelina realized her mistake and her companion made a face of victory. The computer screen came back with a positive result, the town was radiation-free. "Alright, now we can go outside, but be careful, there could be people hiding here. The town looks abandoned, but it could just be a trap or people hiding from marauders."

Natalia nodded and the two girls exited outside, in front of them was the abandoned town of Perdido, once belonging to the United Mexican States, a fallen state like almost all other states across the globe. The town itself looked decrepit and overrun with vines. The asphalt on the ground had many cracks and holes of failed maintenance. The windows cracked and there were small glass fragments in the street. Nature had taken back what man had once claimed as his own.

What caught the attention the most of our two heroines was the absence of dead bodies.

Typically, there should be evidence of a marauder raid or at least some scattered bones. "Whoever lived here got out in a hurry." Marcelina pondered.

Marcelina wore a white tank top and combat camo shorts she found at a military barracks at the start of their journey. The shorts made her seem more intimidating, it implied she had some kind of military background even though her face gave away that she was too young to have been alive back when state militaries were a thing. Still, for most people it was enough to see a military uniform to be afraid of you. Even though she wasn't actually a part of any fighting force, she could hold herself in a fight. Around her neck, she wore binoculars the same as Natalia, on her right she had her white and slick 2109. Drgun pistol holstered and on the left a medium-sized machete. Her red hair wasn't very long, it only came down to her neck and her hands were covered in driving gloves.

Natalia on the other hand had a much cuter appearance in contrast to her combat-oriented companion. Natalia had a white buttoned shirt and a short blue skirt, both items were chic in the early 22nd century. Much to the annoyance of Marcelina, Natalia searched for two hours in an abandoned shopping mall Guayaquil that still had its items left as it was abandoned in a hurry. Natallia made sure to pick out the best clothes she could find, it was a brief moment where she got a taste of what life once was. Abundance and overproduction of products, a variety of choice that it would take you days to explore all options. Despite Marcelina's outward annoyance at Natalia's long shopping escapade, it is a moment both hold fond and dear, a moment of genuine reprieve and happiness, in stark contrast to the scarcity and doom their world was.

Marcelina turned to her blond-haired partner, her hair long and tied into a ponytail, and said, "You insist on wearing a skirt, don't you know that shorts are way more practical."

Natalia smirked and raised her skirt, revealing black shorts underneath, and said, "Duh, of course, I'm wearing shorts underneath, I'm not an idiot."

"Then why the skirt?! It's unnecessary."

"Just because it's the end of the world, doesn't mean I can't look cute", Natalia winked, "Besides, quit your complaining I know you secretly appreciate it, you just have a constant desire to act tough and in charge."

Marcelina looked away with an embarrassed look and said, "Anyways, let's search this town, we need to look for supplies. I think there is a river up ahead, we can check if the water is still drinkable. If this town is abandoned, I doubt we will find any food. Still, be on your toes."

Natalia gave Marcelina a salute and grabbed her rifle in hand, a 2111. Hoxu Riffle was made with several functions, it had a semi-automatic, automatic, and a few highly destructive options. The rifle like Marcelina's high-tech pistol did not run on traditional ammo, it was technology from the early 22nd century, it used bursts of energy, or to put it bluntly, it fired powerful lasers. Although one wouldn't be able to use them indefinitely, if the guns overheat, they have to cool down before they can fire again, and the weapons have an internal battery that once it dries, they become useless. When the weapons were first produced, replacement batteries were made, nowadays with production gone in general, once the batteries run out the guns are useless. That is unless they discover new batteries.

"Is it okay to leave the car like this?" Natalia said.

"The car is locked, and it would take a bomb to open one of its doors, I also set its sensors to alert me if someone touches it," Marcelina said raising a finger. "Since we don't have to worry about gasoline, we ought to leave it in the sun to recharge a bit from the sun. At least this screeching hot sun still has some use. Let's move."

Marcelina and Natalia made their way deeper into the small town of Perdido, weapons in hand and ready for a fight, they prepared to search the place for supplies, food and water were their top priority. However, they were going to scour some of the buildings to find some possible goodies. After all, Natalia's shirt and skirt were found in an abandoned shopping mall.

As they explored the empty and decaying streets of Perdido, they soon realized that there wasn't a soul in sight. The town had no signs of inhabitation and whoever left the town, left it a long time ago and in a hurry.

The two girls saw a house that had its door wide open, almost inviting them to come inside and they did. The house was covered in dust, but all the belongings of its former residents were still intact. The table was set for lunch, shoes were left at the entrance, and several drawers that weren't closed revealed clothing. Natalia jumped to see if there were any clothes her size and worth keeping, before Marcelina could protest, Natalia already responded: "You do your thing, I will do mine, this is going to take some time."

As much as Marcelina wanted to scold her, there really wasn't any harm in this detour, Natalia looked so happy at the thought of finding new stuff that Marcelina didn't have the heart to burst that bubble. The only thing wasted would be time, but they were making good progress so why not waste some time in Perdido.

Marcelina moved towards the kitchen leaving Natalia to scour the bedrooms, a stench immediately assaulted her nostrils. There were several culprits, the first thing that caught her eye was the dirty dishes that were left in the sink for years, possibly decades. The dishes had grown their biome in that sink, another source of the stench was the refrigerator, the smell of rotten meat pierced from it. Marcelina opened it expecting a dead body, but it was only rotten chicken meat.

"I guess when they left this place, they must've left in a hurry and no one has been here since," Marcelina placed a finger on her chin thinking.

She walked around a bit more and approached the dusty dinner table and saw a picture covered in filth to the point where you couldn't see what was in the frame. After giving it a blow Marcelina saw a Mexican family of four smiling together, there was no date on the photograph.

"What the hell happened here…"

"Marcelina!" Natalia yelled from the bedroom, "Come quick!"

Marcelina went into attack mode, her finger on the trigger she dashed toward her partner. Was it an attack, did she find something valuable, a million questions and scenarios went through the redhead's head, she needed to focus, and she will find out soon enough.