The Wandering Begins

I have rarely gotten to explore a world before its death. A year may seem like a long time, but in a wooden puppet, the most I can do is walk along the circumference, assuming I never stop. Experiencing the people and culture is impossible, not that many of them will live that long.

Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see anything. In fact, I want to experience a bit more than the tiny realm I’m dropped into. After a year, everything is destroyed, washed away into the forgotten annals of the universe, leaving me behind.

That’s why I have to…

Tick.

The train slowly chugged along beside lush plains spanning for what seemed like forever. The forests beyond them didn’t provide any sense of travel either. Only the mountains gave some indication that we were moving forward. That, and the occasional railroad switch or milepost along the side.

From an hour after the sun rose to just as it began to set before the horizon, we continued on the predefined path. Every so often, probably once every one or two days, we had to backtrack to pass any stalled trains. I had looked through a few at first to see if anyone was around, but they were practically abandoned. Some had left their belongings behind, but I couldn’t see how they would be useful. Paper and pencils were a bit pointless, and dead chargers were a waste of space. I did grab a telescope and some plastic utensils, but after the fifth, I just skipped the rest.

Andrea, on the other hand, became inscrutable. She would stare out the passenger window for when she woke up until she fell asleep. She only left the seat for meals and a small stroll outside the train before night. I had no idea what she was searching for with that gaze – her eyes focused on something yet nothing. Meanwhile, her expressionless facade made her seem broken, but every so often, I would catch glimpses of emotion peeking through. She was trying to accept what happened and move on in her own way, and for that, there was nothing I could say.

Tick.

This back and forth went on for about a month, each day being almost the same as the last. However, the green dot in the sky continued to grow larger, or at least, I thought it did. When I asked Andrea about it, she looked at me like I was crazy, saying it hadn’t changed at all. I wondered for a brief moment whether it had to do with my constitution, but that was a rabbit hole I had no intention of visiting, so I quickly put it out of my mind.

Today though, everything changed.

Tick.

“Andrea, can you hand me the telescope?” I yelled into the passenger car as the sun began to set below the horizon. A splotch of brown appeared in the distance between the gray tracks and blue-green sky. She didn’t move from her seat, instead rolling the telescope along the ground.

“Can’t you just do it normally?” I sighed. While we had stopped for the day, it was a stupid thing to do, but I didn’t snap back. I knew the constant traveling wasn’t helping her through her feelings, but there was not much else I could do besides answer the occasional question. So, I kept quiet, picking the telescope up.

Looking through, as I expected, I saw a rather old-looking train station. Like the trains, it seemed abandoned, yet it didn’t really matter. Where there was a station, there had to be some sort of town or village. It was a bit hard to make out, but it looked as though there were a few houses. We did have more than enough food to last us another month; however, it never hurt to gather more.

During dinner, I told Andrea about what I found and explained my plan. She simply nodded along, providing no input of her own. I did wish she would speak up like before, but I couldn’t force anything. Still, I felt… sad, or maybe lonely. It was hard to tell.

Tick.

The next morning, we made our way towards the station. We arrived halfway between morning and noon, blowing the whistle as we slowed to a stop. While it might seem risky to pull in, much less announce to the town someone was here, I wanted to be as honest as possible. Communication was important even during an apocalypse. Avoiding unnecessary fighting was preferable, but I wasn’t worried if we came to blows. With my skills, I could likely kill everyone in this place, not that I would, mind you.

Andrea and I disembarked, taking a good look around the area. It was a small outpost, only consisting of two platforms connected by an overhead walkway. There were a few storefronts embedded into the walls, but none of them were opened. Contrary to my previous observations, the station was well maintained, as if someone cleaned the place every month or two. That likely meant–

Tick.

“S-stay where you are and don’t move! P-put your hands in the air!” A man’s voice screeched from behind me. Judging from his tone and the way it cracked, he was probably scared yet determined. Those contradictory orders likely meant it was the first time he threatened someone. I didn’t hear a gun cock, so he was presumably holding a melee weapon.

I could unholster the weapon at my hip, but like I mentioned before, I didn’t want to cause any needless friction. At the same time, I had no idea who I was dealing with. For all I know, it could be a ruse to let my guard down. Still, I decided to play along for the time being.

“Okay. I’m putting my hands up. Would you mind if I turn around? It’s a bit hard to have a conversation like this.” Usually, most assailants would simply ignore my request. After all, letting a gunman, or gun-woman, see their target? Absolutely insane. But if I understood this man’s personality…

“U-um… well… I guess that should be fine?” Yep, he had no idea what he was doing. I slowly turned around, coming face-to-face with…

“A businessman?”