C6 Call for Help

"Payson! I've cracked the password!"

"Let's hear it!"

"5! 2! 4! 6! 3!"

"Beep beep!"

"Fantastic! We did it!"

As the sound of air escaping the valve filled the room, the massive gear-shaped steel door, nearly six meters tall and half a meter thick, began to move. Pushed forward by the air pressure, it rolled to the right, hugging the wall. The sunlight streaming in from outside was so bright that it momentarily blinded the two men and their cat companion, Meow.

The buzzing of insects behind them grew louder. Moorer had no time to waste. He grabbed Payson and scooped up Meow, dashing out the door. They were greeted by a desolate wasteland. The forest that had been there before their hibernation had been toppled by the shockwave of a meteorite and, over the years, buried by sandstorms. Only a few bizarrely shaped trees stood defiantly amidst the sands. The plants that had survived the initial impact behind the mountains had perished in the subsequent ice age, eventually breaking and decomposing on the ground.

Despite it being midday, the sky was overcast, with the sun peeking through the dark grey clouds. A fierce wind made Moorer shiver; he tightened his grip on his clothes and held Meow close for warmth.

"Moorer, what's with you? You're acting all bashful..."

Meow, growing impatient, clawed at Moorer's hand. The sharpness of the claws made Moorer release him, but Meow, caught by the wind, shivered and quickly sought refuge back in Moorer's arms.

"Our home... how did it end up like this?"

Payson looked around and wasn't surprised to see the monsters, who had lived in the shelter since birth, bewildered by their new surroundings. With their food sources having escaped their domain, the monsters could only stand at the entrance and let out symbolic roars before retreating to their familiar zones as the shelter's door closed.

The monsters that had lost their prey roared briefly, then quickly forgot their sorrow and rage. Oh, look at the corridor now, littered with an array of fresh monster carcasses. The days ahead promised to be blissful for them.

"Brother Mu... I'm so hungry..." Meow's stomach growled. He buried his face in Moorer's chest, rubbing against it incessantly, much like a little girl seeking affection.

"Alright, alright, alright... Let's head out and find some food... Oh... Right, I remember there's a village north of the shelter."

"It's called Vage Village," Payson chimed in, "If I'm not mistaken, we should be able to scavenge some supplies there."

"Okay," Moorer agreed with a nod. "I still know the way. Let's set off now!"

Amidst the sandstorm, the distant village was barely visible.

After walking for nearly half an hour, they finally reached Vage Village. By then, the fierce winds had ceased, and the village's outline slowly became clear.

Before the meteorite crisis, Vage was a prosperous tourism village, where the residents had blended cyberpunk and medieval styles for aesthetic appeal. Back then, tourists flocked to the village continuously.

But now? After being ravaged repeatedly by the global shockwave, Vage had turned into ruins. Collapsed buildings littered the streets, and the once magnificent, now dilapidated structures riddled with holes were overrun by vine-like plants. Amidst the destruction, small, odd-shaped plants sprouted.

Moorer and the group entered what seemed to be a food supermarket, where broken shelves lay scattered. Even the pre-disaster service robots couldn't withstand the ravages of time and had collapsed in a corner, now shrouded by overgrowth.

Meow leaped out of Moorer's arms and sniffed the air, remarking,

"I think I smell... canned food..."

Following Meow's lead, Moorer and Payson approached a heap of fallen shelves. Moorer grimaced and, with Payson's help, pushed aside the cumbersome debris.

Beneath the shelves lay a skeletal corpse, its ribs and right femur apparently broken before death, yet it seemed to have died protecting something, curled up in a fetal position.

Underneath the skeleton were a small, blanket-wrapped skull and two dust-covered but intact cans of beef.

While Moorer was contemplating whether to take the cans, Payson had already stooped down, kicked the skeleton aside, and claimed the cans.

"Hey, hey, hey! Payson, what are you up to?"

"I'm scavenging for supplies. Is there an issue?"

"But this is food that people died protecting... Just taking it... doesn't seem right, does it?"

"What's not right about it?" Payson grumbled discontentedly. "They died protecting it, that was their choice. But they're dead now, and we're still alive. We need this food to survive!"

While they were bickering, Meow had already leaped onto the skeletons to inspect them closely. It had picked up some medical knowledge from Moorer before the apocalypse. After examining the bodies, Meow looked up at Moorer.

"Moorer... the larger one appears to be the remains of a young woman, about 25 years old. The smaller one is a four-month-old infant, gender indeterminate..."

Moorer's face grew even more somber.

Payson, driven by self-interest, didn't share these concerns. He ripped the blanket off the smaller skeleton, disturbing the remains, and spread it out to gather any supplies he could find.

Moorer, though reluctant, knew that survival was paramount. He knelt before the young mother and made the sign of the cross, whispering a prayer before rising to join Payson in the search for supplies.

The pickings were slim in this little place. Guided by Meow, they scavenged for a long while, only managing to find a can of tomato soup, a can of nuclear peaches, and a can of tuna, along with a single can of possibly expired nuclear cola.

"Let's check out the supermarket across the street," Moorer suggested. "I seem to recall there's one over there..."

Leaving the supermarket behind, they made their way across the street. Moorer noticed a house with fewer ivy vines but didn't think much of it. Suddenly, from the second floor of that house, a human head burst forth.

"Oh my God! I've been waiting here for almost two days! At last, I see other living people! Hey! You two good-looking guys over there! Come rescue me! I'm trapped on the second floor by monsters! If you can get me out, I... I'll make sure to repay you generously..."

Moorer and Payson exchanged a glance, quickly grabbed their weapons, and, accompanied by Meow, dashed toward the building housing the survivors.