Safe Haven

Months had passed since the world went to war. As nuclear weapons devastated every country out there, my family and I hid in our bunker for six months until our supplies started to run scarce. My mom needed her thyroid medication, and my father his heart medication. I needed to venture out into the wastelands beyond the hatch to search for supplies. My brother was in no condition to walk, and my sister was still too young, so I took a backpack and opened the hatch for the first time since the war broke out.

The world I once knew lay in ruins before me. Where once rows of houses and green hills stood, now only charred rubble and hollowed earth remained. The skies were unusually dark, burying any glimmer of light that was meant to reach us. I waded through the deserted terrain, keeping an eye out for any supplies I could find, while also being vigilant about any other survivors who could be wandering those parts.

To my luck, I came across two other groups sharing food and medicine. I approached them and asked if I could have some as well, even though I had nothing to trade. I wasn’t sure if they’d agree, but they did without a question. They asked me to join their efforts in searching for more supplies since they conducted searches everyday. I agreed with a smile and returned to my family that evening with enough food and medicine for everyone.

From the next day onward, I joined the two groups’ daily efforts, splitting into teams and gathering various commodities and equipment. They were well-organised, having four locations set up for different supplies: food, medicine, clothes, and scrap metal. Food was especially running low, so many of us turned to fishing at a nearby lake or hunting in the parts of the woods untouched by the missiles. However, it wasn’t going to help us in the long run, so I suggested we split into three small teams and venture into the towns surrounding us. Many agreed, and so, we formed three groups of four for the expeditions that lay ahead.

Within the weeks that followed, we made new friends with many others who were on the search for supplies like us. We were able to form a wider network to find and transport supplies, as some of them had progressed much further in getting some vehicles running to scout larger areas. Once the network was stable, I could not help but wonder if the wastelands were all that was left for us. If some of the woods had survived, it was likely that some valleys would be untouched, too. If that were true, then we’d have easier access to food; we wouldn’t have to exhaust resources on so many scouting missions.

I then joined a new team whose mission was to venture past the woods and over the hills in the hopes of finding arable land—and we did. It was a two-day trek, but we found a valley that was untouched by the war. The land was big enough for all of us. We spread the word to our entire network of friends and began our journey to the new safe haven we could call home.