The sun was dipping low on the horizon, casting the natural landscape in hues of gold and orange. I remembered when this was all residential housing. Now, there was nothing left but some of the original landscaping and bits of broken pavement jutting up from the ground like bleached bones from a long dead leviathan. Two hundred years really had let nature take back the land.

I spotted movement ahead. At first, I froze, my heart pounding as adrenaline surged through my malnourished body. I ducked behind what had probably been an immaculately trimmed box wood shrub before the catastrophe, my eyes straining to make out the figures silhouetted against the fiery sky. They moved with purpose, a small group of people armed with bows, crossbows, and a variety of crude hand weapons. Strapped to their backs were huge backpacks and their belts were festooned with pre-fall hand tools and what looked like salvaged mechanical parts.

People. Real, living people. Relief flooded through me, but it was quickly followed by caution. People might mean danger. They hadn’t spotted me yet, but it wouldn’t be long.

I stood up straight and stepped into the open, my hands raised in what I hoped was a universally non-threatening gesture. My ragged appearance: emaciated frame, tattered hospital gown, and bare feet caked in dirt should have appeared pitiable.

“Don’t shoot,” I croaked, my voice hoarse from disuse. I had been mumbling to myself but this was the first time I had projected my voice in … ages. The thought made me chuckle silently.

The group immediately halted, weapons rising in unison. A woman with a bow took a step forward, her arrow nocked and aimed at my chest. Thank heavens she had not actually drawn the arrow back yet.

“Who are you?” she demanded. Her voice was firm but not unkind. I noticed she had blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun.

“Just… someone trying to survive,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “I mean you no harm.”

They exchanged glances. A tall, broad-shouldered man lowered the massive crossbow he was holding and snorted. “Doesn’t look like you’re much of a threat,” he muttered.

“Darrin, he could be a cultivator!” the woman said sharply, not taking her eyes off me. She lowered her bow slightly but kept it ready. “What are you doing out here stranger? You look half-dead.”

“Believe it or not, for some reason I woke up in an old building,” I explained. “I’ve been wandering ever since. Looking for food, water, anything to survive. I haven’t seen another soul until now.”

Her gaze softened marginally. She kind of shrugged with one shoulder and said, “We’ll see about that. Darrin, check him.”

“I don’t have a pack. I don’t have anything,” I said, gesturing to my threadbare appearance. “What you see is what you get.”

Darrin grunted and stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of a crude machete. He circled me cautiously before confirming, “He’s telling the truth. No weapons, no pack. Just this…” He grimaced and waved his arms up and down towards me as if to highlight the sorry state of my hospital gown.

“Alright,” the woman said, lowering her bow completely. “I’m Lena. This is Darrin, Tarek, Mara, and Jo.” She motioned to the others in turn. “We’re scavengers. What’s your name?”

I hesitated for a fraction of a second before replying, “Just somebody that is lost.”

Lena raised an eyebrow but didn’t press. “Fine. You look like you’re about to keel over. If you’re not dangerous, we’ll take you back to the village. We’ll let the elders figure out what to do with you. We are heading back now with our finds … but I’m going to keep my eye on you.”

My stomach growled audibly, making Darrin chuckle. “And we will feed you too,” he said, swinging his pack off his shoulder. He rummaged through it and pulled out a bundle of rough homespun clothing. “Here. Can’t have you walking into the village looking like that, what would all the old ladies say? Put these on.”

Stolen novel; please report.

The clothing was coarse but sturdy: a simple shirt, trousers, and a belt that looked like it had been artfully put together from scraps of leather. Before, I would have had to pay a large portion of a paycheck for a handmade belt like that. I nodded my thanks, turning away to change. The group gave me space, but I could feel their eyes on me, assessing my every move.

When I was dressed, Darrin handed me what looked like beef jerky and we started walking. I fell into step behind Lena and Darrin, with the others flanking me. I walked and chewed. They moved cautiously, their eyes scanning the terrain for threats. It wasn’t long before my curiosity got the better of me.

I swallowed a mouthful of this delicious jerky. “You said that you guys are scavengers,” I began, my voice still raspy. “What exactly are you looking for?”

Lena glanced over her shoulder. “Metal, mostly. Machine parts. Anything pre-fall that still works or can be fixed. It’s valuable for the village’s survival and for trade.”

“Pre-fall?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

Darrin snorted. “What rock have you been living under? Pre-fall!” he repeated louder as if I hadn’t heard him, “you know, before everything went to hell. Before the wild QI twisted the world.”

I nodded to him, pretending to absorb the information. Turning back to Lena I asked, “And you use or trade these parts? With who?”

“Other villages, mostly,” Mara said, her voice softer than the others. “And we take some of the best metals to Ironhaven, but never the working parts. The other villages seem to need the same things we do. Whenever we have a surplus, we trade with them.”

I was about to ask more when Lena suddenly raised a hand, motioning for us to stop.

I froze in my tracks. “What is it?” I whispered, my pulse quickening.

She pointed to the bushes ahead and I followed her gaze. At first glance, it looked like a housecat, but as it emerged into view, the sheer size and musculature of the creature made it clear this was no ordinary feline. The animal’s sleek coat shimmered with an unnatural iridescence, and its eyes glowed faintly in the dimming light. Its claws, extended as it stalked forward, glinted like polished steel.

“Spirit beast,” Darrin muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible.

The creature paused, its gaze locking onto us. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to run, but no one moved. Even the air felt heavy, charged with tension.

“Hold your ground,” Lena said softly, her voice steady but low. “Don’t provoke it.”

We stood frozen as the beast sniffed the air, its tail flicking lazily. For what felt like an eternity, it stared at us, its glowing eyes narrowing. Then, with a low growl that reverberated through my chest, it turned and slunk back into the bushes, disappearing as silently as it had appeared.

The group exhaled in unison, the tension breaking like a snapped wire.

“We’re lucky,” Lena said, glancing at me. “If it had decided we were a threat, it would probably have taken out most of us.”

I swallowed hard, my heart still hammering. “What the hell was that?”

“Spirit beast,” Darrin repeated. “They’re rare, but you don’t want to mess with them. That one must have been scouting out new territory.”

Lena nodded. “Let’s keep moving and put some space between us and that! The sooner we’re back home, the better.”

By the time we reached the village, the sun had set, and the sky was painted with stars. The settlement was a modest collection of structures that would not have been out of place in a renaissance faire. I would have compared it to a real medieval village but there were way too many anachronisms for that. Rustic wooden beams held up metal roofing and walls of roughhewn held double pane windows. A faint glow emanated from within most, the flicker of firelight and the rhythmic clack of what could have been a hand cranked machine could be heard.

The villagers, a mix of men, women, and children, paused their evening routines to watch us. Their expressions ranged from cautious curiosity to outright suspicion. A few of the older ones carried weapons similar to those of the scavenger band.

Darrin raised a hand in greeting. “We’re back,” he called, his jolly voice carrying across the open space. “And a stray pup seems to have followed us home!”

An older man stepped forward; his face weathered but his eyes sharp. “Who’s this?” he asked, his tone guarded.

“Elder Cogwin! We found him wandering out near the old industrial zone,” Lena replied. “He’s seemed harmless and he looked like he’d been through hell. So, we figured we’d bring him back, let him rest and feed him something.”

The man’s gaze shifted to me, scrutinizing me for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he gave a curt nod. “Fine. He’s your responsibility. And he pulls his weight while he’s here.”

I nodded quickly. “Thank you. I’ll do whatever I can.”

The old man, nodded to me once and turned back to what he was doing.

Lena led me to a small house on the edge of the village. The front door opened into a small kitchen. From there, she took me to an interior door. Opening it, I could see that inside was a small bed and a side table. On the wall leaned a large cabinet. As I took in my surroundings, I hadn’t notice Lena’s departure. She returned and handed me a small loaf of dense bread and a cup of water.

“Eat, rest. We’ll talk more in the morning,” she said.

I accepted the food with gratitude, devouring it despite its dryness. As I lay down on the bed, exhaustion weighed heavily on me. My body ached, my mind churned, but for the first time in days, I felt a glimmer of hope. Civilization, however broken, was still alive.

As sleep claimed me, one thought lingered: Don’t let them find out who you really are!