Life's End(UNFINISHED)

         "A pack of smokes," James said with a sigh. "That's what I will buy first."
         "Why not a good meal," Ethan replied, we are in all in a place without those luxuries. "I'm tired of this slop."
         The year is 2145, the collapse of most governments lead to worldwide chaos. A new government rose from the ashes, The United Enclave for Humanity.  The surviving societies either formed with them, or were forced into reeducation camps.
         My luck ran out when I chose to lead James and Ethan on a shady supply run. These two could never agree nor could they be separated, they always were getting into trouble, and I was always saving them. Whilst out on the run, Enclave scouts spotted us and we were quickly tossed into a hard labor camp. There were hard labor camps, and there were extermination camps, both were meant to weed out the resisting population, but at different times. Guards were posted at every entry point, and in towers surrounding the encampment. The cells were twelve inch thick concrete with a solid steel door.
         My luck didn't stop there, my cell mate was Ethan and James was right next to us. The little bit of time we got for sleep was ruined by their continuous chatter. Out of all the cells for me to be placed in, I had the corner cell, which meant less space and colder beds. Only a sink, toilet, and beds lined each room, which not a single one was clean, and looked about a hundred years old.
         Out of all the questionable supply runs I did, it had to be the one time I brought along someone else that everything went to hell. I wonder if any of my training of the colonist will help them survive a bit longer. My job was important, I did most of the runs, trained the guards, scouted the surrounding area, and overall made sure everyone was safe. Only a year worth of training will have to be enough for them, if the Enclave doesn't discover them first. I had made a name for myself, quiet but useful, I wasn't always a nice person.
         The only reason I knew so much about the Enclave, is that I used to be one of their best  was in Colonels, and was in charge of all infiltration operations and scouting missions.  With the best engineers and scientist, most high ranking were outfitted with cybernetic implants.  Personally I had enhanced vision with low level light conditions, small radio transmitter, and accelerated healing Nanomites. The cybernetics were only good to an extent, my skills however were honed from a lifetime of training with the best teachers. All I can remember is Enclave life, around the age seven I had already completed my first solo mission. Age twelve, I had a body count of over thirty, by the age of eighteen most of the other students had either went crazy or died.
         My last mission with the Enclave was over two years ago, as I was scouting, I discovered the ugly truth about the Enclave. I immediately went AWOL and with my skills and enhancements, I was completely disappeared from Enclave area of operations. I spent most of the time following looking for a decently hidden settlement. The locals were not very friendly at first, considering that they shot at me first and asked question second.  Once I proved my situation they let me given that I would prove my worth.
         After a couple months, I moved to another place due the Enclave increased their patrols in the area.  Lucky for me, I got some real outlander clothes, so the next settlement was more welcoming towards me. I moved from settlement to settlement teaching each one more about protecting themselves and the ins and outs of scavenging. Most were grateful and didn't ask question, all accepted the training. The last settlement I was in had a lot of work to be done, but I was managing to help increase their security and efficiency at gathering supplies.  It had been almost a half a year since I last set foot there, and I wondered if all my work helped them survive a little longer.

Escape

         After carefully surveying the corridors, I had formulated a plan to break out. I know that I will need at least two more people, but my choices were very limited.  James was taking away, and Ethan was not the same since then. There was another fellow prisoner that was a possibility, Gunther. A few weeks ago I had to intervene in a gang fight, which is where I met Gunther, he tried to pick a fight with me, and I laid him out. Since then he has followed me around like a lost puppy, and has been quite loyal to me.  He was a Russian assassin who had attempted to kill the vice president of the Enclave, luckily he wasn't killed on the spot.
         "I got a plan" I whispered to Ethan. "I can get us out."
         "That doesn't help James," he said with a sigh. "You can't possibly think we have any better of a chance."
         "The best thing we can do, for James, is to get the hell out of here," I stared into his eyes. "Do you think you are better off waiting your days in here or giving freedom a shot?"
         "I guess you're right," he nodded. "What's the plan?"
         I explained the plan to Gunther and Ethan, and they both agreed, and we began work.  The first task I had, acquire the keys to the cells. Whilst out on work detail, I had Gunther cause a commotion as I bumped into the guard and replaced a fake key with the real one.  I was quick and quiet, luckily my Enclave training came with skills in deception. Once back at the prison, I waited till the second patrol passed by to spring the plan into action.  After leaving my cell with Ethan we headed to get Gunther, he was put into his own cell because he couldn't keep any cellmates alive.
         Once we made it to the mess hall, I pointed out a vent on one of the walls. "that is where we need to get to."
         "How are we going to do that?" Ethan replied, "it is way up there."
         "Use tables and chairs," I nodded to Gunther, "I will by use some time."
         "Good luck boss," Gunther said as I went about my business. As I went to the other side of the prison, I couldn't help but think that the plan was going so smoothly.  Once I reached the other side I released the cell door, causing the alarms to sound and a riot to start.  I made my way back to the mess hall as quickly as possible, when I arrived everything was ready to go.
         "Let's get," I said hastily, "follow close behind me, it may get interesting." We climbed the makeshift ladder to the vent opening, which I had to pry open with a crowbar made from a chair leg. As we entered I could see lights coming down the hall, and gunfire erupting in the cellblocks.  We quickly crawled through the vent until we ran into a fan.
         "Now what?" Ethan moaned, "we never gonna make it out of here."
         "Shut up," I jammed the crowbar into the fan, stopping it. "See now let's move it."
                    As we reached the end of the vent, we were all drenched in sweat, I could feel the cool night breeze.  I kicked out the vent and we all dropped down to the ground, search lights scanned the yard, dogs barking in the distance.  We all starting running for the wood line, when the gunfire lit up the night sky. Gunther started fall back and before I could turn around bullets pierce through him, he landed on the ground with a loud thud. Ethan and I continued on, but he was quickly falling behind, so I threw him over my shoulder and dived into the wood line.
         "Rub this on your face," I handed Ethan dirt, "it will help conceal us from their patrols."
         "What, where did you learn this'" he relied while rubbing his face with dirt, "How can you be sure?"
         "I know from years of training and sacrifices," I picked him and we began to move away from the prison, "just follow my lead."
         "From where," he pulled away from me, "I don't mean to pry but you always seem to know what to do, and when to do it."
         "Look, we don't have time for this," I grab his arm, "I don't bring up my past for a reason, it in the past. Now we have to get out of the red zone."
         As we walked, dawn approached, I could hear dogs and helicopter in the distance. We continued on for a hour before Ethan collapsed from exhaustion. As he slept, I scouted out the area ahead, but when I returned, Ethan was gone.  I scanned the area where he was, but found no sign of struggle, calculating the chances of finding him, I decided to continue my search for safety.
         I came upon a clearing around dusk, and in the horizon I say a large column of black smoke filling the air. A quick scan around the field, to make sure it is clear, and I start to head towards the smoke.  When I arrived, I found a settle, drenched in fire and screams filling the air.  I waited outside for fear that the Enclave where still around, I knew it was the Enclaves doing, because they always burn a settlement, with people still alive.  Bandits tend to kill or capture all the settlers before burning, and half of the time they leave the settle intact for traps.
         Homeless
         Belongings drenched in flames, corpses littered the streets, homes crumbling to the foundations, and bullet holes everywhere, this was the Enclave's work. I started to search the rubble for survivors and salvage, hoping someone had a safe house, stashed full of supplies. Finding nothing of any use, I gave up and started to leave when I heard the sounds of a little girl crying. Following the sounds of sobs,  I came across a little girl, ten, maybe eleven, curled up in a ball, holding her raggedy teddy bear, crying.
         "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." I slowly approached her, when she noticed this she quickly got up, and backed away. I saw her staring at my outfit, I was still in my prison jumpsuit. "Look, kid, I just escaped from an Enclave prison, not too far from here."
         "Di-did you see my mommy," she asked with her big blue eyes, "I have been looking for her all night."
         "I'm sorry, but I didn't see your mother," I kneeled down, and held out my hand. "But I can help you look for her."
         "Thank you mister,"
"My name is Ezekiel Nathan Dorian, but everyone calls me Zeke"
"I'm Miss Bethany Emma Grace Ivy Norris, but my mommy calls me Emma." She grabbed my hand and led me around the smoldering town. We looked around every alleyway, street, and building we could. Dusk was approaching and Emma was getting tired, I knew this search was pointless, yet I helped anyways.
         "Miss Emma," I stopped and kneeled down, "Do you know of anywhere safe we can stay for the night?"
         "Yes, my mom showed me this spot," she started walking toward a market, "It is around here somewhere."
         "What are we looking for," I said as we wondered around the market place, "Maybe I could help find it."
         "Here it is," she pointed at a large dumpster. We pushed it out of the way and underneath was a trapdoor. I tried to open but it wouldn't budge, I looked for a keypad or dial, something to unlock it, but found nothing. Emma came over and looked at for about ten seconds, she then proceeded to grab the handle and life. The door unlocked and swung wide open, a small light lit up a ladder leading down.
         I went down first, to make sure it was safe, once I sent foot on the floor, lights came on and shown on shelves full of food and gear.  When Emma came in she noticed all the gear and started rummaging through it all.  Searching the shelves, I came across an old hunting rifle, a small pistol, a multi-tool, couple of boxes of ammo, and clean machete. All of a sudden a bunch of clothes came flying at me, when I cleared my face there was Emma standing there smiling.  She went back to digging through the shelves.
         After about an hour, I began to set up a couple cots that I found, in the main chamber. I turned around to find Emma sitting by a bunch of gun parts, she had a quizzical look on her face.
         "What are you doing," I asked as I sat beside her, "Did you take the rifle apart?"
         "Mister Zeke, I was gonna put it back together," her eyes began to well up. "But I don't know how."
         "That's alright," I smiled, "I know how to put it back together,"
         "Can you show me how," she watched as I slowly assembled the rifle. Her eyes were wide with amazement. "Can you teach me how to do that, Mister Zeke?"
         "Sure but tomorrow," I stand up and head towards the cots, "but right now we need our rest."
         "If you say so mister Zeke," she climbed onto the cot. As I tucked her in, I could tell she was about to fall fast asleep, so I brushed her crimson hair from her face, and thought, this girl is just like me, alone, but not anymore. I stayed awake and kept watch, slowly I drifted off into sleep.
         I awoke to the sound of a gun shot, but there was nothing but darkness. Then, from somewhere in the dark, came a child's cry. Following the sound I came across and girl hunched over a body, with a gun in her hand. As I walked around the girl, the corpses face came into view, it was me. I jumped awake and fell off the cot, my clothes were drenched in sweat and shaking.
         Emma was still asleep when I packed everything up, I opened up the door and checked for any Enclave or Bandits.  The coast was clear, I threw on the packed up rucksack, grabbed the pistol, and scooped Emma in my arms. As I emerge, with Emma still fast asleep in my arms, the smell of charred flesh and wood filled the air.  We left the settlement, being careful not to travel on roads, to prevent being spotted by passing patrols.
         After a couple miles, Emma finally woke up and started walking along side me, she seemed depressed, but she didn't mention why I left. Midday came and we stopped for a quick lunch, she still remained distant, I couldn't help but wonder if I did the right thing bringing her along. A few hours passed, when we stumbled across an old hydrogen station, it looked like some of the pumps were still functional and the windows where still intact.
         I approached the back door quietly, and slowly opened the door, that's when I heard a click, I quickly pushed Emma down and ducked down. A shotgun blast went off right above our heads, I made sure Emma was okay and besides a scrapped knee, she was fine. When I entered the station, I made sure not to set off anymore traps, and when I knew it was safe I signaled to Emma to come inside and help scavenge.  After disassembling the shotgun trap, we searched the rest of the station.  Whilst looking behind the counter we heard a growing hum of an approaching Hydrogenbike.
         I grabbed Emma and we tucked under the counter as the bike came to a stop.  The door opened, heavy footsteps approached the counter and a large hand grabbed the fuel switch and withdrew.  When the door closed, I peaked over the counter to see a large grisly man fueling the bike. After a little while the bike started up and roared down the road, when I felt it was safe, Emma and I quickly left.
         Before we set off, I rigged the pumps to never stops dumping out fuel.  Emma and I walked for a couple hours, when I noticed that she was falling behind.  I picked her up and headed farther from the road. We set up camp near a creek and I began to get a fire started when I heard a splash.
         "Mister Zeke" Emma exclaimed, I rushed over to find her sitting in the creek.
         "How did that happen," I chuckled. "You did need a bath."
         "It's not funny," She grabbed my hand. "I was trying to get that fish."
         "You could have asked, I am an excellent fisher." I made a makeshift fishing pole, dug up some worms, and we sat and fished till night fell.  That night we had fresh fish instead of rations, which was a nice change. As the night progress, I felt my arm get heavy, Emma had fallen asleep on me. I put her inside the tent, and continued to watch the fire dance in the dark.
         "Dorian," a voice screamed, "look at me my dear friend."
         "Who," I jerked awake, but there was no one there, "who's there?"
         "Has it really been that long since you last saw me," A man appeared from behind the fire, "Hello Ezekiel, I'm glad we can have this time together."
         "Wait, I know you," He moved around as if he hovered over the ground, "You can't be here, it's not possible."
         "Yet, here I am," he looked me dead in the eyes, "You didn't think you could get rid of yourself that easy, did you?"
         "Bullshit," I backed away, falling over the log, "I am not crazy, you can't be me."
         "With you leaving your old life," He picked me up, "you didn't think there would be repercussions? There is no normal way to leave a life as red as yours without breaking."
         "Then why have I not seen you before," I pull away from him, "Why are you bugging me now?"
         "That is quite simple," he started to you walk around me, "You kept to yourself, you didn't look out for anyone else, but now you have this girl."
         "She's too young," I turn to look at him, but he is gone, "she needs someone to take care of her."
         "You really think you are the one to do that," he whispered into my ear. "The only thing you know how to take care of is yourself and you do a horrible job at that."
         "I'm still alive," I spin around but he is no longer there. "She will live a normal life."
         "Not with you," the voice slowly fades as everything goes dark. I awake to embers burning in the dawn light.
         Darkness Awaits
         Emma was still fast asleep as I began packing up the camp, she only awoke when I started disassembling the tent. I made some instant eggs, and we quickly ate before setting off.  We stumbled across an old camp site that seemed to have been home to about four families. Looking through the abandon tents, I find that the previous owners didn't leave.