Maggie had never seen a dog in real life — only once, on an old poster — but she knew right away that this thin, scared creature on a chain was one. The dog`s tongue hung out and it was breathing hard, either from the burning heat or from its miserable life. She slowly reached out her hand, then pulled it back. A gentle hand rested softly on the girl`s shoulder.
`Meg! He`s probably wild...`
`But he`s on a chain. That means he has owners. Jerry, can we find them? Please!` Jerome wanted to argue, but swallowed instead. A strong smell of burned meat hit his nose. Not long ago he would have thought some trash pile was burning nearby, but now, after days without food, he knew that smell too well. Maggie noticed it too and smiled nervously.
`Did Woody catch another rat?`
`I hope... yes.` Jerome had not been sure of anything or anyone for a long time. Woody was a good guy, but too easily led by Jim`s ideas. Today he`s cooking a rat, and tomorrow...
`Keep an eye on him, Meg. I`ll be right back.`
Jerome went back to the pier and stepped through a narrow doorway with dried dandelions above it and a faded sign on the porch — `Temporary Shelter. John and Mary.` At the door, Jim`s loud laughter greeted him.
`Well, Jerry, you`re just in time for lunch!` Woody was poking a half-rotted body with a glowing iron rod, and Jerome threw up at once.
`I bet Woody will eat it all and ask for more!`
`What the hell, Jim, stop it! You need proper rest, man. Grab a fishing rod, try catching something for lunch. We walked so far to reach this damn lake.`
`There`s no fish in this lake! There`s nothing to eat here, Jerry! And I still have to feed you and your girl!`
`I`ve offered more than once to go our own way. You`re the one who kept saying we need to stick together.`
`Exactly! Look what happens when you`re a loser!` Jim kicked the body in a rage. Its lower jaw hit the upper one and fell off, as if agreeing with him. A moment later he wiped his eyes with a dirty sleeve and laughed again, quieter now, with a rough sound in his chest.
`And what else should I do, Jerry? Sit and cry? That`s your job. You`re the family man here.` Woody smiled awkwardly but looked away. The iron rod in his hand crackled; fat from the burned skin dripped onto the concrete floor.
`We are not eating that,` Jerome said firmly.
`Of course not.` Jim spread his arms. `We`re civilized people.` He stepped closer. He stank of sweat, swamp water, and something sour.
`But you know what`s funny? A month ago you would have said the same thing about a rat.`
Jerome was about to answer, but was interrupted again — this time by Maggie, who ran onto the porch and shouted:
`There are people alive here! I saw writing on a huge building: Caution! People!`
`I don`t think they`ll be happy to see us,` Jim said.
`We could at least try to talk to them. Woody, for God`s sake, what are you doing?` Maggie saw Woody with the iron rod and felt the hair rise on her head.
`You want to talk, you go talk! Woody and I aren`t staying.`
`I`d try... Woody, sometimes you`re a decent guy, and sometimes you`re just...`
`We`ll try,` Jerome took Maggie`s hand and led her onto the porch. `Let`s go, Meg. It`s time for us to go our own way.` Maggie didn`t argue.
`Let`s check that place out!`
`Lead the way.`
But from a distance it was already clear there was no one around. The writing only looked threatening from far away, and the wide-open front door led into a terrible feeling of emptiness and decay. To be safe, Jerome and Maggie walked around the skyscraper several times, carefully looking through the broken ground-floor windows to avoid a trap. Once they were sure only rats and cockroaches lived there now, they finally went inside.
The lobby had served as both kitchen and bedroom for the people who once lived here. Moldy pots, rough beds and cots — all of it had become a mass grave for human skeletons. There were so many of them. Jerome had not seen anything this horrible since those disgusting creatures — like small lizards but with razor-sharp teeth — had attacked their group of survivors. They killed everyone except him and Maggie, who managed to hide in an old refrigerator. That evening Meg lost her last family, and Jerome`s hair turned whiter than the ash that covered the once-busy city in a thick layer.
Men, women, children... Jerome looked around the room with disgust, trying to understand the terrible event that had killed all the settlers here.
`Meg, you should go outside. Go out and let me know if you see anyone nearby.` Whether her young mind could not fully understand what had happened here, or life in the Wasteland had made her tough, Maggie was holding herself together surprisingly well.
`It`s fine, they`re just skeletons. Why are they all under the beds, Jerry? Were they attacked by the same animals that came after us back then?`
`I don`t think so — those eat everything completely, and all the bones are whole. I think we should get out of here, Meg!`
`But we haven`t searched everything yet! I can`t remember the last time I ate.`
`Fine... I`ll try to go up to the higher floors, and you search the dining area. There should be a way into the kitchen somewhere. If they didn`t die of hunger, there`s a real chance of finding food here.`
Jerry had no luck again. The elevator shaft on the first floor was blocked with furniture and building rubble, and the service stairs led to a door locked with a keypad. He had been pressing buttons uselessly for about ten minutes when Maggie found him.
`Maybe try knocking?` Maggie suggested.
`Thanks for the advice.`
`You`re welcome. The kitchen is locked. Something about contamination. I didn`t understand.` Jerome typed in another combination. The red light blinked. Nothing.
`To hell with it.`
He leaned against the wall, exhausted. Maggie stepped closer to the panel, ran her finger across the buttons, frowned, then suddenly started pressing numbers. The lock beeped briefly, a green light came on, and a second later the door clicked open.
`You`re kidding me,` Jerome finally said. Maggie shrugged.
`Those numbers were scratched on the wall near the dog.`
`Near that dog on the chain?`
`Yeah.`
`And you just decided to remember them?`
`Why not?` Jerome stared at her for a few seconds, then silently pulled the door open.
`Sometimes you scare me more than the Wasteland.`
Behind the door was another stairwell, but there was no staircase going to the third floor — just the same junk-filled elevator shaft and a door to the floor. The rooms here looked nothing like homes or offices. No beds, no kitchens, no signs of settlers. Only metal, wires, and a thick layer of dust. In the center of the hall stood a strange machine. A tall cylinder-shaped structure almost touching the ceiling. Behind cloudy glass, something glowed with a faint blue light, and dozens of cables led to the device.
`What is that thing?`
`No idea.` Jerome slowly walked around the machine. On the metal body, a faded label was still readable — `Synthesizer: Prototype`.
`Probably some kind of pre-war laboratory.`
`Think there`s food in here?`
`You never give up.`
`So that means no?`
Jerome said nothing. Only a quiet hum broke the silence, so faint it could be mistaken for the wind. Then he walked to the wide window on the far wall — or what was left of it: most of the glass had broken long ago, sharp pieces stuck out from the frame, and hot wind blew freely inside. From here, they could see almost the entire city.
Below them lay the lake, the pier, half-flooded streets and gray buildings stretching to the horizon — and two familiar figures near the entrance to the skyscraper.
`Damn.`
`What is it?` Maggie came closer. Below stood Jim and Woody — they seemed to have just reached the building. Jim was the first to look up, and even from that distance they could see him freeze, then point his finger upward.
`They spotted us,` Jerome said.
And almost right away, a shout from below:
`Jerry!` The wind carried his voice between the buildings. Jerome leaned out of the broken window:
`We`re up here!`
`Find anything?`
`Don`t know yet!`
`Then wait! We`re coming up!`
`No, Jim, listen...`
`Or what?` Jim`s voice turned harder. `Your rules again?`
`It`s tight in here. Let us check everything first.`
Jim narrowed his eyes:
`Check what exactly?`
`I don`t know yet myself.`
`You don`t know, huh? But you sure look like you already found something interesting.`
`Jim...`
`Woody and I haven`t eaten for days either, in case you forgot.`
`I`m not hiding anything from you.`
`Of course not. That`s why you`re up there with Maggie. Alone.` A pause hung heavier than usual.
`Don`t start.`
`Start what? I`m just saying what I see. You always do this, Jerry.`
`Jim...`
`We`re going to try coming up ourselves. Whether you like it or not.` But he was no longer listening — he was explaining something to Woody with big gestures and pointing at the upper floors.
`Damn it,` said Jerome.
`What happened?`
`They want to come up. If they get in, this ends badly.`
`You think Jim has completely lost his mind?`
`I think he`s been going that way for a long time.`
Jerome stepped onto the landing. The heavy door was still open; distant voices echoed from below. He looked at the keypad, paused for just a second, then shut the door and typed in the lock code — the lock clicked and the red light came on again.
`I hope you know what you`re doing, Jerry,` Maggie said quietly. Jerome looked at the dark staircase beyond the door, and for a moment it seemed the strange machine in the lab had started humming a little louder.
`No, Meg.`
Jerome regretted his choice very quickly, but things got out of control even faster. Every way out was suddenly cut off, and moments later a furious Jim was already pounding on the locked door. At first Jim threatened. He swore he would break down the door, find Jerome, and cut his throat himself. Then anger gave way to hope. He tried to bargain, offered to split whatever they found equally, promised to forget everything. When that did not work, he began to plead. Then to beg. And a few hours later he was screaming and cursing again.
`Jerry! Open the door! Do you hear me?! You think it`ll save you? This door? I`ll get to you no matter what!
Fine... fine, to hell with it. Let`s talk like normal people. Just talk. If you found food, we`ll share it. I swear. Equal shares. Like before.`
`No.`
`Why?!`
`Because I don`t believe you.`
`I was angry! God, who isn`t angry these days?! Jerry... please. We`ve been through so much together. Don`t let me die here. You hear me? I said don`t let me die!
Damn you. Damn you, Jerry. Open the door and I`ll forget everything.`
`No. Go away.`
`Open the door and I`ll kill you, you bastard!`
Finally everyone was so tired they fell asleep. Even Jim suddenly went quiet and slept in the lobby among the skeletons. Jerome was woken by Maggie`s scream. The machine had somehow turned on and trapped her arm up to the elbow. She was crying, trying to pull free. Jerome`s chest went ice-cold, but suddenly the device flashed green lights and let go of Maggie`s arm. Her whole arm was covered in a strange jelly-like substance with a surprisingly nice smell that made their mouths water and created a strong urge to taste it.
Maggie licked one finger, then another. She scraped off some of the substance with her other hand and shared it with Jerome. Jerry threw himself at it like a starving animal.
`It`s sweet!` Meg said happily.
`Keep it down! Jim must not know about this.` Jerome and Maggie ran the machine again, this time with empty bottles they found on shelves in a cabinet. Unfortunately, the machine only worked one way — it needed something to coat with a bio-organic layer. Somewhere inside, there was surely a pure food product, but Jerry never dared to try opening it.
That evening they ate their fill, and the next day, after a morning feast, they made a plan. They would block the window, rest, and save energy for a big escape. The water was gone, but they found a large fish tank and the right tools. Jerome boiled all the water and collected the clean steam. The water still smelled a bit off, but they had no other choice. Getting out without being seen was nearly impossible: Jim and Woody took turns keeping watch.
Woody was especially good at it. He seemed to never sleep at all. Standing in the courtyard, he either watched every corner like a hunter or was already eating another raw rat. Woody was at his strongest and seemed made for this ugly post-Collapse world. Jim, on the other hand, was falling apart. Thin, with yellow skin and huge dark circles under his eyes, he looked more like a skeleton risen from the dead they had found in the lobby. His stomach kept refusing raw food, and only the thought of revenge got him out of bed each day and brought him to the locked door.
`Fine! You want to stay in there forever, go ahead! I`ll just watch you eat the girl, then your fingers, then everything else, until nothing is left of the traitor I once knew! Jerome! You`ll die in there, you filthy rat!`
Jim called Woody, and together they blocked the door completely. By doing this, he also cut off his own path to revenge and sank deeper into despair. Hunger began playing dangerous games with his mind. In his eyes, Woody was a servant, a slave, ready to give his life without question — and Jim saw this as normal. Jim stared at Woody for a long time. Woody sat bent over yet another rat. Blood dripped from his fingers as he chewed slowly, carefully, as though doing an everyday task.
Once Jim had found it disgusting. Now it made him jealous. At first he tried not to think about it. He turned away. Closed his eyes. Pictured roast meat, bread, soup — anything. But his brain kept coming back to the same thought. Woody eats. And I don`t.
Each morning Jim woke weaker. He got up with difficulty. His hands shook. Dark spots floated before his eyes. Sometimes he thought he smelled things that were not there. Sometimes he saw people in empty windows. One night he woke to his own groaning. His stomach cramped so badly he lay curled up, unable to breathe fully.
Woody slept beside him. Huge. Warm. Alive. Jim pushed the thought away at once. But it had already taken hold.
The next day he caught himself looking not at Woody`s face, but at his neck. And then — feeling true regret that Woody was too big, too strong, and too hard to kill. That night Jim barely slept. He lay with his eyes open, listening to the wind howling through empty windows and the growling of his own stomach.
At last he could not take it. Slowly getting up from the floor, he found the knife and looked at Woody. Woody sat still with his eyes open, looking like a dead man walking. No person can stay awake that long. To be sure, Jim waved his hand in front of Woody`s unblinking eyes several times. The moonlight lit Woody`s neck in an inviting way. No longer able to fight himself, Jim raised the knife with a shaking hand and pressed the blade against the wide neck of his friend. Woody grabbed his arm in a flash and with several quick moves drove the knife into Jim`s chest. But Jim was so weak he only let out a muffled groan.
Woody drank his blood under the moonlight for a long time. The next morning, when Maggie looked outside once more, she saw Woody standing in the middle of the street holding a chewed arm. He stared at her with empty eyes, and once again the hair on Maggie`s head stood on end.
And so they lived, side by side — savages next to a savage — until the machine suddenly ran out of shells. Jerome and Maggie had gained some weight and were now strong enough to travel, but the only door was completely blocked from the outside. Beneath the window, Woody kept watch around the clock, having fully lost his mind and become more animal than human. Maggie was terrified of him and often cried, but now that the food was gone, Jerome knew he had to act fast. It was already too late today, so he decided to spend the next day packing and leave the following night.
But come morning, Meg was gone. Jerome looked out the window — Woody sat peacefully in his usual spot, like a statue. This room had only two ways out: the window, or a hole in the ceiling leading to the third floor. But Jerome had told Maggie from the very first day never to go up there. Of course — it was her last day here, and she wanted to see what was above.
`Maggie! Meg! Can you hear me?` Jerry shouted. From outside came Woody`s wild roar. He threw himself at the wall several times like a big cat.
`At this rate he`ll actually make it up,` Jerry thought grimly. With great effort he pulled himself up, trying to squeeze through the gap in the floor above him.