The Goodwills: Adventure in an Apocalyptic World

Chapter three

“Argh" Victor grunted as he tried to sit up.

"Victor's awake!"

He heard someone say as he sat upright. He hadn't fully gotten himself when he felt someone rush into his arms.

“Victor" he heard and immediately he knew who that was.

“I'm so sorry for making you worried, Ness.” Victor said

“You're not to blame." Vanessa acknowledged with her face still buried in his chest.

“Is everyone here?" Victor asked as he looked around, paying attention to everyone's face.

Vanessa replied, “Yes, everyone is here." Relief washed over Victor’s face as he turned to see Robert and Caleb reunite with their wives.

After the joy of reunion everyone sobered up. The thought of where they were made every thought seem bleak and dark. Drops of water dripping from the top of the tent, the. damp ground, the squeaking noise made as rats interacted, the decaying smell that filled the air, the bars made of bamboo that separated the cells, all of these pointed and a future not to be desired.

Cough cough

An old man coughed so hard they thought his lungs would come of his mouth.

“Oh! New faces,” the old man gave a toothless grin as he gasped for breath “a lot of it too."

"What might be your offence?” after taking in enough air, he asked supporting his still lying body with his hand. He looked through the bamboo bars of the prison, attentively staring at the dozen or so faces on the other side of the bar.

“You don't look like you belong here, are you from the upper city? I've heard of the upper city, they say life there is totally different. Were you exile here because of something you did?"

The old man chatter almost none stop causing his audience to look more and more in confusion.

“Pardon my manners,” he said as though realising what he has done. He moved his body closer to the bar as he sat upright.

“I am seeking information without giving mine. Where do I begin?" The old man said, a look of melancholy on his face.

“Rufus Whitaker, that was what I went by before all of this. My parents were very regular white collar workers, meaning my life was very average.” he said as he raised his head looking at nothing in particular.

A bit after, he put down his head, his expression mellow as he continued with a hoarse voice.

“I had just finished high school and I was looking forward to the college entrance examination when it happened. The news was everywhere, meteors were heading for earth.”

The old man moved his body a bit trying to be more comfortable.

“Panic set in as the news fermented. Not too long later black dots were noticed in the sky and they got bigger as time went by.” Old Rufus sighed, immersed in his experience he mumbled a few names and shook his head.

“The meteors hit and everything except plants blacked out, humans and animals alike. The world went into a pause.”

His Audience, the Goodwills, were fully hooked to every word old Rufus spoke while still keeping their distance from the bars.

“When the world woke up, plants had grown wildly that's how we realised a long time had passed since the meteors hit. Cities were razed, a lot of people died, a lot more were injured. The first few years after the world woke up were really hard, everyone did all they could to survive.”

“Animals awakened their wild instinct and became even more dangerous, the dead became zombies, carnivorous plants got big enough to swallow a grown man, the dangers got more apparent. ,That was when the first superpowered human awakened by fusing with a meteor shard. ”

A look of longing filled his eye but it was quickly replaced with regret.

Before he could continue, Victor quickly interrupted “what exactly do you mean by superpower?" Seemingly voicing the question in everyone's heart.

“Oh! Superpowers could be anything. For example the first man to awaken had a superpower that doubled his body and body functions. Strength, speed, size, even respiration, immunity and digestion. It was the early days and most plants, animals and zombies hadn't evolved much.”

“He was a good man, he helped a lot of people and sacrificed his life for the safety of mankind. Rodrick city is named after him.” Old Rufus said with all of the respect and reverence he could.

“Over time, other people have awakened some strong, some average, even some weak but the status of the superpowered humans has only risen higher and higher.”

"The last sixty years has been humans trying to maintain the little space we carved out for ourselves and push further a bit. Technology has evolved through superpowers and the price for that is its rarity. The bloodline factor was also discovered and many other things. Even in this dangerous world, humans did not leave anything to chance.” Old Rufus said with pride.

“I've said my story, what is yours?” curiosity littered over his wrinkled face.

“Following from your story, it would seem we're just waking up since after the meteors hit. Does that make any sense?” Victor said without any confidence.

"Hmmm, late bloomers huh. But isn't it too late?” Old Rufus said not expecting an answer.

"There are people who woke up later than usual. Some days, some months, some years but the maximum I've heard of is ten years.” he said in continuation.

“Isn't being a late bloomer a good thing?" Robert asked. " You would have missed most of the extremely dangerous times”

“Hehehe. It's not that simple, there's a period of adaptation your body goes through when you wake up. During the early periods, it was faster but as time went on it got slower and slower. Adaptation period which was originally about a month in the early days is now as long as a year or more depending on your physical quality. Complete adaptation is characterised by a small scar, a third of the length of your thumb.” Old Rufus answered.

“Is there any good in all of this?" Victor asked dejected.

Old Rufus answered, "Well because you woke up in the hinterlands, you won't die from animal, plant or zombie attacks, that's a good I suppose.”

“You might die of starvation though.” he added hile yawning.

“I'm going back to sleep to save energy, hope you all are alive next time I wake up” old Rufus moved to a comfortable spot, shut his eyes and fell asleep.

The rhythmic sound of breathing soon came from him showing he was asleep but the Goodwills were not that carefree, not at all.