The King of Mars

It was like being born, coming out of my shelter.

My shelter, the underground room that has been my home for as long as I can remember. I can't even begin to describe the feeling I got as I climbed to the top of the ladder leading out of my hole, turned the hatch, heard the glorious clunk of the hatch unlocking, and felt fresh air on my face. I also can't describe the feeling of climbing out, looking for signs of life expectantly... and seeing nothing but a wasteland stretch out before me. My backyard was a barren desert of stone and sand. It was cold out, only the naked branches of hardy looking vegetation dared to venture out from patches of dirt and dead grass. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I didn't expect to be so alone, lost in the middle of what used to be home.

My eyes surveyed the nearby area. There was a black duffel bag about five feet away. Anticipation grew in my chest as I walked over to it and picked up a hastily written note:



This must be from Dad, I thought, it has to be. I pocketed the note and looked at the bag. It was very bulky. I unzipped it and the first thing I pulled out was a shotgun... oh. Suddenly, I felt the urge to go back into my hole and hide. But I have work to do. Setting the shotgun aside, I fished out a strange outfit. It looked like some kind of hard leather chest plate with a chain mail hood. A pair of tie-on leg pads made from the same material completed the outfit, along with a tool belt full of stuff I'm positive will prove useful. A long bowie knife fit onto the belt and this archaic, animal skin pouch full of some bitter-smelling liquid. The last few items to come out were a box of shotgun shells (duh), a burlap sack filled with shards of coal (what?), and a playing card with a big N written on the back (okay, now I'm confused). With nothing left, I put the strange armor on over my clothing so I looked like some kind of medieval rogue. I descended back into my hole to fill the duffel bag with whatever supplies I had left (some food, a Geiger counter/compass multi tool, my radio, my favorite book, a flashlight, a few boxes of matches, and medical stuff I never had to use). Assuming the N on the back of the playing card meant north, I took one last longing look at hatch in the ground and left for the wasteland.