Snowing @Strawberry Scream

[siir3n]

The first noble truth, as quoted from Buddha, stated that life is suffering. Suffering is universal and has many causes. Pain, hunger, sickness, failure, and the impermanence of pleasure.​

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And none more true than the latter. In a world used up by impermanence and reckless decisions made by those that could have anything they wanted or needed at their fingertips. The last people to live such a way. The consequential fallout of a temporary moment in time rendered the future barren of such luxuries. Of necessities...​

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People died. Most people died. The people that made those decisions.. died. It was essentially the end, the explosive, hateful end. Everything that someone would expect from a nuclear weapon experiment going awry. Which fifty years ago may have consisted of a lesser bomb which may have not destroyed nearly the entire planet. Unfortunately, humans decided a regular nuclear weapon wasn't enough to climb the ladder to most powerful country. Instead, a new and improved bomb was brought into play. It always played out that way after all, stones to swords, swords to guns, bombs to bigger bombs. It was destined to happen at some point. But the strange reality of it all, was that it never got the chance to be used how it was meant to be used. It never flew into the sky with a sizzling whistle. Instead, it made its grave in a crater of toxicity right where it had been bedded down in its scaffolding, within the metal building, deep inside a military installation. No one ever saw it coming. The numbers were right, the water was cool..​

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It trickled down to everything going wrong, the delicate balance of life being tossed aside for a new world. Infrastructure collapsed. And then it got cold and harsh.. All within the first couple months. Those that did survive the initial explosion mostly perished, too, whether it be from radiation sickness or other issues pertaining to the plummeting temperatures, such as the immense food shortage. The populous plummeted down to extinction levels. Or at least it seemed that way. There wasn't really any way to confirm one way or another because worldwide communication was rendered impossible for most regions. Rumors wafted about, but little could be said for the validity of them. Radiation had a way of cutting off signals. The cold froze up motors in vehicles, the world came to a halt. Even the birds in the sky plummeted to the ground like a hail storm, whether made of metal or flesh.​

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After time passed from the event, groups began to colonize small areas where the radiation was lower and start families, build houses, and raise livestock. But the radiation had harsh effects on everything being born there. Cattle came out deformed, children with too many fingers or toes. The food made people sick, and the water made them sicker. Survival in a post nuclear war world was difficult at best, and impossible at worst. Some had found success underground, but there was no way to live an entire life without the surface world. It was complicated.​

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However, some things stopped adding up.​

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About ten years after, when the radiation had began to settle in like silt in a river, children started being born with the ability to tolerate it. And some went further than general immunity, some were thriving on it. It wasn't like the laws of physics had stopped applying, but these kids were different than a calf with two heads. Heightened senses, cold tolerance, endurance, height, and it was even suspected some could hear others thoughts, or even manipulate their own appearance. Just rumors of course.​

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These people would go missing shortly after exhibiting these signs in almost every case. However, a couple managed to elude slipping into the shadows and disappearing, including a man named Noé. Though there was nothing physically deformed about him, he was being tracked for a reason and had been since he was a child.​

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"Fucking! ..Who the fuck raided the supplies?" A loud voice echoed through the deserted mall like a megaphone, the echo carrying on endlessly. This was punctuated with a slam of the metal storefront bars. "At least a quarter of our fucking food is gone, and two of our guns. Pills.. shit." A head of white hair peered around the corner, lavender eyes meeting the back of a hunched over man, frustratedly digging through a stockpile of items.​

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He smirked, a candy bar hanging from his lips. His absolute favorite, a KitKat. They were hard to acquire, but those that had survived were surprisingly still good. If he even saw a single one in someone's stockpile, it was enough reason for him to raid them. Aside from other delicious food they may have. He was always starving.. so. A backpack hanging on one shoulder and a rifle on the other, Noè stepped down into the deep snow, abandoning his temporarily allied group to move onto the next. This was his pattern. He would join up, gain trust, and then steal whatever food and supplies he needed.​

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He had to survive somehow.. and being constricted to rationed portions was a deal breaker for him. Not to mention all the rules and constant hard work. He couldnt stay in one place too long otherwise.​

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Noè crumbled up the candy bar wrapper into his pocket, licking a bit of chocolate off his lips. He was already grabbing another right after, traversing into the tree line and into the woods. As long as he had snacks and something to drink, he could travel miles... All was well, he'd gotten a good haul.​

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"Uggghhh." Noè groaned, stumbling side to side on his feet. His fingers were shaking and weak. Why had he eaten all his food in the first two days? And the entire town he desperately tried to reach.. was completely picked over. "This is it. I'm gonna die." He panted raggedly. It had been almost a whole day since he'd eaten. Noè could have cried at the thought.​

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"Ugh." He dropped down to his knees, setting his backpack and gun on the pavement. He'd barely ducked into the empty-shelved gas station, the wind whistling through the broken windows. His hair and lashes were filled with snow and his skin was pink. He exhaled a plumb of white breath, slumping against the wall. He looked close to death, barely able to keep his eyes open.​