Chapter 1
= William PoV =
it is the year 2073, after the Second World War there was a long period of peace which did not last forever, around 2034 the Third World War began and as the great Einstein said, "I do not know what we will fight in the Third World War but in the Fourth it will be with sticks and stones",, and to a certain extent he is right, the Third World War dragged on for a long time, we were still a boy then so I never found out who started it or who won, towards the end it really doesn't matter, the world ended, every city and other remote areas were destroyed or submerged in tons of radiation, you can't last outside without a gas mask for more than 3 seconds, life has become a fight for food, water, on top of everything you can't last long in one place, if there is no radiation fog outside then in some places a radiation storm circulates which can defeat even the most experienced survivors, the wisest thing is to be constantly on the move, the roads are not in the best condition and flying on long distances is almost suicide, no one has dared to look at the open sea yet, moreover, everything that did not hide and if it did not die, mutated and many times into really disgusting creatures, the only best way for transportation and survival is therefore a train, specifically a military train powered by electricity, it set off a long time ago from Vladivostok to Prague for supplies and replenishment of the fighting ranks, but after the fall of the atomic bombs and the appeasement of the governments, the train did not stop in Prague but connected to the international track and continued its journey hoping to find another station to stop at, that did not happen and the train continued along with its 17 wagons until today, the soldiers, workers and high-ranking officers who were ready to lay down their lives on the front began to get used to the fact that the train would probably never find its final station and so they began to make the transport train their home, the train became sealed due to radiation and the individual wagons were divided according to need, warehouse, armory, barracks, command center, kitchen and the mess hall, the radio station, the living quarters, the artillery wagon of the senior officers, the workshops and finally the infirmary where I have my place. Over time, my parents pushed me with all sorts of knowledge about healthcare. Thanks to that, I won a doctor's position on the train and thus ensured that I wouldn't be expelled from the train. Anyone who doesn't work or causes trouble will be expelled from the train by the commanding officers. They can never last very long outside. If the mutants don't kill them, the radiation will definitely kill them. There are also certain rules on the train. There are a lot of them. The commanding officers have made up hundreds of them for the sake of order, but only a few of them are strictly followed, such as the prohibition of fights outside the agreed ring, theft, abuse, murder, shooting inside the train and disrespect for rank. Otherwise, everyone can pretty much do whatever they want, that is, if they have the strength or enough saved salary. I don't have much money because I often buy medicine from the quartermasters and I admit that I'm not the strongest either, but that doesn't mean I don't have respect, after all, no one wants to die from radiation or bleed to death, you notice the work just because my medical wagon has one of the few windows, and when you're locked in a metal box for several years, you'll give anything to see at least something outside
??? : William, do you have a moment?
I had to interrupt my reverie when another patient came into my office, it was Private Henry from the artillery wagon, he and his friends often fight with the guys from the armory over all sorts of things, it doesn't often end in death, but it almost never happens that no one comes to me after a fight
William : So tell me Henry, what happened this time?
I directed Henry to the examination table, I unbuttoned his uniform to find a shallow stab wound in his right side, I pulled out sterilized bandages and pads and started to stop the bleeding, to my success I bandaged the wound and it was time for my payment
William : Now don't put too much pressure on the wound, do you have anything to pay?
Private Henry then took out a few worn-out banknotes from his pocket, this money is probably completely worthless now but here on the train it still serves as currency, if you had saved enough, you could treat yourself to an extra ration of food or a better pillow or even another clean filter for the day
Henry : Thanks doctor, don't you have something for the pain?
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key to the medicine cabinet, I went through some medicine that wasn't expired and found a small bottle of painkillers
William : Sure, I'll give it to you for another two bucks
Henry searched the pockets of his tattered uniform only to come up empty, so I put the medicine bottle away and locked the locker
William : Sorry buddy, if I gave away the medicine for free, I'd end up in trouble
Henry just nodded understandingly before getting up and leaving, so I was left alone in the office again, after a while it was getting close to evening so we got up and grabbed the old backpack that someone had left me here as payment, we took off my coat and I just threw a warm jacket over myself, I set off for the warehouse where I was going to get some supplies, on the way I met a few guys playing cards, sleeping or just chatting, one of the things a person has to fight against, apart from hunger, thirst and radiation is boredom, I got to the storage wagon and was greeted right at the door by the quartermaster, we put my bag on the floor and he already knew why I was here
??? : hello doctor, as always ?
William: you know me Charlie
Charlie then pulled out a few small boxes of medicine from behind the crates and a large mason jar of brandy
Charlie: it'll cost 30 bucks
I pulled out what I had saved and spent a fortune on supplies, we were packing the medicine when we noticed a mason jar with homemade brandy, I opened the lid and sniffed the liquid, it was so sharp that I almost dropped the jar
William: what the hell is that?
Charlie smiled before revealing that he had more of those jars
Charlie: I'm starting a new business, one jar is 7 bucks, what do you think? good idea, right?
I gave him back the glass
William: thanks but I don't want to go blind
Charlie was trying to persuade me to help him with the promotion but I refused, he could have persuaded me for a long time but I didn't change the time or my mood, I just wanted to calm down what I bought and go to bed before it was time to eat, I was walking through the radio operator's car and took the chance to talk to one of the radio operators
William: hey Frank, when is the next station?
an elderly man in a warm jacket took off his pants before looking at me before pointing to the map where our route was drawn
Frank: we will go underground again so probably sometime tomorrow evening, Lenin Leninovich station, the locals don't like us there though so I assume we won't have much time to go there, quick shopping away I recommend
i nodded and headed back to my office
- in the meantime -
as the armored train passed the empty gray fields and prepared to enter the subway from a distance from the top of a pick-up truck the train was being closely watched by a stranger
