The year is 2078. The World has gone off of the course. The population from 50 years ago has been cut by 97%. I have survived with my… well, what do call a thorn in your side that occasionally does something useful? Oh right, an acquaintance. Anyway, his name is X. At least, that’s what he calls himself.

And since you can’t make a nickname off of X, that has been what I’ve called him. Most days we survive on little to nothing. I never understood why X has stayed around, but I daresay I do have a certain sparkle to me.  X is a smaller person, but he has a strong build and can move heavier object than me. Not really the brightest in the world, but extremely loyal. Me? I have been specially trained my entire life to run like the wind.

Mostly bigger people I annoy to badly. I don’t exactly lack in the muscle department, but I don’t have enough to take on bigger people. My main talent is speed. Both of us have blue eyes, though mine are closer to green than his. We both have lighter tan skin, because being outside for too long is toxic now.  Now… to the story! X and I were walking down the rough, rocky road. The ground was littered with rubble and waste.

X looked over and said “Hey E, what are looking for?”

Yes. My name is E. Got issues? I replied, “I heard some rumors at the Grounds of an old warehouse. Normally, they have food stored in it and though most of it is bad, there may be some non-perishable stuff in there. Plus, it is a pretty good shelter.”

X looked down and asked, “What is the “Grounds”?”

“Oh! Right! That’s the name I call the place with the people who sell all the stuff. You know, the radom stuff they think will trick people.” I said.

“Oh,” X looked down and frowned. “What’s that?”

The object in question was reflecting in the sun. I examined the object. “I don’t know. Maybe we could sell it at the Grounds. They always take in shiny stuff.”

X picked it from the ground. “Can I keep it?”

I looked at him. “Why do you want it?”

X gave me a pouty look. “ Because it’s shiny, duh.”

“I can respect that,” I said, noticing it had gotten darker, “Ok, we’ve spent enough time looking at the rock. Let’s find some kind of shelter.”

We continued to walk down the road until we spotted a run-down gas station.

“Score!” I yelled. This place was awesome. It even had a roof. Without speaking, X and I declared that this is the new shelter. For you people at home, Gas Stations are awesome. The next day, we came across the city that the supposed “Warehouse” was at.

“Well… what does a warehouse look like?” X asked.

“Big?” I said nervously. If we found this, we’d be set for a couple of years. We scanned the area, looking for the biggest building. We found one, and decided to look around.

“Locked.” I said.

“Can I see the lock?” X asked.

“Why not?” I said, stepping aside. Not after long, the door was open. X must have really hurt his hand, but he never showed it.

“The shiny rock broke it..” X said sadly.

I took a look around. “Well, this seems to be the place.”