post_apocalypse_story/mb-First_Steps_Outside.html

121 lines
6.7 KiB
HTML

<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title> First Steps Outside </title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="html_resources/style.css"></head><body><a href="index.html"><button class="back">&lt;</button></a>
<h1> First Steps Outside</h1>
<p>
The station is is much larger than any of the metro stations inside the
dome. It has many platforms. Portions of the tall roof that is supported
by large stone pillars and rusty steel beams have caved in and what&apos;s
still standing has holes. Rays of light poke through holes in the walls
and the roof. All of that is visually stunning but what really catches
Annie&apos;s eyes are the plants everywhere. Parts of the platforms are
densely covered in the thin, green blades of some plant giving them a
fuzzy look. Vines cling to the walls and pillars, crawl along gaps and
edges, and hang from the rusty beams and the fringes of the caved in roof
sections. Moss grows on the rusted benches and trash cans.
</p>
<p>
Jack turns off the generator and decelerates the train. Clanging from
under the floor followed by the squeaking of the brakes. The train runs
over a bunch of bushes and tall flowers that have taken root on the
tracks before coming to a halt next to a staircase in the center of the
platform.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Exit to the right</span>, Jack says in unison
with the automated voice while turning the switch for the doors and
gesturing towards the passenger area.<br />
<span class="quote speech">After you.</span>
</p>
<p>
Annie walks over to the closest door and pushes the button. Pressurized
air hisses and the right half opens very slowly. They step out onto the
platform. Annie breathes the warm air. It smells of the run-over plants.
Insects are buzzing about, and the wind rustles through the leaves. She
crouches down and touches the carpet of green fuzziness.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Grass. It grows pretty much everywhere,
usually much taller than this though.</span><br />
She looks up at him.<br />
<span class="quote speech">I knew there would be more plants out here... I
didn&apos;t expect that many of them.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Welcome to the outside world. Wanna take a
quick look around?</span><br />
She gets up.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Sure.</span><br />
Jack uses a key to close the door and they get going.
</p>
<p>
The two walk down the flight of stairs in the center of the platform
taking them to an underpass. The floor is covered in water so they follow
a ledge on the side. Jack leads Annie up the stairs to the last platform.
From there, they step outside through a side entrance.
</p>
<p>
Annie is hit by the light and warmth of the setting sun. She closes her
eyes and faces it for a moment.<br />
<span class="quote speech">This is nice.</span> She turns to Jack.
<span class="quote speech">And this light is just always up there?</span>
<br />
Jack chuckles. <span class="quote speech">Well... No. Only during the
day.</span><br />
Annie looks around. They are standing on a balcony-like platform
overlooking a city in a valley.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Wooow</span>, she utters in astonishment.
<br />
<span class="quote speech">Ivydale - or at least what remains of
it.</span><br />
She walks over to the rusted railing and goes to lean against it.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Don&apos;t lean on that.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Why not?</span><br />
She steps back.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Watch.</span><br />
He pushes against it. Loud cracking follows, and the ringing of metal.
A roughly two meter wide section of the railing breaks loose and falls.
Annie takes a bigger step back. The railing crashes into the ground
below with a loud ringing bang.<br />
<span class="quote speech">How did you know?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">I made the same mistake over there.</span>
<br />
He points to another missing section in the railing that Annie
hadn&apos;t noticed before.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Be careful around old buildings.</span>
</p>
<p>
Cautiously stepping back to the edge, Annie looks down. Bushes overgrow
everything, covering the hillside below the tall sandstone wall holding
the embankment with the station. The walls of small ruins and half
fallen-in fences stick out here and there, and the bushes are interrupted
by what remains of roads and staircases. Small rivers cut through the
landscape. Annie looks up. The ruins further down the valley are larger
the closer they are to the center of the urban area below.<br />
<span class="quote speech">It&apos;s much bigger than &lt;dome
city&gt;.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Many things are bigger than &lt;dome city&gt;.
This is the smaller of two sister cities.</span><br />
He points towards another urban center in the distance.<br />
<span class="quote speech">That over there is Sentinel Shores, the place
I used to call home.</span>
</p>
<p class="comment">
At some point before this, Jack needs to tell her something along the
lines of &quot;No pity. I chose this life.&quot;
</p>
<p>
After pointing out some other notable landmarks, Jack decides it is time
to get going. He starts to lead the way, walking towards the side of the
station that they arrived from. The balcony-like walkway connects to
a wide staircase down from the end of the embankment where the mountain
extends over the tunnels and the back wall of the station. It leads to a
collapsed bridge next to a large waterfall. Annie marvels at the sheer
amount of water flowing by, something that she had never before seen.
</p>
<p>
Jack goes ahead, climbing down the wall where the bridge used to begin
by grabbing onto the edges of the large sandstone blocks. Annie struggles
to follow. After what feels like an eternity, she manages to get half-way
down the wall.<br />
<span class="quote speech">You can jump from there.</span><br />
<span class="comment">Something interesting needs to happen here.</span>
<br />
They make their way across the fast-flowing river by stepping on large
stones in the water, and continue through the bushes towards Outpost 53.
</p>
<p class="copyright">Copyright &#169; 2023 Jan Danielzick (aka. BodgeMaster) &ndash; All rights reserved.</p><script>let spans = ["<span class=\"paper green\">", "<span>"];let paper_sections = document.getElementsByClassName("paper");for (let i = 0; i < paper_sections.length; i++) {let lines = paper_sections[i].innerHTML.split("\n");let result = "";for (let j = 0; j < lines.length; j++) {result = result + spans[j%2] + lines[j] + " ".repeat(80-lines[j].length) + "</span>\n";}paper_sections[i].innerHTML = result;}</script></body></html>