Have you ever wondered what would happen if the world ended? As a freelancer, do you have the skills needed to survive in a new world where everything you know and love is either dead, gone, or different?

This is a fun game we like to play in the office. In fact, it has turned into a sort of short story competition amongst the wfh office staff.

This is what our inter-office fiction idea has turned into over the last several months. We call it “Steel and Ink”. It’s the story about a group of freelancers dealing with the apocalypse, the aftermath, and trying to get their writing fix.

Ladies and gentlemen, we present the latest episode of Steel and Ink. We hope you enjoy it. Read on for the full episode.

Joe

Joe wandered through his home after working at his brother’s place all day. The electricity no longer worked. His water wasn’t working, either.

He and his brother had gone to the local Wal-Mart to see if there was anything worth looting. Ethan had laughed. The bread, eggs, and milk were all gone. Savvy looters had gone after the camping equipment and the produce that contained seeds.

Luckily, his brother already had the gardening covered. He had weapons and ammunition stockpiled. He was mostly after regular supplies, like hoses and buckets. Things he knew he could put off until the last minute.

Without electricity, Joe decided to go after what made him happy. Without access to his computers, he decided to raid the store in search of notebooks, pens, and pencils so he could continue his passions, which was writing.

Apocalypse or no, he would go out doing what he loved. The one section of the store that remained mostly untouched was the toy section. With three teens on the way, Joe decided to pick up some stuff for the Littles. He had no idea what to get a bunch of teenagers. He grabbed some water guns for the boy and then picked up a bunch of clothes for the girls. He wasn’t sure what they liked and there wasn’t much left, but he knew teenage girls liked clothes.

He also grabbed some scarves, bags, and backpacks. Then he grabbed some candles, even though there were only a few of those left as well.

What the hell am I even doing right now?

Ethan said nothing as they left the store, carts overflowing with loot.

Sarah and Tyrone

They had half a tank of gas left.

Sarah was starting to worry. Tyrone was starting to worry as well. She could see him grinding his teeth every time the needle dropped a bit more.

Suddenly, Tyrone jerked the wheel and pulled over.

“What are you doing?”

“I see people in this house. I’m going to ask them who’s crazy enough around here to take us in.”

“Why here?”

Tyrone took a deep breath and turned toward her, locking his eyes with hers.

“I’m starting to feel like we’re running out of time.”

She felt her stomach drop. Bile rose in her throat and she fought back the urge to vomit.

Tyrone got out of the car and slowly approached the front door of the house. He knocked lightly. Stopped. Then knocked a few more times.

An older man with a shotgun answer the door. Tyrone took a step back and showed his hands. She couldn’t hear what he had to say, but whatever it was, it worked. The man laid down his weapon and started pointing in various directions.

Her boyfriend seemed really excited, shook the man’s hand, and ran back to the vehicle.

“Got a line.”

“On what?”

“More like who. The guy said there is a crazy old guy named Ethan. He only lives about twenty minutes from here. He’s a notorious prepper and conspiracy theorist. Apparently, he’s been stockpiling supplies for years in case something like this happened.”

“Sounds creepy.”

Tyrone started the car and smiled. “With everything that’s happened, I think I’m ok with creepy. Seems almost normal”

The Littles

The more they drove, the few signs of life they saw.

People were gone. They were abandoning homes and communities they had been apart of for decades.

This is not how we will rebuild the country.

Tom let his mind drift a bit. To everything that happened. To the possibilities of would could happen. Tom wasn’t the biggest fan of his wife’s cousin. They had only met once and that was at their wedding. Ethan got drunk and started talking about crazy conspiracy theories. He freaked some people out. As far as the wedding, he had been that guy.

“Turn here, honey,” said Katla.

Related: payrollserviceaustralia.com.au

Tom’s mind snapped back to reality. He turned their minivan up the Tiny Dirt Road. There were no trespassing signs. Beware of dog. Every warning sign you’ve ever seen and some that were handmade. The tiny dirt road meandered up one hill, down the same hill, and then up another. The property must have cost him a fortune.

“He owns about 200 acres up here. Mostly woods, Very secluded,” said Katla, as if she was reading his mind.

Maybe this will work out after all.

Conclusion

Thanks for checking out our new web serial. It’s written by freelance writers, for freelance writers.

We’ll be adding a new episode every week. If you like fiction and you’ve always wanted the main characters to be some relatable, this is the story for you.

Feel free to drop some comments below to let us know how you like the web serial so far. Thanks!

The post Steel and Ink #4 appeared first on Wfh Office.