I kept running. I pointed my plasma revolver over my shoulder and fired a few shots. I didn't look back to see if I had hit anything. There were too many of them. Octolings, we called them. We named them after the Inklings, who had nearly driven us to extinction over a millennia ago. The survivors were struggling to survive in this new world. Nearly all life during the 21st century was gone. Only humans were left. I was one of the unlucky ones. I was cryogenically frozen, preserved as a sort of time capsule during the latter months of 2040. A thousand years later, I woke up to a world where every day was another day of survival. We didn't know if we would live or die. We just knew one thing: survive at all costs. Now, back to the event at hand. I kept running through the field of grass, dodging blasts of ink from the octoling military. I kept running. I saw a city on the horizon. It was the city that the Inklings called "Inkopolis". It was the largest city in this new world. I often explored the massive metropolis, as it was an area that Octolings wouldn't go into. I ran towards the city, firing bursts of plasma behind me as I sprinted towards it. About a half mile later, the Octolings gave up the chase. I holstered my gun and ran into the city. I climbed one of the nearest buildings to avoid being spotted by the citizens. I pulled up the hood of my red zip-up hoodie and ran across the rooftops. I ran for half an hour before I got to the city square. Most of the Inklings of the city spent their time doing something called a "turf war" from what I understood. From what I saw, two teams of four inklings tried to cover the field in their ink, while trying to eliminate opposing inklings. I climbed the tall green tower that was in the center of the city. I leaned against the antenna and got out my rations. A light ham sandwich and an apple. Not much, but since we were fighting for our lives, what we ate was at the least of our worries. Heck, we were lucky if we ate anything at all. I ate the food and climbed down. I ran across the tops of the buildings. Halfway to the edge of the city, I took a break to rest. I looked over the ledge into an alley. An inkling with long, black tentacles with purple spots was being stuck up by two inklings in paintball masks.
"Give us your money, or we'll make sure you don't perform again!" The one in front of her said. I put my hood up and jumped down. I knocked the one behind her out. I pushed her out of the way and knocked the other's lights out. I climbed up the wall. When I got to the top, I realized that my hood was down. I quickly put it up and continued running to the outside of the city. I ran towards our base. We called it 'The Elephant', after a mobile base from a videogame I used to play. I approached the base. Three of our guards stood up and aimed at me.
"Code, now." The captain said.
"Olly olly oxen free." I said. "Now let me get my freakin' report in."
"Alright, head on in." They crouched back down into cover. I walked through the titanium door into the mess hall. I walked past the few rows of tables where survivors were eating their rations. I walked up a flight of stairs to the bridge of the base.
"Commandant?" I said, approaching a woman in a blue military uniform.
"Yes?" Her cold voice replied.
"I have made my report." I extended my arm to give her a data disk that had my report on it. She turned around. Her blueish-grey eyes looked at the disk. She grabbed it and turned her back to me.
"Thank you, Sergeant Logan. Get some rest. You'll need it for your next expedition." She walked over to a terminal. I turned around and left the bridge. I went to the mess hall and grabbed my rations. I ate them quickly, then went to the armory to grab more battery packs and cooling charges for my gun. I cleaned the revolver and holstered it back onto my belt. I walked to my dorm and flung myself onto the bed. Even after a couple thousand years, we still used wool blankets to keep warm while we slept. I passed out. When I awoke, I turned on the holographic tv. I flipped to an inkling news channel.
"This is breaking news!" one of the announcers, an inkling with long black tentacles said. "There have been multiple reports of a strange creature roaming around the city. I can confirm these reports, as I was saved by one yesterday."
"Well, shoot." I said. We were finally going into the light.