Michael woke with a groan, his hazy vision slowly returning to him. He saw a sliver of light in the darkness around him, and with his blushed vision, pushed the debris off his beaten and bruised body. He looked at the world falling apart around him as he recollected his thoughts. He reached for his glasses to adjust them, hearing a light crunch under his foot. Dammit. He lifted his foot, and picked up the shattered frames, putting them on his face. Well, broken is better than nothing.
Suddenly he was hit with a pang of realization. "LINDSAY!" He shouted as he clamored up the rubble, beginning to look through the destroyed building around him for his wife. He pulled away brick after brick. Nothing.
"Lindsay!? Lindsay where are you!?" He shouted in a panicked voice, when he heard a distant cough and sputter. He rushed over and struggled to pull away a large piece of wood be believed used to be a coffee table, to reveal the redhead, alive. He sighed in relief, and helped her out from under the heavy pile of concrete and glass. "Lindsay, are you all right?" He asked her, clearly concerned about her state. God knows what hit her, or how long they were under all this stuff.
"I'm….. I'm fine…." she replied him, coughing and sputtering, a few drops of blood leaving her mouth, a distressing sight to Michael.
"Here, lets go find the others," he told her, as he wrapped her arm around his shoulder and walked her down what used to be their apartment, and whispered under his breath, "I sure hope they're all right…."
The two wandered around the shell of Austin looking for their co-workers for hours. What were tall building, became barely the height of homes. Familiar landmarks reduced to dust at their feet. Their beloved home of Austin had turned into a wasteland. It appeared they weren't the only survivors, as they saw handfuls of people walking around, looking through the chaos for loved ones and friends. Just as they were.
After what seemed like forever, rounding out to 4 days, and only finding 6 others, they decided it was time to stop. The group was small, but they had each other. Many other citizens did as they did, grouping with family, friends, even complete strangers, if just for safety.
Their group was a random assortment of friends, comprised of Michael, Lindsay, Gavin, Ryan, Caleb, Burnie, Blaine and Barbara. Many of them spent most days mourning the loss of loved ones, but often they would leave the campsite they set up to find food or medicine. It was usually Blaine, Burnie, Ryan or Michael went out to hunt or scavenge food, while the others would search for supplies or watch camp, often defending their belonging from "scavengers" - as they had begun to call those who would loot from other campsites and bring them to their own. They did that on occasion, but only to camps they were positive were abandoned. You only make enemies in a dystopia when you're a dick.
None of them could ever really recollect what happened, or why they were put in that position, but things were changing for them and fast. At some point, members started to feel a strange presence around them, and it was going to be a big problem, they would soon learn. As doctors began to become sparse, every medical personnel was like a gift from god. However, there seemed to only be a few, maybe one or two, left in the shell of a city, posing as a problem for everyone. First aid kits and other items began to be stolen along with food and other necessities.
Later, as the group gathered around a makeshift fire in a divot of the rubble, Michael looked over to Lindsay to ask her something, only to see her collapsed on the ground, not moving or responding. It began to look like she wasn't breathing.
"...Lindsay?" He assumed she was asleep, and that simply calling her name would wake her up. It did not. He scrambled up off the piece of rubble and clambered over to his wife. "Lindsey you all right?" He asked her, shaking her shoulder lightly. She did not respond. Michael's face drained of all life, as it was replaced with a look of fear and worry. "Lindsay?!" He grabbed her shoulders and began to act hysterical, shaking her pale, limp body back and forth.
"Michael! Stop it!" Burnie yelled, pulling him away. "Ryan, go get the first aid kit! Now!"