An unexpected martyr.
On this icy winter evening I am sitting in a ruined chair in a what looks to be saloon made of sheet metal, I take a sip of my drink and load my aged revolver, spinning the chamber with my fingers. I sigh and turn on an old tape recorder and begin speaking into it.
"The year is 2297 and the world is a destroyed wasteland engulfed in flames centuries ago. My name is Colin Moriarty. I have spent the last 50 years of my life tending a bar in a barren wasteland along the east coast. My father came over with a boat and a small fortune from his days as a mercenary and a merchant when he grew older. He brought me here from Europe in search of a better place when I was ten and died shortly after we got settled into my current settlement. These are my final words to my family."
I put my hand over the microphone momentarily to cough,
"During the spring when I turned 16, I began a saloon in one of the few settlements in the area. We had steady supply with the caravans that carried equipment around the wasteland to other places. Most of the original group died out on the trail, the second generation of the traders knew where to go and how to get there for the best business. I have seen my share of people come and go, even sadly witnessed people die in my saloon, close allies and enemies alike. But aside from those who came and went, my saloon was always a place of crazy drunkards and merry; and that was fine with me, always was. My saloon was the definition of wasteland living; no clean water, booze, chaos, and people of all places in it. We didn't look down on anyone, the door was always open and a bed open for a nap, if the price was right."
I smiled happily upon reflecting of my past and all my pleasant times behind the counter.
"This rust brown city in the middle of the desert was fine, I never saw a need to go out there. Everything eventually ended up in our city, including the closest things I would ever have to a brother, son, and grandson. James, Nathaniel, and Jack were and are my family. The people in this city are my family, even though they don't live in the actual city anymore. While the city may have been it's busy twenty years ago, I am now the city's last inhabitant."
I looked upon my once very busy saloon to the now empty and dusty saloon, with only the floors being clean.
"13 years ago, the so called government rolled into the wasteland and started overtaking settlements. Everyday, a man who had access to a working radio station informed of us of which settlement had been taken down next. We ignored it at first, simply sending out scavengers as our eyes and ears in the wastes. Once we lost our contacts out there, we decided it best to work to build a new town."
"Even after we got the new city built,it was along the river, underground, getting everyone to put their problems behind them was problematic. We had constant fights and we were having an even harder time uprooting some of the people from their homes they had inhabited for decades. As much as I hate to say it, when the Enclave, as they had named themselves, bombed a settlement on a aircraft carrier towards the basin, they did us a great favor, as it killed relatively few and gave a clear signal to the people of the wasteland. Everyone needed to work together or accept being in a grave by the end of the month. Divided factions put their differences behind them in the hopes of survival but even so we worked hard to keep them in separate sections of the city in order to avoid conflict."
"Unfortunately, we had a problem. If the entire town right to the northeast of the new city just went off the radar, they would be suspicious and start snooping around and at that point we would be doomed because eventually they would find us and even when we came together as a group, we were still horribly outnumbered. Me and my makeshift family would pay the price. Nathan staged a massacre in the town, with only myself and at the time, 6 year old Jack, being the survivors. They hauled him and Jack away to the prison sector of their base to the north for the past 13 years."
"Now they're finally home and I saw them for a few hours before this time has finally arrived. In all of my 65 years on this earth I have never lifted a finger without a price, same as my father, probably the same as his father. Now I prepare to pay the ultimate price to give the ultimate gift to the people of this city, to MY family; survival. These are my last words most likely so I am recording them on this tape recorder for those who I consider close. So they may know why I died, I, Colin Moriarty, The Unexpected Martyr. The likelihood I will survive the next few moments is slim to none. Well they're here. Goodbye Boys."
Helicopters roared overhead and armored troops stormed the gates and made a great deal of racket. The upper floor is covered with explosives all rigged for when the tape recorder stops.
"The truth is, as Nathan put it to me a long time ago when we first met, the only easy day, was in fact, yesterday."
Armored troops broke down the door and charged in, behind them followed the man who forced us into the rabbit-hole, and brought us together; Colonel Augustus Autumn. The colonel and I, much to my dismay, knew one another on a first name basis. The tape recorder has 7 minutes left until it runs out of space and stops. The colonel and I exchange angry looks and shake hands hatefully. The soldiers are in a full metal armor that has a dark green tint to it, while the colonel wears his aged and worn black overcoat. I am in my old blue and white suit.
"Good god Colin that thing looks like it hasn't seen the light of day in twenty years!" The Colonel says to me quite rudely.
"And yours looks like it hasn't been washed since it was made." I retort back with a smile. "So what do you want Augustus?"
"Right to business today? Alright then. Where are they?"
"Who?" I ask halfheartedly.
"Jack and Nathaniel, they escaped this morning."
"Haven't seen them, you really should keep better track of your prisoners up in that base of yours." I snickered at him while he turned red from embarrassment by his troops' ignorance.
"Cut the crap I know you know where they are Colin."
"Sorry Augustus, but our time is up." I said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Augustus asked with anger in his voice.
"See you in hell you poor, poor soul." I heard the tape recorder click and the explosives detonated above, and fire poured over the rails on the second story and engulfed us all. When the fire cleared my vision everything was blurred and I was in agonizing pain. Both the soldiers were dead, but the colonel's body was missing. I was leaned up against the side of my counter looking around frantically for him and I saw him throw a body of one of the soldiers off of him and pick himself up with his pistol in hand. I still had my pistol in my holster but he had the advantage of distance on me. He staggered forward, also quite dazed from the explosion, and tumbled down to my level. He looked at me and said,
"No matter where you are, no matter how hard you try, you can never fix your mistakes, and you will never kill me."
He shot me twice in the lung and once in the neck. I was bleeding out quickly and used the last of my strength to whisper, "I might not be able to fix them, but I can repay them, and I sure as hell can kill you." with that, I fired my revolver 5 times, all 5 went through his skull and would have killed him individually. I glanced at the tape recorder to see it was still recording, and laughed, "That's the wasteland for you, there is always something left, whether it be a bullet, a few minutes worth of audio, or anything else. There is...always something left..." the world began to fade to black and I felt water on my nose, it was raining. I closed my eyes willingly, knowing that there was hope still in the world.