At first it looked like an plain small wooden chest placed on top of a cabinet, and he’d stopped going through jewelry boxes long ago. What was the point?

But then he noticed the dials and Zenith logo, and realized what he’d found.

Excitedly dropping to the floor and tearing off his knapsack, he starts pulling out items. Twine. Bowie knife. Canned fruit. Compass. Until he finds his generator…a power drill with a broken cover and rigged crank off the side with the cord leading to a badly dented inverter.

He yanks the cabinet from the wall and more gently unplugs the radio. Plugging it into the inverter, he forces himself to turn the crank at a slow but steady pace, trying to control his breathing as he strains to listen for any sign of life. One minute, nothing. Then five. Nothing. After ten, he allows himself a jagged sigh and stops.

Then…through the cloth covered speakers, he hears a faint hum. Barely there, with no words or discernable pattern. It wasn’t much. But it was something. It was hope.