I hadn’t planned on eating all of the stew. I really hadn’t. But it was gone and the sun was creeping up over the horizon. I had slept remarkably well, with none of the nightmares that usually plague me.

I tidied up my shelter and rearranged the contents of my battered satchel. Two knives with a minimum amount of rust on the handles. A small spool of black string. A handgun that I had only ever used twice and the ammo that I had collected.

I stuck my head out of my shelter and scanned the surroundings. I didn’t see any movements from the edge of the forest directly ahead of me. To my left, I didn’t see any people coming over the crest of the hill that my shelter was on & to my right was nothing but more rolling hills and they all seemed devoid of human life.

I walked out and closed the door behind me. With the satchel over my shoulder I started off into the dark forest. I wasn’t sure what I would find today but I deliriously hoped for another goat.

Everything was fine until I heard footsteps.