Last Desperate Stand: The Beginning of Something

Last Desperate Stand chronicles the life of a man living in a post apocalyptic world. The story of H.M. Wells is told through a series of journal entries set in the universe of 7 Days to Die. Click here to start from the beginning.

I’ve spent the past few days healing and resting. Did some work, but didn’t push it too hard. What’s the rush anyways? Got nothing but time on my hands. Only job is to not die really. I found some old processed canned meat in the store. Sham, they call it. It’s nasty shit meat, if you can even call it that. Salty as hell. But still, I can’t remember ever being so happy to stuff my face.

Took a day or two, but eventually I got some strength back and had a short walk around the nearby perimeter. A few blocks in each direction. Mostly abandoned forest. There is a lake nearby. The water is bad, but not so bad that I can’t boil it for a while and be fine drinkin’ it. Ran into a little trouble out there.

Been fortifying the exterior of the building by repairing broken sections of the walls. Even digging a trench around the outside to get some spikes laid into. If I can reinforce the outside and get comfortable topside, well this might just be the beginning of something. Some place to call home for a while.

During breaks in the digging I’ll scavenge inside the store and the area nearby, dragging back anything that might be of use. A lot of untouched resources. I should consider myself lucky, but I don’t much care for luck. I’d rather be good. I’d rather be better than good. Because luck runs out. And if you aren’t good when luck runs out, you’re dead.

Up top the focus is on categorizing and stashing away hard earned gear. Every survivor has his own special stash that no one knows about. I tend to keep some items that I can afford to lose out in the open. That way if someone does come around, they may just take that and be on their way. At least that’s the hope. If that doesn’t work, that’s what the arrows are for.

The other day I noticed a smoke column from a fire off in the distance. It was thin and looked intentional. It wasn’t moving around like when those flaming bastards wander over from the scorched area. If it’s a traveler, or scavenger, they may be announcing their arrival in a way. Some people’s way of saying, “I’m coming though, not looking for trouble.” Also could be a novice loner. Definitely a more dangerous possibility, as inexperienced folk tend to shoot first and ask questions later. Not too many greenhorns nowadays though. Rest assured, I’m gonna be on cautious alert until I find out.

-H.M.