Rain

It was hard to believe it would ever rain again. The sun, approaching its zenith, beat down mercilessly alone in a clear blue sky with no clouds in sight. The man wiped the sweat from his brow with a grubby handkerchief that was already sopping wet at 11 am. He stood in the lee of a two-storey building that had once been a pharmacy. His faint hope that there would be something useful left on the shelves was dashed as soon as he got close. The place had been looted months ago, by the looks of it. The interior was a mess of overturned shelving and broken glass.

He glanced at his wristwatch. It was a mechanical, automatic kind that had been a godsend now that batteries were so hard to find. However, it did not keep very good time, gaining about five minutes a day, so he would reset it every morning and adjust it whenever he came across a relatively accurate clock, although these were getting hard to find.

He was tempted to stay a while, at least until the sun began to descend in the sky, but he knew he had to keep going. The others would be waiting for him. If he delayed too long, they might move on without him.

He shrugged on the backpack and shouldered the rifle, which made him return to his worries about ammunition. It was getting scarcer; he had only twenty rounds left. Perhaps it was time to look at alternatives. Some people had already adopted the bow and arrow or the crossbow. You could always make your own arrows; there were still plenty of trees in good condition, and you could recover most of them after firing if you were prudent.

Man had returned to his hunter-gatherer roots. Hunting wildlife for food, although the animal kingdom had suffered as much as humanity, and there were fewer animals to be found. These survivors had reorganized into groups based on families, friends, or just random encounters. They mostly wandered through the devastated countryside in search of food. Their diet was mainly meat; they feasted after a kill and then basically starved until the next. Plant life had become scarce, and edible vegetables and fruits rarer still. Organized agriculture had practically disappeared, but there were still a few hardy plants surviving in nooks and crannies that provided a meagre supply of berries and occasionally, root vegetables.

He had no idea what the worldwide human population was, but in this area it had declined to a few thousand rather than millions. He guessed that no more than 1% of the population survived. But he thought there were some encouraging signs. He had the vague impression that there were more children around than a few years ago. But I could be completely wrong, he thought wryly.

He wiped his brow and pulled on his wide-brimmed hat before stepping outside again. He resumed his habitual steady pace, trudging along the deserted street, taking advantage of any patches of shade. The sun bore down on him like an angry sun god intent on punishing sinful and disloyal worshipers. I’ll teach you to neglect me, it seemed to say. Global warming indeed.

Glancing up at the sky, he noticed a smudge of white near the horizon, the only blemish in a pure blue sky. A cloud? It was like a tiny seed of hope that lifted his spirits as he continued on his way.