Sempiternal

I woke in a standing position up to a blinding red strobe light and I immediately begin to flail and kick around the tiny space I was confined in. In front of me the door to the chamber popped and screeched loudly as it opened slowly. I didn't know what horror awaited me behind it and closed my eyes and waited for the door to stop.

I didn't hear nothing and opened my eyes and to my surprise it was pitch black with the strobe light the only source of illumination. I rip the tape and wires off my body and exit the chamber. From what I could see there was no one around and from the looks of the tables and various medical instruments all covered in a thick layer of dust it seems like they awhile ago.

I fumble around the tables and find a Faraday flashlight and shook it violently before turning it on to have a better look.
It was a enormous room spanning over ten acres at least with many stories and a high ceiling and crates stacked all around covered in netting. I continue to look around and almost dropped the light when I saw an enormous American flag that was tattered and torn hanging off a balcony.

I had gotten myself in one Hell of a predicament and wondered suspiciously were exactly was I. If I was going to find out I had to get out of there and hopefully not get caught.

It didn't take me long to find a massive steel door at the other end and wasted no time turning the lever and put all my strength into pushing it open. It would only go so far and I stopped pushing about halfway. I hurriedly step outside and in shock again that I was in some sort of tunnel dug into rock. I could see sunlight poking through what I thought was camouflage netting and was surprised to feel it and seen that was some form of vegetation.

I take a deep breath and poke my head out of the vines first to a breathtaking sight. I have heard from many people that America had the most beautiful forests in the world and only seen them in books until now. I step outside into the peaceful serene view and turn around to see an imposing mountain behind me beautifully adorned with lush green trees and grass.

It seemed that no one else was around and decided to go back inside and grab some essentials for an extended stay in the woods. I walk back inside and begin to start smashing crates open. Most of the contents were of no use to me but I did however find a room nearby full of American military gear.

If they did find me I would do my best to blend in. I put on a uniform and all the ceramic plate armor to go with it including a helmet. I then grabbed a rucksack and packed it with a tent, an air mattress, a couple of axes and knives, and plastic bladders to store water. The food had long went rotten and inedible. The last thing I grabbed was a dusty and slightly rusted M-4 carbine and a cleaning kit plus over a dozen magazines before I left.

I step back outside after closing the door and begin to put as much distance away as I could to avoid detection. I left a mark with my knife in a tree so I could find the place again easily if I had to. The mountain was only a few miles behind me and I was begging to feel dreary as the weight of my armor and the pack along with the blistering sun sapping my strength. I didn't walk much further and was relieved when I reached a small cave conveniently situated near the mouth of a fresh water stream.

I drank myself sick and decided to check out the cave that I would call home for now. It was only about the size of an average living room and more than enough room for my tent and some. In no time I set up a tent filled my plastic bladders with water and gathered enough wood for a fire before sundown.

I felt much better about my situation now and started a small fire before dark for heat and light as I relaxed for awhile and sat at the mouth of the cave while looking at the surroundings. It was a beautiful clear full moon night and even in the darkness the forest teemed with all sorts of life. I've been all over Russia during my childhood and never seen such beauty in our country.

I knew that tomorrow I would have to search for some kind of food and retreated to my tent to sleep off my exhaustion. I peacefully sleeping on my mat when I am awakened in the middle of the night by the deep and horrifying roar of nocturnal predators. There was no way I was sleeping through that and sat at the mouth of the cave with my gun hoping that I wasn't on the menu.

The sun poked it's head over the horizon and shone brightly on my face to welcome a brand new day. When I felt that it was safe enough I decided to walk outside and begin the search for food. I couldn't believe the variety of edible Black, Blue and Raspberry bushes only a small hike away from my camp and filled my bag along with Pecans and Peanuts that littered the forest floor until it was almost to heavy to carry.

I went back to camp and feasted on the easily found forage. I was full of energy and restless and decided to take a risk to venture out further towards a small hill just past my camp for a better view.

I stayed underneath the canopy avoiding the sun as I walked cautiously up the hill with my head on a swivel looking around for anything suspicious. It was so much easier to hike without that bag weighing me down. The armor was still heavy but necessary. It was the only thing keeping me from being shot on site.

I push through the briars and hedgerows and finally crested the top of the small hill. From there I could easily spot my camp and admired the massive expanse of forest that spanned for a few miles in every direction. I wasn't sure about what it was but saw the sure sign of smoke rising in the distance right behind me and was either a wildfire or a town but didn't want to find out either way.

I could speak English fluently but my accent would have been a dead giveaway. It's not like I could just stroll in their town and ask for directions back to Russia anyway. But at least there were people in close proximity

I kept my head down and returned to camp for rest throughout the afternoon until nightfall were I would stand guard at all hours of the night and listened to the nightmarish screeches and screams of other animals being killed and eaten.

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months as leaves started to change on the Deciduous trees and fall off as the weather started to get colder and the easy food that was everywhere in the summer starting to get harder to find. I ventured out further from camp in search of food and found all the bushes stripped clean and bare as I walked about aimlessly and marking my trail on trees so as not to lose my way. I was on may way back to my camp when I saw something small out of the corner of my eye that made me drop down to a prone position and hide.

It was a Zebra and a baby one if that. It was only about three and a half feet tall with a brown cloak and shiny jewelry in its big floppy ears. I had never seen such a creature before and thought that Zebras only lived in Africa.

But whatever it was had carved a path in the dirt and was clearly visible and predictable. I figured if worse came to worst I would have to start trapping and eating animals to get through the winter. I didn't even like the thought of killing something but if I was to survive I would have too.