A hazy gust of cold wind blew across the desolated city, slipping in through crevices and gaps, causing the debris on the grounds to shift and rattle, and the last few rags left flapping at the rickety houses to fall implacably to the ground. The wind buffeted at the still figure hunched in the doorway, its decaying frame shuddering with each blast. A thin, sour river ran, discharging from a pipe further down the street where the puddles of muddy water had collected. The smell of rot and decay filled the air, but even more surprising was that it was almost intoxicating. The entire city was suffocating under the invisible lid that had risen to surround it, but this stench carried with it some entirely unknown essence that made him somehow, the man inside the doorway, feel even more alive that he had ever before.
He looked around the street, his eyes flicking over the corpse piled in the street, the ravaged houses, and everything else. He stepped down from the doorway, unceremoniously stumping his way across the snow-dusted courtyard. He wiped his nose onto his jacket, leaving a wet trail of blood on the dull white cloth. He didn't care. It was a small price to pay.
A creaking grew louder, and he looked down to see a pink mist curling around his feet. He froze to it and let it envelop his body, and he felt the skin, his teeth, the muscles around his eyes and in his jaw jump as the raindrops struck. The pink rain dissolved, leaving only a small layer of thick, wet flakes in its wake, and he raked handfuls of snow from the ground with his gloved hand. The snowflakes clung together, joining each other in a carpet of frozen white.
He raised his face mask and the snowflakes melted around his face. He grabbed his rifle and spun in a lazy circle. He stopped when he couldn't spot anyone. There were no lights in the distance, and no sounds of something moving or breathing, except for his own. He shoved his mittened hands into his pockets and set off down the road, the snow crunching underneath his boots.
The street had been frozen over for so long that even the slightest of vibrations set it ringing like a bell. He circled the area, searching for anyone, or anything. He felt more animal than man, on what he could only assume was their last stand. He had to try.
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