The Survivors of Bastion (Fall of Earth Book 1) by Will Hawthorne Page B

the plate of food in my hand before climbing down the ladder, the rifle strapped over his shoulder shaking as he took each rung. ‘Here.’ – I handed the plate of food to him, taking off the extra portions I had brought for myself. – ‘Go have a good time with everybody else. I’ll look after your post till the end of your shift.’
                  ‘Seriously?’ Robbie asked incredulously. ‘Why?’
                  ‘Because you’re my little brother, and this is what big brother’s do.’
                  Robbie took the plate from me and smiled, admiring the food before looking back up at me.
                  ‘Thanks, Tommy…’
                  ‘Go on, get out of here,’ I smiled, ‘before I change my mind.’
                  Robbie handed me his rifle and I took it, and my food, up to the lookout post, getting myself seated.
                  Over the space of the next ten minutes or so I made my way through the portions of food that I had brought, savouring each bite and wondering how the hell Sam and Laz had cooked the deer so well.
                  The information I had from the past came only from the many books that we had salvaged from buildings over the years. Out of all of these, the history one’s were always my favourite. We had become comfortable beings only to find ourselves devolving, and when we returned to the old ways of survival of the fittest, like I used to read about, most people were fucked. I didn’t even consider anybody in our place to be the most evolutionarily fit – Marcus, maybe, but genetics wasn’t what civilisation was about. It was about helping each other, and anybody was capable of that. The citizens off Bastion kicked ass at it.
                  Many of the books I had read talked about hunters and gatherers, and the methods they used. That was what we were at heart, and there was something enjoyable about that. We had gone back to a more authentic point, even if we had had to sacrifice numerous luxuries in order to get here.
                  I finished up my food and took up my rifle standing up on the small, fenced lookout post and examining the land. The sun would be up for a few more hours, but when darkness came there was little way to tell what was happening. We didn’t have nearly enough resources to run electrical lights all night – if anybody thought they saw anything approaching we had high-powered torches that could be turned on brief periods to check, and a sketchy alarm system that seemed to decide of it’s own accord whether it wanted to work or not.
                  But I had no doubt it was better than what most people still alive in the world had.
                  I took the rifle off from my over my shoulder and raised it slowly, looking through the scope.
                  The world magnified again, and my surroundings brought themselves closer as I examined the place for any sign of movement.
                  ‘Playing make-believe, are you?’
                  I jumped from the sudden sound of the voice, unquestionably female, smacking the scope against my eye before spinning around and looking down to the base of the ladder.
                  Hayley stood below, two plates of food in her hands as she laughed at my misfortune.
                  ‘Smooth,’ she said. ‘I was gonna get some shut-eye after my shift, but I couldn’t resist coming for some food. Asked Robbie where you were and thought you deserved an extra helping.’
                  ‘Thanks,’ I said, leaning over the guardrail and taking the plate from her as she held it up. The food was piping hot and smelled delicious. ‘Aren’t you gonna head back to town?’
                  ‘Well, I was gonna leave your ass here all alone, but then I realised that we