Frostbound

Chris

"So this is it. A city," Austin's voice sounded out from next to me.

Our caravan had crested the grassy hill we stood upon and were given a clear sight of the city in the distance. Or, more accurately, what was left of it.

What met our eye was ruined concrete and rubble. Buildings any taller than a few stories laid on their side or destroyed completely. Any and all glass had long ago shattered.

Buildings of brick held up the best, but even those were scattered and strewn from forces long past. Bricks strewn about from where they once collapsed. It seemed the terraforming had its way with what was once a large city. Indianapolis wasn't the largest city in the world, but it was still a large one.

We had traveled through mostly forest and outskirts to get here and we were coming upon the first large metropolis area and to see it in such a state... it was jarring.

It showed the extent to which the world had changed. No more structures were jutting into the air, claiming the skyline, as any building that dared now lay crumbled upon itself.

Picturing New York made me sigh and shake my head. I had never been to the city and now I would never get to see it as it was. I was in no great rush to do so, but now it wasn't even an option. Let alone any of the famous Cities around the world. The Eiffel Tower probably wasn't standing anymore.

The odd thing about looking upon such destruction was knowing that no one had perished. Usually, such scenes came with a death toll that colored your vision when you looked upon them.

It added a somberness that this was missing. We knew that no one was in the city when it happened and the knowledge that no one had died during the destruction made it feel... lesser almost.

As more carts rolled over the hill, more of us began to stop and stare at what lay ahead. Most felt similar to me when taking in the destruction, but excitement quickly shot through the camp at the sight.

There were people.