They had been walking for weeks, if a such word made any sense anymore. The old horse was tired. Every day they had to carry more of the equipment themselves.
To the south there was nothing. The last people they had met coming from there said the destruction had been complete. That was a long time ago now. To the west it was still going on. And to the north… Well, you didn’t want to go north. You didn’t want to go north at all.
So they walked east. One day the horse fell. Rick tried to get it up.
It’s no use, his father said. It’s going to die.
He got his knife out. Rick wanted to stop him, but he knew it wouldn’t make sense. This way they would have food for some days, until the meat rotted.
They made a fire. Ate more than they had eaten in one meal for years. It tasted hash and was hard to chew, but it filled the stomach. They slept under the stars as always. It would be harder from here.
They had to leave many things behind. Useful things. They kept walking east. Many days and many nights went by.
They arrived at the coast.
So this is where we’re going to live? Rick looked out on the big waves. He had never seen the sea before. It was beautiful.
Hopefully, his father answered. Hopefully we’ll live.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/20-big-questions-about-the-future-of-humanity/
https://www.livescience.com/56926-stephen-hawking-humanity-extinct-1000-years.html
Fictionspawn 
In this kind of situation, all one has is hope!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hope should be the last to die…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reminds me of the ending of the 1968 (original) film “Planet of the Apes” starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, and Kim Hunter.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmmm… I thought of the movie The Road just after having written it, actually. It has some paralelles.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Don’t think I’ve seen that one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It came out some ten-fifteen years ago, starring Viggo Mortensen. A man and a son travelling in a post acopalyctic world. It’s based on a book. The movie’s not too bad
LikeLiked by 1 person
Starting the world anew after the destruction of an old one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hopefully 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
That ending line is brilliant. 💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Arbie! Good to hear from you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with Arbie, great last line! After all that, they deserve a break. I detect a very subtle difference in the meaning of “live” when spoken by Rick and his father, one general, the other “live” as in “not die”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly. Surviving will be their main objective. Thanks, Draliman!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t help but think of how unsettling it must be to not know exactly what lies ahead. Which, I guess, is the highlight of dystopia fiction. I am curious, though, at the “it” that is still going on in the west. “it” as in civilization, or “it”, the thing destroying civilization? Maybe I’m thinking too much haha. I like this piece of fiction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Thinking is good 😉 The “it” was meant to be “the destruction”, which is already done in the south, and is what has destroyed the world as we know it. It’s pretty much the same things that are destroying the world today, but at a more accute level. Deforestation and climate change have lead to collapse of the global ecosystem with following violence, starvation and epidemics… Whatever is going on in the north I do not have as clear, but I am watching Game of Thrones for the third time these days, so… 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I see! Heh. Who knows, maybe the north is faring better than the rest.
LikeLike