Beyond Cruicifixion

//Don't expect too much from this; it's just something I put together to work as an experimental introduction to a story I had planned to finish at some point in the future but never did.

***

Cold winds blew over the dunes outside of the lonely shell of a town so ironically named “Wintercrest.” It stood shrouded alone behind splintered wooden walls which were all but suffocated by the vast, unforgiving desert. Wintercrest was home to but a few of the disconsolate survivors of “The Crucifixion” -- a war which had ruptured the foundation of what was once known as “America,” causing what was once the strongest nation in the world to come crashing to it’s knees.

This once-proud land was now no more than an uninhabitable wasteland. The people who resided on what was left of its face cried out to their gods for an answer -- but there was none, and those who stood forsaken were cast down by death’s icy clutch.

Among the denizens of Wintercrest, a few figures stood out from the rest; some politically, and others just outstanding citizens that had worked hardest to keep the town flowing smoothly after the country had become an expressionless wasteland.

Doc Alvin Murdan was the most possibly the most influential person in the whole of Wintercrest due to being the only survivor for miles that could do as little as cure the common cold, or even splint broken bones. Whatever the case, the citizens of Wintercrest loved the man for what he did, and he had been voted to become mayor of the city on many occasions, but always turned down the offer – stating that he’d rather stay away from politics.

Mayor Cid Brooks was another highly respected member of the community. Although he wasn’t the most level-headed of the other townsfolk, he knew how to keep the town held together. I guess you could say he was like the glue at the seams of the city, and everyone else would agree. He was the first mayor, and another hadn’t been voted into office for years now, although many had asked Murdan to take Brooks’ place.

Sheriff Dunstan McLeod is respected for everything he does in the town. He works day in and day out with his partner and brother, Deputy Winston McLeod to keep the city clean of crime, and overall madness that the world in it’s current state might inflict on the average man or woman. Although there isn’t as much crime as there would be in the world before the nuclear attack, there had been rumors of bandits and raiders in the dunes, and everyone feels just a bit safer with the Sheriff close by.

Among these three, thirty others reside in Wintercrest; striving to preserve what is left of their lives in the nuclear hell, but no one seems to know quite why. Some would say it’s just human nature to survive -- human nature, perhaps, but not all human souls are pure and unadulterated. Many would also say a man has control of his soul, but many would find that this just might not be the case… and so our story begins.