“And that's it. The story of how I destroyed the last utopia, the paradise on earth, Astralis. The human race wasn't destroyed. The world hasn't ended either. And here we still are, trapped in the heat just like everyone else. I don't know if I did the right thing back then, really. Maybe the people in the city had been better off with their normal lives. I'm sure many hate me for my decision. I'm sure many died as well, and all of that's on me. Eileen's eyes still haunt me every night. However, I understood that there is a future out there for all of us. Even if it might not be the most convenient, or the easiest choice, it's a choice we have to make if we truly want to live. We need to leave behind the comfort of everyday life. If we don't, we will never find our future and will never see what it might hold.”

Silence returned to the humid cave. The men around the campfire watched the stranger who had just finished his tall tale. They weren't sure how much of his fantastical story had been the truth, but they realized that something about him was different. There was something that set him apart from all the others who wandered this hellish world.

“Big Bro, we gotta go!”

The strange man's female travel companion called him from the entrance of the cave. She was right. A look out of the entrance proved that the deadly rays of the sun had begun to die down. They had all been forced to take temporary shelter from the midday's terror in this cave, but at least for today, the worst was over. Once again, it was time to move.

Without another word, the traveler got up from his seat and offered his listeners a polite nod, before he turned on his heels to meet up with his sister. His steps were light, yet steady, like those of a man who knew his goal, but was in no hurry to arrive.

Finally, as they were left behind by the siblings, the men realized just what made the two so different. Unlike all others in this forsaken world, the siblings were not lost.

As they walked out into the fading light of day, each step brought them closer to their future.