I woke up in some kind of alley, I guess. My vision was blurred at the beginning and it took time, to adjust. I couldn't see a thing with my left eye. My face was so swollen around it, that it was physically impossible to open the left eyelid. Right was also not in the best condition, but I could at least open it a bit.
It was empty, and buildings around ruined, some very heavily. There were smashed bits of food from my backpack around me and also the backpack. Ripped apart. I moved and quickly regretted it. All of my body was in terrible condition.
Every single muscle just screamed at me the very moment I tried to do something, to the point tears just started to pour down. Even though I kept moving. I picked up what was edible, and ate it. It was not easy, cause I was missing a lot of teeth, and my jaw hurt like hell. Taste of blood, my own, mixed with flavors, and dirt crunched on what was left of my teeth. Fortunately, there was not much chewing to do.
I kept repeating myself, that I'm gonna pay them back for what they did. I will pay those motherfuckers back even if it's the last thing I do - I thought.
But those were just empty words in the position I was in. I couldn't use the device. My left hand was probably broken. I wouldn't be surprised if some of my ribs were also. I had no food or weapon. To put it simply, I reached the very bottom. To the point, survival was very wishful thinking on my side. Not even mentioning the payback. Despite it all, I kept pushing. I would be greeting my teeth but since my jaw hurt like hell, it was impossible.
I picked the remains of my backpack and got inside of one of the ruins to sleep out the worst part. I lied on the floor with a piece of wood and rolled leather as a pillow and closed my eyes. Sleep came quickly.
When I finally woke up I had no idea how much time had passed. It was dark outside, and I felt like shit. Everything was perfect. Later using some math I was able to ascertain how long it was, but back then, I had no idea.
I got out and started to slowly walk around. I still kept the backpack leather. I had to find a better place to sleep, and figure out how to get food. The only good thing was that I had some points, but without crystals to pay the tax, they were useless. I didn't need another beating for not paying up.
After a few hours of strolling around, I found a nice building. Completely undamaged. A place I would in the future call home, but back then it was just another roof and four walls. More importantly, I managed to ascertain more or less in which part of the city I was. Now at least I could go back to the rest of the people, and the device. Unfortunately in my stroll, I moved further away from them. Tired of walking I used this new place to sleep. It was not easy because of hunger and pain, but somehow I managed to finally drift away.
Day ended with 1561 points remaining on my account.