Josie sled down the dune to go back to where Liam was sitting.
"I see a small town just a few miles down northeast. I don't know if there are other people but that's the best chance we got now. Do you think you can walk?"
"What if....", Liam wasn't so sure if they should raid the place that they knew nothing about. He knew that it doesn't always bring a peaceful result, he experienced it in the past few years. "YEAH, I CAN WALK."
Josie and Liam lifted their heavy bodies and hearts towards the town. As they were getting closer and closer they noticed that there wasn't a hint of people living in that town although it looked pretty decent considering the world's state.
"I am not sure if anyone is here." Liam was sure because let alone people's noise there wasn't a sound of a rat's squeaking sound so far. They kept walking to search for something, and they forgot about why they were even there enchanted by their newly discovered paradise until, "Uhhhhhhhh!", they both shouted as they fell into the pit.
"I can see why no one is here.", Josie reclaimed. They stepped on a trap and fell at least 16 meters into a hole.
"We fell into a trap.", Liam answered in an annoyed tone.
"Yes, I can see that.", Josie wasn't feeling it too.
"What do we do now?".
"Do I look like I have any idea?" Josie was flustered by the unexpected situation.
The pit was not as wide as it'd height, there was no tool they could use to get out.
"Should we shout?". Liam was desperate to get out.
"I don't know if that's a good idea.", Josie was tapping the walls of the pit.
"What are you trying to do?"
"I think we can make steps.", she noticed the soil could easily be penetrated to make stepping ground for them.
"It will take at least a day to do that and go out.", Liam wasn't optimistic.
"Well, we don't have another option. Or unless you want to starve to death in here of course."
"I mean Jo, it's not like we have an amazing life waiting. We don't have a place we can call home or family to go back to. Even you wouldn't be..….", Liam cut his words off feeling very emotional, he was always the hopeful one but then his eyes were filled with spite, anger, and fear. His moist eyes looked like they were going to burst anytime soon. "What is the purpose of trying so hard to survive when the end is so obvious?".
Josie was just standing there, moving her eyes with a bewildered look. She knelt in front of Liam, her eyes filled with tears.
"Liam, you are my family. My hope and my home. You are the reason I am alive and the only thing that keeps me living. I will make us a place we can call home so just please don't think like that.", She hugged Liam and he cried for the first time since she met him.
Liam was young but he was too mature for his age. He felt like it was required of him to be so and didn't want to be an extra baggage for Josie. That moment was an assurance for him that he was part of her life.
They were both sitting with their backs to the wall facing each other, after their emotional moment now thinking about how to get out.
"Let's start.", Josie broke the silence.
"I told you. It will take days. We should just call for help."
"Does it look like there was a person out there? You saw it, not a single living soul is in this place." Josie answered back and they were back to their old bickering mood.
"Do you think this was created out of nowhere? I am sure we aren't the only ones who found this place, I mean it's not even like this place is obscure.", Liam took out a necklace and gave it to Josie.
It was her necklace, her mother's keepsake. She sold it the year before to get Liam's inhaler, it wasn't part of the bargain but the scumbag she bought it from saw how precious it was to her and took it as extra pay.
"Where did you get this from?", Josie looked at Liam as if he was the one who took it.
"Can't you see it? We can't be the only ones who found this place. There were others before us but no one is here so whoever made this is taking the people out or maybe their bodies."
Liam was right the trap indicated that people were continuously invading that place and someone was trying to prevent that.
Josie got up like a bolt surprising even Liam. As she tried to speak, they both felt it, a shadow. A figure was approaching them.