It was a long time coming, but we knew before it happened. Exactly what happened was a mystery, but we survived and now travel the roads together, us two brothers, the last remainders of the Helvan family. America was once a great place, but now burned to a crisp, our only choice was to travel the lands and hope to find a refuge.
What exactly destroyed America, we weren't yet sure of. But we knew either way that we would be done for if we stopped moving for more than two days at a time. We carried heavy knapsacks everywhere, full of food and water, one extra set of dry clothes, a lighter, and other survival-based tools we picked up from looting houses.
Nobody believed the terroristic threats received except for us, and we prepared long before it could overthrow us. It used to be five of us boys walking together, but the other three . . . one couldn't handle it and offed himself. The other two risked their lives for our safety.
Damien is my younger brother. He has a head full of thick brown hair and bright blue eyes. Every time he looks at me, especially when the summer sun blazes behind his head, I feel as though his eyes show that he's dying. All we have is each other and we each have to survive.
Almost all of the others in America are dead or gone. We had a head start on scouring through houses and building up our stocks. Our plan was to get to one edge of the country and decide where to go from there. As far as we knew, the rest of the world was still intact, and we may be able to receive help from another country. Risky plan, but we had no choice.
"Damien," I mutter, shaking my nineteen year-old brother awake. "Come on. We have to get a move on."
"Just a few more minutes, Jackson. We can spare it."
"Not today. Let's go."
"I don't want to."
Every morning it was a new fight with him, but we had to get moving. I gripped the blanket over him and pulled it back, revealing his still-toned body, only covered by gray boxers. We were two straight brothers, who, at least as far as I can say, never considered anything outside of fucking a hot pussy. But even as a guy, I could say and see that any girl, or gay guy, would drool over my brother.
Damien tensed up as the woolly fabric left his body, and, as we brothers would normally do to get each other moving, I grabbed his crotch through his boxers and gave a good squeeze, causing him to jump off of the mattress.
"Shit! Fuck, I'm up, okay! Okay?"
"Get dressed, twiggy. We don't have time to spare."
He threw on a black tank top that defined his muscles, similar to the one I wore. Blue jeans and tank tops for now, until the weather turns colder in a few months.
"Well, where are we going anyways?" Damien asked, trying to stay ahead of the game.
"We'll decide as we go. Come on."
We threw our knapsacks over our backs and climbed out the front window of the one-story house we broke into last night. After being at this for a couple months, I thought he would have picked up on our pattern, but so far, he's either playing dumb or really doesn't get it. Good thing one of us was born as a leader-type.