He had searched a long time… seeking a place out of the ordinary… somewhere no one else would even think of looking.
Thankfully, he had found it in time… or at least he thought he had… still, he could never be sure.
He had gathered everything he needed for temporary survival… but soon he would have to check the possibility of foraging for food… until such time as it was safe to venture into civilization again.
Until that time, he would simply have to ration his goods very carefully…
Finding a source of drinkable water was a priority… although he was prepared for catching rainwater… but he wasn’t sure that would be sufficient…
Maybe others felt this too… he did not know and could not ask… because he had no way of distinguishing believers from non-believers.
People could pretend just to find out what you knew… and since he didn’t know whom to trust… it was best not to trust anyone.
He would just have to do this on his own… and be satisfied with his own company.
In his head, he knew how it would work… and he felt sure it would begin soon… which was why he had sought a place of refuge… while there was still time.
The culling of humanity from the earth would begin with the abduction of small numbers at first… hardly enough to be missed… followed by a period of calm.
During these ‘calm’ periods… it would be safe to venture out for supplies… but he did not know how long these periods would last.
Nor did he know how far he would have to go for supplies… or how long it would take… since he had no transportation.
Finding the nearest town was also important… but it could wait a few days… until his supplies needed to be replenished.
He would have to do some careful scouting before that time… look for berries or other edible wild plants in the area… to supplement his supplies.
These were things that could make or break his chance of survival.
A sound reached his ears… like the scrunching of gravel being walked upon… he froze… then slowly turned to face them… feeling the panic rise in his throat.
They had found him… but was it the aliens… or those from the institute… he did not want to go back there.
If he gave up, he would be locked away… and subjected to endless hours of mind probing… which would be explained as therapy.
On the other hand… if he jumped through the open side… would he survive a landing on the desert floor…
