Miles quickly walked up to the mable steps. On both sides were structures of great men at the turn of the century. Alexander the Great stood with a sword drawn and pointing toward Central Park and other structure of Neil Armstrong, his arm extended the moon. Miles climbed the steps and stepped into the city hall. He drew his weapon and turned on the laser beam. In his other hand, he took out the flare and pulled the tab. The bright spark and flash lit up the dark hall. Not a creature stirred as Miles moved forward. He walked and turned left and down another hall until he arrived at what was once large glass doors with only the frame in place. The flare flickered and went out. Miles replaced it with other one and stepped into the room.

Standing in the room were rows and rows of books. Congressional books, history books of the world before. Now centuries old from whatever destroyed earth. Miles sifted through the debris until he came for the lone book that was meant to be a keepsake of the world he knew. It needed to be safeguarded and preserved. Miles broke the glass box and lifted the book out and tucked it under his arm. The flare went out again and as he lit off another one. Something immense and stunk of rotten flesh pushed into him and lifted his tiny frame off the floor.

Miles dropped the flare and book. Swinging his gun toward the beast that grabbed him.



The creature had no face and Miles put a bullett to what he thought was the brains of this thing. He pulled the trigger and watched as the creature dropped him and screamed bloody murder. He slashed out and caught Miles foot. Miles dropped down on the floor and the gun jarred loose from his hands. He was being dragged from the flare and into the darken room. Miles grasped the floor at a chair leg and came up swinging. A swing to the left and back to the right. Miles stabbed the creature hard and finished with a upper cut, using the chair leg as a club.

The creature fell backwards and out a window...dying on a sidewalk. Miles grabbed his gun,and congressional book and fed into the streets. Whatever it was...Miles decided this wasn't a place to venture after dark. Hew looked at his watch and knew he wasn't getting back to space craft before duxk and knew he would have to find a place to hide until morning.

Searching his GPS device, he put in the coordinates for the National Guard Armory, First National Bank and the Jailhouse. Whichever came up first...he was hightailing to...walking back toward his craft, he felt the presence looming from behind the darkness.

Walking down the middle of Lexington avenue in Manhattan. Miles passed several apartment buildings and store fronts. On all the structures tall weeds grew and stingy vines hung down from the trees growing within the tall structures and buildings. Some structures had collasped in place. Other buildings, the face of the building had collasped leaving dangling wires and structural materials suspended in the air. Openess bared dark spaces behind the vines. Large holes staggered across the streets, where chunks of building fell, leaving craters in its place. In other areas, sink holes exposed the sewers and large storm drains down below the streets.

Miles's stomach growled...as he peeked down into one of the exposed manholes and heard a pitter patter sound down inside one of the storm drains.

"Food..." he said outloud, and was on his mind.

If he survived the night he would investigate that sound in the morning.

Miles flipped the GPS switch to quarter mile radius, narrowing the search on the GPS device to get the Coordinates: 40°44′28″N 73°59′1″W from the satellite buzzing the earth.




He walked down the avenue and turned west on east 26th. There in front of him was the 69th Regiment Armory. The old Army National Guard armory was the first armory built in New York City that unmodeled like a medieval fortress. The large metal gates were fortified and rusty. He searched the wall to see if it was possible to scale it before pulling out his weapon. Not a chance...broken glass lined the top edge as a deterrent.

And whoever was the last one to leave, locked the doors with a thick heavy chain that slipped through the handles of both gates and was locked. It meant either to keep people out or keep something inside from getting out...whatever the case, Miles had little choice to decide a new course of action as the sun settled in the west. The skies became dark overheard. He took his weapon and aimed at the thick rusty iron doors. The blast sparked a fine blue flame and cut through it in seconds.


He pushed with all his might and the gate creaked open enough for Miles to slip inside the grounds. Pushing again, he shut the metal gate and dropped the sliding lock into place.







Turning around, he stood and looked at the entrance to the armory building, 69th Regiment Infantry compound which housed several buildings were still standing. Miles strolled down the Frontage Road and looked up and down the street. He felt safe as darkness fell and stepped into a building which said Mess Hall above its doors.