I had a dream about a game.
I looked over the edge of the boat. Trees were barely visable over the floodwaters. Some of the water was standing water, other parts had currents. I remember thanking our leader for the currents. Ms. Milly Prower, our savior, had devised machines to create currents and stop currents. This way, even in our flooded world, we could build in the shallow waters and not fear for the supports being wiped out from under us.
An alarm chimed, not a loud or aggresive one, just a polite warning that the boat/car we were in would soon be submerging. I went below deck and took my seat. They were serving dinner then. I looked out the window into the waters, and watched the fish swim by. Then I watched the fish get caught in a huge net, along with hundreds of other fish.
Above water, the fishing boats were in the natural rivers, because the fish avoided the artificial currents and stagnant waters. In the dream, I recalled a history lesson that explained that, before the flood, people used to eat things called “cows” and “pigs” and, God forbid, they actually ate birds! Our ancestors were savages!
Birds, fish, and other underwater creatures were the only things to survive the flood, other than a few thousand clever humans.
Some still-water farms existed now. In the shallower waters, they’d cultivate small plants, and some harvested the large bugs that fed on certain types of algae.
We rose out of the water again, reaching a shallow point. There was a brief bit of land ahead of us that we had to cross, too. The boat hovered above the water and went over it, several inches above ground.
I looked around saw one of the still-water farms. I was reminded of my hometown, were there was a farm on each side of it. One with the bugs, one with shallow-water plants, one with oysters, and one with prawns.
The boat I was on was simply a transportation boat. I was on my way home.
Dinner was finished, and the boat would be travelling above water again. I hated being inside, so I went up again, where the wind could blow in my face. My white dress flowed in the wind behind me, as did my long brown hair. I was a happy, happy person.
The dream cut out then, to be the dream of someone else. The now-waking woman sat up in bed. She had a head of red hair and wore black pajamas. She ran outside her appartment and then down to the street. She flagged down a bus driver and asked him, “What is my name?”
The bus driver kicked her off and ignored her. The woman then grabbed a random passerby. “What is my name?” she asked.
The man’s jaw dropped. “Milly Prower, the greatest engineer of all time!” He then went on a rambling about how much he loved her work, etc.
Dream cuts to a scene on a porch. One woman, looking like myself, walks out. Another woman comes out, it’s the previous Milly Prower. We look each other in the eyes for a bit. “I don’t know how to say this,” I say, but I can’t finish. Milly gives me a passionate kiss, and I push her away. “I can’t do this,” I say, “I’m married.” I walk off. Milly dejectedly returns to the party.
Dream cuts to me on the boat again.
I shook my head. “This isn’t real.”
I looked around and saw familiar downed landmarks. I was in Toledo, finally. A few corpses floated by as I stepped into Jorenko’s boat. He explained that one of the old skyscrapers that was submerged was vandalised, and the drowned corpses were being pulled out by currents.
Drown corpses weren’t all that surprising to find anymore. Many years ago, when the world flooded, a few people ignored it, too caught up in their own little business worlds to pay attention that their task was worthless. They remained in the buildings as the river next to them swelled over its banks and covered the surrounding area seven stories of added water.
Smaller buildings were covered, and some larger ones fell over or crumbled. These downed buldings became landmarks and memorials. There was more horror in hearing of their desicration than there was in seeing the bodies come from it.
This is where the intro story to the game ends.
Jorenko and I, kissing, are interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. “Crap,” I think, “Their going to slap us with a PDA violation.” I turn, expecting to see a cop, and instead see a corpse.
Screaming, I kick it off the side of the boat, and Jorenko guns it. I start fighting off the other zombies that had crawled on to the boat, using anything I can find as a weapon. First my fists, then a chair. Once my bags were in the clear, I grabbed a gun from them.
“Why do you have a gun?!” Jorenko asked, not knowing that I’d be carrying one.
“It’s part of my job!” I said, and shot the zombies in such a manner than they would be pushed back and off the boat. “Just get out of Toledo!”