After the mutant fell face-first and stopped moving, I looked around our immediate vicinity to see if any other mutants were nearby. Seeing none, I turned to the children.
"We need to be on the move" I looked pointedly at them before walking over to get my bags.
"I may need a better bag too, I wonder if any of those houses have anything useful?" I muttered to myself.
I heard the shuffle of feet behind me as the children followed behind.
Looking around, I located the first unburnt house close by and walked over to it. Entering through the door that was left open, I glanced around the tidy but sparsely furnished space.
There were only two rooms, I searched through them but found nothing that could be used, though I did find a couple of copper coins under the simple mattress.
Don't ask me why I'm looking under the bed, you just never know what you'd find. These coins may come in handy.
I moved on to the next unburnt house.
Several houses later I found a canvas backpack strong enough to manage the wear and tear of the journey as well as a set of desert garb that was complete with a head covering.
I also found a spare set of clothing for Ayesha and Abu, a loaf of bread, and more coins along the way.
I moved towards the last unburnt housewhere I picked up a few thin blankets and stopped to arrange them in the bags.
I put my groceries, the contents of my old bag, and one blanket into the canvas bag and in the process realised I need some way to separate the water.
If we were going to be on the move the big bottle was cumbersome. I found three waterskins and divided up the water, putting two in my pack and one in the other.
"So are you two related?" I asked while putting the other blanket, spare clothes, and the last water skin in my old bag.
"Yes we are brother and sister" answered Ayesha.
"Oh, that means you are twins then!" I paused to look at them stooped close to where I was rearranging the baggage.
"And your parents?" I turned back and started closing the bags up.
"Our mother died when we were born, our father when he ventured out on an errand" Ayesha answered sadness apparent in her voice.
"How long ago was that?" I finished and turned to look at them again sitting on my heels.
"That was three years ago when we were six summers" I could see the sadness that I heard before in both of their faces.
"So you're nine years old now then." I nodded because I was close to guessing that age.
"Come on let's go" I picked up my old knapsack and handed it over to Abu but Ayesha took it.
As we moved out I continued to question them.
It turns out that they had been living with their aunt who was the one to hurry them into the well. They didn't know what happened to her afterwards.
I glanced at Ayesha who now wore my old knapsack on her back determination on her little face. She seems to have taken on the role of mother and protector for her twin.
I switched my focus back to the cavern settlement as I pondered the meager belongings left behind.
'These people were really poor' I thought.
Something that I had also noticed while moving around was that there were no modern appliances or items that I was used to anywhere.
If it were desert towns on Earth, no matter how secluded, they would have at least one thing. A radio or even an old fan, but here, nothing.
It was as if I had been transported way back in time.
It was further proof that I was somewhere not of Earth. It was a scary thought and no amount of shaking it off could make me ignore it.
"I can't let it freeze me with fear though" I muttered to myself.
"Is there anything you two want to do before you leave, this was your home after all" I waited for them to decide and watched as they both shook their heads.
That meant we were all three now ready to leave, I turned to Ayesha.
"Lead the way to the entrance for the other tribe, it doesn't matter which one we go to first," I said.
She moved without a word to the east and both Abu and I followed up behind.
We snaked from street to alley not following a straight line. Along the way, we saw burnt-out bodies just like I noticed when I initially came to this town.
The desolation on display was a horrific scene and I could try to put it out of my mind but what about the children? How were they processing the loss of all they were used to? All the people they had known all their short lives.
Ayesha paused every once in a while as if she recognized the buildings and could guess whose corpses were lined in front of them. I could not imagine what must have been going through her young mind.
"Is the bag too heavy for you Ayesha?"I said trying to distract her.
"No it's ok" she replied still focusing on the scene around us.
Abu on the other hand only focused on his sister and walked a few steps over to hold her hand.
That effectively did the trick. Ayesha looked at her brother with a small smile before turning back to lead us out.
Looking at our little group it was certain that we were not the fittest in this world. In this cavern we looked ever so small but, can't the unfit strive to survive? Are we supposed to give up because we are weaker or do we grow strong?
Following towards the new destination, I told myself it didn't matter, that I would survive.
I had to!