"Are you coming tomorrow evening?"

"No. No time.", Elvis lied.

"Alright then. What will you be up to?"

"Contemplating my existence."

That was fair enough, and Alan didn't want to press further. He stared into the distance, where Elvis was already looking. The mountaintop they were sitting on gave them a view of the city and fields below. It was dusk by now, the light fog covered the settlement in an evening-sun-orange glow. It wasn't a very big city, most of it could be seen even from this relatively shallow mountain, though the way up did take a few minutes even when running directly uphill through the dry grass and shrubbery. Of course, they could also take the route through the trees on the left side of the landmark, but they rarely wanted to take the time for that.

"The day's been quite long... still used to the winter months. What's the time?", Alan broke the silence.

"Fuck the time. Can't you see the sun? Do you need a machine to tell you it's evening?"

"Sorry, I forget you're not a fan of that stuff."

"But yes, the day's longer than the night at the moment.", Elvis conceded after a momentary silence just long enough to be meaningful.

The two continued looking toward the setting sun. The wind was warm, but not warm enough to feel warm. A slight cool breeze of summer evening air after a rainy day coming to a cloudless end, with the smell of rain having faded enough that it might just as well not be there at all anymore. The grass had already been dried for the most part. The buildings and roads of the small city seemed inert from afar, though no doubt still filled with people if you'd look closer.

Elvis was the one to break the silence again: "Every time I come here, I'm surprised at how dead the city looks from above."

Alan didn't answer for several seconds, seemingly contemplating what to say. Elvis continued: "Y'know... It's as if there's nobody left alive down there. Hell, maybe they all die as soon as we leave, haha", but Alan didn't laugh at El's joke. He pulled his gaze from the town and looked at Elvis, who was slightly bewildered at the continued lack of an answer.

But Alan did eventually answer. "How come the city is even still alive? There is so much destruction around us, but life here in Rena seems to just keep going. How?"

Elvis didn't know. They had thought about it extensively, but Rena seemed to defy all logic. The town was one of the very few still surviving. Most others around had erupted in chaos already, soon after the government fell, but Rena still formed a bubble of mostly stable life.

"I think Rena's just... hm. self sufficient enough i guess?", Elvis answered eventually.

"I suppose so. Most things we need are produced here so there isn't much dependence on the big guys."

"Exactly. But well, not like it gives us much hope either way. The chaos will come for Rena too, I can feel it."

"You can feel a lot of things.", Alan said in a dismissive tone, but somehow Elvis didn't really mind. Al was kind of right. A small pause ensued.

Elvis continued: "I don't think the city will survive for long with no outside help. Worse: with a lot of outside pressure. People will come here. Remember: The law is gone."

"The law is still here, it's just weak. Rena still has its police force."

"A police force that is incompetent and corrupt as they all are. I'll be glad when it's gone.", Elvis said in a surprisingly annoyed yet defeated tone.

"Do you want Rena to die too?"

"I don't know."