(I am writing in first person)

I slid back down the ladder and grabbed some essentials: an old 2-way radio, some water, and some canned food. I put these in a backpack and climbed out of the basement.

As far as the eye could see, there were no structures.

"Hello?" I shouted - no response. I shouted and shouted but to no avail, there was no where else near me. I took the radio out of my bag and flicked it on: "Can anyone hear me? I am located in Asheville, North Carolina... or whatever is left of it," I vocalized into the radio, "We have been bombed, I repeat, we have been bombed."

I started my trek closer to the mountains, which seemed less-affected.

Ivan had been driving for a few hours straight - access roads and old highways he'd learned over weekends exploring. He wagered that he was a good distance through Colorado at this point, possibly all the way into Kansas. He'd given up hope of retreating to his original bug out location, he was just getting away from the West. All the lights and fires and quakes of nuclear detonation came from that direction. There were obviously more hot zones all over the country, probably just as many on the East Coast, but the West was closer, and more immediately dangerous. He'd gone through one entire gas tank of the four that were loaded into his truck, he'd probably be just barely in Kentucky when he ran out, if he kept going the same direction.
The oddest thing to Ivan was the complete lack of animal life. No humans, obviously, prepared as well as he did, but there weren't even any animals he'd seen, no elk, no bears, no wolves. Nothing. Maybe the ones that could went underground, and those that couldn't sprinted in all different directions. Something. Ivan's stomach rumbled, telling him he needs to eat. Next time he stops to refuel, he'll make sure to have atleast some of one of his MREs. Save the rest for later.

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Follow the wind in your sails, and the rhythm of your oars.

Static, that is all there was.

My legs were getting tired, and with no shelter from the sun nearby, I had to keep walking. The ground has started to incline now, making it that much harder to walk. I took out a bottle of water from my back and took a few small sips to keep myself hydrated - this was going to be a long day.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" I once again directed into the radio, there was a slight noise a few seconds later but I could not make it out - probably just my brain playing tricks on me.

I pulled out a map I had brought with me and plotted my direction: I had to go over these mountains then it should be relatively level from there. The east coast is probably teeming with radiation at the moment so I should get as far away from it as possible, for that though, I need a vehicle, and I think I have found one about a mile ahead.

Ivan had been driving for hours, he lost track of how far he'd gone. By now he was in Kentucky, possibly Tennessee. He was on his last tank of fuel as mountains loomed ahead. He was unfamiliar with the exact geography, but he was comfortable in the mountains. He had made it into the foothills before the truck sputtered to a stop. The vehicle was, for all intents and purposes, useless at this point, so Ivan abandoned it, trekking further into the hills on foot.

After another hour or two the sky started getting dark, and Ivan decided to make camp. It wasn't hard to find kindling and dry enough wood, and he started a fire before eating the second half of his second MRE. Laying in his tent to sleep, warmed by his fire and thermal sleeping bag, he decided he'd try his hand at hunting tomorrow.

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Follow the wind in your sails, and the rhythm of your oars.

"Start you piece of trash!" I yelled to no-one in particular. This obviously wasn't going to work and night had fallen a few minutes ago, I mind as well get comfortable for the night. I pulled some dead twigs and brush from the ground and started sparking them against the truck battery's contacts. As soon as it caught I put it under some bigger chunks of wood and sighed as they too, caught fire.

My stomach growled at me in anticipation when I pulled the can of baked beans out of my pack, I downed some of the pre-cooked goodness and sealed it up for later. I climbed into the truck with the door open for the fire's heat and fell asleep.

***

I awoke to nothing, I mean, what did I expect? I am in the middle of the mountains. I kicked some dirt over the used-to-be fire and packed everything up for travel. I flicked on the radio just in-case it picked anything up and started traveling again.

(Almost there)

The sun was rising as Ivan crawled out of his tent; up with the dawn, to make most of the daylight. He was growing fairly tired though, on a physical level. He hadn't prepared as much as he thought. With any luck though, he would harden in this new life. The lack of companionship didn't bother him too much; he'd lived in an astoundingly small town for years. It was certainly more boring now, though.
The remains of a rabbit Ivan had taken earlier were hung high nearby, fully bled and ready to cook. He piled kindling and wood in a pit, lighting it with a flint and steel. As the fire was picking up, Ivan decided to go see if he could find any more game; there had been tracks for a deer or elk yesterday, nearly faded under brush. If he was lucky, he could find the thing and have meat for weeks.
He was munching on 'crackers' from an MRE, closer to hard-tack than anything else. It would keep him going for a while today. Ivan arrived back at his truck when something stopped him in his tracks. Tracks, specifically. From another person. This was worrying, Ivan had no idea their intentions. Assuring his rifle was loaded, he stalked in the direction the tracks went.

_________________
Follow the wind in your sails, and the rhythm of your oars.

I kept walking, finally finding a shady forest to settle down in. I checked my bag - lots of food left, lots of water, I'm good.

I flicked on the 2-way radio and rested against a tree, waiting for a message, or a signal, something. I waited for what seemed like forever.

I was startled awake by a large crackle of static from the radio, no voice could be made out though. Checking my surroundings, only about an hour has passed and nothing has changed, besides the figure in the distance heading this way.

"Someone else!" I shouted aloud, getting up from my tree and waving my arms.