Today, Nadiya worked early in the run down hospital in town, where she volunteered her medical services if she had nothing else to do.  She sat with her most recent patient, whom she had been working on since before the sun had risen. What had been a minor gunshot wound, usually easily treatable if caught very early, had turned into a horrible infection that had claimed first his arm and shoulder and just minutes ago, his life.<br/><br/>She gathered her tools together in a daze. No matter how much death she encountered she never got used to the sight of corpses. Especially when the victim was young. This one had been about 17 years old. She forced the image of his face from her mind's eye and began to sterilize her tools as best she could.<br/><br/>Nadiya remembered the town meeting with a sigh. It would be a good distraction. She packed her bag, making sure she had ample medical supplies for any kind of situation. She geared up for the cold outside with a heavy coat, ski mask, and thick gloves. She grabbed her bag, her rifle, and reassured herself that her pistol was still secure on its shoulder holster (a lucky find) and left.<br/><br/>She walked slowly because she knew the meeting was still some time off. As she walked, she tried for the millionth time to envision the old village her grandfather had told her about as a little girl. Bright green grass, brilliant yellow sunshine, children playing and cars moving. She failed miserably. She just could not imagine a world like that.<br/><br/>Instead, she sees dead mutant animals and dead rusty cars. No grass, and no sunshine. Snow fell lightly, almost like it was trying to gently cover the rotting carcasses. Even the buildings looked to be slowly dying, despite the residents' attempts to cover the bullet holes and general decay.<br/><br/>She came upon the town hall much earlier than she had intended. Her cheap plastic watch told her she was about 45 minutes early. She entered cautiously and sauntered off to stand against a wall opposite the door to wait until it was time for the meeting.