((Hope this works, and hello again, DN.))<br/><br/><i>Working in an office wasn't so bad.</i>Elly often reminded herself of that these days. Even after she had followed suit with the rest of her crumbling corporation and moved into the office building itself for shelter, the structure was a home. Like her fellow workaholics, the routine of business kept a lid of their rapidly vanishing threads of sanity in such trying times. But it wouldn't have lasted long anyway, even if the raiders hadn't had come and forced her away from their little cubicles of sanctuary. She barely remembered what it was they were trying to sell. It wasn't like anyone was keen on purchasing a vehicle when all of the keys were left in their ignitions.<br/><br/>She eventually did the same, gathering and scrounging what she could from the raiders' causalties.  She had even found a rifle of her own, though not with a single catridge she could have loaded it with. Elly was clever enough to know that pointing a big enough gun was often adequate to make a threat back away, but she knew that being clever wasn't the same as having working jacketed shells.<br/><br/>Over the last year she learned and stuck to the relative familiarity of cities and urban settlements, not trusting herself in the unfamiliar countrysides that started to flourish with new and harsh forms of life. But it was starting to take its toll - the eerie silence in the abandoned superhighways, the invading tufts of grass in the abandoned homes, or the fact that everything was still covered in dust from the celestial impacts.<br/><br/>Elly sighed, slumping down in some forgotten alleyway amongst the mangled trash bins - already scraped clean from someone who had been there before her, swiping anything of value.  Even the bins themselves bore signs of cutting tools for someone fortunate enough to know what to do with the raw metal. The fog wasn't so bad where she was for the moment, and for that matter, she wanted to breath air through her own nostrils for a moment. Tugging on the toughened plastic of her mask, Elly yanked it free with the soft 'hiss' of pressure reaching her ears. The air was heavy and moist, but thankfully it didn't sting - not as bad this time, for certain. She ran her hand through her dirty, matted mass of orange hair, frowning ironically at how much she missed regular showers and a bottle of shampoo.<br/><br/>They had showers at the Dens, though. She knew that. The only sorts of businesses that survived were not like her previous employment; instead dealing in gambling, weapons, and even slaves. She sighed, knowing that even slaves could be treated better than a lone woman out here - the right kind of available body was a grand luxury in these days of ruin, and the right owner would do well to keep their slaves in top condition. Elly pursed her lips, looking out into the streets and knowing there was one nearby. It wouldn't be that hard...she thought. Just walk right in and say "Hey, I'm looking for a job. You know...I'll do whatever you want, whatever you need." The life of a survivor at least kept her reasonably lean, and maybe even attractive. She ran a gloved hand over her flat belly, fingers picking at the frayed threads of her favorite shirt that was decaying under the humidity, and the fact she kept tearing away pieces for the bumps and scrapes of just trying to travel.  All things considered, her skin was still mostly unscathed, and she still had the right sorts of curves that a customer would love to see.<br/><br/>She managed a tiny little smile as she stood to her feet, planting the mask back upon her face that was already starting to show the tinest little cuts and scars from its unforgiving ridges.  Elly walked alone towards where she knew one of the Dens would be. Maybe it was time for a new job, and it wouldn't have been the first time she sweet-talked her way into a career by using more than just her words and the text on a piece of paper...<br/><br/><img alt="[​IMG]" class="bbCodeImage LbImage" data-url="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/026/c/f/post_apocalyptic_woman_colored_by_bigcman321-d4ma0s5.jpg" src="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/026/c/f/post_apocalyptic_woman_colored_by_bigcman321-d4ma0s5.jpg" style=""/><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>