I woke up on the ground in a city I don't know. The last thing I can remember was being in a body of water in the dark, but that feels like a thousand years ago. The ground is covered in moss and grass with weeds growing between the pavers. I'm in what looks like an alley with brick walls on either side. There's a street at the end of the alley. A car sat in the alley with no glass and tires long since turned to ash.
I stepped out onto the street into a world devoid of life or animal life. Many people think the cockroaches will be the next dominant life, but from what I can see, it's the plant's turn. I'm in some small town with shops lining the street onto an Americana Main Street, including a gazebo and malt shop. Everything is overgrown, with years of growth and decay. Inside the malt shop, I found the first body, well, what was a body. The skeleton was polished white and broken into pieces. A dry bottle of whiskey and a plastic bottle prescription pills lay in the table next to the skeleton. Was he the last man alive, and did he decide to end it all rather than living alone?
The feeling of the water followed me down the street. I don't know if it's what I found or something else, but I feel like I'm being watched. I can feel the water around me. Up ahead I can see a man standing in the road in a hazmat suit. I ran to him only to see it is me. I'm older gray, and frail. I'm yelling something.
"Warn them, tell them not to start the machine or all is lost, warn them……"
I woke in the tank, trying to remember what I saw, but the memories didn't imprint. The Tempest Tank is a prototype time machine with more than a few bugs. I guess I'll have to work on it later. Today we turn on the machine. The Tesla Machine is designed to give free power to all. Today we start tomorrow.