It had begun to rain an hour prior; the murky rain gathered in thick puddles of brown and green, churning up mud with each step that Basil and Jace took. Occasionally, reprieve would be found on a cracked patch of pavement. That did nothing to defend them from the cold, however, as the rain rapidly soaked through their clothes and burrowed deep into their bones. And of course, there were the added doses of radiation. Even after two hundred years, the rainwater had remained impure. 
	A bolt of lightning flashed through the sky. Green clouds could be seen creeping in from the near distance.
	Basil, teeth chattering, mentioned quietly, "It'll be getting worse soon. Are there any known settlements near here?" He looked toward Jace hopefully.