Another six months passed. Once the broadcasts confirmed that conditions outside were reasonably safe, I decided it was time to leave.
I spent three days getting ready. I packed the essential tools, a portion of the food stores, all of the Blueprints and the Logbook. Then I took one last look at the place that had kept me alive for five years and opened the exit.
Sunlight.
That was the first thing I felt. Five years without it, and it was so bright I couldn't keep my eyes open. I stood there for a long moment, letting them adjust, before I could take in what was around me.
The estate had been reclaimed by time. Weeds had pushed up through everything, and several of the structures had come down entirely. But life was already returning, quietly, in the way it always does.
I walked to wh
