A Dawn of Burning Skies - A Novel (1-1)

A Dawn of Burning Skies is a short novel I started a few months ago, hoping to finish inside a year or two and maybe write a sequel if the first received enough attention. However, other things came in the way and I stopped. However, I recently discovered it again, and I thought to post it on here to see how much attention it receives.
This is only a short part, but hopefully it will give you enough insight to judge if you like it or not. It is a post-apocalyptic themed story, but I'll be keeping everything interesting and realistic-ish.

Chapter 1 - Part 1

I peer out into the moonlit night through the old rusted bars of the window. I shift on the similarly rusted oil barrel, precariously attempting to maintain my balance. I often sit here, gazing out across the field of tall grass waving gently in the moonlight. Looking to the woods beyond, I muse on the days gone past. The sunset is beautiful and its rays bouncing across the landscape often sparks my imagination, sometimes even prompting me to write. Now that it was becoming dark I entertain more depressing thoughts. Holding no regrets was something I once thought I could manage to do. Now, I'm not so sure.

“Lo, of regrets I do have many,”
“Many things I would change of the past.”

A tear makes its way down my cheek. I roughly wipe it away. What was done is done, and there's nothing I can do to change that.

“But hark, the past remains unchanged,”
“Unchanged in reality, and in me.”

I slam my fist onto my knee, dropping my pencil in the process. Why is it so hard for me to move on and forget all of these things? Must I constantly be haunted by my past choices?
I bend down, pick up my pencil and start writing again.

“See, they still haunt me to this day,”
“They, the wrong decisions I have made.”

The sound of footsteps on the metal stairs behind me arouses me from my deep thoughts. I see Adrienne's pretty head appear at the top of the staircase, her auburn hair bobbing up and down as she clambered up the metal stairs. She knows some of my past, and I know that she is worried about me. It is a testament to her character that she always tries to be understanding of my need for time alone.
She looks at me and gives a weak smile, and I give her a sad smile in return. She knows what I'm thinking about. More or less.

“But now I have a new hope for the future,”
“Yet it is still foreshadowed by the past.”

She walks up to me and gently rests her hand on my shoulder.
"Are you alright?" she asks softly.
"I'm fine," I reply, quickly covering my poem with my hand while trying to make the movement look casual.
"What were you writing about?"
"It's nothing, really... Just some rant." I look down at my hands and fumble with my pencil.
"I see... are you going to come sleep soon? You know that you need rest."
I place my hand over hers. "I'll come soon. I just need a few more minutes."
She looks at me for a second, then nods. As soon as I hear her footsteps clank down the metal stairs, I continue writing.

“What was done is done, no one can change it,”
“My only hope is that the future will bring comfort.”

Musing some more of the future, I think of tomorrow and the days coming afterwards.
It was a catastrophe, really. Now, there is no supermarkets, no malls: only nature. The trees beyond hold my only food source, but also my greatest danger. Nature is both your friend and your greatest enemy.

“The greatest challenge lies ahead,”
“Danger is around future's corner.”

I stand up and walk downstairs into the large room that serves as our dormitory. Many beds are scattered across the room; few are full. Mine is right next to the only window in the dormitory. I love looking at the stars as I fall asleep. Yet there is also a part of nature that I do not dare to love. The empty beds are evidence of that.

“Many friends have I lost in this war,”
“The war against both man and beast.”

I sit down on my bed, fighting back tears at the thought of my lost friends. They are all gone, never to be brought back again. They are part of my past, but not my future. Oh, if only I could bring them back...
But I still have some companions left, the remnants of all the strife and hardship, and I am determined to not let harm come to any of them. They all feel the same about me.

“I hold fast to what I have now,”
“Never wanting to let them go.”

“For we are all that is left,”
“We, the remnants, only us.”

Thanks for reading. :) There is more to come. Please upvote and comment if you liked it, so that I can determine if I should continue on with it. I have more written out already, and the story line is somewhere in my head.