Fifteen years ago before today, the nation fell to the Mutants. For eighty years engineering and technology stalled in our world. Our government struggled to strive. Cars, technology, everything was the same in the year 2099 as it was in 2014. Our government wanted to create a new life form. So we stole some to study and model after. With the danger of hording alien species the government stuck the mutants in a place no one would ever find them: Duke Chapel. No one except for government officials knew about this experiment. The government received multiple warnings from the alien land demanding their 'people' back. Little did we know that the aliens that we captured were leaders on their planet. After denying the possession of the species, the mothership attacked. The next morning the sun never rose. Instead The Mothership covered the sun leaving a dark red tinted light. As soon as the Muts landed they shot innocent people trying to find the government officials who stole their kind. The government leaders ran as soon as the Muts landed. For years they've been hidden. Few have been found and killed. Today everyone suffers from their idiotic move. Everyday people loose their lives because the government officials from before refuse to come out of hiding.
When the Muts landed my family ran for safety. Since I was only two, I remember none of the incident. All I know is what Jennine and Michael told me.
While on the run, my parents couldn't handle carrying me around so they left me with Michael and Jennine. Those strangers became my Mama J and Popa Mike. A couple winters ago, a really bad snow storm hit. With the mothership still blocking the sun, there was nothing to warm us up other than blankets. That Winter, we hid in an antique rug and blanket store on the old 15-501. Before going to bed one night, the temperature was reading below -15. That night, Mama and Popa wrapped me in extra blankets and jackets they had found. They kissed me goodnight like they did every night and went to their section of the store to sleep. The next morning, they didn't wake me up. Curious, I got up to find them. As I approached their make shift room, Mama and Popa laid cuddled in each other's arms sound asleep, wrapped in blankets. I walked up to Mama and shook her shoulder. Getting closer, I realized the blue tint in their faces and exposed skin. Panicked I had tried to wake them up and had to come to the hard realization that they were dead.
At 17, I used the survival skills that Mama and Popa used while we traveled together and the skills I've picked up from watching other people. I've learned to stay by myself. Less people to feed, less people to care for. I stayed in a small abandoned condo. It use to be this place called Cosmic Cantina. Telling from the storytelling wooden picnic tables that I now used to block the door and use as a bed, people came here a lot. There's a huge paneled window in the front which now has stained, faded sheets draped over so no one can peek in. I barracaded the door with a long wooden staff that I found in the back kitchen. It makes it easy for me to get out but hard for someone to get in.
I stood by my makeshift bed in the front corner by the window to peek at the outside world. With the familiar red tint in the world, my eyes adjusted years ago. I looked outside by the end of the corner of 9th and Main toward the old BP gas station. The station abandoned, and littered with trash. Papers, old cars, food containers, drink bottles, even blankets that people laid down to sleep in the streets and never got to wake the next morning. I was just about to turn back when I saw three kids running. An older guy, a toddler boy and a pre-teen looking girl. All clothed in dirty rags, styled by their sheer blonde hair.
The pack ran closer and closer to my hide out. I'm not really sure why they were running. There aren't any Mut patrols on this side of town. The kids ran to the entrance of the old Bruggers and caught their breaths. I looked back to where they ran from and saw what they were running from. Mut Hounds. Ruthless creatures. They were metallic black with sharp talons as claws and razor sharp teeth in a pertruding muzzle. They ran fast and were smart creatures. One wrong move and you're dead.
The Hounds lifted their noses into the air and sniffed around. Looking like they found the scent they were looking for they advanced toward Bruggers. The oldest guy poked his head around the corner and saw the Hounds advancing. He grabbed the small kid and got his weapon ready. The girl got a gun ready with her pack and followed the boy. They started running toward my hide out and everything would've been fine if the girl hadn't ran into a tin trashcan. It clashed to the street creating absolute beautiful silence. Everyone froze and the Hounds snarled, running towards the girl. The kids tried to run back to the parking lot behind Bruggers but a Hound came from that direction and another one came from the front. They were surrounded and hopeless.
The girl kept her gun trained on the Hound in front of her while the older boy held his gun in the same position while the little boy clinged to the older boys pants with a hand clutching the older boys pants with his other thumb in his mouth. As the Hounds moved in slowly, I watched helplessly from the safety of my shelter. I've seen plenty of people murdered by the Hounds and Muts but for some reason I couldn't help but help them.
I turned quickly from my window and grabbed my ammo bag by the door, packed two hand guns and my Bow. I kicked the pole from under the door and threw open my last sense of security. I sprinted down the steep creaky steps. At the landing I grabbed an arrow and set it on my Bow. I used my back to push open the outside door and turned toward the two Hounds still moving inward to the group of kids. My feet pounded on the pavement running toward the Hounds. The two older kids saw me and their jaws dropped. I jumped letting go of my first arrow. The arrow cut through the air and landed in the Hound farthest from me in the eye. With the first Hound down the second one lunged at the girl. The girl threw her arms up and flung the Hound off her. Regaining her balance she ran, with the two boys following quickly behind. I followed up in the rear. The Hound on my heels, I had one shot and I couldn't mess it up. I pulled the arrow back as I ran, I turned abruptly and let go. I shut my eyes and leapt to the side. Landing hard on the street I groaned and opened my eyes. I looked back to the Hound that lay heaped in the street. The arrow stuck deep in it's skull. My heart and my head pounded as I stood up.
The three kids walked slowly to me, but stopped 10 yards from me. Their eyes were wide and they looked afraid to talk to me. The oldest boy was first to speak.
"You're...you're..." He stuttered
"Am I? What a survivor? Yeah? I'm Ashley. Im--"
"You're the governor's missing daughter..."
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