Pet - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

"This is it?” I ask in confusion. I look up at Margo, my second in command. She nods grimly at me. All Margo had managed to scavenge was a few measly scraps. And by that, I mean, rotting fruit, a dead bird, and some stale bread if you could even call it that. I punch the couch, causing dirt to fly.

“Shit,” I curse aloud. Currently, our group consists of 7 girls. Me being the oldest, and Angel being the youngest. She was only 13. We had barely eaten in 4 days. I look at Margo, she was only 17. Her curly brown hair was at her shoulders, and I could see her bones jutting from beneath her skin. We were literally starving to death.

“Maybe we should migrate,” I say. Fear immediately clouds Margot’s gray eyes. Migrating meant scouting new terrain, fighting off different people, and possibly running into... them. To this day, we don’t know who, or what they are. We just know we need to fear them. They didn’t come here in peace. They came to conquer.

Their space was getting bigger, which meant our survival was getting lower. We lived in the blight, which is where every survivor lived. Man is a selfish race. When the going gets tough, instead of banding together, we go to every man for himself rule. It was like one of those refugee cities I used to watch as a child, except this time it was real. It was our own little functioning society, but to get food, we needed something valuable. Something valuable to trade. And none of us had anything of value. Our hideout was the backside of an alley, in an old building that no one used because we all lacked electricity anymore. And migrating meant risking the loss of more lives. The last time we moved to this area, we lost 3. I can’t put us through that again. We weren’t at our usual strength. The lack of food made that possible. I yank my fingers through my hair, completely at a loss. I can feel tears of frustration beginning to burn my eyes. I look at Margot.

“What do we do?” I whisper. She shakes her head slowly and sinks into the rotting couch across from me. I reach up, grabbing the necklace around my throat. It’s the only thing I have to remember my family. I can’t even remember how I got it. Just that it has me, my parents, and my brother in it. I can’t even tell you my brother's name.

“I think this is it, Iris.” She gives me a grim stare.

“I think it’s time we die out.” I stare at her in horror, shaking my head.

“No. No, that can’t be our only option.” I say. She flinches from my tone, but I don’t care. We were survivors. We weren’t about to just lay down and die because that was the easiest option. We’ve been struggling to survive for years, and now because the going is tough, she wants to give up? I begin scanning my brain for an idea. We couldn’t just steal from our own either. The scarcity of food out here caused everyone to be basically insane. If you were caught stealing, you were killed on the spot. Lisa learned that a long time ago. When our group was still ten.

Silence comes over the room, the only sound is the crackle of the fire.

Think think think. There has to be some kind of option.

I stare around the room, at the grim faces. They all have one thing in common. They’re gaunt and starved. Seeing them like this only fuels my mission more. I give everyone my best smile.

“Don’t worry guys, it’ll be alright,” I say. I already told them the plan. None of them want me to go through with it, but none of them can stop me either. I look at each and every face, taking in their features and remembering the reason. I take a deep breath.

“If I’m not back in a week, you guys will have to go on without me ok? Don’t stay here. There’s nothing left for us. You have to stay strong and stay together. Don’t try to steal from here. It’s not worth risking your lives,” I say. They all timidly nod their heads.

“Hey. Cheer up, guys. Everything will be alright. We’ll make it through this,” I say giving them a weak smile. We will make it through. We have to. I’m met with weak smiles as well. They don’t believe me.

After the meeting, I head to the alley. I reach around the large garbage bin, grabbing my knife and homemade spear from the hole behind it in the wall. The plan is for me to go hunting myself. Into the woods. It’s stupid and dangerous, but it’s all I can do to make sure they don’t starve. If more of them go, then I will constantly be worried about who will survive and what’s going on. So the plan is to go by myself. I’m the strongest and the smartest when it comes to hunting.

We all vowed never to go into the woods alone. The last time someone did, she never made it out. And we never knew why. But now, this is a matter of life and death. And I refuse to just lie down and let them win. I move past a dusty window, pausing to gaze at my reflection. My pitch-black hair is still stringy from years of neglect, and it only fell to my shoulders. And my wide green eyes looked how I felt. Wild.

I take a deep breath, and head into the forest.

* * * * *

So far, I’ve had to fight off 3 people, and I’ve gotten 1 deer. It’s been 4 days. I’m exhausted and weak. The only thing that keeps me going is the image of my girls' faces as they starve to death.

I look up as the sun slowly rises in the sky. The forest is now a lush green paradise. Due to the fact that humans no longer have cars and pollution, the greenery has plenty of area to grow. Which makes the forest even more dangerous. If you aren’t careful, you can get lost in the greenery, and never be able to find your way out.

I shiver as a gust of wind breezes past me. Even though the sun is rising, the air is cold. I couldn’t tell you what month it is, or even what time of the year it is. I just know it’s cold now. Which makes food even more scarce, and disease more prominent. We literally have everything to fear other than the invaders for our survival.

I raise my thumb in the air, feeling the direction of the wind. East. Which means the Blight is in the opposite direction. I slowly stand, my calves screaming in pain from being crunched up all night. Even my body is fighting my brain to move from my exhaustion. I didn’t get any sleep. I have to be on constant guard, seeing as other humans are my enemy as well.

I spend the whole day trying to hunt. But once again, I come up empty-handed. And it doesn’t help that I’m exhausted and hungry. I’ve been chewing on leaves all day to keep something in my system. But even those aren’t enough to give me energy.

I decided to cut my losses and head back to camp with what I had. It may not be much, but it’s something. And it would give us the energy we need to scavenge the city.

The trek back takes a day and a half, and the sun is already setting, casting an orange glow over the sky. I need to hurry and get back before it gets dark. It isn’t safe to be around the border of the blight at night, especially with food.

My footsteps falter as I gaze up at the place I usually call home. It’s in flames. My eyes widen, as I finally take in my surroundings, including the screams that greet me. Screams of horror. My eyes quickly scan the surrounding area, but there is nothing unusual in sight.

My heart begins pumping and my adrenaline spikes, my feet taking off into the city, hunger all but forgotten as I make my way to our hideaway. The tears are falling rapidly down my face as the wind hits me hard from the speed I’m going. I look up to see the building we lived in barely intact. It looks like nothing more than a ruin now.

“Oh, God!” I shout at the rubble. I run up to what is left, throwing the debris aside, trying to find someone, anyone. I pull back a boulder and gasp. Margot. Her whole body must be crushed under the rubble. I reach out with shaky hands to touch her face. It’s cold. Her eyes are still open, a look of shock etched into her features. A loud noise comes up and I realize it’s me. I’m crying aloud. An explosion in the distance pulls me from my inner turmoil and I reach up to grab my necklace, squeezing it tight. Now was not the time to let my emotions get the best of me.

I don’t know how long I spend digging through the rubble, but my fingers are cut and bleeding, and my nails are crusted with dirt and blood. I don’t care though. I have to find someone. I eventually reach the rocks that are too heavy to even lift and decide it’s time to give up. Maybe they got away. Maybe some of them are deep within the city.

I immediately stand, recovering my knife, and take off into the blazing inferno that used to be my home.

The city is filled with bodies. Dead and alive. Some are holding their loved ones, others literally paralyzed in fear. None of these faces are familiar. I hear more screams, and don’t know if I should head in the direction of those screams or away from them. But screams meant living. And possibly, my girls.

I turn the corner and halt in my tracks. A man is standing in front of me, but he can’t be a man. I don’t know what he is. But his body is too well-formed to be a refugee from this camp. His back is to me, and he has some kind of sword in his hand. There is blood dripping from the sword, but not only is it on the sword but on him as well. He’s covered in it.

It takes a moment for me to notice a child with blonde, curly hair and bright green eyes in front of him, on his knees as he kneels over someone's body. I say, someone because the body is mutilated. And the little boy is gazing wide-eyed at it, unaware of the beast about to do the same to him. I don’t think. I tighten the knife in my hands and take off running towards him, my gaze focuses on the spot his kidney should be.

Out of nowhere, an invisible force hauls me backward. I gasp in shock and fear, not at all expecting to have been forced back so hard. I hit the ground with a hard thud, crying out from the force. And before I can get my bearings, I’m hauled up.

I open my eyes and freeze. Icy fear runs directly through me, pausing any kind of flight instinct that I had. This had to be one of them. The beings that took over the world. Because I have never seen anyone- no any like it.

He’s s a tall man, with sharp features. A strong jaw and a sensuous mouth, set into a curve of his lips. But it wasn’t his strong features that took my breath away. His hair is stark white and flowing down his back, in a loose ponytail that held it in place, though some of his hair was still falling in his face. But it isn’t even his hair that caught me. His eyes. They’re purple. A dark and mesmerizing purple, with blue flecks in them. They’re unlike anything I have ever seen. He is unlike anything I had ever seen. And he is looking at me with a completely blank expression.

“You’re trying to kill him,” he says. I can’t stop myself. I shudder. His voice is like silk. Smooth and sensuous. His eyes narrow slightly at me. I vaguely take note that he’s dressed in all white, and there isn’t an ounce of blood on him. Suddenly, it’s as if the initial shock of this being in front of me wears off, and panic explodes within me. Pure crippling fear rockets throughout my body.

This inhuman being has caught me, about to attack one of his people. And he doesn’t look pleased. I immediately begin to struggle, trying to pry his hands away from me. But it’s no use.

“Please..!” I scream after minutes of trying to break free of his grasp. He still doesn’t move an inch. Only studies me. The man I was about to attack comes up behind him, the little boy unconscious and being strung by his hair. My eyes flash to the boy, and right back up to the being that holds me. He opens his mouth and an unfamiliar sound comes tumbling out. He’s speaking a language I don’t understand.

The man holding me scoffs lightly, his gaze never faltering. He opens his mouth responding in that same language, his eyes never wavering. The man behind him listens and calmly nods his head. He says one thing more, and the man in front of me shakes his head slightly.

I’m still in full-on panic mode. Imagine, sitting in the middle of a speeding intersection and watching a car coming at you at 80 miles an hour, and knowing the fate that awaits you. That suffocating fear that crawls up your throat from deep within your gut. I feel that one thousand times over. I don’t know if I’m looking death in the face.

Finally, he moves. His eyes shift slightly. Such a small movement and it’s so graceful as they glide down my body and back up to my face. I can’t even form a coherent thought let alone beg for my life. I can see the moment he makes a decision. He lets go of me, and I drop like dead weight, my legs unable to hold me up from the crushing fear I feel.

I gaze up at him, from my knees. There isn’t an ounce of emotion on his face. It’s like he’s a statue, carved and sent from the heavens itself, to pass judgment.

He reaches down, and my body shakes. Violent shivers that I can’t help. He places his finger against my temple, and I feel my body slowly shutting down. Until all I can register is the heavyweight that forces me to close my eyes and fall into a dreamless slumber.