AD, 2034, war had overcome earth leaving it in ruin, the world's population was drastically reduced, almost none - existent in some areas. Starvation affected everyone across the globe. The once great and powerful cities such as London, New York and Tokyo were in destitute, roads were unusable, buildings were collapsing, the green lush land burnt to desert-like state. The increasing heat of the sun which was caused by the greenhouse effect which absorbs the sun's rays quicker to what they are released back, which has meant that wildlife simply couldn't adapt to the rapid changes that they faced meaning that thousands of animals became extinct. This is where humans now fight for survival; normal citizens carried firearms used for either protection or fighting as there was no order, no government to place new laws or to help their countries reach stability and peace.
It was either fight or die.
In England, the countryside was destroyed leaving burnt craters in the ground where bombs had hit years ago, the once lush grass was burnt to a sandy brown and would crumble at the slightest touch, trees held no life and looked like skeletons which would dance and crumble in the wind. This country was sinking to a level below that of the sea due to its history of mining, which had left tunnels under the ground that were now collapsing because the government years ago had been negligent.
The majority of England's population was orphaned children whose parents had died during World War Three and in the many fights after that, leaving them uneducated in mental minds and in physical skill. It wasn't uncommon for these children to bond together to create small families, where there was an alpha male and female in the pack. Some of these families became well known for their fighting skills and for their territory.
Staffordshire was an area that was mostly dominated by one family that consisted of three. It was originally a pack made of four however the fourth who was their alpha female, sadly died of an illness the winter passed. This family was called the Lions, named after an extinct courageous animal that they had seen in what little books that have remained.
Heavy footsteps pounded against the floor hurriedly as a small boy darted through the dark street as the sun rose, his arms filled with bread, taking cover from prying eyes behind upturned cars and concrete as he made his way through the town. The boy's breath came out in pants and beads of sweat were upon his brow, but he kept on running because his life depended on it. Pursued by two larger men, several years older than him, their footsteps were much louder than his own.
Taking a turning to the left, the young boy came upon a dead end as he had ran down an alley that was filled with bins and rubbish.
"Ya' took a wrong turning then laddy, nowhere to run now eh?" grinned one of his pursuers as they advanced slowly towards the young one, "So you're really a member of The Lions eh?" he stated as he looked the young boy over, "doesn't seem like much" he laughed.
"Can we just beat him now?" asked the other man, as he held up a baseball bat threateningly, "his is a warning to ya and ya pack mates" the man growled out to the young boy as he took a step forward.
The young boy was still panting, however he stood his ground, "haha, took a wrong turn did i?" he asked, his voice firm as he raised his head to meet his pursuers, "I don't think so, look behind you" he grinned past them, his eyes filled with relief.
"You don't have to worry now Spirit" a voice called out behind the two men, "we've got it covered".
The two men span around to face the one behind them and saw another boy in his late teens and a young girl who looked around the age of fourteen. The young male had long blond hair that was covered in dirt and grime and tied into a loose ponytail, his pale face thin and dirty but his bright blue eyes shone with confidence, clear as the sky from the books of the past. His form was well built, broad shoulders covered by a black hooded jumper, dark, baggy jeans cover his legs, however there were holes and worn out areas around the knees, studded belts and buckles ran along his arms, waist and legs and he wore black worn out trainers.
The girl had bushy brown hair; it was unclear if it was light or dark due to the dirt that was in it and it was obvious that she didn't take much care of it, she also had a pale face and muddy brown eyes that were filled with warmth. She was slender as she had not developed fully yet, her small frame was covered by a black jumper, she wore a black and purple stripped skirt that had buckles hanging from it, her knee length socks were odd, one was stripped with black and purple and the other with black and red, her feet were covered by worn out converse.
"Oh yeah? And wha' ya' gonna do about it boy?" taunted the pursuer who spoke first, his face scrunching up as he took a step towards the two new comers.
The young male smirked in reply, "this" was all he said as he ran forward faster than what the two adults had ever seen and smashed his fist into the first speakers face, the obvious sound of bones breaking echoed through the alley.
"Why ya little!" screamed the other man as he raised the bat high above his head and brought it down, however, the young male simply grabbed the bat, on his hand you could see a golden ring that was in the shape of a lion's head, in its mighty jaws it held a ruby that looked like it was glowing. The lad kicked the man hard in his stomach, so hard in fact that he flew backwards and slammed into a wall.
"You alright Spirit?" asked the girl as she walked forward, stepping on the male with a broken nose, "you seem rather out of breath" she stated, resting her hand upon his shoulder, she like the older boy had a ring upon her finger, also in the shape of a lion's head however, instead of a ruby, hers held a diamond.
"Aye, I'm fine Glacier" said the young boy, now known as Spirit; his features became more apparent now that the sun had risen. He had short black hair that was shaven down the left hand side, his fringe sweeping across this face. He, like the older boy, also had blue eyes, however, his were more stormy and filled with relief at seeing his friends, like the other two, we also wore a black jumper, however, his didn't have sleeves so you could see several studded bands upon his wrists, his jeans were baggy but not as baggy as his elders were and he worse combat boots upon his feet.
"They should know better, bloody sharks" growled the eldest as he looked down at the man whose nose he broke, "do you know who we are, eh old man?" he asked as he lifted the man off the ground by his collar.
"Why should I care to know about a couple o'brats like you?" he spat, his foul breath landed on the eldest boys face causing him to scrunch it in disgust as he tossed the man towards his friend.
"You should care to learn who owns this territory old man" he said smirking as he looked towards his friends, who in return grinned back at him.
"Yeah, after all Kai, isn't the Alpha of the Lions for nothing" Glacier taunted, sticking out he tongue. Kai stood up straighter as watched the men's faces twist with hatred and fear before they darted off as fast as they could, both stumbling due to the pain that they were in, the three young teens taunting laughter followed them.
Kai looked up at the sky as his laughter died down and his face turned into a frown as he predicted the time, he could see the sphere of light shining through the clouds of dust, "come on, let's go before we get burnt to a crisp" he called out to them as he jogged out of the alleyway. Glacier took some of the food out of Spirits' grasp and took off after Kai as the younger boy looked up at the gray sky.
"C'mon Spirit!" Glacier shouted, standing at the entrance, "before the sun goes any higher!" as already the air around them started to heat up.
"Don't start spitting feathers Glac" he called back as he ran past her, "you'll go wrinkly before me and Kai will at this rate" he teased as her face contorted with anger to which he waved a hand to, allowing his ring to be seen, like the other two it was a lion and in its jaws was a sapphire.
"Why you little brat!" she yelled running after and making a grab at him, which he easily dodged laughing.