My fingers touched the sun's rays, dancing in the warmth that the star gave me. Grass tickled every inch of my body I left exposed. My hair lay strewn, weaving itself with the green blades like lovers should lay together. The air was stale though, like something wasn't right. But was it wrong? After the war, nothing was the same, not even the air. Ash fell like rain and pleasantries were something of the past. Everything lay in ruin, and at night you could hear the decrepit buildings moaning in the wind. Though that was not uncommon to hear at night now adays. Everyone is so lifeless, hopeless, that rebuilding our civilization was pointless. Not many people scurry about the city anymore, every day more die of depression, illness, or murder. A world that I would wish no one to live in. But here I am. A young man with my life ahead of me, a life that is now in shambles. Before all of this happened I was a 4.0 student attending Princeton for Philosophy. I had a great relationship with my parents (rest their souls) and about to be an uncle to a lovely baby girl. I wasn't even able to legally drink yet when everything happened. Didn't miss out much though, I mean who drinks legally anymore?
My days are now spent fighting for my life, trying to find food, shelter, something to keep my mind occupied. But what am I really fighting for? There's literally nothing here for me, I have no one left. But I go about my routine to stay for something. I don't know why, but there's something that's keeping me here and I'm determined to find it. Since the world plummeted into chaos, there's actually been many rules set into place.
1.) Never go out at night.
2.) Never talk to anyone, even if you used ot know them.
3.) Never walk on the main roads.
4.) Keep dressed in dark clothes, so no one will notice you.
5.) Never get caught by the Nuovo Re.
6.) Keep any food hidden.
Live by these rules, and this new world doesn't seem that bad. One catch, I break all of these rules, but it's because I can get away with it. While some are pitying themselves, others are trying to revive the dark world. Crime is at an all time high, but is it really crime anymore? With no one to stop us, there's no rules we are really breaking. Laws don't exsist anymore. So us, the children of the underworld, live however we can. Some have even taken on jobs again. Hitman, drug dealer, body guard anything that is needed now. As for me, I'm an escort. I get pulled aside by people asking me for just one night. This world doesn't produce the sluts it used to hold, most of them died in the first few days if they didn't perish with the initial blast. So it's my job to keep everyone happy in their own sick pleasures. But hey, it pays doesn't it?
The echoes of my footsteps bounce off the walls of this alley. Eyes are glowing around me, watching every muscle move as I pass them by. Any normal person would have shit their pants and runs. But I'm safe, and I know no one would ever dare touch me. A smirk sneeks it's way across my lips, because here, in one of the deadliest places, I feel like a god. This doesn't last long though. A shadow grips my arm hard, dragging me to it's dark lair that lie inside an old door. Greasy lips attack my neck and strong arms lock me inside. I found my client. I let a chuckle escape me, deeply regretting it moments later. My cheek starts throbbing, a smack echoing through the empty room. The man is screaming at me, shoving me into a wall as profanity assaults my ears. Though none of it really touches me. By now I'm numb to this kind of abuse. It's my job to take it and I'm starting to actually like it. And that's what scares me most.
The rain is pouring through the shamble I call a roof. Buckets strategically placed to try and minimize the damage. My knees are drawn to my chest, my arms loosely hugging them and my head lays against the rotting window frame. The rain is soothing, something that hasn't changed in this wreck of a world. My body is aching, throbbing, and bruises are starting to rise on my skin. Closing my eyes, I can only hear the pattering of drops as they hit the building. Not only is my floor getting soaked, but my cheeks are as well. Nostalgia fills me and I start to miss everything I once had. This loneliness is starting to break me, no friend of any sort for almost a year starts to get to you. Having no one to talk to can drive you insane, but rising above that is a daily feat. I won't succumb like most of the others have, ending their suffering with a bullet through their skull. My thoughts are suddently haulted by a large crashing sound coming from right outside my door. I quickly wipe away all tears and rush to my feet, being cautious not to make any noise (which is hard to do with the squeekiest floor known to mankind). The noises continue and it was then I realized something was trying to break in. I would only hope it was a normal human, but every now and then you'll run into a mutant freak. Knowing my body was much too sore to fight anyone off, I surveyed my empty little room to find a hiding place. Now the problem here was my room is empty, literally only a mattress on the floor. My best bet is to hide behind the door and pray to whatever watches over our pathetic little souls that I won't be found and hopefully whomever it is will think no one lives here anymore. This is where my second problem arises, in the rush of panic, I forgot how loud the floorboards actually were. Running to the back end of the door wasn't the best idea because one board devcided to wail to my visitor outside. This only made the noises grow, and quicken. As soon as I heard my location being given away, my heart dropped. All noises suddenly went quiet, and I could feel all of the blood drain from me. They knew I was here, they wanted in. They wanted me. I had no help to fend this monster off, and I couldn't even squish a fly if I really tried. The door was ripped from the hinges, and I lost all control of mobility. The hall was dark, but I could see its eyes, golden and piercing. There was no emotion but rage. This was no normal human being.