Dreamin' Ashes
"We just need a little more rations, please sir," Quinn begged the town's Mayer.
The man was an old gruff guy in his mid fifties. He looked down at the packet of food in his hand and shook his head. "You know I can't do that Quinn, everyone receives one packet per person. That's fair enough."
Quinn swung her arm in front of her, exhibiting her anger. "But you only gave me five damn packs, my family has eight people. EIGHT! Not five."
The man shook his head once more, "The little ones can split it in half, they don't need to eat as much as the older ones. Besides, everyone else needs to eat as well, you're family isn't the only one starving."
Quinn shook her head wildly as she pointed one finger in front of her, her anger growing by the second. "My family deserves as much food as everyone else in this settlement, you're killing us. Do you want our blood on our hands? You are a fucking bastard if you still deny me, a fucking lying bastard that only cares for himself. I know how you take extra rations when no one's looking except me."
Everyone else looked at the two after her outburst. Whispers were heard through the crowd of people waiting for their own rations.
The Mayer's own anger began to grow as well as his voice. "That's enough Quinn, we only get one crate of food once a month. There are fifty people in our settlement and the crates only holds 1,456 packets of food. We have to makes cuts every so often."
Quinn stomped her foot down and started to advance on the Mayer, "And it seems that my family is the only one getting cut! I work hard for that damn food…" Two men came up from behind her and grabbed her shoulders before she could advance any further on the Mayer. "Get the hell OFF ME!" Quinn tried to fight frantically to get away from the two men, they held tightly onto her telling her to calm down. Tears began to weld up in her eyes but she forced them back not letting the Mayer get the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She stopped fighting and stood there looking at the ground, her anger subsiding. The two men slowly let her go and once she was free she turned sharply on her heel, held her head high and took the five small packets of food and marched back to her small one bedroom home. Everyone watched her as she walked and she ignored them all as she fought back the tears. Now she needed to figure out what she's going to tell her family. Tonight will be another foodless night for herself and possibly her younger brother Dale.
No, he will eat tonight. She will make sure of it.
She opened the wooden door to her home. The door creaked as it slowly opened. Quinn stepped inside and closed the door behind her. But before she could take another step someone ran up to her and began to hug her leg. "Hey, Stefan," Quinn whispered with a hint of a smile on her lips. She placed her right hand on his head and began to brush back his dark brown hair.
Dale came from around the corner to see who entered the house, bat in hand. "Oh," he said while placing the bat down. "I didn't expect you to be back so soon."
"Yeah," Quinn scratched her head and bent over to pick up little Stefan who was only five years old.
"So? How much food we have for tonight?"
Quinn tossed him the bag of rations. He looked inside his grin turning into a frown, "Only five? They gave us six yesterday?"
Quinn shook her head, "The dam-" she glanced over at Stefan who was looking at her with his innocent sparkling eyes, she sighed. It wasn't right for her to swear in front of a child. Besides, she doesn't want him to get into the habit of it like she had from her own father. "The darn Mayor said that everyone had to make cuts."
Dale eyebrows began to furrow, his voice matching his anger. "And we are the ones who are the only ones receiving the cuts?"
Quinn walked passed him and sat Stefan on the couch where she gave him his stuffed bunny to play with. "That's exactly what I said, but he wouldn't listen to me. When I advanced on him to beat some sense into him our neighbors stopped me."
Quinn looked up at him when he didn't respond. He had the bag in his hands, his hands balled into fists and his face turning red. "They're killing us!" He finally said, tears coming to his eyes finally.
"No, I won't let that happen." Quinn sat down next to Stefan as he began to chew on the ear of the bunny. She pulled back some of his shaggy hair away from his eyes. "You need a haircut don't you?" she said to little Stefan. He looked up at her, eyes sparkling with joy and innocence.
"Yes, mama," he said as he began to giggle up at her when she smiled down at him, a smile that was shown so rarely on her own face.
"Quinn!" The two twins came running in from outside, dirtied from whatever game they were playing. They both are eleven years old, both twins with dark greenish hazel eyes and the same dark chocolate brown hair. They jumped into her lap when she opened her arms to them. Stefan tried to pry himself in-between them so he could be part of the dog pile but couldn't so he began to whine for Quinn.
"Sam, Carl, why are you too so dirty?" Quinn asked once the two twins finally let her go so little Stefan could crawl into her lap with his stuffed bunny.
"Mud pies," they both said at the same time.
"Okay you two, go get the rest of your brothers and tell them it's time to eat," Dale said as he lightly pushed them into the other room. Once they leaped in Dale turned back around and began to take the food packets out of the bag. "Potato, Potato, Potato, Potato, and oh look, another pack of dried preserved potatoes, how exciting." Dale said dully.
Quinn was the oldest of eight, and the only female. They all looked up to her like a mother, even Dale himself. He acted so much older than a twelve year old should act. The same goes for Quinn, she is only sixteen.
The twins, Eric who was ten, Dylan who was nine, and Joey who was eight, all came running in over to Dale who they saw had the food. Dale smiled down at them and down at the food, he looked over at Quinn with a lost look. He didn't know how he was going to split five packets of food with six children. Quinn sighed and picked up little Stefan off her lap and placed him back on the couch. She walked over to Dale and took the packets from him. She gave the twins their own packs, Eric and Dylan had their own as well. Quinn ripped open the last packet. Dale fetched two small bowls from outside where he washed them yesterday in the well. She split the bag in half and gave Joey and little Stefan half the ration of one bag.
Joey looked up at her confused, "Why do I only get half?"
"Because that's all we have today honey," she said while bending down and placing her hand on his shoulder. "But tonight you will have more, I promise." She said winking at him.
He smiled up at her and walked away to join his other brothers with dinner.
"And how do you expect to do that?" Dale asked crossing his arms.
"You'll see." She said standing up and walking outside.
Dale followed her outside, "I know what you are planning and it's pretty stupid."
"Oh yeah, are you really going to try and stop me?" Quinn said not turning around to look at him.
"No, it's pretty stupid that you are going to do it by yourself."
She turned to look at him frowning, "You are not coming, if you get caught who knows what they would do to you."
He shook his head, "The same goes for you."
"I'm a girl. They will take pity on me."
Dale sneered, "No, I'm coming whether you like it or not."
Quinn glared at him, he didn't say anything more and she knew that whatever she would say wouldn't change his mind. So she sighed, "Fine."
Dale smiled, "Okay, it's final. So whose house you plan on stealing from tonight?"
Stefan came running out of the house with a smile on his face and tried to jump up into Quinn's arms. "Aren't you happy?" She said while picking him up. His smile grew when she said that and when she picked him up he grabbed her mouth and pulled at the corner of her lips.
"You smile now," Little Stefan said.
All she could do was grimace as she hugged him.
*Dreamin' Ashes*
Quinn and Dale wore dark clothes so they could have an easier time hiding in the night. Quinn grabbed Stefan's backpack and placed it on her shoulders. She would steal enough food for her family tonight. She worked hard to make sure her family got that food. She worked harder than all of them. She's the ones who fixed the broken down cars that come to and from Jacinto. She's the one who made sure the generators work when a storm hits so everyone had electricity. When Gears came to and from her town she would fix their gears or their old rusted Lancers when the bullets would get jammed after reloading, or how the knife at the end always seemed to break off. How they broke it she had no idea. She's the only smart one in this forsaken town and she wasted it on them. She's wanted to go to Jacinto to find a job, but she couldn't leave her family behind. Dale was too young to take care of his younger brothers. No, she couldn't leave them. If she did they would be dead within a week.
They crouched down from house to house. Watching the streets and making sure no one was awake as they passed the dark houses. Their first objective was the Mayors house. Quinn knew without a doubt that he was taking extra rations for himself. They ducked underneath the window and looked at each other. Dale nodded his head waiting for her to give the command. Quinn slowly rose her head up and peered into the dark and empty living room. It also made her angry that he also had the largest house in the settlement. And he doesn't even share it with other families only with his, the lying thieving bastard.
Quinn crouched back down looked at Dale and tilted her head behind her. She slowly made her way to the back of the house with Dale following close behind. She took off her backpack and pulled two flat sided hair pins. She crouched-walked over to the door and began to fiddle with the doorknob. She placed one hair pin in the top of the hole and one in the middle. She searched for a small indentation she could feel with her hair pins and once she found them she slowly turned the lock until it unlocked. She slowly turned the knob and prayed that the door did not squeak once she opened it.
It didn't.
Quinn was the first to walk in, taking note of her surroundings. They are in the kitchen which was convenient enough. She turned around and motioned Dale to come in. Once Dale made it in he instantly made it to the entrance of the kitchen from the living room to keep watch. Quinn silently walked over to the fridge and cupboards.
"That bastard," Quinn whispered. The bastard was stocking up on food. The cupboards and fridge was stock full of food. Quinn couldn't be more pleased with herself for raiding the Mayor's house first. Now she doesn't have to raid other houses, she'll steal more than half of his supply and hide it in the well that was in there backyard. When they come looking they wouldn't think of looking in a well.
Quinn almost smiled when she thought of little Stefan having a full stomach tomorrow morning.
At least until she heard a gun cock.
She slowly looked up at the door she came through in to see one of the Mayor's friends pointing a gun at her face, his hand slightly trembling.
His eyes danced between Quinn and Dale. Dale took one slow step toward him arms raised. When he spoke the gunner whipped his arm and pointed the gun at Dale. Dale didn't move another inch; Quinn could see his eyes grow wide as he stood there paralyzed with fear.
That's when Quinn quickly stood up and darted at the gunner. She first grabbed his arm and pushed it down making the gun go off and echoing through the night air. The gunner fell to the ground and Quinn straddled him, making sure he stays on the ground and his arm that was holding the gun pinned underneath her left knee.
She glared up at Dale, "What do you think you're doing?" She yelled. "Get the hell out of here! Go! Go back home!" When he didn't move Quinn reached down and pried the gun from the guys hand and pointed it at Dale. "Get out of here now or I swear I'll kill you now so you don't have to go through the torture later." When he still didn't move, either out of fear or guilt of leaving her behind she shot the gun and hit the wall right next to him. This seemed to bring him back to reality. He slowly inched around the two as the man underneath Quinn tried with all his might to get out of her grasp.
Quinn heard a shot gun cock right when Dale left the house. She looked up to see yet another gun pointed at her face. "Didn't think you would do it," The mayor said as he looked down at her with a smile. "But you proved me otherwise."
Quinn let the guy underneath her go and he grabbed his gun back and backed away from her rubbing his shoulders. "Damn it, she doesn't look that strong."
"Just get it over with," Quinn said as she stood up and dusted herself off. "I have a family to go home too."
"If you even make it home," The Mayor said with a wicked smile.
"Come on John, you can't be serious," The friend said as he looked over at the Mayor with worry. "Death is a little overboard, don't you think?"
"I've warned her many, many times that her family is just too big for the little rations we receive each day. I told her before what the consequences are if she tried to get more."
Quinn turned her back to him. "Let's get this over with. I doubt you want to do this in your kitchen." Quinn wondered how surprised he would be to see what she had concealed in her right sock.
The friend grabbed her shoulder and walked her out. Once outside he stood behind her and held tightly onto her arms. "Well, well what should we do first? Do you want a quick death or a slow one?"
"John!" The friend warned.
"Shut up!" He looked back at Quinn and smiled. "Slow it is." He walked over to her and punched her in the nose breaking it instantly. Quinn keeled over and took in a deep breath as she watched the blood fall to the ground. Then his right fist smashed into her stomach making her lift up into the air for a second then falling down to her knees where her face met his knee. When she breathed in she began to choke on her own blood.
"That's enough John!" His friend yelled. "You're killing her!"
"Isn't that the idea?" The Mayor said laughing. The friend let Quinn fall to the ground where she curled in on herself.
"That's enough!" The friend said. Quinn looked up at the two. The Mayor glared at his friend and began to advance on him to possibly hit him for letting her go, but stopped suddenly when a loud explosion was heard near the entrance of the town soon followed by screams.
"What the hell?" The Mayor asked. Both stopped and looked toward where the commotion was heard. The friend took a step forward, and then suddenly his eyes went wide as he turned around to try and run but was hit by something that flung him forward and exploded. Body parts and debris was flown everywhere. The Mayor took off running away from his house and down the road. Quinn turned her head to see what the hell was happening.
That's when she first saw them.
The Locusts.
They came running in, shooting, killing everyone in their path. When they passed her they didn't give her a second glance. Probably thought she was dead because of all the blood on and around her. They took chase after the Mayor. Soon Quinn heard his scream for help, and then he went silent.
Her heart began to race as thoughts raced through her head. Why are the Locusts on the surface? Why are they attacking a small village like this? Her family…
She had to get to her family!
She didn't think when she got up. She just shot up and began to run toward her house. Ignoring the pain, ignoring the pleas and agonies she heard all around her. She ran with all the strength she had. Locust grunts shot at her but she ducked behind crates and houses and when she saw an opening she would take it without hesitation.
Her heart raced as she grew nearer and nearer to her home, the reckoning all around her has gotten worse. Each step she took it felt like an eternity. Her heart matching the pace of her feet that was all she could hear. Her own heart beat. Not the explosions that went off all around her, not the screams; only her determination to get home to her family.
She was there, she made it; a smile crept to her lips. Just over the hill!
One more step and she was… "NOOOO…"she yelled as she fell to her knees. It was burning… her house was burning. Tears welded up in her eyes as she looked at the sight before her. She could hear them…
She could hear them screaming.
She stood up and ran down the hill toward her house. She can still save them… she has too.
"MOMMY!" She heard Stefan scream. She stopped in her tracks and turned toward the noise. There he was, just standing there by the well. He was crying as he held his teddy close to his chest. She began to sprint towards him, tears running down her face.
That's when it happened and her world fell apart in front of her. The shot was clean and painless, went straight through his head. When he was falling he still had the expression on his face of loss and being scared. When he hit the ground his eyes were still open as he stared at her with shallow emptiness.
She ran over to him and pulled him into her arms. "No, no, no, no, NO!" She cried as she turned little Stefan's lifeless head toward her. She hugged him to her chest; tears fell to the ground below her.
She heard them talking behind her in their inhuman language as they walked closer to her. The anger began to build up inside her until it was almost boiling over. She set little Stefan down gently and reached down in her sock where she pulled out the large kitchen knife. She turned around and saw them lunge at her in an attempt to capture her. She sidestepped to the right and brought the knife into one of the creature's stomach. She could hear him sputter as the life drained from the Locust body. She quickly grabbed the gun that was slung behind its back and shot at the other three. They shot at her back, one hitting her in the arm, the other in the leg but she didn't stop or hesitate like they did. In a matter of a minute they were dead laying lifeless on the ground.
Her breath was ragged, her anger growing and her thirst for revenge grew. "DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" She yelled as she threw the gun to the ground and fell with it. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry even harder than before. She felt useless, helpless, and lost. "It's my entire fault," she whispered. "It's my entire fault that you guys are dead; if I had just stayed home."
"No, it's not," Dale said from behind as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Quinn shot up with the gun in her hand and turned around to shoot but stopped once she saw Dale. He had both arms raised up to calm her down. "It's okay, it's okay, it's only me." He whispered.
Quinn's breath was frantic as she looked at him. Blood was oozing out of his right temple area and from under his left eye. His left arm that was barely raised was covered in blood with large gashes littered across it.
Quinn began to cry again, "Oh, Dale, of my god, Dale…" She fell to her knees but Dale caught her and fell with her. He let her cry on his shoulder as he did the same. Dale looked at the fire, there were no more screams but Quinn could still hear them.
"I'll make them pay," she whispered into his shoulder. "I'll make them all pay."
Dale and Quinn left town when the sun rose. Only a few survived the onslaught, the others who did survive were captured and sent somewhere they did not know. All the children were killed except for one family who had a seller they hide in. Soon, on the road to nowhere, they were found by Gears that escorted them to a camp for refugees. There she found the Cole Train and instantly became friends with him. Both joined the Gears on the same day where they trained together. Dale still had to wait to join because he was too young at the time.
The day after her settlement was attacked Quinn begun to look at life a new way. Remembering the last time she saw Stefan he was trying to make her smile, but she refused to because she didn't see a future for them, she felt like it was her fault they lived like that.
Now she wished she did smile for him, that she smiled everyday when she was with her family. She wished she smiled to show them not to give up, and then maybe they would have survived. Maybe they wouldn't have given up. Now she will forever regret not smiling for little Stefan, wherever he is at now, he will remember her not smiling, only looking to a grim future.
Now she smiles every moment of everyday, to show everyone else that she will not give up, even in the grimmest of days.
She will never give up and she will always remember that day, the day she lost everything and dreams of the ashes she had to leave behind.
(Yes, I know, you guys hate me. I've been gone for a long time. I've been… depressed I should say. Been going through a lot lately, BUT I'm back now… I think and I did promise to make a prequel to let you guys now Quinn's past more in-depth. I changed some things when she was explain vaguely to Baird about her past so I'll go back and fix that. I've also been touching up on my grammar too, I've realized I've made a lot of tenses grammar mistakes. This story is meant to be written in past tense but in a couple of paragraphs I wrote in present. So… I dunno, I might be going back and fixing that. But you should be expecting an update by next week. I would say sooner but I have an essay due in two days and I need to get cracken on that, lol.
Also, I do have an account on Fictionpress, wattpad, inkpop, authonomy, etc, where I write a story called Dreaming Storms, (with a g at the end, lol), and if you like Quinn's personality, the goofy one, then you will like this story since I made them both exactly the same. So check it out and help me write in present tense, it's still a learning curve for me, lol. I'm really excited about that story, it's flowing nicely. Okay, review and tell me what you think. If you are new then check out my Dreamin' Storms story, it's a BairdxOC.)