The last thing I remember from my world is fear. Terrifying sirens screamed through the air as we gathered belongings to take with us. Where were we going? There was nowhere to go, but we didn't know that at the time. Then a flash- and then nothing. I suppose if I hadn't been ripped through dimensions I would have died in that moment. From what I know of nuclear bombs, you're vaporized pretty much instantaneously if you're lucky. That's all I have of my last moments on Earth.
The next thing I remember is being woken up by a rough boot in my side.
Disoriented, Vanya mumbled, "What happened?"
"Woman, what're you doing out here? You lost?" The man had a strange accent. Not anything she could place around the Midwest.
"What?" she asked, not because she hadn't heard him. "Where am I?" She had finally opened her eyes and noticed the strange surroundings. She was laying on a pile of sand and dried brush under a sickly looking tree, the sky was an unnatural shade of orange and the sunlight weak, shrouded with ash. "I don't even recognize any of this." She couldn't believe what the bombs had done, or how she had survived.
"Musta had a hard night," the man chuckled. "Were you with anyone else?"
Only now did she look at the man and noticed there were three of them. She was startled by their appearance. She might have expected radiation suits or gas masks, but these three men were in full armor. One in steel, who'd been speaking to her, and the other two in leather though one had pieces that looked like an unbelievably large exoskeleton. Had she been preserved for hundreds of years and those were the exoskeleton of giant, mutated bugs? It was the only thing that made sense in her struggling mind.
"I was with my fiancé when we heard the sirens," she said. The man in front blinked at her. The other two had their faces covered but from their body language, she could read their confusion. "There was a flash- the...the bomb." She glanced around and then back to the men.
They looked at each other briefly and then the one in steel answered, " I think you should come with us." It wasn't a suggestion for as he said it, his silent companions grabbed her arms and lifted her to unsteady feet.
"Where is 'with you'? Is it a survivor camp?" She attempted to distance herself from the men at her side as she gained her footing, but while one let her go the other on her right kept a firm grasp on her upper arm.
"It's a camp," he confirmed with a smirk.
She walked with the men, looking all around trying desperately to recognize the landscape. How was this possible? How was the world so changed but her body left intact? She soon noticed the pathway had narrowed as it led deeper into the trees. Wouldn't a survivor camp be in a clearing, or at least have a wider road leading to it? All of these doubts- and the firm grip on her arm- gave her an intense feeling of danger. Something was definitely not right about this.
Her alarm only spiked as they rounded a large rock and she noticed a cave opening. She stopped abruptly turning her widened eyes to the man on her arm, her voice trembling, "This isn't a camp."
He gave a deep chuckle as the other spoke. "Oh, but it is. It's much roomier inside, you'll see. Don't be afraid, there are no ash-spawn in here."
She barely had time to imagine what an ash-spawn was before she was shoved forward and marched into the darkness.
A/N: Before you continue I will take this opportunity to say thank you for reading and also issue a blanket trigger warning. There is rape mention in this story and there will also be blood, swearing, and eventual lemons. Rated M for all the things, m'kay?
If I hit writer's block I will publish weekly as I am fairly well written ahead, otherwise I will post as often as I please depending on my progress. Additionally, Vanya is from an AU Earth where the video game does not exist so she has absolutely no point of reference.