K, so- first story up here for me! This is a character development piece. Someone posted an interesting thread on the Secondlife CCS Sim, I roleplay on frequently.
Here were teh guidelines:
~The year is 2039 (after Jan.1st this past year)
~The apocolypse happened in 2032 (7 years ago)
~A Meteor hit the earth and rained fire from the skies (Wormwood).
~The zone CoLA is located in is called the Pacifica Territory- part of the Confederated Republic of North America- C.R.N.A.
~There are two other mentioned zones, the Atlantica Territory (East Coast) and the Central Badlands.
~The battle is heaven versus hell- Lucifer versus God- brother versus brother.
WHERE WERE YOU!? That's right- where the FUCK was your character when this all happened- read the history, and give us a fictional piece on where you were- who you were- and what you were doing when this all happened!
I decided to base my story 4 years after Wormwood had hit. Explaining somewhat where my character was at the time and where she was now.
Enjoy and please leave comments!
"Do you remember?" His voice was barely a whisper over the burning wood. I normally wouldn't be so foolish as to allow a fire being built at night. Our vision was keen enough that it wasn't needed, but he was cold- and I had never been good at saying no, or denying anything he wanted. I looked up from my idle prodding of the meager fire, I'd managed for Oli.
"Yes." Of course I remembered. He looked so small- still a pup by anyone's standards; but then again so was I. His eyes were downcast, examining something very intently in the dirt. This wasn't my favorite topic of conversation on a good day. Iain was out on a hunt, leaving me to sit here and babysit, as always. So much had changed for us in the last four years and yet nothing at the same time. I ground my teeth, internally fuming over having to always be left behind. Even now, when there was no more pack. No more elders and alpha's to tell me what to do and not do. I jabbed my stick into the fire with a little more force then was absolutely necessary, embers sprayed over Oli's side.
"Hey!" He yelped and jumped up, beating furiously at his clothing and skin where they had landed. He glared down at me critically. A look that I normally would have laughed at, but he tried so hard to be an adult, so I didn't dare. "You know, just because you're ticked at Iain doesn't mean you get to take it out on me." I held up my hands in surrender, doing my best to hide the smile that was fighting to pull the corners of my mouth up. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry."
"Will you tell me about it?" He paused, moving around to my side of the fire slowly. "Please?"
I patted the ground next to me, sighing. "Do I have to?" He sat down beside me shaking his head fervently. I looked away from him- staring into the flames until my eyes began to hurt. I'd evaded the question for four years now, but he was right, he needed to know what happened. Why everything changed.
I pulled him close to me, wrapping my arms tightly around him. I never wanted pups myself, but Oliver had grown on me. I couldn't imagine life without him now. We'd found him on one of our many raids through the Pacifica Territory. Sticking to smaller towns along the west coast of the former United States. Iain and I had left our pack some years before, while I was still considered a pup- we preferred being on our own. Pack life was too many rules, too much politics for our liking. We'd traveled south from our Den in Northern Oregon. Hunting when the mood struck us. Running after the bloodsuckers for sport. Enjoying the freedom's that the lawless world allowed our kind now.
It had been somewhere in Northern California where we found Oli. Iain managed to find us some shelter for a change, it was a treat for us to sleep indoors; though, you could never truly know what was around you. The warehouse was abandoned, but distinctly held the scent of our kind- Lycans. We'd checked and rechecked the surrounding warehouses for any signs of our kin. If it had been a Den, our squatting would not have been taken lightly. It was there in the third warehouse we check that we found Oli, and the rest of what must have been his kin at one time. Pups and Elders alike. All slaughtered. Their bodies broken and contorted into positions that made me cringe even now to think about. Oli escaped by luck- I was sure of it. No one who was this careful to destroy a pack would leave a pup alive for no reason.
"Kaaaaaieeedeee" He whined at me. "Tell me please?? If you don't I'll just have Iain do it, ya'know." It was an empty threat, I could feel it, but a smile curved the corners of my mouth just the same.
"You do that, and I'll have to beat you both down. Besides my mate wouldn't be so silly as to betray me for a little pup!" I beamed down at him, trying to take his mind off Wormwood, ruffling his already unruly hair and nuzzling my cheek against his.
"Aww.. c'mon Kai. Please?" His ears folded back on his head, as he ignored my teasing to gaze up at me solemnly. "I… I want to know."
I looked away from him, my teeth grinding against themselves. He was too young. Iain and I had done our best to shield him from what life really was these days. Lawless. Dangerous. My brows pulled together into a tight knot in the middle of my forehead as I contemplated my options. "I'm old enough!" His indignant pursuit continued.
I dropped my arm from his shoulder, letting my eyes wander down to the rough gravel at my feet. "What do you want to know?" I conceded. I couldn't ever seem to hold much out from him.
"Everything!" He jumped up and away from me with excitement. "Where you were when Wormwood killed all the humans! Where my parents are! When the Demons and Angels came up and started their war! I want to hear it all, sis! Please, please please??" Oli hopped from one foot to the other, his words running into one long word, as he rambled on every subject he needed answers on.
"I can't tell you where your parents are, sweety. You know that." I pulled my knees into my chest, my chin resting on them, my eyes closed. "Why don't we just start with Wormwood, and go on from there?" I could feel him sitting down close to be again, settling in for what I'm sure he hoped to be a long story. I let a smile curve my mouth out of habit. He was too curious for his own good.
"Alright. We were in a small city outside of San Diego when Wormwood hit earth. You were maybe 3 or so. It was just after Iain and I had found you.."
"What was it like? Did everything go up in flames? Did you see people being burned alive? Did you see any demons??" He was barely staying seated as he interrupted my story with a barrage of questions. I glared down at him critically. "Are you going to shut it and pay attention, or am I going to stop telling the story?" His eyes went wide with horror as he clapped his small paws over his mouth. Oli shook his head back and forth vigorously, as I broke out into a smile at his reaction. I had expected the questions, but not so many at one time.
"Yes, Most things burned almost immediately." I answered his first question matter-of-factly. "It was like the sky was perpetually scorched in flames. There was no sunset- no sunrise. No change in anything. It was all a red haze." I looked back down at my hands, frowning. "Most people caught in the initial rain of fragments were killed instantly. I don't know that humans are completely extinct, but I'm sure they are dwindling. They don't have the dexterity we do, and since Wormwood hit there are more than just Lycans about for the Human's to worry over." I grinned at him devilishly. I know that embellishment would only result in more questions, but I couldn't help it. Oli's eyes grew wide, I could almost see the images and thoughts is imagination was carrying him off to.
I turned my eyes down again, investigating a particularly interesting looking pebble. My ears flattened back against my head, as I frowned again at the memories I was recalling. "It had been like the earth had never existed like I remember it. It's always been a rough place here, even when I was with my pack, but just then- it was like none if it had ever been. It was like being dropped into Hell, and being left to burn…" I trailed off. I didn't like talking about Wormwood. Our family, as far as Iain and I knew were all killed by the initial fragments that fell through Earth's atmosphere, or they were defeated by the massive battles that soon followed. When Heaven and Hell opened their gates, freeing their own brand of warriors on the already mutilated land. Demons from below wreaking havoc on everything they touched Angel from above, raining destruction down on the Devil's servants and anyone who happened to get in their way.
As much as I had hated pack-life, I never missed it as much as I did at the moment I saw the world go up in flames. Charred and blackened bodies lay lifeless at random everywhere we had traveled. Nowhere seemed to be lucky enough to escape unscathed by the disaster. We'd made the journey back up to Northern Oregon hoping to find survivors, praying to whatever deity's that might still be listening that our kin was still alive and surviving, but we found our old Den torn to pieces- barely recognizable from the outside.
My heart felt like it might shoot out into a million pieces, and my breathing was thick and slow, remembering everything. I could feel the tears welling up already… No one had any warning. The former United States was in such disarray. They were too concerned about what rebellion was getting out of hand, and where. Not anything else that could tear the world apart. Iain and Oli and I had survived, but that was purely on luck. Right place, right time. Our family… my family – weren't as privileged.
I'll never forget the day we searched through the rubble that used to be our home. The bodies strewn around in every direction. Some broken beyond repair from attacks that must have followed the meteor. Others burnt to nothing more than bone and ash.
"Oh…Kai… don't be sad." I could feel him curling up against my arm, trying to comfort me from my own memories. "I didn't mean to make you sad, sis." He murred against my arm, quietly. "I just want to know what happened.. This is all I've ever seen. You and Iain talk about the world like it was so different and stuff.." I swiped at my tears futilely, pulling him close to me with my other hand.
"It's hard to think about, Oli. The world wasn't perfect, but it was ours. There was no warning.. or if there was, not enough of one to make a difference for so many." I could feel my voice cracking as I pulled him closer, just wanting to feel his warmth. I looked up from the fire, my head falling back looking into the hazy film that was a constant thing- night or day. The world had changed drastically. The apocopolypse of so many religions had come true, and here we were living through it.
Oli settled in next to me, his shaggy hair brushing against my arm, his breath warm and comforting against my skin. "You should get some rest. Iain will be back soon, and won't be pleased to see you awake still." I teased him. He was anxious to be on the hunts with my mate already. I felt his nose crinkle against my arm, "He won't be mad… He said he'd take me on the nex…." Oli stopped short, but I was already on my feet. A long high-pitched howl broke through the unnatural quiet that had surrounded us for so long. I knew the pitch, and tone of that howl anywhere.
"Iain.." I breathed. I scanned the woods around where we were camping, my heart thumping up into my ears and increasing in volume ten times over. "Oliver" I barked, "Put that fire out now, and stay here." I turned away from him, already moving into the direction I had heard the howl come from. I felt my body shifting on its own accord, skin bubbling and disappearing, fur taking its place. My muscles changing and hardening almost instantly as I shed my human form.
"Kai.. don't leave me here.." Oli came running to my side, his little arms flung around my deep auburn fur of my neck. I shrugged him off quickly, growling and baring my teeth, making sure my point was clear. Iian needed me, and I could do no other then heed to my mate's call.
I loped through the dense trees towards where the sound of his call had come from. Oliver would be alright. If there was any danger, it was clearly where Iain was… pushing my muscles harder then I had ever tried to in my life, I followed the howl…