Dark storm clouds rolled overhead. Byrd held tightly to the tree bark which scratched at her bare hands and feet, irritating her calloused skin. Rain began to fall from the dark clouds, bringing with it the cacophony of thunder and bright streaks of lightning. Byrd's fur cloaks shielded her skin from the rain, though it soaked her auburn hair which had been woven into braids by one of the younger female chimps. Beside Byrd perched an older chimp named Sparrow, his dark fur smeared with war paint. Sparrow had been extremely skeptical about taking the only human in the ape colony on a hunting trip.

She is awkward and clumsy. Byrd will only get in the way. The chimp had signed, but had given in when Ridge, a gorilla, had stepped in.

She needs to learn to hunt and find food. She is ape at heart. Ridge had said.

She is human in mind and body. Sparrow had answered with an angered glare. It wasn't that Sparrow hated Byrd, it was that he didn't trust her judgement. She was human and not as strong as apes, but she was strong and smart nonetheless.

Sparrow glanced down at Ridge's hunting party, where Ridge's son Stone stood beside him.

Ready? Sparrow had signed. Ridge had nodded, giving a worried glance at Byrd, who offered her surrogate father a smile.

I will be okay. Byrd signed, giving Ridge a soft nod. While Byrd had not calmed Ridge's nerves, she knew he trusted her. Ridge, and his mate River, had raised Byrd for nearly eighteen some years. She had been two when they found her in a burning human village, but Ridge had taken Byrd under his watchful eye without a second thought. Stone, who was nearly five, was also on his first hunt. He signed something to Byrd, but she didn't catch it. Byrd's war paint, which had been lovingly applied to her face and rubbed into her hair by River, was beginning to smear- but she didn't care. She was ready, and she was eager. Her fingers tightened around her spear, which was poised to attack. They were targeting a small herd of deer below. The herd grazed obliviously, not aware of the apes- and the lone human- surrounding them.

As the apes had been forced to moved eastward from their home by the nuclear deserts laying waste to the west, they had found food was becoming more and more sparse and rare to find. But lately, however, food and prey were beginning to return.

Sparrow leaned to and fro in order to make sure the hunting parties were aligned, then readied himself.

"Go!" The chimp shrieked, making a sweeping motion with his right arm. The apes rushed around the herd, which began to panic. Byrd's heart began pumping anxiously in her chest as she hesitated. What if she jumped and couldn't get ahold of a branch?

With a shaky breath, she threw herself from the tree branch she was perched on. Her strong grip found a branch, which allowed her to swing in the direction she wished to go- toward a young male deer attempting to flee. She let go of the branch, her momentum carrying her- but she was intercepted by a doe escaping the spear of a bonobo named Thorn. Byrd hit the ground with a grunt, rolling just out of the way as a couple more deer thundered past her. Byrd shoved herself to her feet, her chest heaving, as she snatched her spear from the ground. The force of the impact had snapped the spear in half, but Byrd grabbed the sharper half. She screeched to a halt, mud caking her feet and legs and back, as she raised her spear above her head. She aimed, sucked in a deep breath, and threw the weapon. She held her breath as the weapon sailed through the air, embedding itself between the buck's shoulders. The young buck fell, his body twitching, and then went still.

As the last of the deer escaped the clearing, Sparrow came to Byrd's side.

"I was... Wrong." The chimp grunted. "You did well." The ape's hand found Byrd's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Ridge was.. right... You are ape."

Byrd's heart swelled with pride. She bounded over to Stone and Ridge, who stood waiting. Ridge's deep-set features seemed to sink into concern as his adoptive daughter approached.

Ridge! Ridge! Byrd signed, grinning proudly.

"Wait." Ridge said aloud, concerned, as he held up a large hand. Byrd paused, halting in her tracks. Ridge seemed to frown as he looked over Byrd. His hand gently rested on Byrd's left shoulder, then drew away. His green eyes saw the crimson which had transferred from Byrd's shoulder to his skin.

You are wounded. Ridge signed. He frowned, then realized what had happened. When Byrd had fallen, she had rolled into a sharp rock buried within the muddy earth.

Byrd frowned, her right hand coming up to press against the bleeding wound. Ridge's concern faded away, and he began to smile. River will look at it, he signed, but you did well. Come, let's go. Ridge turned, choosing to knuckle walk instead of walking on two legs. Stone knuckle walked beside his father, glancing up at his adoptive sister who had climbed onto Ridge's back. Stone smiled and hooted softly.

Byrd grinned, signing down to her brother. Hunt go well?

Stone seemed to nod, which satisfied both Ridge and Byrd. The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

"Where are you guys?" Clarke muttered to herself as she stared up at the sky. Beside her, the young nightblood she had found lay asleep. Clarke glanced at Madi, smiled, then looked back up at the stormy sky. They were sitting inside Clarke's old, worn jeep as they waited for the storm to pass. After half an hour, the rain stopped- but the thunder continued to rumble through the sky. A flash of lightning shot overhead, but then vanished as the thunder growled again. Storms still made Clarke a little uneasy, just as they had years ago when she had first returned to Earth. She feared storms were the wrath of nature attempting to get back at mankind for ruining the planet- though she knew storms had been around for a long, long time.

For a long time, Clarke had been left in isolation- after all, she had stayed behind in order for her friends to live. For the past two years, however, the plant and animal life had been returning to the planet. Clarke had seen deer and flowers, and she even thought she had once seen a monkey in the woods. For the past two weeks, Clarke had felt as though eyes were on her at all times- as though she were being watched at all times.

That moment right then was one of those times. She had just barely fallen asleep when the jeep jolted slightly. Clarke shot upward, catching a glimpse of something darting through the underbrush. Clarke shifted into high alert, gently waking Madi as she grabbed for her rifle. "Stay here." Clarke said, climbing from the jeep. She clutched the gun as she ran after whatever she had seen, her eyes following the rustling underbrush. Rain began to pound again. The mud beneath Clarke's feet turned to rock and stone, the underbrush clearing away into ledges of slippery stones.

It became apparent that whatever the running thing was had stolen a bag of supplies from the armored back of the jeep.

"Hey!" Clarke shouted, trying to sound as fearsome as she could. "Stop! I'll shoot!" She readied the gun as the ground beneath Clarke's feet began to incline. They were running up the side of a Rocky mountain, and Clarke didn't know what lay on the other side. Clarke knew she needed the supplies, though, and couldn't risk losing them. She was already running low on food and water as it was, she didn't need this thief, whatever or whoever they or it was, taking her things.

"Stop!" Clarke commanded again, raising the rifle to shoot, but was suddenly thrown off balance by an unknown force. Clarke was shoved off her feet, her head striking the hard stone beneath her. The force of the impact caused a gash to form across her cheek, maybe not too deep but it was still bleeding. Fear overcame Clarke as she realized a hulking, shadowed figure stood above her, Clarke's rifle in her hand.

"Please, don't-" Clarke began, meekly raising her hand in defense, but was greeted by the butt of the rifle being jammed into her temple. And, like that, darkness overtook Clarke's world.