Responses to Reviews:

Guest: Thank you! You'll have to read on to find out :)

thedarkwhiteangel: Yay, your curiosity is great! Tessa will definitely be in it, as you will see this chapter. I posted quickly just for you! ;)

SmoochiePooh: Do you remember the name of the book, just out of interest? Thank you so much for your review, it has really helped me to see where I need to explain things better. I'm hoping to be able to clear up the details in the next chapter (although in this one a little too). It's supposed to be set in present day.

Marie E. Brooke: Thank you for all your comments, they're all really helpful. I did rush the prologue a bit, so I may go back and fix it up later.


Three months later

To escape the chaos, Jem and Will had been hiding out in the woods nearby. It was the only place they felt reasonably safe, as they only had to worry about the animals which prowled at night. Will found humans more horrendous and scary than animals in the current circumstances. It reminded him of a quote from a book he had read, called Killing Me Softly, which was written by Maggie Shayne:

"I've never believed there is any animal more dangerous than a human being. I never will. It's the intelligence. It's the mind that makes it so."

He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of no new books ever being printed again, but he pushed the feeling aside. There was no time to think of such things, as survival took precedence over every thought and need.

It was good to know he had Jem by his side, his every steady presence helped to calm Will's torrent of thoughts and emotions. Will's own family, or what was left of them anyway, lived in another country and he had no way to get to them, now that walking was their only means of transportation. Everyone had quickly learnt that the cars didn't work without a spark in the motor to start them. He could only hope his parents and sister, Cecily, were alright, and had enough food to eat.

Jem was his family now, and Will didn't know what he'd do without him. It would certainly be a lonely existence out here by himself, with only the trees for company.

The sound of arguing and a girl's shriek jolted Will out of his thoughts. They sounded close by, which was surprising given Will had absolutely no idea where they were or where the closest city was. He didn't even need to glance at Jem to know he heard it too, and they both set off in the direction of the sound.

Will could see two people in the distance, and he and Jem crept closer, using the foliage as cover. They crouched behind a bush, and carefully looked around it to see what was going on.

A young girl, who looked around his own age of seventeen, was being held around her neck by an older man. She struggled helplessly, as she tried to break his grip. Will's breath caught as his attention was captivated by the girl. She was undeniably beautiful, like a spider web glittering with the early morning dew. Her hair was long and brown, and he could just make out her grey eyes, which were currently the colour of clouds when a storm was brewing.

The man shoved her up against a tree, and Will saw her wince as the air was knocked out of her. As the man leaned in to kiss her, Will leaped out from behind the bush, rage tinting his vision red. He heard Jem call out his name, but his attention was focused solely on the man.

The girl looked up at the sound and her gaze fixed with surprise on Will. This caused the man to turn in annoyance. He growled, the sound low in his throat, and his expression urged Will to turn away now, before he got hurt. Once again, Will compared humans to animals, as this man acted no better than one.

Despite his glare, Will strode up to him, his stance tense and ready to fight.

"Let the girl go," Will said, his voice deadly calm, but danger underlined his tone.

"And who's going to make me? Two young kids?" he said with a laugh, his gaze flicking between Will and Jem, who had emerged from behind the shrubbery.

Will's hand instinctively curved around the hilt of his sword, which was wrapped in a cloth to keep it hidden from prying eyes, since they didn't want to be the subject of muggings. He whipped it out and held it to the man's throat. It glinted gold in the sun now that the cloth had fallen away.

"Let her go, and you'll live," Will ground out between clenched teeth.

The man's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't dare to move as Will positioned the sword's edge so that a hint of blood was drawn in a warning. Will felt Jem beside him, backing him up.

The man slowly released his hold on the girl, and Jem drew her away from him, to safety. Jem positioned his body between the girl and the man protectively.

Will eyed the man with disgust. "You animal! Preying on a girl like that. Where's your sense of humanity?"

The man laughed bitterly. "It vanished the same instance the police did. We men rule the world now. It's ours for the taking!"

Will spat on the ground. "We'll see about that."

Suddenly, the man whipped out a knife and swiped at Will, his arm reach long enough since Will was standing so close. Jem's warning was too late as Will felt the bite of the knife as it left a mark on his chest. Before the man could to any more damage, Will hit him, hard, with the pommel of his sword and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Will gazed down at him, his face blank and expressionless. "That'll teach him to call us kids." He returned his sword to his makeshift belt.

Jem rushed over and pulled Will away from him, looking for the injury. "It's nothing, just a cut," Will said, pushing him away.

The girl came over and inspected it. She lifted his torn shirt, and ran her fingers over the cut. Will tensed as her fingers brushed him. Feeling this, she pulled away and straightened, her cheeks tinted slightly pink. "That knife was rusty, you should disinfect the wound."

If Will was surprised at the girl's medical knowledge, he hid it well.

"I'm Tessa, by the way," she stated, holding out her hand. "Thanks for helping me out."

Will shook it, gazing into her eyes which had calmed to the colour of fog in the morning. "I'm Will, and this is Jem." Jem also shook her hand with a welcoming smile.

After the introductions were finished, Jem recovered their bags and took out the first aid kit that they'd taken from the shop all those months ago.

Tessa snatched it from him before he could even open it. She scrutinised the items inside, and then pulled out a cloth to hold over the cut, and applied pressure until the bleeding stopped. She then cleaned it by pouring some hydrogen peroxide onto a cotton swab, after which used to dab on the cut. Will watched as she dabbed it ever so gently, to help reduce the sting it caused. Lastly, she pulled out a large bandage and squirted some cream onto it. She carefully positioned it over the cut and then stuck it on. Will tried not to wince as the icy cold cream touched the cut.

"There, now just try and keep it clean so it can heal," Tessa said, her voice soft but sure.

"Thank you," Will said with a grateful smile.

She inclined her head, and then gazed around the forest, her expression suddenly looking lost. "I need to get back," she said, her voice urgent. "My brother will be worried."

Will tried to hide his disappointment at the fact she wouldn't be staying with them. They could always use an extra person after all.

While he was still thinking of how to ask, Jem beat him to it. "Are you sure you want to go back? You're welcome to come with us."

Tessa shook her head. "My brother is the only family I have left. I can't abandon him."

Jem nodded in understanding. "We'll help you find him then. Do you know which way you came from?"

Tessa bit her lip, looking unsure. "That monster dragged me out here. I think it was that direction," she said, pointing towards the south. Will could tell this with the compass they had taken from Elias's house.

Will started off in the direction, calling back over his shoulder "Let's go that way then. I'm sure we'll find your home eventually."

While Will was loathe to go back to the human infested wasteland, as he now called it, and leave the forest, he knew he would do it for Tessa.

Today had proven to him how bad the world had become in only three months, and it was only going to get worse as time went on and food became scarcer. People needed rules, and more than that, they needed strong leaders, unwilling to compromise on the important matters.

Straightening his back, Will walked with a new purpose. He supposed it was time for them to re-enter society.


A/N: The next chapter will be three years later when Will and Jem are in charge, which is where the rest of the story will be set, so it will all change quite drastically. Thank you once again to my four reviewers.

~ SilverJem5