Chapter 1

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty had become a teenager and was nearing her adulthood. Her "tribe" as they now called themselves, still dwelled beneath the earth. Life was not good, but it was not so bad, either. The shape of the tunnels' mouths were no longer useful, as all the wind in the world had stopped. The world was so quiet now. The mouths of the tunnels were actually invented to ventilate the underground community, but that hadn't been needed for such a long time. It was always a bit chilly, now. The world was still shrouded in darkness, and it had been for nearly fourteen years.

When she was little, her grandfather had asked her to read a special book he'd given to her. It was called the Bible. She read it. She read the whole thing, and not just once. Many times. She analyzed it, and she studied it, and she became a great inspiration to her tribe. She knew what was right, and what was wrong, and she knew all of God's word. She taught others what she knew. She was so wise for a girl who was barely nineteen years old. She knew what was happening, why it was happening, and what would happen. She also knew how to act so as to please the one from whom everyone was hiding.

Now, they all wore white robes and worshipped the God Almighty day and night. They all avoided sin, and regularly asked for forgiveness for those that they had committed in the past. Rebecca was fairly clean of any such things. Those that had lived before the earthquake lived in a time when all of man kind lived on sin, and regularly gave into the temptations of Satan.

Rebecca felt pity for her kind. All of mankind. Such creatures could not help but sin, and it was difficult for them to admit that they had, and that they were wrong. It was even harder to drop to their knees and beg for forgiveness, all the while knowing their lives would be cut short no matter what. All there was to look forward to anymore was a peaceful after-life, living in His presence, and knowing His grace. Some doubted that the Lord was the one who they had once sung to, and praised for His almighty mercy, and for the forgiveness he showed mankind. With what they had to live with, this was understandable, but Rebecca and those who knew even more than her – elders, priests, and other members of the clergy kept the tribe hopeful and did their best to keep their spirits up.

It was only seven weeks since Rebecca's 19th birthday, and it began to storm. Hail of blood came crashing down and infernos of red fire engulfed what green grass there was left in the world. The tribe was safe from most of this, but most devastating of all was the earthquakes and contaminated water. The water was bitter, and it destroyed a third of the tribesmen, and others died crushed under the very foundation above their heads.

Since then, they'd rebuilt their community again, and continued living as they had before, even more fearful of the Lord.

Rebecca did her best to keep the community together as well, but there was a time when her faith wavered. She questioned why someone who was so merciful would do such a thing to the people he'd created. She wept for days and days. One of the elders went to her and suggested she forfeit her position to study more of the bible, and renew her faith in the Lord. She agreed to it, and took things a little farther than he had expected her to.

She appeared before the tribe. "I am going to take a pilgrimage to the upper world, so that I may see what has been done, and so that I may continue to study the bible. A test of faith let us call it… If what I see allows me to let my faith waver again, then I shall not return, and I shall let Him claim my life. If I never feel myself stray from His love and mercy, I shall return to you a new woman, with much to tell."

The tribe seemed mostly objected to letting this girl go off, but there was no doubt in Rebecca's mind that this was the best course of action to take. Despite their doubts, the tribe made sure she'd have everything she needed. Fresh canteens of clean water, clean robes, a mat to lay on, and of course, her trusty white bible with gold-lined pages. King James edition, too. This, except the bible, was all stuffed into a pack that she would carry on her back. The day she departed was a bittersweet ceremony. The tribe feasted and prayed for the girls safe return.

She emerged from the ground at night, when the sky was best lit. During the day, it was so dark, because the sun had become black, but at night, the moon was an eerie red color. Light was light. That's all there was to it. At least she could see the ground and obstacles before her. Examining the terrain, she saw mountains that seemed to have fallen over, and she saw land that had been smashed into other pieces of land. Tropical islands in the middle of what was once a mountainous state…

She began to walk, aimlessly wandering about the upper world. She could not imagine a time when the world must have been bright and full of color. Now it looked as she'd pictured hell to look like, and she became a little fearful that demons would appear. She did not doubt God's word, however. She felt that even if a demon did appear before her, or Satan himself, He would keep her safe.

Nine weeks into her travels, she had seen many places. It was day, and the dark still frightened her, so she rolled out her mat by a slope that curled into a hook. If she slept at it's underside, she would be safe from… possibly any stars that fell from the sky, and from hail or sleet… or anything of the sort. The sun and the moon both had chunks blown out of them, and light was becoming scarce. The sight was dreadful, and she did not want to look at the sky, where even a third of the stars were missing. She crept under the curled piece of land and laid her mat there. She looked down and thought of what was happening, and what was to come. She fell asleep trembling.