A/N: This story will get darker as it progresses. This will quite possibly be the darkest fic I have written, and perhaps the most ambitious. Let's just jump into the action then!
"Over here, Alison! This looks like a great spot to hide for the night." Ethan whispered, and pointed at a small crevice between two large moss covered rocks. Ethan, and his twin sister, Alison, were some of the very few lucky humans that had avoided capture, or being killed by the machines that had conquered, and enslaved most of the human survivors after the war.
Alison walked around in a circle around the two large rocks. The thick foliage around it could provide them with some protection, and much needed camouflage to help them stay hidden from those things, but there was just one problem. There was only one way in, and out. If the machines find them there, their fate would be sealed.
"It seems okay, but the machines will definitely find us if they turn their dogs loose, and the dogs track us down to here." Alison did her best to keep her fear under wraps, but it seemed Ethan was just as terrified. The machines, especially the rolling stock, seemed to be so gentle, and sweet in the stories their grandparents used to tell them. Now it seemed too good to be true. The machines were bent on destroying humanity.
The whole family was forced into hiding, only to be torn apart just months later when some of the rolling stock found them. She would never forget that dreadful day. The memory still fresh in her mind as if it was yesterday.
They all had thought they had finally escaped the iron grip of the machines, until a patrol used their dogs to track down any humans in their district in the middle of the night. Alison, and her brother were fast asleep when their parents desperately shook them awake. That was when she, and her brother heard the dogs barking outside the bunker.
They had made a plan just for this situation. Alison, and her brother crawled into the cabinets, and closed the cabinet doors just as the patrol broke through the hatch of the bunker. Alison, and her brother stayed dead silent, despite hearing the patrol tearing the bunker apart, and the screaming of their parents. It seemed like hours until the whole bunker had finally gone quiet.
They waited for another hour before peeking from their hiding place. The bunker was completely ransacked, and their parents were nowhere to be seen. The patrol was gone, thankfully, but hard telling what they had done to their parents before taking them. They were able to live off of the supplies that were left in the bunker for a good few months before they were forced to leave once the supplies ran out. Now they were alone in the wilderness, hoping they wouldn't get caught by a patrol.
"I'll gather some food for us, and you can gather firewood, Ethan. Do you remember the signal?" Alison raised an eyebrow at Ethan. She had developed a simple, yet effective method of raising the alarm for each other, while going unnoticed by patrols. Ethan nodded.
"Whistle like a warbler, and stay close to each other, right? That way we can hide quickly when a patrol comes." Ethan asked her. He wasn't as clever as her, but he was definitely shier than her. Alison nodded.
"Yep. Now, hurry. We need to get this done by sunset." Alison headed for the ruins of the town that wasn't too far away as Ethan started to gather firewood to fuel the fire that would keep them warm for the night.
Alison scrounged the ruins, hoping to find a hidden stache of food, so she and her brother could have a slightly decent meal for once rather than the usual nuts, and berries. She groans in frustration when her search came up empty. The machines had taken over the land where the animals were as hunting grounds, and to even set foot onto thier territory was a death sentence. Looks like it will be nuts, and berries again for tonight. Well, she, and her brother should be grateful for the fact that they are still alive, or captured by those wretched machines.
She gathers as many nuts, and berries as she can from the bushes and trees she could find that were growing amongst the ruins of the once prosperous human city, and stuffed them all in her pockets, and the small bag she had found a few months ago while searching for scraps in another abandoned town. Once she was sure she had gathered enough food for tonight, she started to head back to crevice in the woodlands just outside of the city.
Meanwhile, Ethan was gathering as much firewood he could carry to use as kindling for tonight's fire that would provide them with much needed warmth for the long, and cold night ahead of them. He couldn't help, but jump at every little sound he heard, or the tiniest movements he saw. He was in the right to be nervous. One of those dreaded machines can easily snatch him, and probably kill him if he wasn't careful.
Hopefully, at least today, they would be free, but tomorrow was never guaranteed. He could not take his freedom for granted. Once he had gathered enough wood for the fire, he carried it back to the crevice, constantly looking over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. He didn't want to risk leading one of the patrol's from one of the neighboring districts right to their camp for the night.
When he arrived, Alison was already gathering bedding supplies. The moss would be much better to lay down on than the hard, and cold rock. He sets the kindling down in front of the entrance of the crevice. Alison stopped, and looked at the kindling. She knew it was risky to start a fire to begin with, but, she had an idea.
"We can't have the fire outside out in the open. It would give us away, but we can set a couple of small fires inside the crack to warm the rock up to help keep us warm throughout the night. We go in once the sun sets. It would be nice, and warm enough to et the moss down after we extinguish the fire." Alison looked over at Ethan. Ethan quickly nodded. They relied upon each other to keep their freedom, and stay hidden. If they're lucky, they could be free forever, but sadly, all good things must come to an end.
"Good idea. Can you help me start a couple of small fires then?" Ethan raised an eyebrow at her. Alison smiled, and nodded.
"Duh, why wouldn't I help you?" Alison rolled her eyes before helping Ethan set the kindling into two nice small piles before picking up two rocks, and striking them together to create sparks. It took a few tries, but once the wood started to smoke, and smolder, both Ethan, and Alison worked together to feed the flames until two nice fires were burning strong.
They hid in the thick underbrush, occasionally leaving their hiding spot to feed the flames, until the sun had set. They quickly extinguished the flames, and swept the ash from the floor of the base of the rock before arranging the moss to their liking. Once that was done, they climbed into the crevice, and laid down. It was nice, and warm, just as how Alison predicted. It wasn't the most comfortable surface to lay on, but at least they had shelter for the night. They closed their eyes, and slowly fell asleep.
A/N: Whoo! Finally! The next chapter will be up shortly! As always, see you later!