Pet: Genesis [Publishing]

Chapter 1

Iris

I stare in confusion at the scraps that have been laid out before me. There's rotted fruit, a dead bird, and stale bread if you can call it that at this point in its rotting cycle. My eyes travel up to Margot who stands before me. Her eyes are sunken and gaunt. Margot has been my second in command since we met each other years ago in this wasteland we now call home.

"This is it?" I ask in confusion.

Margot nods her head grimly, her sunken gaze shifting to the scraps that sit on the table. We both know this is not enough to feed the both of us let alone the group of girls we have created to protect.

I punch the couch causing dirt to fly.

"Shit," I curse aloud.

Currently, our group of survivors consists of seven girls with me at the forefront as the leader. The blight is a dangerous place to be. You have a higher chance of survival if you are in a group. Which is why we created ours. We must stick together out here, and it is the only way we've managed to survive all these years.

I look back up at Margot. Her curly brown hair barely reaches her shoulders, and I can see her bones jutting from beneath her skin. We are literally starving to death out here.

"Maybe we should leave the blight," I say. Fear immediately clouds Margot's gray eyes.

Migrating can mean several things. We would have to scout new terrain, fight off new strangers to claim our territory, risk being killed off one boy one, or worse.... Running into them. To this day, we do not know who or what they are. We just know to stay away and to fear them. They didn't come in peace. They came to conquer. Their claim over our planet is growing larger by the day. As a result, our chances of survival are getting lower. We live in the blight which is where every survivor from that day lives. Man is a selfish race. We proved that at the time of the invasion. Instead of helping one another to defend our home from intruders, we pointed fingers, shut down borders, and retreated within ourselves.

I watched as a child growing into the woman, I am today that the "Every man for himself" rule exists. Even as my group hides from the Leviathan, we also hide from our fellow man.

Our hideout lies in the backside of an alley in an old, abandoned building. It is safe from the naked eye because the entrance to the building is blocked off by rubble. Our secret entrance is on the side and difficult for most to enter.

I feel tears of frustration beginning to burn my eyes.

"What do we do?" I whisper. Margot shakes her head slowly sinking into the rotting couch across from me. We will die in here. And if we leave, we could die out there. The last time we migrated, we lost three. I can't put us through that again. I won't. Due to the lack of food, we aren't at our usual strength. We'll be like sitting ducks.

My fingers find their way to the necklace that has never left my throat. It's a habit I've picked up over the years. The motion calms me at times when I feel overwhelmed. Although the chain around my neck has begun to rust, the silver pendant only has scratches across the surface. The pendant was my mother's before that day. It holds a picture of my family. A family I barely remember this far in life. I was only ten when the world was changed, and that was years ago.

"I think this is it, Iris," Margot's cracked voice pulls me from my thoughts. Her gaze matches mine as tears stream down her face.

"I think it's time we die out."

I stare at her in horror, immediately shaking my head.

"No...no, that can't be our only option," I say in desperation. I rise from my seat.