Hope & War.

Chapter One.

The cold, dank cellar smelled like overcooked cabbage and urine but it was the best we had for now. Until this all blew over we needed somewhere to lie low. I looked over at Jared he was starting a fire with the dried kindling we found, we needed something more substantial.
"I'll look for something to keep it going" I said gesturing to the fire.

Jared nodded "Don't wander too far." I smiled at his worry and picked my way over the debris to the trap door above us in the corner of the cellar. Using the metal rung I swung myself up and out onto the floor above landing on my feet as softly as I could.

Dust mites filled the air in a room that hadn't seen life in a very long time. Remnants of the people that used to live here and their lifestyles still lingered in corners under sheets and debris. The muriel on the ceilings had faded to a shadow of the colours they used to be. The gold-plated detailing was chipped and peeling. This ballroom was a former glory, a place for dancing, chivalry and first loves. Women and men would've dressed in their finest clothes to set a good example to show the rest of the world. Appearances were so important before. I look down at the assemble of my clothes, ripped, dirty and past their best jeans, grubby white t-shirt and battered leather jacket doesn't exactly send out a message of a higher status. I sighed and moved my tired arse out the door out into the blinding sunlight.

I allowed myself a second to enjoy the sun's rays; eyes closed soaking in the heat. We didn't get much of it. Which for me was a major downside to this life as I loved to be warm; cold and dank cellars? So not my thing. I shook myself out of my daydreams of sunny beaches and rivers, sticking to the shadows I made my way to the thin line of trees scouring under the moss for dry wood, although I couldn't be too picky. With enough kindling, I could risk getting at this time I made my way back to the ballroom and dropped the wood down the hole then threw myself after it. Unsettling the dust when my feet hit the floor.

"I was starting to wonder where your butt had got to... "Jared mumbled as I landed on the floor.

" Oh, stop stressing McCarthy, its quiet as death out there."

Jared gave me a look and said "That's not a saying and you know it."

"It should be in this day and age."

"Sit down and eat smart arse." having built up the fire while I cleaned myself up Jared now had a plate of sausages to share, our last ones. I grabbed a plate and started eating, always hungry as usual. "That forest isn't going to sustain us for long; it's bare and not much in ways of food." I said around my food.

"Get a look at the surrounding area?"

I swallowed "Mostly abandoned or destroyed, no patrols not Agency anyway."

"Good, doubt there will be much to salvage we'll probably move in couple of days. Sagus isn't far there may be more to collect there."

"Higher risk of patrols and higher tech too."

"I know" Jared pushed a hand through his hair. "It's a risk we have to take; we're low on food as it is." Worry lines filled his face. I reached over and placed a hand on his arm, "Hey we'll be fine, we'll find something. There's a stream not far from here looks clean, we can fill up on the way out." Jared gave me a weak smile he had dark bags under his eyes. "Get some sleep McCarthy. I'll take first watch."

"But-"

"No buts get your arse down there." Jared sighed but set himself down on the make shift bed in the corner. I smiled as he curled into a ball and I pulled myself once again through the trap door, the stairs were long gone.

The stars were just poking through into the night sky, the dusk blending into dark. The night had cooled with the light breeze making its way through the buildings, whispering here and there. The ballroom now cloaked in darkness the only light coming from the moon, creating shadows where there shouldn't be. Crickets buzzed but that was the only sound. I dozed on and off for a couple of hours before being woken by a noise. I bolted upright and looked around.

Jared's messy bed head appeared at the top of the trapdoor. He smiled a lopsided smile at me, "Did I scare you chuck?"

"No" I insisted, embarrassed. Jared grinned as he flopped down beside me; he pushed his dark chocolate brown hair out his eyes. "I'm only teasing C."

"Mmm." I grumbled I was knackered and my stomach would start grumbling again soon, I really wasn't in the mood. "Hey," Jared said softly, he reached for my hand "There's not much happening up here come down to bed. It's cold down there." I sighed and nodded, getting to my feet I stretched all my aches before following Jared down to the cellar. Jared and I am not an item we have to sleep in the same bed to stay warm. Not being able to carry enough blankets when the temperature drops at night is the definition of desperate measures. I climbed under the blanket with Jared and curled up into a ball. Jared's arms wrapped around my waist enveloping me in warmth and his smell, he pulled me closer to him. This is the place I felt safe, the only way I could have a proper night's sleep without tossing and turning. I fell asleep quickly listening to his breathing.

I woke up to a cold draught, frowning I rolled over and found the bed next to me empty. I opened my eyes and sat up to look around. "Morning sleepy head." Jared's voice came from the corner; he had a gun laid out on his lap and a rag in his hand. "Sorry I thought I'd get started, I want to head out soon." I nodded

"That would be best the patrols will be on the move soon. Sorry I slept so long."

"Don't worry about it, you needed the sleep. I'll pack the rest of the stuff; go enjoy the quiet for a while." I smiled "Thanks McCarthy." I pulled myself up into the ballroom to the sound of Jared's chuckling. I exited the ballroom and stretched out in the sun with my back against the wall. I slung off my leather jacket and left it on the floor. Stretching my arms the tattoo on my arm caught my eye as always. It started from the tip of my little finger moved down the side of my hand and twisted once round my wrist before fading as if the rest had been wiped off, and waiting to be finished, to be repainted. The tattoo was a blossom branch with only a couple of buds on at this time, the tattoo is mostly leaves and the structure.

Humans developed over time, since I can remember we were born with these tattoos that grow over time. But there were others before us who didn't have them. Some peoples strengthen their traits, their strength, emotional or physical, or their creativity, their compassion or their minds. They appear typically when your 5 years old, when you start school. In old age the tattoos become clear with a black outline. They grow when you reach certain milestones that grow you as a person, so everyone's' grow at different times. There is also a theory that they have developed so the tattoos grow when you spend time with your soul mate, if you're aware you're near them or not. And once you are connected your tattoos will merge so elements of their tattoo will appear on yours. That's what people tell you, the only people I saw it happen to was my grandparents.