"I slowed to a stop and looked at the squirrel, the beautiful crimson liquid ran down the street in a feeble attempt to get out of my wandering eyes' vision."
A hundred years from now, humanity has made a group of wolves known as W.A.R. Pr...
My head pounded in an unknown rhythm that only it knew. The peaceful darkness around me was welcomed, a shield from the current world of mine. The feeling was foreign, but not unwelcome. The acrid smell of smoke filled my nose and my hand rustled against a worn out cloth. Wait... cloth?! My eyes opened as I pushed the foggy feeling away to the back of my mind. Memories rushed my head: Shylah's cries, Chef's screams, the General, the green bullet.
My breathing slowly quickened into a rapid succession of inhales and exhales. Okay. Deep breaths. That's easy, right? In and out. In and out. Repeat. In and out. In and out. Slowly. In and out. In and out. Slower. In and out. In and out. See? Easy. I looked up when my breathing slowed and realized my knees had moved and how my hands had come to wrap around them. The smell of smoke once again became my main focus as I finally looked around.
The room around me was lit only by the dim firepit in the middle. Racks made of wood and bark stood over the fire at a good distance as meat slowly cooked. The floor was dirt along with the walls and everything else, decorations, was wood. A vase made of clay filled with wildflowers sat on a shelf that stuck out above a table. Two chairs were at the table, but one was dusty and looked as though it hadn't been touched in a while. The other, though, was well used and even turned a different direction due to the chipped leg, that was shorter than the rest.
My head jerked at the sound of an impulsive noise to something funny. Giggling. It cut through my investigation of the items around me. I turned towards a window - a blanket covered window - that I had only just noticed. The stream of light was impeded only by eyes - six sets - They were alight with laughter as if they found something I did funny. I looked at them and tilted my head; still, they giggled once more and ran away. It was better to get up anyway.
As I swung my feet off the cot I was sitting on, my bare feet touched the ground (where are my shoes?). I wiggled my toes as my feet quickly got used to the change in temperature. Pushing up from the bed, I got up and popped my back. I rolled my shoulder and walked towards the door by the table. I reached my hands towards it, only for the door to open revealing a tall woman. The woman was that of a fifty-year-old. Her brown hair had prominent streaks of grey. Her aura commanded power and respect.
"Took you long enough to wake up. I'm Raksha, Alpha of the Taipan Snake Tribe," The woman spoke. She stuck her hand out as a way to present a hand shake. I took her hand and she gripped it in a way that made it seem as a challenge; nevertheless, her words showed none of it.
I nodded, "Pria."
Raksha nodded, "Welcome to The Unwanted Land, Pria."
"The Unwanted Land?" I questioned. As far as I knew the maps in geography had nowhere labeled with that name. The closest I could think of was somewhere hidden in South America, but the heat plus the warm ground gives off the vibes of the South Eastern Hemisphere.
"Australia," Was all her answer before she flicked her hand and gestured around us. "Now follow me."
She turned and started walking around the square. A tall building sat in the middle like a watch tower for a castle. A tree popped out of the middle as wood climbed around and at the top was a small hut. People were standing around on each level, alert for danger that could be lurking in the tall dry grass surrounding the place. One in particular caught my eye. He was tall and clearly well trained, he reminded me of a general. Black hair streamed down his back like a waterfall and his mocoa skin was deep and contrasted with the sun that shined down.
"That's Pocca. The one next to him is Flake. Brothers and the only two Betas we have in our pack. Both are Zulings: people who can control lightning; Pocca out of his hands and Flake from the sky during thunderstorms." Raksha's voice was calm but endearing as she talked about the two.
She pointed to the tower and spoke again, "We call that the Lillith's Tower - named after the girl who rose the trees that made the tower. Stood for over 200 years and was home to the Alphas before the Great War."
"Alphas?"
"New…?" Raksha muttered before speaking louder, "Alphas equal the Leaders. Think Chiefs or Presidents. We lead, but take input from those around us and the place we lead."
"Ok,” I nodded and asked another, "And the 'Great War'?"
Raksha rolled her eyes and bluntly spoke again: "You'll learn later." She moved and I had to run the catch up. She walked towards the houses that were around seven yards away on every side. Each house was no more than three stories and built out of dried mud and sand with thatched roofs of dried grass and sticks. A particularly wide one hung out in the corner, stashed away, but big enough to be seen. "Right there is the Counseling Center, where we teach children and new members. Which reminds me: the little kid that came with you is in there learning from Sikh."
"Titus is here?" I questioned. So he isn't gone, maybe everyone else made it out too.
"Yes, if that is his name, he's in there." Raksha paused and flicked her hair over her shoulder in thought. "Maybe we can go see him to confirm your... suspicions?"
"Yes."
------
I guess you could say my first kill was a red squirrel. He ran through my vision in a sharp tangent of a turn. My bike was going slow, one of the things of having a flat tire. Something in my brain fired off an alarm and before I knew it the squirrel let out a sickening crunch.
I slowed to a stop and looked at the squirrel, the beautiful crimson liquid ran down the street in a feeble attempt to get out of my wandering eyes' vision. It's already red fur started tacking together as the blood dried.
It was dead that much was clear. It's leg was locked in an awkward position, sticking up as it lay down on its stomach. The fluffy tail was bent at the end while its eyes bugged out.
Slowly I crouched down next to it and poked it. Not with a stick like you'd expect, no, with my finger. It's flesh caved in, almost like a bubble that had popped, and I giggled. Moving my hand I touched the liquid and giggled once again.
------
The walk to the building was short - less than two minutes - but the smells that invaded my nose were familiar and not lost to the depths. Cinnamon was the most prominent and likely belonged to Shylah, given the bitter spike to the scent.
The door was opened by Raksha and abruptly shut behind her, nearly ramming my nose into it. I reached my hand forward and tugged on the door. The strength of it was stronger than expected and, as such, forced me to tug on it again.
I finally slipped through the small space between the doorframe and saw Raksha smirking before wiping it off her face. She gestured with her hand and started walking again, myself following. She turned down the corridor into a lighter colored door, peeking her head in before walking in.
Inside was an elderly woman surrounded by children and some older teens and adults. My eyes searched the room and eventually landed on a curly mop of brown hair. He seemed to notice that someone was looking at him and looked up. His toothy grin spread out over his face as he got up and ran to me hugging my legs in excitement. He giggled when I ruffled his hair and knelt down. Hugging him back. He rubbed his cheek against mine and I did the same.
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