Tightly tied ropes pulled at the tender skin of my wrist and ankles as I sat on a cold, hard floor. A rough cloth of a blindfold covered my eyes and knotted in my hair as I moved my head. Hearing a few voices in the room, I could gather they were males of varying ages. One had a limp from the uneven steps, and if my pride had it right it was from when I kicked him. A smile tugged at my lips from the thought of that.
Think Milana...
"I wouldn't be smiling if I were you, princess," one warned with a click of his tongue. While he didn't sound close, they had me outnumbered. Remaining silent, I moved inch by inch to get a better idea of my surroundings. Hitting a cold surface with my back, I tried to remember where I was last time I could see. I remembered the sign of what used to be called Chicago, falling and almost completely taken over by vines. There were ruined buildings, tall skyscrapers with broken windows with plants growing around them where the earth started to take over. Vines and plants growing from broken windows, papers scattered by winds, and a sky with the usual ever-present layer of clouds.
The blue skies I heard about in songs were no longer a reality, just an old fantasy. That world died, and this polluted world ravaged back until there was hardly any humans left. Governments toppled, alliances demolished, and hope was taken before it could even bloom. We were left with no widespread communication, and little guidance to help. From a world of trillions, we were far from that number now. My grandmother told me of a time when she remembered the tremors of the earthquakes, the floods that it provided, and the melting of the ice caps. The war, the Calamity, was simply the dagger than finished us off.
"Boss might even give us a raise with how pretty she is, he's been waiting for a new one." A foretelling laugh left me to believe I wouldn't want to stick around for that introduction.
Breathing to keep myself levelheaded, I adjusted my legs so that they were directly under me. Using my long arms to untie the narrow rope I just leaned back against the upright surface at my back to stay steady as my captors seemed to be distract by their version of a perfect prize for their find. Oh, what little they knew.
Feeling the ropes of my legs slacken, I could feel my heartbeat race. Working on my hands, I found that to be much easier. Steadying myself with a calming breath, I heard footsteps come to me with purpose and intention. Feeling a rough hand gripping my chin for me to face upwards, I could feel the course, worked skin bite into my jaw. A brief scream left my mouth as the blindfold was ripped off my head, tearing some hair with it. Anger pulsed through my veins as I tensed waiting for what was to come next.
"Those eyes are fierce, but you will be broken." The man was the one I recognized from earlier, the one I kicked. A front tooth was missing, and his skin was tanned from being a laborer no doubt. Dark eyes clouded in bad intentions looked over me.
"Doubtful."
My head lashed forward crunching his nose as I used his unsteady backsteps to swing my legs and kick out his feet to smash my foot into his face. His limp body gave me enough indication that it was time to move onto the other two who were now coming for me and screaming. The words blended with my racing pulse ringing through my ears as I remembered how I felt a sudden pain in the back of my head when I fought the one now bashed into the ground. A strategic punch to the stomach of the next one allowed me to uppercut his jaw. The last one was smarter. He had a knife.
"You're dead," he snarled as I rolled my eyes.
"You said that before, if I remember right. Doesn't look like your promises hold up," I said with a smirk spreading across my face.
His lunge was quick, but I was trained to be quicker. Grabbing his thumb, I lurched it back to an unnatural angle hearing the bones give out. His cry of pain was music for my ears compared to what these degrading men meant to put me through.
As he went on all fours to the ground, I kicked him in the face as well to watch him tip over. Served them all right. Killing wasn't necessarily a joy for me, but I saw a few twitches of movement so I called it a day knowing they would probably not be able to follow me any time too soon.
Shaking my head, I felt my adrenaline still working through my body. Picking up my pace, I jogged out of the building through narrow corridors, and stairways. The journey wasn't long, but I had been kept there far longer than I wanted to. Hours or a solid day it was hard to tell in a world that hardly had any sun to tell time. The concrete and tile floors were full of dirt and grime, my wrists were raw from the rope, and the knock they gave me to the head was still weighing on me. The knot at the back of my head still stung as I checked to make sure it wasn't bleeding. No blood, but a nice scab lingered under my brown hair.
I kept going until my legs felt numb. The buildings were gradually becoming smaller in my peripherals as I saw my destination, the woods just outside of the broken city. Remembering my grandmother, she always told me to stay to the woods if I ever had to travel alone. Easier to hear someone sneak up on you and keep hidden. Fifty years was a long time for no government to exist. There were groups called Orders, but nothing beyond what limited people obeyed the rules of that Order. I belonged to no Order and as such, I was deemed a Wild. Those idiots, Scavengers as some would call them, from before were no doubt from an Order, the way they said 'Boss'. Made my skin crawl just thinking about them. The only one I knew of was a man lower than magots for how he treated his fellow humans. As far as what I was told by other Wilds, their old Order Leaders were not much better.
Reaching the line of evergreen trees, I glanced back to the clearing I crossed to make sure I wasn't being followed. I lived alone, traveled alone, and would remain that way. Orders were too unpredictable once a leader was killed. Their rules were law no matter what the others thought. If there was a disagreement, it was solved in blood. I didn't know of many leaders living for more than a few years, so succession was rare.
Feeling my heartbeat slow, I took a moment to put my hands on my thighs to breath in and out slowly. Walking through the threshold of the grass to the forest, I felt my nerves ease even more. This was home. The moss on the trees, the filtered faint light through the leaves, the small creatures that remained making a home on a broken world. A forest thick enough to hide me from Scavengers unlike the traitorous cities. My steps were quiet but quick as I advanced further into the woods. Even after my run, my legs recovered quickly. Endurance was part of survival here as there was not much for other ways of travel as most motor vehicles were no longer able to run. No more fuel, and not much for electric means either.
Reaching to a small spot of a clearing under an old tree, far enough to where I felt safe to stop for the night, I gathered sticks to make a fire around the area. The nights were cold this time of year, so I gathered extras to keep the fire going until well after I fell asleep. I didn't carry anything with me, but used what nature provided as best I could. I had a small advantage. Fire was in my blood. Radiation from the sun during the events of fifty years ago created a phenomenon where some could control an element of earth. Mine was fire. While there were some different levels of strength and so much more unknown the basics were fire, earth, water, and air. Some were chaotic and uncontrollable such as a devastating earthquake while others had smaller abilities such as creating a light fanning breeze on a hot day. My own abilities were not beyond my control, but then I only tended to use them when necessary. However, if I was sleeping, I could not sustain my power which made cold nights somewhat of a bother.
My skin started to chill as I allowed myself to lean against an old tree and sit down. I took a deep breath in to feel my body slowly warming. Some thought the power had to do with regions, others thought it was an innate identity marker. For example, I was a feisty person quick to anger so fire would suit me best. However, I was born in a dessert region so either method applied to me just fine. The science hadn't reached my ears yet if it was found, but I doubt we would ever fully know why. Humans had been too busy trying to survive to live life in science. Fear and a need for order fueled them more.
Resting against a tree, I could see the faint tinge of purple and red through the leaves as the sun set. The broken Moon above me looking as beautiful as ever. I could never remember the moon any other way, but my grandmother said it was once further away and a whole circle. However, the closeness made me feel less alone out here. The light it brought was enough to illuminate the night for us to see. I considered the Moon a friend, broken and battered, but still there to remind me I was never alone.