Young Writers Society

Ashlee

It was barely dawn when Ash opened her eyes to stare dolefully around the empty warehouse that she’d found the previous evening on her way through the town before she let out a barely audible yawn and pushed away the thin stained blue blanket that she’d found in one of the back rooms.

The warehouse itself wasn’t as good as the other motel-like structure that she’d been camping out at the past few weeks but she had left heading back there too late (and hadn’t wanted to get stranded in the middle of this city after dusk) and it had done the job.
She’d even found a few supplies that could help her out when she left this city and headed for the next one.

“Ugh,” she groaned- a mental order to herself to stop thinking about it and get her ass up and out of the building.
Slowly she pushed herself to her feet and ran a stiff hand though the red mess atop her head before she grabbed her satchel off the floor (which was now a fair bit heavier than it had been the day before) and walked stiffly for the door.
Carefully she pushed on the door and stared at the street outside through the tiny opening.

So far so good. 6AM and not a mutant in sight…

She darted out into the street trying to avoid the attention of anyone else up this early.

Of course I still have another… 12 hours or so in which NOT to die.

Slowly she crept up the street, pushing herself to move as fast as she could without making too much sound.

That ought to be fun…

When she got off one of the main roads she turned track and headed for the one place that she knew the mutants didn’t tend to idle at this time of day.
The harbour.

She darted her way down the narrowest streets that she knew, trying to ignore the stench and bloodstains across the cement at some of the roads that she crossed.
Don’t loiter. Don’t stop to think. Just get out of the city and to the harbour.
If that’s not too much for you to manage.

It was as she reached the crossroads that she heard it.

There was a restless scream from the street beside her and the low groaning sounds that always accompanied mutants.
She tried winced at the high pitched choking sound and silently crossed herself before she sprinted off down the path.
Nothing I can do, she thought.

If somebody else was caught then there are probably a dozen mutants there now. And even if they do somehow escape then they are probably infected…

And I don’t want to get passed on with the virus-de-zombie anytime soon…

Dammit Ashlee, shut up! Just stop thinking.
Ugh…
She shook her head to clear the thoughts and pushed herself faster.
No point getting caught by them now.

After a while, when she was further down the track, something caught her attention on the road ahead of her.

A piece of paper. Somehow clean and white. New-ish looking.
It was caught to the branches of a dying hedge plant on the side of the road just ahead of her and fluttering like it was just about to be carried away by the wind.

Well that’s not something you see every day…

She began slowing her pace so she could see what it was exactly.

And it so happened, because she was paying more attention to the paper then she was to the track ahead of her, that she didn’t notice the thin branch lying across the road a few metres ahead of her.

Normally she would have just jumped over it and it wouldn’t have mattered but in this case she wasn’t paying attention so instead- as she made her way for the bit paper- her foot got caught behind the branch and she tripped forward suddenly, flying through the air for a few seconds, before she sprawled down on the ground in a muddled heap just a few metres away from the note.

“Well that was graceful…” she muttered sarcastically, slamming her cheek into the ground before her eyes latched back onto the note and curiosity once again overcame her as she pushed herself up to her knees and moved towards it, checking the road to make sure that she didn’t trip up on anything else.

Suddenly there was a gust of wind and the paper was picked up and hurled away just before she could grab it.

It landed on a branch on the other side of the road and indistinctly Ash’s eyes narrowed.
Then she darted onto her feet and managed to grab it right as it was picked up by the wind again.

She looked down and her eyes landed on the paper, scanning over the words.
The Safety Zone-A place with no Mutants.
Something bright sparked in her eyes and she gripped the paper tighter between her fingers as she read on.
A journey. A recruitment team.
A way out. Something like… hope.

Something that made her think, “hey. I might just get out of here alive, after all.”
Then her eyes dropped on the words ‘being watched’ and she launched herself backwards, glancing around nervously before she dropped her head.

“Well I’m guessing that if I’m being watched then they saw that graceful dive of mine a minute ago,” she muttered, shaking her head.

Well, that will definitely convince them to put me on the team.
She looked up again and eyed the tree’s around her suspiciously for a minute or so before she gave up, folding up the note and tucking it safety away in her pocket.
The one without the hole in it.
Then her eyes rocketed back to the harbour that she could now just make the outline of in the distance.

A small smile crossed her face.

Well, I never was so good at first impressions but at least I got their attention… and I’m going to keep it too.

I just need something… explosive.
Luckily that’s not something I’m terrible at.
She smiled to herself and began to run off down the path again.

Z

I barely get a chance to take a bite out of the meat in my hand when the handset connecting us to X starts beeping.

I look over at Q. “It’s X,” I tell her, “Probably something about the recruits.”
I press the button and suddenly a familiar voice comes through. “Z,Q. There has been a chance of plans with the recruits.”

I look around how tiny campsite instinctively.

“How do you mean?” I ask, “Do you need us to meet them somewhere else?”
“No. no. You’re in the right place. But they won’t come to you. The testing is in motion and I need you to go pick up the recruits that pass and bring them back to the site.”
I look over at Q who is staring at the machine intently as if X was actually here talking to us like he used to.

“Can you do that?” the voice is warbled through the machine but I find myself nodding my head, “Yeah. Of course.”

I look back down at the rabbit on my lap and sigh. Food will have to wait for a while.
“Good,” he says and I hear something warm in his tone.

“There are four recruits so far that I need you to pick up. I’ll send you both the locations and you can decide between you which ones that you want to pick up.”
There is a mechanical beeping in the background and I hear his voice change, “I have to go. I trust you two to know what to do… Be careful out there.”

The machine goes blank and I look over at Q, who’s perched next to me on the ground, still staring at the handset.

“So, how do you feel like going out for a run?”

I grin and the screen lights up again as files come in on the four recruiters that have passed so far.

Our team for the journey.

I hold the machine up to Q and smile for a second as I notice just how different that one piece of technology is in comparison to the rest of the forest.

Almost like it shouldn’t belong anymore.

Then I turn my eyes back to the girl next to me.

“Four recruits. Take your pick.”

Mr. Winters

Mr. Winters crouched behind a chunk of concrete. He was currently in the middle of a hunt, but it would be awhile before anything passed by. While he waited, he started to think about how things used to be before the Disease. When he found himself thinking about the people he knew, he couldn't resist chuckling. Everyone would laugh at his doomsday preparations, but now he was getting the last laugh. Granted, he always thought the world would end in a nuclear winter, hence his title "Winters," but he still had a sense of self-fulfillment.

An abrupt, soft shuffling snapped Winters out of his daydreams. He carefully peeked over the concrete, and to his great delight, discovered a mutant walking straight towards him. Winters watched with great anticipation as the mutant shambled into his trap. Just when Winters couldn't contain his excitement anymore, snap, the mutant was caught. Four metal prongs protruded from the ground and impaled the mutant’s leg, pinning it in place. The mutant released a horrid scream, one that would rend any man as fearful as a child, and Winters clapped in glee as the second half of his plan went into motion.

From a distance, one might describe the creatures that responded to the mutant’s screams as large spiders, but Winters knew they were his lovely crawlers, tiny robots with four thin legs, two beady eyes, and no bigger than a fingernail. Though they appeared weak and fragile, their sturdy metal bodies and razor sharp limbs were designed to survive any threat this living hell could offer. At first, only a few appeared, but a black swarm slowly formed around the mutant. Crawlers emerged from shadows, holes, and tin cans and scurried towards the mutant. Thousands of the mechanical soldiers crawled into the creature’s mouth, aiming to kill it from the inside. Winters turned away as his pint-sized creations tore their way out of the mutant. Once the monstrosity had perished, Winters left his cover to scavenge his latest kill. The machines split into groups to search the remains, and several of them were already making a small pile of any useful materials. One of the crawlers, slightly bigger than the others with a coat green of paint, approached Winters to make a direct report. This was one of his favorite crawlers, and he recognized it immediately.
“Cabbage, how are you doing? Find anything interesting on this one?” Winters always nicknamed his creations, and his strange sense of attachment to them baffled many people. Cabbage gave a proud squeak and held up a crumpled piece of paper. Winters took the paper from it, making sure not to harm it. As he read the paper, a slight snicker escaped his mouth. “So, the stories are true,” he whispered to Cabbage, “Some nut is actually planning to find The Safety Zone, and now he’s even lookin’ for a group to take him there.” Turning around, Winters rose his voice to a shout, “So you wanna to see how ‘qualified’ I am to make this trip? Well, you better sit tight, ‘cause you’re in for a show!” Cabbage joined his triumphant shouting, but the little robot had been soaked in mutant blood, and the excitement was too much for his circuits to handle. Winters was too busy yelling to notice his friend’s problem, and Cabbage exploded into a puff of smoke and scrap metal, cutting Winters celebration short. On that day, he finally found something worth doing in the unforgiving wasteland, but at the cost of a beloved friend and yet another mechanical finger.

Q


Q smiled at Z and looked over at the list of recruits X had set up for us. The list was of 4 teenage looking kids. Q saw a blond girl with the name Alison printed under it and picked her first. She knew this girl would be a good runner so she picked a girl with the name Ayumi. Q was pleased with her pick so she stood, grabbed her pack, and turned to face Z.

"See you soon.". Q said high-fiving the Boy in front of her. She winked then ran off towards the city that was once beautiful. She jogged looking around for the recruits she passed a small Clift and stopped to take a rest seeing that she had ran for over 5 miles and she was tired. She saw a head pop out of the water a look up at her. Ayumi.

Q stood trying to look bigger than her tiny frame and spoke in a loud voice. "Are you ready to come to the Safty Zone?"

Ayumi nodded and walked swam out of the water. Q hiked her was down the Clift her long hair whipping around her face. The girl in front of her hugged her body which was trenches in water. I handed her a blanket from my pack and she wrapped her self in it. I smiled at her and started walking with her towards the city once more.

"Who are you?" Ayumi asked with a thick japanese ascent.

I smiled and replied. "I'm Q, do you think you can run?"

The woman nodded and handed me the now wet blanket. I stuffed it back in my pack and started to sprint down the street. We had entered the shady part of town Aand Q knew that Alison was near. She turned down an alleyway and she was.

"Are you Alison?" Q asked pulling out her knife just in case of attacks. The girl shrugged as Q rolled her eyes. She walked towards Alison again to tell her to come, but a slimy hand grabbed her shoulder. "Shit."

Q swung around slicing the head off of the mutant that had grabbed her. She kicked another one in the gut sending it flying backwards as she stabbed another in the chest. Alison was fighting the mutants that had crowded her and it looked like she need help. Q ran towards them and jumped high into the air. As she was in the air, Q sliced off many heads of the mutants then landed next to Alison. Q smirked as Alison stared open mouthed at her.

"Help!" Ayumi screamed as she was being attack by a mob. Alison and Q rushed over and started fighting along side her. They had finally killed all of them.

She turned back to Alison who was out of breath. "Come with us to the Safty Zone."

Alison crossed her arms and followed Q and Ayumi out of the city and back to their small camp.

~Alison~

It was almost nightfall when Alison, the Asian lady and the irritating blonde girl reached the small camp.
If you could even call it a camp.
The camp sat on the edge of a wild and somewhat haunting forest. All the camp consisted of was a couple hammocks – each tied to separate pairs of trees, an empty water jug, a horizontal log to sit on, and a small campfire.
Alison hated camping.
Last time she’d gone camping was with her family in the Olden Days. They had camped for a week in the middle of a lush rainforest, far away from home. Her sister had died that same week. After her sister’s death Alison had never again seen any point in camping, and neither had the rest of her family.
“Okay, we need to collect supplies before daylight disappears completely. If we don’t, we’ll die,” the blonde girl told them in a very matter-of-fact way. The blonde took off the backpack she’d been wearing and started pulling things out of it.
Alison saw many strange looking objects appear from the depths of the bag, including a small rectangular item that looked a lot like a communication device. Who could they possibly be talking to?
Alison glanced over to the Asian woman, who was looking up at the sky doubtfully. The sun had vanished over the horizon quite a while ago and they probably only had an hour max before full darkness took hold.
The blonde girl made a satisfied noise as she pulled out the object - or objects - she had been trying to find. Solar powered flashlights. “Right, we need to split up,” she said, handing each of them a flashlight.
Obviously she enjoys giving people orders.
“Ayumi, I need you to catch us some food for the night. Are you alright with that?” the blonde girl asked, giving the Asian lady a once-over.
Ayumi. So that was her name.
Ayumi gave the blonde girl a brief nod.
“Cool." The blonde girl smiled at Ayumi. She then turned to face Alison, dropping the friendly smile and looking at her with great tolerance. "Alison, that is you’re name right? Or should I call you Ali?” the blonde asked. Alison had a feeling the girl knew exactly what her name was and that she was only pretending to forget it so that she could get under Alison's skin.
“Only my friends call me Ali,” said Alison coolie, letting the blonde girl know loud and clear that she didn’t like her company.
The blonde got the message. “Okay then, Alison, you can go look for firewood in the forest.” The girl matched Alison's previous tone with the same coldness.
Alison couldn’t believe this girl. Something about her made Alison’s temper flare dramatically.
“And what are you going to do- Oh sorry, I didn’t catch your name. What is it, again?” Alison smiled victoriously. Yeah that’s right, have a taste of your own medicine.
A flash of anger lit up the blonde girl’s eyes momentarily before being squashed down into a fake composure. “My name is Q, and I’m going to be setting up the rest of the camp while you two are out.”
Ayumi, who had been watching Q and Alison’s bickering with amusement, cleared her throat to remind them that she was still standing there.
Q bent over and started picking up the things she’d thrown on the ground from searching though her backpack earlier. “You both should probably get a move on, it’ll be dark before we know it. If you find yourself in any sort of trouble, scream.”
Alison didn’t like the way Q said that last part. She and Ayumi exchanged looks. Hesitantly, the two of them started walking away from the camp in opposite directions.
“Oh, and I heard the forest can be pretty nasty around this time of day. Have fun, Alison!” called Q joyfully. She was smirking.
Bitch.
Alison stepped past the tree line into the dark shadows of the forest. Once again, I’m all on my own. She gulped. For a moment Alison thought about turning back. No. Last thing I need is for Q to think I’m afraid.
Swallowing her anxious feelings, Alison moved forwards, swatting a small branch out her way. Besides, all I have to do is collect some stupid sticks. How hard can that be?
As everything around her gradually became darker though, she began to question how easy the task really was. And whether or not she'd make it out alive.

Ayumi

A sprinkling of water droplets from an overhanging branch rolled off Ayumi's hair and bounced on the forest floor. She slid her special needle soundlessly from a pocket. It was thick enough to resemble an ice pick, but the gleam of the shaft communicated a different purpose. Her fingers settled around the driftwood handle. This hunt was not about strength or violence. It was about silence and stealth. Her sharp features took on a level of focus that could frighten the casual onlooker. In this twilight time between dog and wolf, the wan rays of the moon shifted and dappled over the forest floor, almost like the sway of the sea. It calmed Ayumi's unsettled nerves — the mutant attack had jolted her. The creatures seldom ventured close to the sea, and then never in great numbers. Their sluggish bodies were incapable of swimming.

She was unsure how long she had been standing, frozen in the same position. She knew that time could become deformed as it moved along. It might itself be uniform in composition, but once perceived, it could take on a distorted consistency. Some periods could be long and viscous, others short and pale. Sometimes forms could be placed into periods of time. Sometimes things could be removed. Ayumi was not sure whether the former or the latter was more useful. Whatever the case, a form was entering her period of time. Something moving, rustling, disturbing the lucid dream of reality. Her grip on the ice-pick changed. The form moved into range — a small deer. Its short, red-tipped fur slid over its skin like oiled scales over a fish's back. The delicate mouth nibbled at the undergrowth. Its eye glimmered like gold. Ayumi did not move, frozen in indecision. But instinct would always overtake charity, and it was with clear conscience that she plunged the silver needle into the base of the deer's neck. The creature collapsed without a sound. There was no indication of how had died, except for a small bead of blood, drying on the fur of its neck. Ayumi wiped her needle on a leaf and slipped it back into her specially reinforced pocket. Her features softened only slightly and she slipped the deer over her shoulder to carry back to camp. As Ayumi padded through the blackened leaves, Alison stumbled into her path, looking slightly white, though it might only have been the effect of the wavering moonlight. Her hands were wet and plastered with dead leaves and two bundles of firewood were tied to her back with string. She flashed her torch into Ayumi's face, paled (visibly this time) and hissed a quick curse before she recognised her. Ayumi allowed her lips to twitch.
"Make your torch off," she enunciated. "It will be better."
Alison gave her a doubtful look.
"Are you afraid," Ayumi said without inflection.
The girl's eyes sharpened and she clicked the torch off. They walked further in silence, with little disturbance until they neared the camp. Alison's hands were tense and her eyes roved the pitching branches around them. Ayumi examined her. Long, muscled legs encased in tight jeans — she was a runner, and confident about it too. The sinews in her hands stood out like steel pipes in the silver light. Tight shoulders, ready for a fight. A slight tremor in the left eyelid, only visible for a second, before it disappeared.

They were only a stone's throw away from the campsite, when Alison and Ayumi froze simultaneously. There was a rustle in the lower branches. Ayumi's hand moved sharply to her left pocket. Alison already had a dagger in her hand. She made no move forward or backward, but Ayumi suddenly realised that she had moved from a tense walk to a fighting stance with no apparent interval. Her own tactics differing, she melted into the shadows beside her and moved stealthily to circle the unknown opponent in the trees. The rustling intensified. It was mere seconds before the enemy emerged. Ayumi positioned herself as close to the source of the disturbance as possible without contacting it. If this was a mutant, Alison would be better off dealing with it alone. But it did not seem like a mutant. There were no moans, no unfocussed movements in the shaking of the bushes. Ayumi's hand closed around her ice-pick for the second time of the night.

A shape sprang out of the bushes. Ayumi pounced. She stopped with her weapon touching the neck of her victim. A single drop of blood trickled down Q's neck. Ayumi stepped back and twirled her ice-pick into her pocket.
"I nearly killed you," she said in the same deadpan voice as before. "You should be more careful, Q."
Alison looked ready to explode. She approached Q until their chests were almost touching, grabbed her by the shoulders and hissed, "Not funny."
She seemed to be resisting the urge to hit the agent. Ayumi refused to get involved in such matters and, picking up the dead doe, made off for camp. Q shook Alison's hands off her in a precise, practiced movement.
"I intended no joke, Alison."
They stomped behind Ayumi to the campsite without speaking further.

Z
Z watched as his friend ran off through the forest before he turned his head back own to study the profiles of the other recruits before he went off to find them.
There was a boy with darkish hair who apparently couldn’t feel any type of physical pain and a girl who had a large knowledge in explosives. Neither of them looked all that much younger than him, and both of them, it seemed, were fairly close to the beach.
Somehow he doubted it was because it was a nice day for a swim.

Shaking his head Z headed off for the sea and it didn’t take him long to find the first of the recruits. The boy called Gabriel. He was staring off at the ocean and slowly Z approached him.

“Gabriel? ”, he called, knowing the boy from the picture on his headset. The guy spun around and stared at Z cautiously.
Z then saw that the paper in his hand was the advertisement for the safety zone. And one of the errands he had had to run only hours before.
He nodded towards it, and a flicker of recognition appeared in the other boys eyes.
“Are you in?”

Gab eyed him cautiously but nodded his head and Z turned foot and headed towards the harbour- where the other girl was last seen at.
“We have one other person to pick up…”

As he walked back for the harbour, assuming that the other boy was following him Z glanced back down at the screen.
Ashlee.

He found her soon enough, squatting by a building and mixing together some sort of powders. Explosives he assumed if her records were correct.
Suddenly a patch of mutants appeared on the sand to her right, walking towards them hungrily.

Z pulled out his handgun when the girl finally pushed herself to her feet taking them in.

Then she grinned. “Hey, you’re not mutants are you?”
Z looked at her strangely and shook his head, “No, actually-“
The other boy just looked confused. “Well, you may just want to get out of the way for this.”

She pulled a packet of sodden matches out of her pocket and poised it above the mixture she’d made.

Z looked at it warily and then back at the mutants before he pulled out his gun, and aiming before he pulled the trigger on what seemed like the leader of the group. It hit right on aim and the mutant went down in a puddle of blood and twisted limbs but the others around it only began to move in faster.
The girl seemed to have a plan but Z was a little unconvinced. He took a step forward but she just gestured for him to get back.
“A-ny second now…”

Just when the mutants got to the edge of the building the girl- Ashlee- suddenly launched herself backwards and through the match at the pile. There was a strange thudding sound and she pushed both him and the other recruit- Gabriel- away.
They only got a few steps when what used to be just a pile of powder exploded and sent them flying into the sand.

Unluckily for them the mutants were closer- almost right on top of it- and by the time Z sat up, pistol ready- there wasn’t much he had to do.
The other boy was sitting in the sand with a dazed expression on his face as he looked at the ruins and Z looked over to Ash and shook his head ruefully.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side…”

She laughed and turned her eyes to look over both him and Gabriel before she asked, “Are you the people for the Safety Zone thing?”

Z couldn’t say much then but just nodded his head. They stood like that for a while until he remembered that he knew both their names but they had no idea who the hell he was. Which was probably not a good start seeing as he was going to be travelling with them for the next few weeks- or however long it took to get to the safety zone.
He turned to both of the recruits and stuck his hand out, “I’m Z. On of X’s agents.”

One by one the others introduced themselves, preferring to be called Gab and Ash.
He nodded and then looked back down at the machine as another message came in. Another recruit that passed the testing and X wanted him to pick up.
He looked back at the recruits he’d already found and decided that he’d take them back to the campsite first before he went off to find the other recruit. More than likely X would have found a few more by then and him and Q could go over them…

He smiled, “Alright, I’ll take you to back to camp so that you can meet the others.”

Can I have the free male spot? Please please please!!!

@ pandabear7 - sure, just post it in a spoiler or something...
oh and check the DT. That might help with A LOT if you wanna catch up

Also, I was wondering if someone could just bring me into the story since yall are so far along? Please, it will help out a lot. If yall still need me to do that thing in the DT I will after I see how they interact a little

Q


Q sat on a log that she had cut down for the girls and poked the fire. She sighed and scooted as far away from Alison as she could. Q could feel Alison's cold glare on her but she ignored it and turned to put another log on the fire.

"I got them." A familiar voice said emerging from the woods. Q looked up to see Z and the two recruits he picked up. Q smiled at him and scooted over so he could sit next to her just as her pack started vibrating.

"Another recruit?" Q asked him as she reached for her pack and grabbed the tablet. On the screen shown an man by the name of Mr. Winters. Q smiled as she read though his skill list.

"I could get him" Z said taking her pad from her. Q shook her head and replied.

"I reaaaallly want this one, please." She looked at Z with puppy dog eyes and he groaned and so did Alison, probably annoyed because Q had friend out there and she didn't.

"Fine, bit I'm getting the next one." Z said rolling his eyes at her.

"YES! Thank you Z!" She hopped up and hugged him before grabbing her pad back and sliding on her pack. She smiled and started to jog towards the city again. She started to pick up speed when it became concrete. Q held a pistol in her left hand ready to shoot (Q is left handed c:). She rounded a corner when she saw what looked like a man covered in mechanical armor. It must be Mr. Winters. She walked towards him as the bandage on her neck came off and blood started running down her neck.

I am defiantly never going to go into the woods with them again. Q thought feeling the stick blood go into her long hair, streaking it red. She came closer and the man looked up to reveal that he was Mr. Winters.

"Hello, are you Mr. Winters?" Q asked lowering her gun. The man nodded and Q smiled at his response. "I'm Agent Q and I will be taking you to the Safety Zone. Are you ready?"

Once again Mr. Winters nodded as he followed Q out of his hidey-hole. Q smiled as Mr. Winters kept up with her long legs as she approached the forest once more but with another recruit.

Jeydon

I was sitting on a cliff when all of a sudden someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was a mutant. "Shit!" I yell and I get up to shoot him. It almost scratched me but I shot it in the head then took off.

I made it to a road leading deep into the woods. Right then I seen a note and I looked at it and followed it's directions. Right then some guy came running up to me. "Hello I'm Agent Z, I'm here to take you to The Safety Zone." he said.

I looked at him a little curious before I started walking behind him. "What is all this about?" I asked. "We are here to help certain people." he replied. "I'm Jeydon." I say as we walk. "Yes, I know who you are." Z replies back.

Soon we walked up to a group of people, "This is the others." he said to me. "Hi." Alison said. I looked at her and smiled a little. "I'm Jeydon, nice to meet you." I say. "What exactly is this about?" I ask. "Safety." Z replies and walks away to talk to some other mysterious girl by the name of Q, she also had someone with her.

Jason

I felt the cold breeze rushing towards the opposite direction. The wind was furious today unlike what it was like usually. I stood in front of my house which now didn't seem like one at all, all thanks to the mutants. I had grown up running away from them, each day trying not to die, after all my life was the only thing I was left with. When I was 8 I saw them killing my family and that day I had sworn to kill all of them never knowing how, the only thing I knew then and I know now is that to kill them I have to survive in which I am, till now, succesful.
Thee memories of my childhood started coming back one by one. Laughing, chatting and most of all not having the fear of not living tomorrow! Everything was different now, not a single voice could be heard in the streets except those of the mutants, no laughter no children, nothing!
There were a few torn newspapers scattered here and there, I picked one and read
'Sights of Aliens seen', the other said 'Will we survive?' 'unidentical species found!', that time we all thought it was all false, just some way of gaining popularity for some people but it turned out that we were wrong.
The mutants had really come, now whether they are aliens or not they had really killed millions of us and are still killing. 'THEY WILL NOT LEAVE ANYONE' was what my dad used to say but nobody believed it.
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud clash. They were near and I knew it. I grabbed my black bag which my mother had given me before her getting brutally killed and started to wall forward ready to take all of the down even if I have to do it alone. Late yesterday I had robbed a gun dealor's shop which ti tell you the truth was easy as he was dead. In my bag they lied. I was ready for them now, after 10 full years of hiding and training by myself I had finally come in the open and decided to take them down. It was now or never, and I clearly knew that.
I started increasing my pace, at the same time trying not to make noise. A loaded the gun which I caried with my right hand and kept my body ready for any attack when suddenly I stumbled and almost tripped over a rock.
I looked down only to find a paper traped below it. It was torn and crumbled but readable. 'Safety Zone' it read and there came some arrows on the ground when I read it aloud. This was it, I thought. This was the way how I was going to survie and kill them.

Ayumi

There was a stilted atmosphere around the campfire that night. The sky had soon darkened and threads of mist were drifting over the surrounding countryside. On one side, the forest loomed, dark and imposing, a damper on the conversation. On the other, the open grasslands presented a threat of a different nature.

Ayumi's eyes flitted over each addition to the group. Z. The scarred one. In the fickle light, the thin line on his face gleamed like a thread of silver. His elbows were resting on his knees, body leaning into the firelight, hair over his eyes, fingers interlaced. Ayumi noted the lean, supple shape of his shoulders and shuddered inwardly.

Gabriel. Gab, he said. His narrow shoulders failed to obscure a thin frame and slender limbs. He seemed less threatening than the rest of the males in the group, but Ayumi felt herself not entirely able to trust his meek appearance. He was still probably the least of her problems.

Beside him was the new girl, Ash. She wore an old pair of gloves with the confidence of habit, hands resting on her faded jeans. Her shaggy ponytail was lit by a coppery glow from the fire. She seemed quite at easy in the current situation, but when she noticed Ayumi's eyes on her wrists, which were dotted with chemical stains, she jerked her gloves up higher with two sharp movements.

Alison was stuck in the middle of two people whom she obviously could not decide between as the least desirable. She had squeezed her shoulders close together and her hands were tightly folded on her lap. On her one side, Mr Winters was flexing his mechanical fingers with quiet clicking noises that somehow carried over the sounds of the night and hushed conversation. Alison's eyes periodically flickered to his white hair. On her other, Q was practically radiating hostility. Ayumi decided to keep half an eye on the gun by the agent's side.

Fortunately for Alison, Q was engaged in conversation with Z. Ayumi narrowed her eyes. But the agent in black was not her worst problem. The other one. She could smell him. His masculine, unrefined scent drifted across the fire, setting her nostrils twitching. He was smiling and chatting away with Alison, who seemed to be taking it all in with little suspicion. Ayumi was happy to see, that she seemed to retain some vestiges of caution, leaning back as he bent forward and shifting away from him surreptitiously as he came too near, though her companions allowed her little room for error. Q was likely to shoot her if she stepped on her toes and Ayumi would rather not imagine what the reaction of Mr Winters would be. Jeydon was the name of the newcomer, and the hair on Ayumi's head bristled as she took in the elaborate knife handle and gun sticking out from his belt. He flashed her a quick smile in mid speech and Ayumi's blood froze. Jeydon, she felt, was a dangerous character.

Q, however, drew Ayumi's attention again. Her body was sagging, as if with exhaustion or disappointment. Ayumi skimmed her eyes over her face, her arms, her body — Q slid off her log and Ayumi's tension was instantly converted into action. Z jumped to his feet and grabbed his friend by the shoulder. His hand came away streaked with blood, his fingertips gleaming as though covered in oil. He looked at the blood as though in disbelief. Ayumi pushed him aside and rolled Q onto her stomach.
"More light," she ordered sharply. Somebody built up the fire and sparks skittered over the ground.
Q's back was covered in sticky, half-coagulated blood. Her hair had matted with the substance and Ayumi painstakingly tore the hardened strands off her skin. Z leaned over her to see.
"Go away," Ayumi snarled with a sidelong kick to the shin. The campfire had gone silent.
After lifting away all Q's matted hair, Ayumi found the source of the bleeding. Her own needle had inflicted the damage. She rejected the cold shock of guilt running down her back. Surely she had not pricked the agent that hard?
She tore the bottom off her tank top, soon followed by another strip and another as the blood soaked through the first and second layers.
"Water," she snapped. Someone handed her a dented aluminum bottle.
"Alison — no, Z," she backpedalled wildly. "Give her the water."
Z supported Q's head and trickled water into her mouth. Ayumi tore another strip of cloth from her top and bound it diagonally over Q's neck and shoulder. More strips joined it to form a complex mat over the wound. The blood finally stopped soaking through and Q spluttered to life. She rolled over and the cold that had gripped Ayumi's nerves dissipated. Q's bleary eyes focussed on Ayumi and she lifted a finger to point at her.
"You," she slurred.
"Yes?"
"Nice crop top..."

Q


Q felt dizzy and confused as she woke. She rolled onto her good arm and look up at the sky with blurry eyes. Z was kneeling next to her and the group was silent, even Alison. Q looked around still confused on what was going on when Z helped her sit up. He rested his hand on her back to support her and sat by her.

"What happened?" Q asked her voice sounding drunk and slurred.

"You passed out." Ayumi replied in a shaky voice.

"Oh," Q said reaching for the bandage she had only just noticed across her chest and arm. She looked down to see that they had striped her of her jacket and she was only in her black tank top. Q felt her self getting dizzy again and sagged into Z's arms. He caught her and leaned her back so her head was resting in his lap. Just as her pad vibrated.

"I got it," Z said reaching for his pad. He read it carefully then handed it to Q.

"I want to go get him." Q said sitting up. Q knew this boy, before she was taken in by X, this boy who had appeared on the screen was her best childhood friend.

"No, I'm getting him." Z replied in a calm voice.

Q stood up and looked Z straight in the eyes and said firmly. "Z, I'm going to get him. I know him and he is my responsibility."

Z stared at her then slowly nodded. Q was surprised that Z had let her go so she smiled and slid on her jacket. "I'll be right back."

"Be careful!" Z screamed at her as she walked towards what used to be the place she was born.

Q picked up pace, growing stronger as she went walking though familiar streets that had turned to rubble. Q passed the house she was born in and didn't even stop. This isn't my home anymore, my home is with Z and X.

Q felt a slight breeze and walked farther into the street. She stopped when she saw a boy with black hair staring into a house, Jason.

"Jason," Q said in a whisper, walking towards that tall boy.

He turned and faced Q looking straight at her. He was just like she remembered. She smiled and walked towards him. He smiled and walked towards her too.

"Hey Q-" Jason started but Q cut him off before he could say her full name.

"Hey," She smiled and hugged him using her good arm and she felt his arms wrap around her. She pulled out of the embrace remembering the task at hand. "Are you ready to go to the Safety Zone?"

Jason nodded and they walked together back to the campsite.