sigNATURE -- Prologue

She slammed the shovel into the ground, stabbing the dirt like it was her worst enemy. In a way, it was; the drought was positively awful--in a negative way--making sure to suck the water out of everything like some sort of fire-bound vampire. It was worse than the coldest of winters, where the ground froze up so solidly, not even the strongest man on the farm could penetrate it with a diamond shovel. Well, they didn't have a diamond shovel--they barely had an iron one--bit if they did, she was sure that would be the case anyway.

She thought she heard whispering voices, and paused her attempted-murder of the ground to look around. Cadiil, her little brother in all of his innocent cuteness, was talking to a taller, ragged-looking boy. They both sat on the low stone wall that separated the yard from the garden she was working in, and huddled close together, probably talking about something forbidden.

Sighing, she tended to her sisterly duties and went to check the situation out. Please let it not be about girls... that would be too much of a pain right now, and she had too much work to do. "Hey, guys!" She called out, waving as she jogged over, discarding the shovel. She scowled when the impact of the falling garden tool didn't even dent the dirt, let alone crackle it.

Cadiil and his friend looked up, startled, as she approached. "Good afternoon, Ms. Fuln." The ragged boy recited politely, clasping his hands behind his back and smiling brightly in a classic whatever-we're-doing-you-shouldn't-be-suspicious-because-we're-adorable pose.

"Good afternoon," despite the stance--or maybe because of it--she found herself wary of the conversation ahead. "What were you guys talking about?"

"The Female Alpha!" Cadiil beamed, spreading his arms up wide, his eyes filled with wonder. The ragged boy slapped him upside the arm, protesting.

"Aww, Cadiil, I told ya' not to tell, ya' dummy." He hissed. She smiled happily, glad her little brother was so honest.

"But she asked." Cadiil shrugged. "I can't lie to her, Nathyn, she's my favorite sister!"

She chuckled, covering her mouth with a hand, blushing at the childish praise. Her brother's favorite, huh? How cute. It made her smile--a real smile--for the first time in a couple of weeks. From the drought to the food shortage, the wildfires and the sicknesses, life here at this blasted farm wasn't the best. "Well, don't tell me you're talking about that stupid rumor."

"The Female Alpha isn't a rumor!" Nathyn growled, flinging his arms up dramatically, standing up on the wall so he was eye-level with her. "She's already taken down nearly half of all remaining humanity!"

"You're exaggerating," she grumbled, putting her foot up on the wall and resting her arms on the lifted knee. "Besides, everyone I know is saying that the supposed Female Alpha is just a cover-up for an important government official's screw-up."

"They killed millions of people." Nathyn said flatly, eyes hooded and voice highly sarcastic.

"Oh, come on!" She exclaimed, picking up Cadiil and propping him against the side of her hip. He was really light for a growing seven-year-old boy. "It wasn't that many. It was, like, a hundred or so. It was an accident, and this dumb Female Alpha crap is a joke. I mean, seriously; have you ever even seen a sigNATURE in the flesh before? Who's to say they aren't some wild story to keep us in line and inside of these walls, too?"

Nathyn jumped down from the wall, beginning his walk home. "I don't care what ya' say, lady. I'm gonna save my arse when the time comes. I'll beg for the Female Alpha's mercy and forgiveness. Humanity must have done somethin' ta' tick her off, right?"

She and Cadiil watched him leave, both lost in their own thoughts. Ridiculous. A Female Alpha sigNATURE? The very idea was so silly, she could cry herself to sleep. They could at least make the story more believable. A sigNATURE with the ability to avoid detection as they infiltrate the protective walls of a territory, gain the trust of even the royal family, then betray everyone by unleashing all Hell. An Alpha with a small pack, and the influence to call nearly all sigNATURE to her location. It was... childish.

"So that Female Alpha ain't real?" Cadiil asked her, wrapping his arms around her neck and yawning as he leaned his head against her collar bone. She adjusted his weight, hugging him tighter to her.

"Nah. She's just a lie that someone made to cover up their mistakes." She smiled, patting his head as he fell asleep. Turning to go toward the small, rackety house, she abandoned her shoveling and decided to go inside for the night. "Now let's go get some sleep. We're gonna' play tomorrow, remember?"

"Yeah..." he said sleepily, grinning the adorable smile that only children could make. "I can't wait... Nalia..."

***

Nalia opened her eyes, dully aware of a catastrophe of noises outside. Her vision blurry from sleep, she swung her feet out bed and stumbled to the bedroom door. The living/kitchen room had an eerie light cast over it; sort of an orange, flickering glow. She checked the fireplace, but then remembered that she hadn't started a fire because it was so hot outside. Walking to the front door, she touched the knob and turned it, opening the wooden surface.

Only after she had opened it did she realize the knob was scorching hot, and had burned her hand. As the pain registered, she screamed, tripping over her own feet as she grabbed her hand and tucked it up against her body. Jumping from one foot to the other, she whimpered, shutting her eyes as she waited for the pain to fade.

Glancing outside, she forgot her hand almost completely. The farm... and the farms surrounding their own... the city in the distance... were all... burning. "My God..." She gaped, a sickly foreboding settling in her gut. As the fire raged quickly toward their home, terror jacked her adrenaline up to unhealthy heights. "Cadiil! Wake up!" She shrieked, falling backwards as she scrambled to the boy's room.

Slamming the door open, she found Cadiil sitting blearily up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. This precious boy... she had to save him. "Miira, get up! Wake everyone else up and get them out of here!" Nalia cried out, scooping up Cadiil and leaving the room in a rush. As she came out of his room, she was aware of a crashing sound; like glass breaking.

She heard a low growling from the kitchen-living room--where the only exit was, aside from the windows that were hot to the touch from the fires--and froze. Looking down the hall at the kitchen fireplace, she watched as a blur of inhuman speed slammed through the wall of Miira and three more of her sisters' single bedroom. There was the sound of terrified screaming, and then...

Nothing. Silence. Wait, a faint sound... She strained her ears, but wished she hadn't when she heard the wet sound of flesh ripping. Her breathing became rapid and fearful as panic set in. Backing away slowly to the end of the hall, she winced when she felt her back press against the window there. The glass was near-boiling, it seemed, but it didn't matter. As the blur crashed into the last of her sisters' room and more screaming commenced, she cursed herself for her cowardice and turned on her heel, covering Cadiil as she rammed her foot through the glass.

Bare-footed, the glass sliced scattered patterns of dripping blood down her foot. She didn't really feel it, though, jumping out of the house and sprinting across the wheat field--or more, the burning remains of it--trying not to cry out as the glowing embers scorched the soles of her feet. Fight through it... get Cadiil out of here alive.

"What's happening?" Cadiil wailed, sleep finally lifting itself from his body as he began to sob. "What about Miira and Byca, Nalia? What about--"

"They aren't here anymore. They went to the happy place in the sky, and they aren't sad or hungry anymore. They didn't suffer, and they're watching over you, smiling and glad you're safe." She recited with as much happy emotion as she could; inside, her voice was roaring in anguish because she knew: her sisters had died terrified, slow, painful deaths. And who was to say that there was no happy place in the sky at all?

As they reached the small river the separated their property from their neighbor's, Nalia dove in, grateful for the rest from the heat and the burning of her skin. The water was thick with blood, ash, and dismembered body parts. She pushed Cadiil's head against her chest, whispering for him not to look. Swallowing vomit, she trudged through the mess, pulling herself up at the other side.

A howl erupted behind her, causing her and Cadiil to pivot and look, even though they both felt deep down that they shouldn't.

A blond man... no, woman? Wait, it could be a man... she couldn't tell from this distance. Whichever it was, the person lifted their left arm, fist closed tightly. A flashing of light could be seen from her left eye--now that Nalia looked closer and strained her eyes, it was, after all, a woman--before five large humanoid beasts of varying types quickly came to her, seemingly out of nowhere they were so fast.

The two watched the woman talk to them, pointing her arm in their direction. Panic slammed against Nalia's heart. No... No... it couldn't be.

The pieces fell together, and she ran. Holding Cadiil tightly, she ran as fast as she could away from that blond woman. That woman with the pale blond hair, and--even from here the characteristic was unmistakable--ice-white blue eyes. "My God," she gasped, recalling a story she had heard in the city once, while selling produce she had grown.

"They say this Female Alpha disguises herself as a human, gaining the trust of the people inside of a territory fore many years before killing them all. It is said that a top-suspect from the last territory that fell was a dark-haired woman, but everyone thinks she switched over to blond now. No matter what, those cold, ice-white blue eyes never change. I know a lot of people with that characteristic, though, so it doesn't help much." The man had shrugged, smiling. "They say the only ones who make it out alive are the ones who never saw her true identity. Everyone else... well, you know."

Heart hammering, she cursed when she tripped over a small stump from a partially removed sapling that stuck out like a knife from the hardened ground. She rolled so she would land on her back, protecting Cadiil from harm even as she lost her breath. Cadiil cried, tears flowing, begging her to get up. Begging her to be okay. Begging her to save them both from the Female Alpha. Did he know? Even at his tender age, did he feel the heaviness in his mind, body, and soul? Did he feel death approaching across a burning field in the guise of a pretty blond woman with a cold gaze?

Was this... where they died? She bit her lip, ripping a piece of her nightshirt off. "No matter what, Cadiil. No matter what, you didn't see her. You didn't see that woman; you don't know what she looks like, you've never seen her before, alright? Please understand your sister's rambling and listen. You. Do. Not. Know. What. She. Looks. Like. Understand?"

"Yes," he whispered as she tied the strip of cloth around his eyes, tightly securing it. "But I sort of do--"

"No."

"Okay." He whimpered, sniffling. "What are you doing?"

"Don't take this off, no matter what happens. Don't take this off until you are sure that you are in safe hands. If you feel someone try to take it off, close your eyes up tight and don't open them. You can't look at her; kind of like Medusa. Remember that story?" She said waveringly, smiling weakly as she peeked beneath the fabric. He blinked up at her, smiling sweetly back.

"Yes; you always told the best stories, Nali."

Nali. Her nickname that only he used for her. He hadn't used it in a while since their sisters had called him babyish. "I love you, Cadiil." She kissed his forehead, yanking off a bracelet she had woven for herself a few years ago. She put it around his tiny wrist, trying not to cry as she slid the fabric over his eyes. "No matter what, don't open your eyes. And know that if something happens... I'm in a happy place, watching over you and glad your safe, getting ready for your to come too. Just don't go too early or I'll have to scold you!" She laughed, hearing the crunching of footsteps approach her from behind.

She turned her head, coming eye-to-eye with a tall, wiry blond woman with cold blue eyes. The woman's hard facial structure and cruel, merciless expression shot fear in a burning trail down her throat. It hurt more than the smoke and the taste of blood she had in her mouth from the putrid river.

"You saw me," the woman rasped, smiling grimly. Nalia swallowed hard, showing the woman Cadiil.

"He didn't. I kept him close to me, and--when I realized who you might be--bound his eyes up with a piece of my shirt. He didn't see you, so please let him go." She sniffed, praying that this woman had even one half an ounce of pity inside of her.

"Oh, that's a big risk. What if you're lying?" The woman sighed heavily as the five beasts caught up to her, crowding around her in a protective way. "Lying to save the remains of your family."

Nalia's eyes drifted to the blood splattered all over the woman and her five humanoid creatures. She gagged. Her sisters' blood. "I'm not. I saw you--I'm looking right at you--and I think I know who you are. He doesn't, though. I've always told him not to believe such crap. I told him not to look, no matter what happens."

Cadiil whined, obviously struggling with the urge to uncover his eyes. The boy stayed strong, however, and made no action against the blindfold. Smirking, the blond woman grabbed Nalia by the hair, her smile widening. "He may get to safety, but..." With a jerk, Nalia felt her neck crack, a bright white and red light flashing behind her eyes.

Her body dropped to the ground, her life fading fast as she felt Cadiil being pulled from her. She thought she heard the woman considering whether or not to kill him; it almost sounded as if they might kill him after all. Damn. I... failed you, little brother. I'm sorry... and...

I hope their really is a happy place in the sky, just for you.