In the aftermath of the final world war, a massive thing that sapped resources and life itself, the survivors fight just to get through each day.
Watched over by the superiors, who control resources and weapons, humanity is dwindling, and society has no hope of returning to the life it once knew twenty-five years ago.
Life is about no one but oneself and surviving.
Friends and family no longer matter.
Do they?

***

Tyler was fumbling with the bracelet for what Lily thought to be the hundredth time since they settled. He hated that bracelet, a jointed metal thing imprinted with his name and age, and a series of numbers. Lily knew he would always regret his decision to accept the job proposal from the superiors, so she didn’t bring it up. She stood, looking out the window nearby. Their new dwelling, an old house in what used to be a suburb outside the city they had come to several days before, seemed to have been empty since the final world war destroyed everything. It had been twenty-five years, and Tyler was five years old when it started. Lily herself was only just born, and had no recollection of the events that sent the world to Hell. Tyler’s memory was fuzzy, but recalled a time where the sky was not filled with fog and gray clouds, and cars were abundant rather than owned by the privileged. Food and water were always at hand, and one could sleep without fear of being killed by a cannibal or rabid dog, or a desperate scavenger looking for a bite to eat.

Tyler glanced up, squinting at his sister through the yellowish glow of the sun trying to break out of the wall that blanketed the sky. It was hard to tell what time it was from the position of the sun, as it was unknown where the sun was, directly. Lily studied the street, where rubble was gathered in piles, puddles from recent storms halted in overflowing gutters. The city was overhanging, as though a huge, dark gray monster looming in the mist. Vehicles lined the street as well, gutted of any important material and useless for no more than a quick shield from raiders. Lily sat on her knees, pulling her blanket close to her and setting it under her. “We can’t go around.” She said.

Tyler sighed. “I’d like to.” He said. “I don’t want to risk running into the guys again. I can’t hide the tracker in the bracelet, Lily, and I don’t want you getting targeted because you’re with me.” He looked back at the twisted metal on his right wrist. “Thinking about it, what would happen to you? I would be the reason you got caught.”

“I can handle myself.” Lily stood. She smelled something on the air, but realized it was from the pot they had set on burning magazines to heat the contents of the pot. It had come from Tyler’s backpack, an unlabeled can that looked to be vegetable soup. Picking up one of the metal spoons by the pot, she stirred it. “Hey, bro, it’s ready.” She said. “C’mon.”

“I’m not hungry.” Tyler muttered, reaching into his backpack. He extracted his blanket and smoothed it on the floor in a corner, sitting down with his back against the wall.

Lily scooped up a spoonful of orange and light yellow chunks she could only hope were carrots and potatoes. Taking a bite, she spoke through the mouthful: “Tyler, you gotta eat.”

“I don’t want to.” He spoke with finality, and turned his back to her. Lily shook her head in exasperation, and ate the entire small can. Patting out the flame underneath the pot, she returned to her blanket under the window and rested her chin on the sill, staring at the street outside. It was getting dark.

Dark reddish brown dust coated the air all around the muscle car. The small city they had wondered was... lifeless, like something out of an old wild west movie. It gave Andreanna Juliet the creeps really, but it was the two friends's only haven for the night.

Sighing in exhaustion, the brunette pulled over her 1968 Camaro. It was a bit worn, such a shame too, since the end of the war. Then again, she was lucky to even have it. Most cars were only used and owned by superiors, not by measly survivors avoiding them. The midnight blue Camaro had been her ex-Marine father's pride and joy, having owned it since he was a teen.

Andreanna was a young twenty eight now, having only vague memories of the war that had drawn to a close so many years ago. Her light blue eyes scanned the abandoned roads in front of her, looking for any signs of life. She hoped they would find none, not wanting a deadly run in with a carnivorous beast or a raider for that matter. Glancing in the rear view mirror to see her childhood friend sleeping, the brunette reached back a long, tanned arm and punched him in the stomach.

"Get up, I found somewhere, no thanks to you," she said in annoyance, angered that he had slept this whole time and not taken over the driving halfway through like he had promised. They had had to stick to back roads, where one would expect to find inbred red necks. Steering with one hand, Andreanna pulled off behind a cluster of old houses, disguising the car behind trees and bushes. Idle fingers played with a heart shaped locket around her neck, turning in her seat to stare at Liam Demetri.

"Hmph," the blonde haired male uttered groggily as he slowly sat up. Sleep filled, light green eyes glanced out the windows of the car, seeing only trees and trees and more trees. His blonde hair contrasted with his surfer, tanned skin. Rubbing his stomach where he had been punched, he crawled over into the front passenger seat.

"Hey! No crawling! You scratch the interior and I'll kill you," Andreanna barked with a scowl at Liam, watching him grin at her. "Calm down, Nugget," he teased, using her childhood nickname, as he gave the top of her head a light noogie. Pulling out of it, the brunette allowed herself a small smile.

"C'mon, we need to get inside," she said with a roll of her eyes, opening the door and climbing out carefully. Gently easing it shut, she strode to the back and popped the trunk, pulling out a large black duffel bag. Liam slammed the door, jumping at how loud the noise was. The sudden bang was followed by a scowl from Andreanna as she handed him an identical bag, closing and locking the trunk.

It only took a short walk for the two companions to reach a dusty, old two story house. Looking at it, Andreanna could nearly see the family that had lived there, living happily with little worries. Frowning, the twenty eight year old rubbed her her arms as a shiver passed over her. She stood a lengthy, but not lanky, five foot nine, with never ending legs and long, chocolate bown wavy locks of hair that fell to her butt. Tan skin, large soft pink lips, and baby blue eyes finished her striking features. However, one had to be careful not to be fooled by her beauty; she was a firecracker, bad to the bone and tough as nails.

A small bump hit the inside of her stomach, making the female cringe. The tiny movement brought back memories of that night... but she didn't want to think about that right now. Rubbing her stomach, covered by a tank top and loose, off the shoulder, gray crop top with vintage images and writing adorning, it Andreanna looked at the windows of the other houses.

For a brief second, in the flash of an instance, she thought she saw movement in one of the windows of the house a door down from where she was standing in front of. Blinking, she looked for the face she thought she had seen, but it was no longer there. Paranoia, she thought and shook her head.

Stepping in to the old house, leather boots crunching the leaves under her as she strode across the lawn, Andreanna rubbed her hands on the side of her black jeans, taking in the lost house.

"Not too shabby, I mean, minus the dust and sad feeling," Liam stated, stepping up behind Andreanna and closing the front door behind them. It was decorated with modern pieces, covered in dust and with an empty, hollow feel to it. The 6 foot 2, twenty nine year old male scanned the room, pushing up a couch against the front door. He shrugged at his best friend's raised eyebrow. "Can never be too safe," he remarked nonchalantly as he dusted his hands off on his plain gray tee shirt.

Sighing in satisfaction at the now blocked off doorway, the blonde took another look at the house, sadness in his eyes. His mom would have liked it, it was nicely furnished and had a modern but old vibe to it. His mom, poor thing. Killed after his house was ransacked by raiders. His dad wasn't heard from ever again as he left to fight in the last world war, the same as Andreanna's dad.

She had found a cracked, dusty mirror in the upstairs bedroom. Neither of them could sleep after a few hours, and after contemplating by the light of a small fire, they decided to move on. Lily watched her reflection in the glow of her candle sitting on the dresser, rearranging her leather vest. Her face was softly rounded, her deep blue eyes large and glimmering in the leaping flame of the candle. Turning her arms in different directions, she noticed a hole in her mesh undershirt and cursed softly. It had been preserved since she had found it nearly perfect in an old store. With a roll of the eyes, she pulled on her leather skirt and clicked her belt into place, holstering her pistols and lacing her high leather boots. With ragged strings of cloth she separated her hair and tied it back into its usual pigtails, nodding and backing away. As good as it’ll ever be, she thought, and blew out the candle. Feeling her way through the dark and empty room, she started back downstairs.

Tyler looked at himself in the reflection cast on the window from the oil-fueled lamp on the floor behind him. His haggard appearance was something he had grown used to, but he still hated. With a tired sigh, he swept his uneven, long hair back and knotted a rubber band around it, returning to his backpack in the corner of the room and digging out his old, faded leather jacket. Pulling it over his sleeveless shirt, he sat and gathered up his blanket and folded it, stuffing it into his backpack. Lily returned, emerging from the dark doorway across the room, and grabbed her backpack. “I still think we should go around the city.” Tyler said as soon as she appeared. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Lily. You’re the only one I’ve got left.”

“Hey, you’re the only one I’ve got.” Lily smiled and shouldered her bag. “We’re in the same boat here.”

“But you weren’t part of the superiors’ works. You weren’t a part of them. You didn’t leave them high and dry with a trail leading right to you. I’m putting you in more danger than ever.” He stood with his bag, towering over his sister who was already about six feet tall with her boots.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” Lily assured her brother. He looked around, as though searching for something. “What!?”

“Well usually when someone says that, something bursts through the window and drags them away and it’s up to the others to go save them.”

Lily punched him in the arm. Though her frame was thin and frail on the outside, her bones seemed to be made of steel, and her strike knocked him back several paces. “That’s real funny.” She said sarcastically. “C’mon, we gotta get going.”

Tyler smiled, a rare thing for Lily to see, and followed his sister out of the house. There was no door to the front entrance, and when they got outside, Tyler looked up. No moon shone on the scene, but the sky seemed to glow with an otherworldly light, something silvery and blue, the only time it seemed pure. Really, Tyler knew, the glow was from the moonlight bouncing off radiation that had collected water. The radiation was weak enough to leave no lasting effects on anyone who were to live a hundred years in the post-war world, but most were lucky enough to live past thirty, or to even survive the first week of birth.

Lily bumped him with her shoulder. “Come on, Ty.” She said, and took the lead again. “Gotta get to the city. Not a long walk.”

Tyler nodded, but Lily could not see. As he followed his sister, he could not help but go back to when he watched his father go off to fight in the war. A strong man, well-built, but the image of him was blurred in Tyler’s mind. He remembered he would have gone with him, off to fight, but his mother had scolded him. She held Lily, a year old then, her black hair in a single knot at the top of her head, holding onto their mother’s neck. The helicopters were not near enough to hurt sensitive ears, but enough to kick up dust and wind and carry it to the fence where grieving families watched their loved ones go to certain death.

He watched his mother die by scavengers raiding their house for food. Lily had been out that day, looking for any valuables in the wasteland around their house. Tyler had always felt he had been the cause of it. He sighed aloud.

“Hey.” Lily stepped back to fall into Tyler’s pace. “Stop thinking about the past.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes you are, don’t lie.” She nudged him. “Hey, it’s almost your birthday you know. I saw a calendar in that old house. It’s in two days.”

“You don’t have to bring that up, you know. I already know I’m getting old.”

“No, you’re not!” Lily put her arm around his shoulders playfully. “You’ll only be thirty-one.” She smiled. “Don’t worry Ty. If you die tomorrow you won’t get any older!”

Tyler let a chuckle escape him. Neither of them had any idea why joking about death and pain made them laugh, but it did. Their morbid sense of humor kept them sane, and that was enough for them.

"We have to get back out to check the city and other houses," Andreanna sighed in annoyance, waving an arm to the couch blocking the doorway. She knew Liam was just trying to help, but he got a bit ahead of himself sometimes.

Liam gave Andreanna a dumbfounded expression, letting out a frustrated noise. "You coulda told me!" He said in a whiny, kid like voice. The brunette across from him felt a grin spreading across her face, laughing at his childlike comment and dumb expression. Little things like that made her laugh, and Liam was greatful she was still able to smile once in a while. A lot lately, she had become more closed off, and it seemed to have happened overnight.

"I saw a side door coming in, let's go," the model-like brunette stated, a small, warm smile still lighting up her striking features. She slung the duffel bag back over her shoulder, knowing they needed to fill up on supplies and get as much as they could.

At first, the door stuck in its place, having not been opened for probably the last twenty five years or so. It took some work, and the straining of Andreanna's toned muscles before it popped open. "Are we taking the car?" Liam asked, already knowing the answer. "Course not. It's not a long walk, and you need the exercise. Getting a little tubby there," Andreanna joked. Actually, Liam was far from tubby. He was all muscle, due to physical labor like fighting man eating mutants and harsh raiders. It was more for his sake than Andreanna's, he had learned as a kid that she could fend for herself.

Reaching a hand to her back, Andreanna drew out a pistol which had been tucked between her jeans and the small of her back, hidden underneath her shirt. The cold metal felt familiar in her left hand, and she checked to make sure it was loaded. She had scored it off of a raided gun store, one of the few gones the other scavengers had missed. It wasn't huge, not being a rifle or shot gun, but it got the job done. She had learned from experience.

Stepping into the darkening night, Andreanna scanned the perimeter of the house. She didn't see anyone, but it was hard to see already. Luckily for her, her eyes had trained to darkness, and little to nothing could sneak past her. Her boots thumped lightly on the ground, the sound reassuring to Andreanna. Tossing her long, wavy hair over her shoulder, she kneeled down and creeped behind the bushes between the house she was at and the one next to it.

Following close behind, Liam closed the door tightly, dark jeans almost catching in the door frame. Kneeling down behind Andreanna, he grinned as he came up with an idea. At a volume just so he and Andreanna could hear, he began humming the mission impossible theme. His dad had hummed it to him as a kid, before he set off for the war. Sure, Liam was only four at the end of the war, but he still vividly remembered.

Suddenly halting to a stop, Liam almost crashed into Andreanna. Trying to glare at him, she turned her head to him and put a finger over her lips. Her efforts to not smile were futile and she grinned, laughing quietly and gently smacking his chest. She knew it was important to be quiet, she had learned to expect the unexpected and always be careful, and soon the playfulness was gone from her eyes.

At the end of the bushes, Andreanna darted across the street, where there were more shadows lining the sidewalk. The street lamps had since busted long ago, creating a fortitude of darkness across the walkway. Standing straight, the young girl stretched, again feeling a twinge in her stomach. Liam caught up, noting the uncomfortableness playing across Andreanna's face. "Hungry? Me too," he said, and began to set off in the direction of the city.

Andreanna nodded her head, knowing she wasn't just hungry or fatigued. Sighing as Liam paid no notice to the lie, she kept her hands on her gun and walked behind her best friend, eying each house suspiciously.

((Sorry it's not as long.))