I catch a glimpse of the space station here and there. It moves by in a blur. I'm trying to stay conscious by following the pipe above me. The tiles behind it smear together, but the vague line of it gives me focus. I'm only seeing through my right eye; the blood in my left's caked it shut, and I taste it now.
I'm further along than I thought. As I'm being wheeled through a darkened service tunnel, I realize I'm probably opposite of the residences, where I started.
In my mind, my parents still stand beside me. As I'm being handcuffed to a table with wheels, they're in the foyer talking with some official in an elegant white uniform. I'm whispering, or yelling, but they don't look my way.
I think I catch a glimpse of the same woman beside me, though she's not the one pulling the table along. The pipe's now replaced by blinding white lights. Trying to reach my chest with my left arm, I realize the skin of my forearm has been peeled back by something sharp; the arm's definitely broken. I begin to move my other arm; it's held down tightly, barely able to shift. With my right fingers stretched, I can feel the familiar warmth of Arc lying on my leg.
Images flicker by of the hospital, of doctors prodding me, explaining "how special she is". They gave me a dog, a big one that could've been for hunting in some other era . They gave me parents, too, and schooling, but couldn't promise much for safety. From the beatings after school to home, the constant harassment, Arc is all I have to hold onto. I'm resting my head for the night, when a hand grabs my ankle and drags me from bed, letting my head slam against the ground, splitting it above the eye.
We miss the Bridge completely, and I'm placed before one of the ejection pods. I hear Arc cry out as he's dragged off me, and hear the clash of handcuffs across metal as they free me from the table. By the good arm, I'm pulled into the chamber, and yell out from the sharp pains in my left. I'm belted to a chair.
Arc is violently thrown at my feet and lies unfastened and unconscious on the floor. After, the door slams shut and a moment of loud hissing ensues. The pod jolts and I faint the moment I feel the belt's pull.
In a haze, beneath silent panic and dried blood, the stars shift rapidly as the vehicle spins out of control. Arc lies on the ground, motionless. In minutes, the pod will plummet to the surface, and he must be tied in before then. With the last of my energy, I reach out to his collar and think I drag him into my harness. It all fades to black.
There's this low hum and beeping, signifying the last moments before the pod is forced to let in the toxic air of Earth, or we face suffocation. Arc is safely inside my arms; breathing.
Several moments later, after the end of all the noise, the door is pried open using the system's hydraulics. The entire vehicle tilts back, as all debris is removed before the door, and the entrance to my new world allows light to pour in.
I shake Arc to consciousness, and after his daze clears, he quickly becomes the first to peer outside. Using my one good arm, I pull myself along and stumble out onto the faded dirt. Around me are the remains of a massive city.
After several minutes of wandering, we come across a rust-coloured stream of water. It's running out of a nearby plaza surrounded by ruined towers, and trickling down a set of stairs. There in the plaze, we found dead trees for wood, a cleanable steel basin from a water fountain, some sharp metal scraps.
That night, we laid by a large fire with the cleanest water we could get. The stars appear in short bursts as the clouds in the sky clear, then it darkens again. Arc sits upright and gazes into the distance, and as I join, I see a thousand stars ignite. Fires in the the windows of the Capital, some closer than others, some in the plaza. Panic heightens as inhuman growls echo throughout the wasteland. I partially extinguish the fire with the last of the water, then we run.
The light of the morning sun begins to give the sky a fiery glow. I'm past the point of exhaustion, but I continue to run with Arc in my arms. We're fastest this way.
The howls have died off in the distance, maybe ten minutes ago, and I wonder if we're safe. Quickly, I veer off into an alley darkened by the remains of two crumbling buildings. Pieces of stone are strewn about with a narrow hole large enough for the both of us to fit in.
I try to kill off my panting, counting down to the moment I think I heard the howls cease, calming myself by petting Arc. All is quiet, and soon I fell asleep.
It's mid day, and the sun burns above, scolding a part of my face exposed between cracks. My arm reached for Arc, and scratches the floor where he should have been.
I pull at the stone and drag myself to a crouch, looking out into the alley. There's dead silence out there; I hear my heart beating. I run back into heart of the city, yelling his name, but hear only the echoes of my voice, my steps.
Within the plaza, I see it's undergone frightening change. Stakes of all sizes are strewn about, some long enough to lean from the ground to the nearby buildings, interlacing like the web of a spider. Some are untouched; ageless dead trees dragged by a hundred monsters, or a giant. Above where we camped, Arc is held in the air by several pieces of wood, piercing his skin, letting it hold him suspended. His blood slowly drips into the stream below; I still hear him whimper.
I've been running from the plaza with Arc in my arms, away from the heart of the city. Before me, a great hill is placed within the city, above all the largest of the ruins. At its peak is a hospital, towering above the remains.
Arc's destroyed body is placed upon a table that's less dusty than the rest. Dozens of wounds are sealed, more appear every minute. Pulling at his skin to stitch, with so little experience, opens more that were sealed by blood or myself. I finish, and glance at this craftsmansship; a product of cruel torture and shaken hands. Shaved fur and blood covers everything, and though I want to clean him, I prepare for the night.
The doors are each strongly barricaded with numerous beds and desks, and I hear their screams throughout the night, robbing me of sleep. By the morning, my arm is fixed, in a position that nearly looks right, and venture back into the streets.
The stakes that wounded Arc make an excellent defence, and line my newfound fortress. At the break of day, I glide down a makeshift rope of hospital towls onto the concrete below. The stroll through the lot offers a view of several piles of mangled bodies silhouetted in the morning light. At my feet, hisses sound out and creep towards me, but I don't give them any glances; I've done enough to stop them.
My walks in the city grow longer every day as the buildings empty in my wake. Intricate glassware, electronics, any scraps; the dusty industries of the old world open before me. Everyday, I hope for Arc to join me once again.
The corridors and the rooms of the hospital flood with metal, and soon it spills out onto the stone hill. There's no longer need for the pikes that line my home, as they're shadowed by iron walls, deserving of my empire.
Smoke billows out of the uncountable workshops embedded within the wall, and in the night, "they" are drawn to the flames; I welcome them. My idea of trenches has long been left behind; I let them climb upon the walls. Those that fall in, crawl to my doors, are met with a smile and death, as I revel in how they once toyed with me, and put Arc behind the walls.
Soon, the stars fade forever under plumes of black smoke. I used to wonder if they tried watching me from beyond the toxic cloud, seeing whether I lived or died. They'll be sending more now, to further test the waters. I'll have to welcome them; deal with them.
There are mobs within the walls now, just outside on the doormat. They've given up on their escape back into their pits, their ancient stores and offices. Near the base of the hill, they've grown into writhing piles, burning in the sunlight huddled against the wall.
The great doors of the hospital slide open in automation, squealing in the din. In the distance, the hundreds of creatures rise like a tide. As I step out into the light, one I assume to have gained some kind of leadership, stumbles forward.
A brutal metal club rises into the air as a warcry is let out, and it charges towards me. Its cry falls short as I halt it in its run, few feet before its target. At the motion of my hand, an unseen force takes control of its entire being; I relish that growing look on its face, that it knows I don't die here. A flick hurls it aside to a pile of corpses and scrap.
Silence is everywhere, and the wind dies at the conclusion of the leader's life. Their gaze remains on me, and continue their howls, as my hand presses a button on my left wrist. A great cacophony begins behind me in the darkened entryway, as thousands of metal pieces shift exactly in the way I willed them to; the mechanical beast awakens for the first time. It releases a deafening roar that rattles the Earth, a sound akin to a million machines mimiking what I'd imagine an ancient hunter would make, as it meets its prey.
"Go get 'em, boy."
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