The sun was rising over what used to be known as New York City. Well in a way it still was known as New York City, but there wasn't much about it that was similar to what people thought of as New York City. The rising pillars of grey were in disrepair, and they were covered in something rarely seen in the city. There was green growing from inside of the buildings. The streets were in the same vein, no longer were they just long stretches of asphalt filled to the brim with bustling cars, now the grass had sprung up from beneath them and flowers had sprouted out around the abandoned cars that littered the streets. This wasn't all a good thing though, feral beings roamed this landscape, a place where they once didn't belong, now they roamed free to eat whatever, or whomever, they wanted.

---

The Wolf took a bite out of an apple, it was a bit past ripe and wasn't exactly the healthiest thing for him to be eating, but whatever he could get his hands on was good enough for him. He opened his mouth to speak, not something that was uncommon for him to do. "You want any?" He said, holding it out towards his travelling companion.

The Seer shook his head, he was preoccupied by other things. It had been quite a while since they had run into the Children of God and it was starting to make him antsy. Usually this kind of thing wouldn't bother him but at this point it had been eerily quiet for the two travellers. By his estimate, they hadn't seen a real human being in over a week and even when they did see someone they weren't what anyone would have classified as being friendly, which made The Seer wonder as to whether or not the next person they meet would try befriend them or shove a knife in their chest.

"Suit yourself." The Wolf said with a shrug, he was done with his food anyway, it wasn't sitting in his stomach right. "Batter up!" He yelled, before throwing the half eaten apple into the air and hitting it with his aluminium baseball bat. Most of the somewhat rotten apple just fell helplessly to the ground below the bat, whilst a bit more was just stuck to the bat itself. "Aw, c'mon." The Wolf said in disappointment as he scraped the bits of apple off with his shoe. He ran his fingers through his hair and realized that he really didn't know where the two were headed towards. "Hey Seer, where are we going exactly?"

In a voice that was deeper than hell itself The Seer said simply "Central Park." His voice sounded unnatural for him to most others, it was incredibly deep which may have been part of why The Wolf took him so seriously. The Seer felt that going to Central Park would probably be the best way to find others who may want to help join his cause. In the days following the Apostate, many people flocked there. It was a central hub for a while before people realized that there was no sign of any form of "rescue" from what had happened. People were still there though, living with the greenery that was even more overgrown than it was in the city.

The Wolf didn't seem to protest, he held a deep seeded trust in The Seer, he just nodded and continued following with him, humming nonsense to himself.

Rain sat on a bench in a park. She wore black jeans with a black AC/DC shirt. And fingerless black gloves covered her hands. And black converse all stars were on her small feet. Rain had her backpack and leather jacket resting beside her. Her bow and arrows laying on top of them.

Rain was twirling a rose in her hands which she'd picked from the ground on her way here. She watched it carefully being mindful of the sharp thorns.

Rain was contemplating her newest invention. It was arrows that after being released and met a target would come straight back to the quiver. Genius! Absolutely genius!

She had all her things in her whole base of operations. Which was basically an abandoned house which she modified with security systems and had been replaced with stronger metal in order to withstand up to 400 pounds give or take a few thrown at it. Like said....genius!!!!!

Rain then thought for a second before placing the rose in her hair. Lovely, she thought with a smile. She then leaned back on the bench in a relaxed pose. Just taking in the beauty of everything.

Rain had been in the woods for as long as she could remember. Only leaving to go to school. She is used to the emptiness of human life and the amount of animals around. So, this whole thing didn't bother her.

She had plenty of animal friends but barely any human friends. The only thing they really offered her way money which she used to buy materials she needed to make her inventions. That's also why Rain is here. New York was the main place she got all her materials from. So, as soon as she got here she went straight to the factory and looted everything.

That was fun.

Rain then made herself comfortable before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Just taking in the sounds of nature. Though, not falling asleep. Yet.

Rachael walked out of an apartment's front door, the light wooden door creaked and moaned as she pushed out of it. The wooden door had ominously slammed behind here due to the crosswinds the flowed through the house front the back door. Rachael looked up and down the god-forsaken street while she ate handfuls of a new cereal she had just looted. Rachael could tell this cereal was supposed to be for old people, the flaky looks and the plain flavors only proved her point even more. She took a few bites of the cereal having the stale flakes slowly squish between her teeth, it was no longer crunchy and no longer had any flavoring on it, it was just dry and extremely chewy. "Eat up rico, you never know when you're going to find another treasure like this." Rachael remarked as she dropped a few flakes into the small box that her pet mouse was laying in. "Rico, we all know how you get when you don't eat." Rachael had swung her arms across the area, as if gesturing to the crowed of people there. But there wasn't a crowed, there was no one in sight for miles."You get cranky, and nobody on earth likes when you're cranky. Rico... If you don't eat, you don't grow. If you don't grow, you don't get stronger. If you don't get stronger you can't defend yourself.... and...If you can't defend yourself..." Rachael stopped, her mind instantly raced to the time of the apostate.

No matter how many years pass, her mind always seems to get dragged back to that moment. A tear started to grow in her eye, and the sniffles followed shortly after. Because of the bond Rachael and Rico had, Rico already knew she was getting upset. Rico scaled her body and onto her shoudler, sniffing her face and pawing at it. Rachael cracked a smile,"You always know what to say Rico, always." She said as she raised a small handful of chewy cereal up to him. He eat without hesitation this time.

Rachael looked up from her box of cereal, trying to scan the area a little better than last time. She could see and abnormal amount of green growing just down the road."Must be a jungle or something, or a forest...Rico it's obviously not a forest, we're in the heart of the big apple." A light bulb turned on above her head when the idea came to her."It's Central Park!!!" She shouted out to the world. unaware, and uncaring of whom ever might have heard. She started to jog towards the jungle looking area with haste. Rico bouncing up and down as every step felt like and earthquake to him, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle though. She made it to the outskirts of the park, or at least what she thought was the outskirts. She was already embedded within the daring jungle, but she was also on the street. She stopped and listened to the forest, waiting to hear something...anything. She didn't, this gave her a sense of false security. She marched on, walking over and under vines, bobbing between trees. No destination just walking into Central Park.

Brooklyn, New York
The Apostate, morning

“Good Morning New York and welcome to a lovely summer’s day here in the greatest city on earth! We got some classics comin’ right up for-”the DJ jockey’s voice was cut short by the sound of Darren hitting the snooze button on the top of his alarm clock. He groaned and sluggishly moved onto his back. He rubbed his eyes and groaned like a bear in hibernation. It was just another day. He pushed himself to get up and get ready for the day. 10 years ago he would have slept till afternoon like some drunk but he had now been gifted with responsibility and her name is Sophie. Darren jumped in and out of the shower quickly, frantically placed his boilersuit on and adjusted his cap. He looked into a mirror and felt quite strange. He had felt odd looking at himself in the mirror ever since Sophie. He would never have pictured himself making an honest living. He always thought that he would have spent half his life in prison but instead, his life took a turn for the better. She makes him happy. Truly happy.

He walked joyously into his 6 year old daughter’s room and sees his ray of sunshine right in front of him. There she was, sleeping peacefully like a little lion club. Holding onto her pink giraffe and surrounded by a variety of other plush wildlife. It seemed to be a shame to wake her up. While sleeping, she picked her nose sweetly unaware that her father saw her. He just chuckled at the sight. It was cute. Without further adieu, he proceeded to walk up to her and shake her gently on the shoulder. “Wakey, wakey sweetheart.” She turned on her back to see her father gently shaking her shoulder. She gave a groan and weakly tried to move. “Daddy…I don’t feel well.” Darren’s face switched into a worrying look. He touched her forehead to check her temperature. She was burning up; it was almost ridiculous. “Goodness me, you’re racking up a fever!” She gave a slight nod and started to drift in and out of sleep. Darren walked towards the kitchen with a strong motive and grabbed a cold cloth from the sink. He walked back to his sickly daughter and placed the cloth gently on her head. He then proceeded to say something that he truly meant.

“I will never leave your side.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Manhattan, New York
6-7 years later, present day

Darren wakes up suddenly with a fright, breathing heavily while doing so. He gives a look of grief and sadness as he comes to terms where he was again. He was back in hell but it was not as red and hot as described in the tales of old. It was green, cold and nostalgic. He places his head back onto to the soft, green bush that was resting against a creaky old computer desk. The room around was once the living embodiment of a lively organism bustling with life but now, it’s a lifeless husk. He looks upon at the damp, moss-infested ceiling. The floor belonged to some office firm years ago and now the whole floor was claimed by the new land-lady called Mother Nature. If someone years ago told him that eventually he would be living in an abandoned office building, he might have believed it. His criminal record could have almost predicted it but he still can’t believe.

He stands back up and walks towards the massive hole in the wall that reveals the eerie view of Central Park. It was now a forest, brimming with wildlife, nature and death. The view from the 20th floor also showed the other buildings too. They were abandoned by man and left for Mother Nature to creep up the building with her hand of branches hugging them. He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small bottle of whisky from his jacket pocket. He pulls the cap off and proceeded to take a big of gulp of ‘forget-juice’. It was the only cure in this broken world and it was all he had. The food, water and guns may be in short supply but the alcohol still persists. He reaches into his backpack for some breakfast but all he found was a slightly dirty red apple. He rubs the apple of his jacket and continued to take a bite out of it. If this was his only food, then he’ll have to go to gathering for food down in the woodland area known as Central Park. He picked up his backpack and fire-axe and proceeded to walk through the ruins of the office floor towards the large stairwell. His plan was to collect some fruit and maybe catch a rabbit and start heading towards a different place to camp-out. Never sleep in the same place twice. This was a rule to remember in this god-forsaken land because one way or another, the Children of God will eventually find you.

He walks out onto the street in front of him and was welcomed with the sight of a road filled with patches of grey asphalt and green weeds. It was a battle between civilization and nature on the road and so far nature was winning. Upon this road were rusty shells of cars that had died out years ago. They were un-driveable and almost unsalvageable. All that was left was the rust slowly eating away at the cars like flies to a carcass. The major sight that took his eyes was the mass forest in front of him that used to be home to your average dog walker and jogger but now it looks like something that rich men use for building hunting cabins. Nevertheless, it wasn’t the first time he had trekked this infamous “park” and it wouldn’t be his last. The only difference between this time and his last time is that the forest always grows a little taller each time. Eventually it’ll be so tall that light will never be able to penetrate the forest floor. He sighs and starts walking through the Central Park entrance. He looks up and sees the sun being partially blocked by the forest branches. The forest has given many fortunes and misfortunes to wanderers in the past. Darren, today, is very pessimistic of his chances.

Marnie hated the zip on that bag. It was old even before the Apostate, and stubborn even before that. But with less than half of her right hand to use, Marnie despised it even more. It wasn't even like she would just find something to replace it. Eventually, it did close, but not before the imprint of the zip was firmly embedded in to her thumb. "Stupid thing," she grumbled under her breath, before heading out of the old apartment block, and in to the street. She needed to head towards the centre of town, that was where Central Park had been, obviously. Now it was just a slightly more green wilderness within the world.

She'd never seen it in real life before. She'd lived in Florida when she first emigrated, and had always lived too far south for a trip to New York to be a reasonable idea. She and Francis had always talked about it, for their honeymoon, for their first anniversary, their fifth anniversary, and then the baby had came, so the money had gone.

It didn't seem like much now. It was just ugly and wild, like everything else. She heard a crackle from the trees around her, and she quickly froze, stuffing her weaker hand in to her back pocket to hide her weakness. She didn't dare make a noise, as the last time she had ignored something like that, it had been one of the Children of God, her companion had died and she'd lost most of her hand. It felt odd thinking of that. Most likely, that was why she didn't.

But she had to focus now, no letting her mind wander. There might be something lingering, watching her. It could be a person, or an animal, or even a Child of God, the damn things. They didn't qualify as humans any more.

Matt took a deep breath, then dashed forward, sliding across the hood of a car and onto the cracked sidewalk that seemed to stretch on forever. The air mask was rubbing against his neck, irritating the skin, but he didn't need it now. He reached up and tugged on it for the hundredth time, trying to loosen the straps, and continued down the street. Even now he was impressed by the amount of damage nature could do in its slowest and most peaceful form. Natural growth had splintered the sidewalk, crippled the buildings, devoured cars and buses and painted everything else in a variety of green tones. The nearest street sign was partially obscured by a thick vine, but he managed to make out most of it. He was almost there.

He sighed. All he could think about was Amie Jane and what had become of her. Much had happened to him since the Apostate, but even with the shock of the event, the punishment that followed and the losses that came with it, he still couldn't shake his best friend from his mind. He hadn't heard a single thing from her. Granted, the power was off, and cell phones were a waste of space, but she still hadn't made contact. Rather than spend the weekend at their shared apartment, just off the University of Albany campus, Amie had decided to visit a long-time friend in Queens. It was a monster of a journey, but scrounging together what resources he could find, including a military satchel, an air mask, several bottles of water, pop-tarts (the only "unexpiring" food he could find), kneepads and a knife (which he had managed to lose two days ago), he had worked his way there, steering clear of Central Park for now, although Amie had mentioned visiting it. If she wasn't at her friend's apartment, he would check there.

Matt's eyes widened as he saw the crest of a tan-and-brown building in the distance. The apartment complex. He was less than a mile away. Double-checking his surroundings, he headed for the building at double pace, being careful to stay on the sidewalk. The olive drab satchel he had salvaged was bouncing lightly against his leg, reminding him that he was dangerously low on food. He would be able to find some at the flat. Hopefully he would find Amie too.

'Cid sat back in his lawn chair, watching the trimmed forest line before him, taking in and noting each small movement of beasts as they passed through it. There were some stains of spilled liquor on his once-black but now somewhere near brown Darkthrone shirt, the bottle of which lay rolling somewhere around him. Somewhere. There was little sound, except for the occasional cries of birds communicating in the trees. He heard a dog or other feral canine howl somewhere in the forest, ominous but fascinatingly alien. Below him, he heard the tiny wheeze of rusted, groaning metal as the open door to his personal bunker of a home lay half-open and shifting uneasily in the wind. He should have probably closed it. From his vantage point atop the small metal building, his view of the few remaining roads and paths through the winding tangle of the Park was fantastic, ensuring he wouldn't be surprised right now as he lay back, catching the breeze and the sun... he closed his eyes.

..and re-opened them, hearing a voice, small but distinctly a person's, somewhere out in the distance. Definitely within the Park. He squinted, as the sun lay in direct alignment with his reddened-eyes. "Fuck." With unsure fingers, he felt around for his pack, almost knocking over the bong sitting next to him, but he was thankfully able to right it quickly enough. His hands finally grasped the bag, and he didn't take his eyes off the jogging paths that ran parallel to his farmstead, which was (hopefully, but proven before) hidden behind a thick tangle of the forest that refused to yield to human travel. He rubbed his eyes with his right hand and carefully slipped his fingers through the trigger-guard of his revolver, making sure it wouldn't go off as he lifted it clear of the bag and dropped it in his lap.

Luckily, it didn't explode. No bullets loaded, of course, he noticed. He turned his head around for a second, grabbed three rounds from a toolbox sitting behind him, & loaded them slowly. He didn't really expect to have to use the gun, but he was sure then that he could use it if he needed to. What an un-chill thought. He laughed inwardly, grunting as he checked the gun again. Again, he let it drop into his lap, as he felt another wave of carelessness pass through him. Anyway, he hoped the creepy warning signs he'd put up nearby would keep any assholes away.

It was relatively quiet while Gin laid on a rather plush area of grass coated concrete. Well, grass with a good mixture of soft vines and weeds. A few flowers had began to bud on parts of the vine that decorated the side of the building, but already she could tell that when they bloomed, they would be so beautiful. Even though they were still weeks away from blooming, the scent the buds gave off was something Gin had started to grow quite fond of. She could not quite place it, but she assumed the smell was a mix between crushed rose petals and a refreshing salty tang, something she couldn't quite formulate into what it actually was... But she liked the smell. It made her calm, it helped her sleep a tiny bit too.

Quickly Gin would roll over onto her side, reaching for her bag, tugging it towards herself. It takes her only a few moments to open one of the side pockets of the bag, reaching in and pulling out a small, flat container. It had no decoration or anything, without any color aside from a few spots of orange rust. A small flick of her thumbs and it pops right open, revealing the insides to have a few band aids and what appears to be single sheets of tiny notepad paper. She grabs one of the bandages, snapping the small case closed and shoving it back into its pocket. With that, she pushes herself up, now sitting cross-legged as she goes about trying to peel the paper away from the band aid. Though, it was apparent just how old this band aid was. The thin paper practically crumbled in her hands, leaving behind the flexible bandage strip.

A few moments pass as she peels back the paper-plastic from the sticky bits of the bandage, dropping the bits into the grass as she carefully aligned the strip to the tip of her index finger on her right hand. While it might have seemed pointless, she had stupidly touched one of the buds before she plopped down on the patch of grass. And as much as she liked the smell of these flowers... she knew better than to touch them. After a while, it would start to burn. But that was probably because she was allergic to it!

Gin shakes her head a bit, letting out a soft sigh as she pushes herself up off of the grass. Standing up caused her pant legs to roll back down, the pant legs several inches too long for her and her tennis shoes. She thought it was a bit sticky, which was a bit weird considering she was in her camouflage tank-top currently. Maybe she was a bit thirsty? Maybe. She needed to find more water, her flask was currently empty.

Carefully Gin reaches down beside her bag, grabbing on firmly to the long, red colored axe she had been carrying around for some time now. It was a bit heavy for herself, but by now, it was like a second arm. She could cut through all sorts of things with it too! Plants, animals, humans... all sorts of things. After being sure she had a firm grip on her weapon of choice, she grabs onto one of the straps of the pack and throws it over her shoulder. She switches the axe in her hands, slipping on the other strap before she starts walking off down the grassy coated street. Central Park wasn't all too far from where she was at, at least she thought. She was never very good with directions, but she had a good feeling this was the right direction!

With that, Gin starts to lightly swing her axe back and forth in her hands, mentally humming a tune to herself. It didn't really bother her, the lack of human companionship, at least not at the moment.

"I wish I could have seen his place before all...this happened. I mean seriously, all those stories about central park and it's incredible atmosphere. The joggers running throughout the day, the picnics that were scattered across the field. This place seemed like the best place for someone like myself. At least, that's what it looked like from pictures I saw..." Rico looked up at Rachael as she rambled on about he great inspiration this place could offer, and how she always dreamed of at least seeing this place for herself. Rachael stopped in the middle of a step, making Rico jerk in his little carrier. "You hear that Rico?" It was nothing. Rachael must have been imagining things from the reaction she got from her pet mouse. She had traveled through the park aimlessly, finally stopping at what once was a pond. The water had trees and weeds rowing out of it, and moss coated the top like a child in a blanket. The pond was no longer considered a pond, but more of a swamp. She sat down at the edge of the "pond" and laid out her jacket to sit on. the water and algae made the ground rather moist. She laid her jacket down, and after, she laid her hoodie on top. She was left with no protection, sitting in the park only in her spaghetti strap that was riddled with hole along the bottom.

She pulled out a stainless steel crowbar and placed it beside her, just in case any wanderers tried picking a fight. The air was very humid his close to the swamp, making her sweat uncomfortably. But it was nice. The air had a slight breeze in it, and the ambient noises made it all the more tranquil. Sometimes she thought she could hear footsteps, but she thought it was her mind playing tricks like earlier. She sat in the park eating and finishing her chewy cereal tossing the box in the gross water. The box didn't drift or move it sat in the same spot her whole time. It must have been the thick layer of algae preventing it from moving.

After a few minutes Rachael decided to check inventory. This was usually a good idea after a good loot. She found multiple cans of food, because the labels had fallen off it was hard to tell what was inside them. She opened one and found a can of spam. She disregarded the taste as she stuffed her face with the slimy meat. She was in bliss. She thought nothing could destroy his moment."Rico, I think we just hit the jackpot." She said with a half full mouth of food."here taste this, I know you'd like it a lot.' She sat in the green grass, as she fed her mouse. Looking out to the swampy pond. She closed her eyes trying to relax. She felt like nothing could touch her, all that existed was gone and the only thing that remained is the sound of the earth.

The Seer and The Wolf made their way into the park. Th Wolf talking just mostly loudly to himself. The park had become somewhat akin to a forest instead of what it once was. Soon it would be almost impossible to see anything in this place. The Wolf smelt something rancid as he walked around. "Fuck!" He said as he held his nose. He thought it smelled familiar, but he didn't want to think about what it actually reminded him of because it was the smell he'd smelled far to much since the Apostate, it was the smell of death.

The Seer pulled the tall grass aside and there laid what was causing the smell. It was a man laying face down in the mud, his uniform familiar and his throat slit with the red fluid sprayed across the ground and the surrounding grass. He had scratch marks all over his face and uniform indicating that it must have been some sort of wild animal, most likely a bear or wolf. The uniform the man wore had a large black patch on the back, printed on it were the words "We are special. We are perfect. We were born in the sight of God. Our suffering bodies will suffer no more. We are children of God" and above them was a cross with a Vietnam-era helmet on top, the same logo was tattooed onto his right forearm. Above that logo on both the jacket and tattoo were the words "Children of God." The body was obviously a couple of days old as someone had already As much as the sight repulsed The Seer, in a way he felt relieved that this man could not kill him and his travelling companion. The Seer leans down and picks up the dog tags that had been ripped off the man's neck. They stated:

1LT Henderson, Erick A.
Shimon Division
A+

This could indicate that there might be something important out here that the Children of God were looking for in order for them to send out such a high ranking member. That or they just thought that it would be a good idea to start clearing out the forest formally known as central park now.

The Wolf prodded the body with his bat. "Good fucking riddance." He said. "Bastard had that shit coming." He said before lightly tapping The Seer's leg with the bat, who was still squatting down, looking at the dog tag. "Let's get the hell away from that. There's a bit of a clearing a ways up there, we could see what's going on." He said before walking towards it. The Seer got up and followed, dropping the dog tag to the ground. They were making there way, unwittingly towards 'Cid's place.

Matt tightened the strap in his satchel, patting it to see if there was still food inside. He felt the outline of at least one pack of pop-tarts and a bottle of water. Hopefully he would be restocking his food supply soon. The apartment complex was directly in front of him now, but, to his dismay, it was a massive building. For a moment he panicked, forgetting the address Amie had mentioned before leaving. He closed his eyes, snarling and rubbing his head, trying desperately to remember the number. It was the first building for sure, but what room? Floor 6, Room 623...no, Floor 2, Room 236. Or was it 263? At least he knew it involved those three digits.

He examined the building, counting the floors. Eight total. He would have to check three of them. Matt groaned in frustration. He was getting worn out. Little rest and food, running mainly on adrenaline and avoiding all human contact. He skirted the entrance and examined the parking lot. It was almost empty and what cars were left were almost invisible from the growth. None of them looked familiar, but he had never actually met her friend.

Just for good measure, he unholstered the revolver, looking over it again. An unloaded weapon, but a weapon nonetheless. It would be a hard bluff in direct light, as anyone could see that the chambers were empty, unlike a semiautomatic handgun which would have had a concealed magazine. He shrugged, spinning the gun in his hand. It was solid but light enough to manage, and a .357 Magnum lacks nothing in power. Assuming he could find ammunition for it. He still didn't know how his father acquired it, but there was no way to know now. Holding it in front of him, he moved quickly across the lot, heading for the main entrance.

The Park was surprisingly quiet and it made the atmosphere very eerie. Usually you’d here people scurrying around but all he heard was nature at this point. He almost felt like he was being watched. Darren knew he needed to stay on his guard; otherwise he could end up having a hole the size of a walnut gaping through his skull. He then cautiously kept his hand on his gun holster just in case. Times like this he wished that he had some sort of fucking rifle but the bastards at the Children of God rounded up most of the heavy weapons during the beginning of ‘The Apostate’. He was lucky to already have his Glock pistol since start. He already owned it before the whole event. However a pistol is not a viable weapon when it comes to hunting or a gunfight with the Children of God. Nevertheless, having some sort of weapon is better than nothing. There are many deadly creatures in this world now. Wolves, bears, cougars roam the ruins of civilization looking for some poor sucker to prey on.

Darren tries to think too much on this thought otherwise he’ll get distracted. He continues walking through woods, stepping over massive roots and scattered leaves. There uses to be a pathway in Central Park to follow but it’s slowly being drowned by the green grass ever since ‘The Apostate’. Ever since then you just make your own path through. The trees are so tall that if it wasn’t for the skyline of New York City, you could get lost forever. In the middle of his train of thought, he heard the slight snapping of a twig. Darren looks around with vigilance. As far as his eyes could tell there was no one around him but the woods hold many blind spots for attackers both animal and human. He takes his fire axe off his back-holster and carries it with his right hand. All of a sudden, he has this odd eerie feeling that he was being watched by some sort of predator. It feels like death is trying to set his sight on his soul. Darren wants death come.

Some of the twig snapping started to mutate into slightly louder noises. A human would have shot him by now so this must be creature but what could it be? A wolf? A bear? A cougar? A lion possibly? He needs to take it out before it kills him. He lets the fire axe hang limply from his hand as he scrapes it slowly at some nearby rocks. He wants the creature to show himself. Most animals have better hearing than humans, so the sound of metal scraping rocks would encourage it to show itself to get rid of whoever is making the sound. Darren can feel the danger lurking by the trees. It’s watchful eyes peering almost into his soul. He continued to scrape the axe, the unbearable noise is quite ear-piercing, not many creatures have a high resistant to it. He felt like the wind had stopped and that the world around him has frozen just for this moment.

Within a quick instant he turns around swings the axe in the air. It was like the moments before a car crash where time feels like it has stopped for only a few seconds and you are stuck in a freeze frame looking at death. It came in the shape of a grey wolf, its sharpened teeth are like daggers in the night and it’s eyes give the soul a grimly chill as you look into them. Its fur was grey but a dark grey, dark as night it is and this gives almost a representation to the wolf’s own soul. This few second freeze frame shows a lone wolf jumping in the air at Darren, with Darren swing his axe towards its necking before it pounces him. This symbolism of this makes it feel like Red Riding Hood. Darren, the Woodsman against the Big Bad Wolf. It’s a shame that there’s no Red Riding Hood here to save.

As time proceeded the axe brutally became stuck into the neck of the wolf and the force of the swing brought the wolf down to Darren’s side. The blow instantly killed the beast. Blood splattered over Darren but he wasn’t some pussy that would freak out over it. Those people died long ago. He wiped the blood off his face and jacket and placed his hand on the axe that was stuck in the wolf. It was shoved pretty deep and it took some strong pulls to rip it out. Doing so caused more blood to stream out the dead animal. He then went down onto his knees and took a small knife out from one of his pockets. He stuck it in pretty deep into its stomach and rigidly and with force cut its stomach open. It was a disgusting and brutal process but predatory animals these days have known to accidentally ingest important survival items when they attack humans. The stomach was finally pried open ad blood and guts just fell out of it like something out an old horror movie. The stomach contents were mostly animal parts but there was compass, which he proceeded to take, and a badge that represented the Children of God logo.

It seems to be some grunt from the extremist group got himself taken down by Mother Nature. He didn’t care about whoever died. All he is thinking to himself right now is: Are there more wolves in the area and are there any Children of God soldiers scouting the park? Regardless, Darren didn’t dwell on these questions; he continued to cut off some bits off the wolf and placed it in his bag. He finally found some meat; all he had to do was skin it and cook it. He stood up and proceeded to walk away from the dead beast. He just needed to find himself some fruit and get out of this forest. Something tells him that his fortunes awaits him something or someone in these woods. He just hopes he’s wrong.

Marnie backed away from where the noise was coming from, her knife in her good hand while the other was hidden in her back pocket. Step by tiny step, she manoeuvred away. Her breath was trapped in her throat, fear making her as wild as the wolves that roamed. And then there was a noise from the other direction, making her jump and fall awkwardly, her half-hand almost useless in stopping her loud crash to the ground. She had yelped as well, a habit left over from when pain was an inconvenience and not a threat to her life.

Perhaps, just a perhaps and nothing any more hopeful, it was an animal. Something that wouldn't kill her on sight without a second thought. And deep inside, she prayed it wasn't the Children of God. There was no God behind their actions, only hatred and violence. She wouldn't stand a chance. There was a few seconds she didn't breathe, curled on the ground in a heap.

She swore under her breath, but sat there and listened. To hear if there was anything that had heard her fall and more importantly, if they were coming to investigate. This was a problem. The knife was no threat to anyone with a bigger weapon, but it served its purpose to kill animals. She pulled it out from where it was stuck in the ground and sat up, gripping it tightly as she checked around her. The ammunition in her bag was no use without a gun and that had been taken from her long ago. She shouldn't have stayed in New York. It would only kill her in the end.

First, he felt his nose twitch. Slightly. A fog of suspicion crept through his face, tickling his senses all over. 'Cid bent over double, trying to calm down as the feeling of forced awareness of something he didn't even see struck him. Turning around, terribly slow, his eyes wandered over to the garden behind him, watching the grasses shift quietly in the wind. Something else. Nothing else? His hand found the gun again, cradled it. He got up from his seat, still silent, and took a few steps toward the edge of the roof, just six feet or so above the ground, roughly a little above his own height. "Anything else?" he said, quietly, to no one he could see. The gun was loosely dangling from his pale fingers as he kneeled down to peer into the long expanse of growing vegetables and wild grasses. Nothing yet.

And there he was, a man almost seemed to materialize among the edge of the plants, not moving but coming from somewhere within where he'd hidden himself. He was of medium height, very stocky and possessed of an eerie coldness one usually finds in military men or clergymen, possessed of higher purpose. The eyes of a man-killer, inhuman but almost absurdly so human. 'Cid's eyes widened as he and the intruder locked eyes, and then for a moment there was no communication or movement between the two as the man took another step forward, his angry eyes flashing. "Drui-" he began to say, reaching for something in a belt-holster. Cid leapt off the building like a maddened wolf, hands reaching out and legs back, and came to ground just before the man, landing on all fours and scrambling at the man with a feral shout. Interrupted so, the man almost dropped his handgun before bringing it back up...

There was a single shot, which missed and went wild as then Cid was on top of him, swinging his own pistol into the man's face. He swore and let out a strangled cry as it smashed into the side of his temple, stopping his defense immediately as he briefly lost sense of all but a brief overwhelming surge of pain. As they struggled, practically snarling at each other, audible to whoever was approaching, the man grabbed Cid's shoulders briefly before being beat back down with his arms eagle-wide. "You traitor! That He favored you so, ever, disgusts me now! You knew our mission was of justice, bastard!" He spit out the last words, a red-blackened gob smacking against Cid's collar. Another blow, another gasp of pain. More pain. A squeeze. "We all had our own missions to carry out, not all so easy to explain, you bitch." He said, humoring the wounded man. His voice seemed to blacken. The area around his eyes seemed darker, his pale skin and dark hair increasing in contrast as he looked down into the man's face and obscured the sun. Only trees around. "Enough of this, fucking die already." The man started to twist again, Cid reached with his right hand behind him to pull out his utility knife, raised it above his head and slammed it down into the man's eye. He screamed, horribly, and kept at it for about a second more before Cid got off of him and finished him off with a bullet in his chest. The man continued to stare in his direction, his gaze unfocused... There was no noise after the finality of the single shot he fired.

Grunting, as his visage returned to normal, emotionless and tired, Cid turned the man onto his side and then over. Visible on the back of his army jacket was a patch that he himself had carried before, a black spot inscribed in clean white letters. "We are special. We are perfect. We were born in the sight of God. Our suffering bodies will suffer no more. We are children of God" Disgusted at the sight, he bent over and pulled his knife out of the man's eye, only taking a moment to examine the man's rough features before turning back over face-down in the muck. He looked back at the words, remembering every time those words had been thrown at him by one of the Children's many grunts. Like they even fucking understood, he mused bitterly. He held the knife with both hands, and slashed across the writing, soiling them with blood.

He stood over the body now, looking down at it. With a hand whose long fingers were still dipped in mild blood, he withdrew a thin cigarette from his jacket pocket and lit it, feeling a shiver pass him again as he felt some feeling overtake him. What angel was coming down the path, visiting the green earth, and took away the flowers?

Matt hiked up the stairs, panting quietly. The second floor was a dud. Empty rooms and no signs of Amie, or any life at all. He headed down the hallway on Floor 3, looking for 326 or 362. He hoped it would be the former. Reading the titles on the doors, he moved swiftly down the corridor. 20...22...24...26. He knocked heavily on the door. "Amie?" he called, waiting for a response and receiving nothing.

"Amie? It's Matt. You there?" he called again. No answer. He silently hoped this was the wrong room, as he'd rather climb to Floor 6 and see Amie unharmed than find out she was...no, shut up. Amie was tough. He checked the knob and discovered that the door was locked. He knocked once more, then flipped the revolver around, grabbing the barrel and using it as a hammer to smash the doorknob from the door. It cracked, then snapped off and dropped to the floor. Holding the gun at the ready, he shoved the door open with his shoulder and stepped into the room. Two seconds later, the world went black.

--

Matt woke up on the floor, groaning in pain. Something had struck him straight in the back of the head, and, reaching around, he could feel something warm and wet on the edges of his hair. Blood. Had he been attacked? He blinked a few times and realized, to his shock, that someone was standing over him. It looked like a young woman. She was snarling and holding a metal retractable baton an inch from his face. Her hand was shaking, though, so she wasn't actually hostile. Just afraid. He blinked again, finally bringing the world into focus. The first thing he saw was Caucasian skin, straight black hair (shoulder length) and dark pupils. It wasn't Amie.

The second thing he saw was the jacket. A chill went through his body. Dark green with a black patch on the shoulder. She was one of them. The Children of God. On top of that, the magnum was tucked into her belt. "Don't move! I'm not afraid to hit you again!" she growled, swinging the baton in circles around his face. "Give up! I'm a Child of God, see? See??" She grabbed the sleeve of her jacket with her free hand and showed him the patch. "We are special and perfect. We are the Children of God, and...and we...uh..."

She stopped and looked at the patch. Her mouth moved slightly as she tried to form the words to the oath, but no words would come. She grabbed the jacket and pulled it off her arm, trying to read the back where the letters were stitched. Matt saw an opening and kicked hard, aiming for her calf. The girl screamed briefly and dropped to one knee. Matt grabbed the baton and jerked it, and the woman, into his extended foot in a sharp second kick. Her eyes popped as the breath was knocked out of her and she hit the ground hard, landing on her upper back. Seizing the opportunity, he hauled himself to his feet and tossed the baton to his right hand, prodding the girl in the chest with it.

"A Child of God who can't even remember the oath. I didn't know they could get any more pathetic."

The girl gasped, a look of legitimate terror on her face. "WAIT! Wait don't! I'm not a Child of God, okay? I..." She stared at him closely, squinting her eyes slightly as she examined him. "Wait, I know you. I think. You're...OH MY GOSH, MATT?! You're Amie's friend!"

The Noise fluttered through the air, like a whip. It wasn't close to her but she could still make it out to be someone. It didn't matter what kind of noise it was, though, it only matter that there was one. Rachael Grabbed her Crowbar, and put her pet mouse, Rico, back in it's box. She stood up with a violent glare in hey eyes, scanning the area like a battlefield. Her mind went blank for a few seconds as she couldn't tell what was going to happen next. A small voice in her head, barely significant in the slightest, said a single word. Food. She knelt down quicker than she thought, grabbing everything she had recklessly spread across a small area. The tin cans, box of cereal, it all went back into a small bag kept on her side, just next to Rico's cage. Rachael couldn't make out the words to say anything. She was scared. The noise sounded like a wold attacking something, the low pitch growling and the snarling that followed. Nothing could convince her it was anything els. She tightened her grip on her crowbar as she her slow footsteps gradually escalated into a quick jog. She kept looking back at the place she was leaving, she knew she was no good in a fight so if anything was after her she need to know. She went to look forward again, before she was stopped in her track. She fell backwards on the ground, in a daze.

Darren continued to scavenge through the old abandoned vehicle that he was in. It’d been drenched in a rusty coat of orange and it looked like it had not been in use since before all of this began. However, Darren knew that when people are desperate they try to salvage whatever shelter they can find in this forsaken place and sometimes they like to use old vehicles as hideouts for a night or two. They may look abandoned but people sometimes accidentally leave important items in them. They either do this because their trying to get away from something quickly or their forgetful and stupid. Forgetful and stupid are two traits that’ll get you killed. With wild animals, crazy humans and unstable buildings, you can’t afford to be forgetful because things can go from a simple peaceful stroll to a bloody life-threatening kill zone within the blink of an eye.

The vehicle was quiet bare anyway. It seems someone’s misfortune of dropping or forgetting an item will not transform into a salvageable fortune for Darren today. He gives a stressed out sigh and bangs the hood of the vehicle. He still doesn’t even know what the fuck he is still doing in this world. He doesn’t know if his goal of surviving is just instinct or for some higher purpose. It couldn’t have been some sort of higher purpose. He had it before all this. He had the sweetest little girl in the world, with eyes as blue as the clearest sky and cheeks as cute as a sweet Labrador puppy. He had finally managed to redeem himself from his criminal past but the key to living was stolen from him and he can’t do anything. His hands were placed on the hood with his head down in shame of himself. A tear rolls casually down his face. His daughter could be alive somewhere, suffering and he doesn’t even know. He hasn’t even been given the decency of seeing a fucking body!

A shot is fired somewhere in the distance. His head popped back up like a prairie dog, facing the distance it was fired in. Birds flew away quickly, startled by the sound of the shot. Curiosity and instinct got the better of Darren and he started moving quickly in the direction of the noise. There could be a chance of more supplies in that direction or it could be The Children of God. Either way, he had too know, he’ll regret it if he doesn’t find out. Another major rule that Darren sticks by, take a chance now and again, no one lives a long life by playing it safe for too long. In this world now, everything you do is a risk. He kept slowly jogging towards the sound, keeping a safe pace while doing so. He looked behind him to make sure that there was nothing there but as he went too look forward, he is bumped back towards the ground by something felt like a bump. Darren is sat on the ground, almost stunned by whatever he bumped into. He then finally catches his wits and looks forward at whom or what nearly knocked him out.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To his surprise, it was some girl that he bumped into. It was almost embarrassing for Darren because he’s usually so aware of his surroundings. In the many years since ‘The Apostate’ he has not once, accidentally bumped into someone in the middle of the forest. He then proceeded to stand up and adjust himself, making sure his items are still intact. The girl seemed to be still in a daze. She was blonde and looked to be in her 20s. She would have been very young when the whole event began. He just stood there looking at her. He never really cares for other survivors and he chooses not to help them really. Darren placed his other hand firmly on his axe, to get ready to swing it just in case she’s a “Child of God”. If she is one of them, then he can just kill her and take her shit but if not, then he’ll leave her be. He waits for her to reveal whether or not she is just another survivor or a crazy fucking “Child of God”.

The Wolf heard the commotion that was going on and became very quiet, something that was quite different for him, there was yelling, incoherent screaming, a gunshot and then... Nothing. It would be gut-wrenching to the normal person, but at this point The Wolf had seen this enough times that it almost didn't phase him anymore. Yes he was somewhat afraid of the winner of the fight being part of The Children of God but it's not like he had never killed before today, and he doubted today would be his last either. He raised his bat and walked slowly towards the area of the noise.

The Seer was more apprehensive, it wasn't like he had never been in a fight either, but he didn't have the kind of combat skills that The Wolf did. This made him much more scared to see if it was a Child of God or a deranged psychopath, hopefully neither but it was likely to be one or the other. He followed behind The Wolf slowly, trying to keep some kind of distance between them.

The Wolf then made it to the clearing and saw the results of the commotion. It was quite a gruesome sight to say the least. Looking at the man with the blood dripping from his fingers and then to the body, the uniform was unmistakeable and it gave him a sense of hope that maybe this person was on the good side. But at the same time he could also be a psychopath, just killing for the fun of it. "Friend or foe!?" The Wolf shouted to the man, hoping for the former answer. "And no fucking funny business or I'll bash your skull in." He said, raising his bat a little to emphasize the point.

The Seer stood beside him, his face betraying a bit of fear as he held his weapon, ready to fight if necessary but hoping for the best.

---

Children of God on the Move

Three men and a woman walked down a deserted street. They wore matching jackets with matching patches on the back and they all held the same M1 Garand rifle in front of them. The patch on the back was unmistakeable, it was one known throughout the area for it's infamy, striking fear in pretty much everyone who say it. It was for the Children of God. The people all had their sleeves rolled up in the heat, exposing the tattoo on their forearm of the same logo they had on their back patches.

One of the men, a tall, skinny man who must have been in his early 20s with bloodstains on his face and the top of his jacket indicating he had shot someone at quite close range, put his rifle over his shoulder and asked quite loudly "Where the fuck is everybody? I mean I fucking get it, a lot of them disappeared, and we killed a lot of the others, but c'mon, I need some fucking action here." He then turned and smirked at the woman. "And you can take that last bit any way you wish." The other men laughed, the woman seemed unamused.

"You think you'd ever learn not to be an asshole and start caring about what we're doing here?" The woman said with a condescending tone, as if she'd said it many times before. The man just rolled his eyes with self-satisfaction

The group walked into an apartment building and the man fired a shot into the ceiling and yelled out "Anyone out there, we're not gunna hurt ya!" He said before bursting out laughing. "Come out and play!" He yelled out between fits of laughter.

The woman shook her head. "I'll start from the top with Shaun, you and Mike will start here and go up, we'll meet on floor 3." The woman said as she signalled to one of the other guys to come with her up the stairs. The man who was clearly the class clown of the bunch started checking the lobby of the building.

Matt dropped the baton in shock. "You...so you're her friend? The one she was visiting?"

The girl nodded quickly. "Yes! I'm Sarah. She was visiting me, not long ago. She showed me a picture of you." She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm SO SORRY I hit you! I didn't...you had a gun, and..." she gestured wildly, trying to finish the sentence. Matt stepped forward and grabbed one of her hands, jerking her to her feet. She winced, then forced a smile onto her face.

"I'm soooo sorry," she said again, a look of true regret plastered on her face. Matt blinked a few times, trying to absorb the energy from the girl. How could anyone be this hyper, especially, after something like the Apostate? She was in good spirits for being alone.

His blood turned cold. She was alone. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her briefly. "Amie. Where is Amie?? I've been looking for her!"

She looked surprised, then sad. "Amie's fine. I think. She's been living here with me for...however long it's been. No cars, no phones, no Internet. She was bent on leaving, though. I tried hard to convince her to stay, but she wanted to get home. One day I woke up and she was gone. I FREAKED. OUT. Fortunately she was back that evening with food. Turns out, a leopard had been stalking this building, and she decided to wait here a bit longer."

"When was the last time you say her?" Matt asked, his hopes finally returning.

Sarah looked down at the floor. "A week ago. She went out to get more food and didn't come back. I've been-" she stopped, holding back a sob. "I've been scanning around the building every day for signs of her, but she hasn't come back. I'm so sorry...I wish I knew where to look, but yesterday that leopard showed up again, so I've been hiding here."

Matt's hands curled into fists. No! How could he have come so close only to find her gone? He released Sarah and glared at the floor, trying to think of a question. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. He reached down and grabbed the baton, weighing it in his hand and swinging it a few times. It was light but very thick and looked expensive. Sarah watched him and gestured at it. "Yeah. That's mine. My parents bought it for me to protect myself when I moved into an apartment by myself. Never thought I'd need to use it."

She grinned. "I've been lucky. Those 'Child of God' scumbags haven't shown up. One of them did, a while ago, but the leopard got him. I found the jacket when I went looking for Amie and kept it. You never know when you need to scare someone off, right?" She grabbed it from the floor and slid it back on, giving Matt a goofy salute.

A gunshot echoed through the building, followed by some words Matt couldn't make out. His eyes locked with Sarah, who looked just as shocked as he did. Sweat was already forming on her forehead. Matt closed the door as quietly as possible, then turned and grabbed Sarah again.

"Stay calm! They're going to search every room. If we want to get out of this, we need to either fight or run, and we'll have a better chance of escaping them than we will a leopard. Can you fight with this?" he forced the baton into her hand. She nodded, taking a deep breath and swallowing hard. "Good," he said, reducing his voice to a whisper. "We'll take the bedroom. Leave the doors unlocked, because if we lock them they'll know someone is inside."

"There are two bedrooms," Sarah whispered back. "We each hide in one. Behind the door! Maybe they'll just look inside and leave. Oh, and here! Take your gun back." Matt nodded, taking the firearm and heading for one of the bedrooms. Sarah took the other one, closing the door behind her. Matt left his almost completely open. Hopefully the intruder would glance in, see an empty bedroom and leave. If not...he would think of something.

Rachael opened her eyes slowly as she held her hand to her forehead. Her vision still a little blurry but she could make out what was in front of her. The blurry figure stood up and reached beside him, probably for his weapon, then she realized it. She hadn't bumped into a tree as she previously thought. The figure was tall, or at least seemed tall, she was sitting on the ground so maybe it was just the angle. She placed her hand firmly on the green moistened ground, propping her self up to a standing position. She wobbled a bit before gaining her balance. As her vision cleared, sher could make out the person she was standing in front of. The man's face was mostly covered by a baseball hat and sunglasses, but she could make out his clearly defined jaw and cheek bones. Her mouth opened ready to speak to the man before she came to realization that he might be hostile. She must have dropped her crowbar when she fell over because when she went to grab for it, it was missing from her side. She gave up. She didn't have a weapon or the mental preparation to run for her life."Please sir, don't hurt me." She held her hands out forward, as if doing so would show she was friendly. she didn't see the a green jacket with a logo, so she assumed he was your average survivor trying to get by."I know what it's like these days. Seeing anybody out and about is terrifying, especially someone you don't know in the slightest. But please sir. Please don't hurt me." Her eyes were shifting from his sunglasses to the axe in his hand.

"I don't know you, but I can tell you're not a murderer." She was panicking. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, which was scary. It might have been her imagination, or her mind still in a daze from the crash, but she thought she saw him clench his fist. Sweat trickled down her rough skin as she tried to bargain with him, pleading for her life."Please sir, I'll do anything, just don't hurt me. Do you want food? I have some cereal if you want. What about some company? I'm not great in a fight but I can hold my own and help protect. Ju...Just...." She took a step backwards, hoping to feel the hard stainless steel crowbar under her foot. It wasn't there, she must have tossed a little further than she thought. Her heart raced faster now that she couldn't fight back. She waited for as response, either with action or words.