"Jess," I leaned over and shook her shivering leg. "You still up?"

She unfolded the top of her navy blue sleeping bag and sat up. "Carter, you know I never sleep anymore," Jess rubbed the purplish-blue circles under her grey eyes. "Too much to worry about. You know, with the animals and bandits now."

I shook my head. "Don't be so scared. You know I'll protect you no matter what, poophead."

Jess let out a slight chuckle. "We are lying here in an abandoned old folks home, during a deadly winter due to a nuclear terrorist attack, and you just had the nerve to refer to me as 'poophead'?"

Even I was laughing now. I leaned to her and gave a sarcastic reply, "Poophead is a title only given to us elite survivors, I'm not sure why you would take such an honor as an offence!"

She gave me one of her signature eye rolls, laughed like a maniac, and then playfully punched me in the arm.

I winced, retracting my clawed arm from her. Jess immediately apologized, groping the bandages to see if the stitches had busted open. "I'm so so sorry Carter, you know I didn't-"

I cut her off "It's fine Jess, it was an accident." I pulled my arm back from her anxious hands. "Get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us." I waited for her to lie down again before pulling up her blanket and zipping her inside the sleeping bag. Then, I slid into my sheets turned off the lantern and closed my eyes.

Only 5 minutes in to our slumber, Jess called out, "This place reeks of old people, am I right?"

I sighed, "Go to bed, Jess."

N E X T  D A Y

I awoke with a jolt. A rusty stench set my nerves on edge as I unwrapped the bandages looking for a broken stitch. I found nothing, just the same grusome wound had recieved from an encounter with a mutant wolf while hunting for food. Even though it was the first deer clean of waste and radioactivity we had seen so far, in hindsight, I probably should have just let the wolf have it. Not many animals can be found in the barren "winter wonderland" outside, so most of the time it was up to us to raid and scavenge the homes of those who had left for the so-called "refugee center", which I had barely escaped alive before the next round of bombings and release of millions of savage mutated animals from the labs of the enemy.

The smell of blood still circled the room, making me anxious. Maybe there was an animal in here, or worse the wolf I had fought off could be lingering around with the deer blood still giving off a scent. I'd heard a rumor that these mutants couuld track prey and enemies over 100 miles. I pushed that thought aside. I walked past piles of animal bones and attempted to track the scent even though I had very little sense of smell due to the constant sickness and stopped up nose which followed terrors of this apocalypic winter.

As the cold winter glow entered the room from the one window we hadn't covered up, I stood up and surveyed the surroundings being extra careful not to wake Jess up. A monster wolf is hard enough to deal with, the last thing I need is Jess the Bear to add to the mix. I walked down the hall, making no noise whatsoever as I groped my silver knife as hard as possible.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from down the hallway. The voice was so familar I couldn't help but run as fast as I could to her aid. "JESS!" I yelled. "WHERE ARE YOU?" My voice boomed though the echoed halls of past civilization, I din't care who or what I attracted to the scene at this point. I ran through the halls like crazy finally coming to the cafeteria, a room we hadn't explored and more often just avoided. The smell of blood was stronger than ever here, it filled up my head making me nauseous and the world around me began to spin faster and faster. With little light peeking out from the boarded up floor length windows, I bumped into everything around me as I pushed through the tables and supplies of previous inhabitants of this old building. The world spun faster and faster until I couldn't take it anymore. I collapsed and my vision faded to black.

L A T E R

I opened my eyes to pitch black. Was I dead? How long had I been out?

"Buck up, blondie." A raspy country accent assured me I was still alive.

He rested his arm on my shoulder and with his icy grip I quickly brought my senses back from a sleep. I shook my arms and tried to talk, but it seemed as though they had tied me to a chair or some sort of wooden object. Then, I remembered why I was knocked out in the first place; Jess. I tried to scream but my muffled cries were too soft for anyone to hear, even if there was anyone to help. I was certain the had captured both Jess and I.

An icy touch placed a metal object in my right hand. I felt around trying to decipher the object until i reached the top and realized it was a lighter. I waited for him to walk away, suspicious of why he's let me hold this and I began to try and burn through the ropes.

"No, no, no. That's not how this works." He pushed the newly lit flame into my chest, I screamed. "You like that, boy?" he replied. I shook my head to say no. "Don't get clever on me." I heard the sound of pouring liquid, a familiar smell erupted from the room; gasoline.

After a few moments of silence, another set of footsteps came up behind me. "Here's how this works," this was a new voice, one that definately contradicted with the last as it was moderately high pitched and very annunciated. "You light the flame and your girlfriend goes free."

I lit the flame as fast as I could in response. "Good," he said. "Now throw it." I did as he said, uncaring if it would cost me my life to save hers.

The roar of a fire filled my ears and suddenly the heat hit my face and the light hit my eyes as they threw the blindfold off. No...

I was now aware that Jess wasn't going to be set free, ever. In front of me sat a bloody, beaten, girl I used to know. Now shrouded in flames, her screams were drowned out by my sobbing or worse, the other men's laughter. Evil, I thought. I hoped I was dreaming, but I knew I wasn't. I sobbed, hoping I would drown in my tears and be with her on the other side. I struggled to get free, to kill these monsters walking behind me, but it was too late. They picked up my chair and dragged me outside into the cold abyss and got into their car. They drove off and threw something out of the window.

I sat alone freezing, helpless for at least an hour, while my best friend burnt to a crisp behind me. Eventually I was able to stand up with the chair still tied to my back. I slammed it against the brick walls until it finally cracked into pieces, setting me free.

I had two options, to go back in and die with her, or to leave. I pondered for what felt like an eternity strongly compelled to option one. Until I remembered her voice, her sweet, amazing voice. I even thought I heard her standing with me. This wasn't what she would have wanted for me, not at all. I waded through the snow to see what the terrorists had dropped out of their window. I found a strip of leather with an emblem carved into its face. The words, "Repulsae Nescia" were written in a red ink; blood. I turned it over to find a note written in black marker.

"Come find us."

So I set off to find them.
And I wasn't going to stop until I had killed
every
single
one of them.