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Description
Chapter 1
The wind howled through the air as it rushed through the empty and ruined countryside. Deep grooves were dug into the trampled earth, three black holes forward and one back. The grooves were clawed deep into the damp dirt, so deep that two fully grown men could stand on each other's shoulders and still have to stretch to reach the lip of the small canyon. Spears and emptied guns littered the solid ground between the holes. Most stuck into the ground from being flung through the air and stood at odd angles. Human bodies covered the land rotting within dried pools of their own dark red blood.
Amongst the wreckage, a thinner girl stood with a bow gripped in her left hand, a small rabbit limp in her right. A feathered arrow protruding from the small animal's chest as the last of the blood drained from the corpse. Her shoulder length brown hair flowed in the slight breeze as the smell of emptiness and rot was carried along the currents. She turned to look around her, making sure no one who was lucky enough to survive the ordeal from a few months ago was following her. Slowly and carefully she made her way across the damaged land, pausing in front of a groove, the sides smoothed by rain and the movement of trampling feet so one could walk down them. The teenage girl strapped her bow to the tan backpack she carried and pulled the arrow out of the rabbit's chest, storing it in the quiver that was also latched onto the pack. She then stealthily made her way down the canyon. 'Careful Mikayla…' she thought, placing her small feet into the small, unnoticeable footholds in the slope. Once at the bottom of the deep hole, she searched with her leather clad foot around the dark floor until she kicked a hard and rounded object.
She reached into her pack and pulled a small box out of the side pocket then stooped down to pick up the object on the floor. She gripped the  wooden stick and felt around both ends, ultimately turning it so the side with a damp piece of wool stood away from her body. She placed the stick between her knees then opened the box and pulled out a match, striking it against the side of the box. She lit the makeshift torch, the flame glowing orange in the dark, and replaced the matchbox in her backpack. She walked through the accidental tunnel that was made from the shifting sediment when the bird made the gouge in the earth. She kept walking for what seemed like an hour through the dark until she could see a faint light around the next bend. She blew out her torch and used her hands to feel her way along the tunnel until she made her way around the curve, light and heat hitting her full force from the medium sized fire that blazed in the middle of the large circular cavern the tunnel opened up to.
"Welcome back." A voice called from across the fire as a figure stood.
"Hey. All I could find today was a rabbit." Mikayla said with reluctance as she tossed the limp animal over the fire to the figure. "Can you do anything with that?"
The figure caught the flying rabbit and looked it over, then nodded. "Yeah, I can. Won't be much, but I can."
Mikayla nodded swiftly as she removed the backpack and placed it against the curved wall, unstrapping the bow and quiver so they lay against the wall themselves.
"Hey, I need to use your knife. Didn't exactly get to grab one of my own, you know." The voice said, a twinge of embarrassment coating the tone.
"Yeah, that's right Zane. Instead you grabbed money, clothes, and your car keys," She answered with a twinge of annoyance as she walked over to the crouched boy. She handed him the hunter's knife at her belt as he muttered an apology.
      She returned to her bow, removing a cloth from her pack to polish the smooth leaf green wood and checked for any fraying in her  black bowstring. Once she was finished with her bow, she inspected her arrows. Many of the feathered fletchings were tearing and were wearing out and the arrowheads were rusting from the blood of her kills. She took another cloth from her backpack and started rubbing and scraping the rust off of the steel arrowheads, the orange metal clearing into a silver color.
      "Do you have any spices, Mikayla?" Zane asked as he cut the rabbit into small square chunks, a half sphere shaped rock beside him with water already beginning to boil.
      "Of course I have spices, though not much. I have the most of the salt and pepper." She replied as she reached into another pocket of her pack, pulling out a small square container filled with small baggies.
      Within the bags, different spices shifted as she threw the box toward Zane. He caught the box midair, and calling his thanks, he turned back to the rabbit and the stew. Mikayla again rifled through her pack, pulling out her first aid kit, the water bottle she kept for emergencies and for hunting, some spare clothes, as well as packets of emergency Ready-to-Eat meals. She reorganized the pack so it would sit more comfortably on her back and shoulders. Once the stew had come to a rolling boil and cooked for a few more minutes, the duo ate. Afterwards, Mikayla stood and dry rinsed her bowl with some dirt, allowing her to place the bowl in her pack without fear of liquid stains.
      "So what next?" Zane asked as he did the same and sat next to the fire.
      "Well…" Mikayla began, and then paused as she heard the rustle of a small animal within the other tunnels of the cavern. "We need to move on to find civilization. I'm not sure how far we'll need to go, but we've already gone a long way with your truck. Although we'll be going slower from here since we are on foot." She responded, settling to sit near the warmth of the fire, her bow across her knees and several arrows next to her.
      Zane nodded, his blonde hair shifting in front of his hazel eyes. "But which way do we go? We left my truck several miles away so no one could track us. How do you know which way isn't the way we came from?" He asked.
      "Easy. I placed a marker that tells me which way is the wrong way." The girl answered matter of fact.  "I'll need to go hunting for birds tomorrow. I need more feathers to repair my arrows. Do you want me to try to track anything specific?"
      Zane looked at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he responded, "How about shooting more than one rabbit? That'll make me a happy camper." After a moment and a glare from Mikayla, he added, "No pun intended."
      "I'll try. There isn't much out here since that damned mutated bird went flying through here. All the game was scared off. Another reason we need to keep moving." She said as she shook her head, her green eyes downcast. "Right, well. I'm going to sleep. We need to get moving a bit before dawn so I have a better chance of downing a few birds," she said as she stood up and strode over to her corner with her bow and loose arrows. She spread a blanket she pulled from her backpack on the dirt floor and curled into a ball, her back against the wall and her bow and knife laid out in front of her.
      "Good night." Zane whispered as he stood and walked to the opposite side of the cavern, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.
      'I'll have to find him a blanket in the next village…' Mikayla thought as she fell asleep, the glow of the fire bright against her closed eyelids.

Description
Chapter 1
The wind howled through the air as it rushed through the empty and ruined countryside. Deep grooves were dug into the trampled earth, three black holes forward and one back. The grooves were clawed deep into the damp dirt, so deep that two fully grown men could stand on each other's shoulders and still have to stretch to reach the lip of the small canyon. Spears and emptied guns littered the solid ground between the holes. Most stuck into the ground from being flung through the air and stood at odd angles. Human bodies covered the land rotting within dried pools of their own dark red blood.
Amongst the wreckage, a thinner girl stood with a bow gripped in her left hand, a small rabbit limp in her right. A feathered arrow protruding from the small animal's chest as the last of the blood drained from the corpse. Her shoulder length brown hair flowed in the slight breeze as the smell of emptiness and rot was carried along the currents. She turned to look around her, making sure no one who was lucky enough to survive the ordeal from a few months ago was following her. Slowly and carefully she made her way across the damaged land, pausing in front of a groove, the sides smoothed by rain and the movement of trampling feet so one could walk down them. The teenage girl strapped her bow to the tan backpack she carried and pulled the arrow out of the rabbit's chest, storing it in the quiver that was also latched onto the pack. She then stealthily made her way down the canyon. 'Careful Mikayla…' she thought, placing her small feet into the small, unnoticeable footholds in the slope. Once at the bottom of the deep hole, she searched with her leather clad foot around the dark floor until she kicked a hard and rounded object.
She reached into her pack and pulled a small box out of the side pocket then stooped down to pick up the object on the floor. She gripped the  wooden stick and felt around both ends, ultimately turning it so the side with a damp piece of wool stood away from her body. She placed the stick between her knees then opened the box and pulled out a match, striking it against the side of the box. She lit the makeshift torch, the flame glowing orange in the dark, and replaced the matchbox in her backpack. She walked through the accidental tunnel that was made from the shifting sediment when the bird made the gouge in the earth. She kept walking for what seemed like an hour through the dark until she could see a faint light around the next bend. She blew out her torch and used her hands to feel her way along the tunnel until she made her way around the curve, light and heat hitting her full force from the medium sized fire that blazed in the middle of the large circular cavern the tunnel opened up to.
"Welcome back." A voice called from across the fire as a figure stood.
"Hey. All I could find today was a rabbit." Mikayla said with reluctance as she tossed the limp animal over the fire to the figure. "Can you do anything with that?"
The figure caught the flying rabbit and looked it over, then nodded. "Yeah, I can. Won't be much, but I can."
Mikayla nodded swiftly as she removed the backpack and placed it against the curved wall, unstrapping the bow and quiver so they lay against the wall themselves.
"Hey, I need to use your knife. Didn't exactly get to grab one of my own, you know." The voice said, a twinge of embarrassment coating the tone.
"Yeah, that's right Zane. Instead you grabbed money, clothes, and your car keys," She answered with a twinge of annoyance as she walked over to the crouched boy. She handed him the hunter's knife at her belt as he muttered an apology.
      She returned to her bow, removing a cloth from her pack to polish the smooth leaf green wood and checked for any fraying in her  black bowstring. Once she was finished with her bow, she inspected her arrows. Many of the feathered fletchings were tearing and were wearing out and the arrowheads were rusting from the blood of her kills. She took another cloth from her backpack and started rubbing and scraping the rust off of the steel arrowheads, the orange metal clearing into a silver color.
      "Do you have any spices, Mikayla?" Zane asked as he cut the rabbit into small square chunks, a half sphere shaped rock beside him with water already beginning to boil.
      "Of course I have spices, though not much. I have the most of the salt and pepper." She replied as she reached into another pocket of her pack, pulling out a small square container filled with small baggies.
      Within the bags, different spices shifted as she threw the box toward Zane. He caught the box midair, and calling his thanks, he turned back to the rabbit and the stew. Mikayla again rifled through her pack, pulling out her first aid kit, the water bottle she kept for emergencies and for hunting, some spare clothes, as well as packets of emergency Ready-to-Eat meals. She reorganized the pack so it would sit more comfortably on her back and shoulders. Once the stew had come to a rolling boil and cooked for a few more minutes, the duo ate. Afterwards, Mikayla stood and dry rinsed her bowl with some dirt, allowing her to place the bowl in her pack without fear of liquid stains.
      "So what next?" Zane asked as he did the same and sat next to the fire.
      "Well…" Mikayla began, and then paused as she heard the rustle of a small animal within the other tunnels of the cavern. "We need to move on to find civilization. I'm not sure how far we'll need to go, but we've already gone a long way with your truck. Although we'll be going slower from here since we are on foot." She responded, settling to sit near the warmth of the fire, her bow across her knees and several arrows next to her.
      Zane nodded, his blonde hair shifting in front of his hazel eyes. "But which way do we go? We left my truck several miles away so no one could track us. How do you know which way isn't the way we came from?" He asked.
      "Easy. I placed a marker that tells me which way is the wrong way." The girl answered matter of fact.  "I'll need to go hunting for birds tomorrow. I need more feathers to repair my arrows. Do you want me to try to track anything specific?"
      Zane looked at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he responded, "How about shooting more than one rabbit? That'll make me a happy camper." After a moment and a glare from Mikayla, he added, "No pun intended."
      "I'll try. There isn't much out here since that damned mutated bird went flying through here. All the game was scared off. Another reason we need to keep moving." She said as she shook her head, her green eyes downcast. "Right, well. I'm going to sleep. We need to get moving a bit before dawn so I have a better chance of downing a few birds," she said as she stood up and strode over to her corner with her bow and loose arrows. She spread a blanket she pulled from her backpack on the dirt floor and curled into a ball, her back against the wall and her bow and knife laid out in front of her.
      "Good night." Zane whispered as he stood and walked to the opposite side of the cavern, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.
      'I'll have to find him a blanket in the next village…' Mikayla thought as she fell asleep, the glow of the fire bright against her closed eyelids.