• Chapter One: Welcome To My World
    I found It extremely hard to sleep last night, most likely because of my bedding choice, never sleep on rubble. I wriggled around in the dirt trying to get comfortable again, obviously getting nowhere. Slowly I regained consciousness, the sun penetrating my eyelids, warming my pale skin. I probably shouldn’t have slept here, considering the world I live in, a tip to myself for later reference no matter how tired you are, never slip into some place to “rest your eyes”. I’m not sure what I did last night but all I know was that I must’ve passed out because I never would’ve (out of good choice) slept here. Out in the open. Once again I pushed through my thoughts slightly regaining more conciseness, enough to realize. That I in no doubt am gonna be dead if I don’t get back “home” soon, and not by the hands of anything evil, well not pure evil anyway. I smirked, twitching to pull myself up, hesitantly, I lifted my lids from my eyes . Not sure if I wanted to see what rats nest I fell asleep in. Still somewhat in a daze, the scent of cool concrete, a city in the morning wafted through my nose. I couldn’t help but smile tiredly, the sun continuing to rise. I stumbled from the ruble of a broken building, into an alley and into the street.
    Keeping my gaze towards the other end of the intersection I had stumbled into I had become aware of why I had chose to sleep where I did, because right across from where I was standing, a broken down restaurant, front windows shattered, the sign unreadable. I slipped my hands into my pockets and dashed through the window and into the building. The very moment I approached the building I could smell the food rotting. Luckily that produce was not what I was after, I strode over the broken tables, and into the worn down kitchen.. Until I found a large steel bolted door, the latch gritty with rust, but luckily the nipping air was rushing by my hand as I ran it across the hinges of the door. A simple push against the door and it fell easily forward, freezing dry air rushed forward, I couldn’t help but notice how careless I was being and no doubt soon enough I would be paying for it. I entered the ice layered room, my arms were freezing as I searched the frozen rubble.
    “Shouldn’t have cut the sleeves off my sweater” I scolded myself, shivering each time I held cold air in my lungs. Finally I spotted what I had been looking for, I picked up the cold box,shaking it gently to determine the contents. Deciding that it would do. I gave one last cold breath before rummaging my way through the building once more to the broken streets of this once great city. The box was about the size of my upper torso so I guessed it would keep me going for a few days until I had to go out for more, I began heading towards home. The sun was slightly higher in the sky now, still warming my skin, shimmering off the shards of glass littering the streets. I guess now would be a good a time as ever to explain exactly who I am and what’s going on well. First of all my name is Damien...Damien Boudara, I’m fifteen and I live here in New York, or what it formerly was known as.
    At this point your probably wondering what has been happening, what has happened. Well its rather a long and confusing story, so I’ll do my best to make it all clear. I don’t remember much of it, but it was a few months ago, I was living a normal life (don’t remember what my life was like) but I’m sure that day was no different from any other. Each and every person living day by day: birth, life, death. Everything was in it’s natural cycle, until that is they came. It was strange, the first thing that I remembered was the ground began to shake. Not to violently at first. Only every few days or so, then it became more and more frequent, each time getting more violent. Until the earth finally split, deferred, a great chasm opened up splitting the earth almost in two. Finally that’s when they appeared. They destroyed everything. Everyone.
    I had been walking for an hour or so, the wretched scent of that rotting food still following me. Where I was now, looked like main street. Once again what main street used to be, it has been awhile since I ever really payed attention to all the businesses and lives that used to run their routine down these beating roads. How many days we wasted, how many lives lost, unfortunately I let myself get caught up in my thoughts. I couldn’t help but wonder who these people were, why their spirits were lost to the machines, and the most relevant question in my head. A question that has been there ever since I first awoke after the big flash, why did I survive. How was I different then the other six billion who lived on planet earth. Well to be completely honest to you the receiver of my words, five billion, nine hundred, ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine. How are we different than all those other people. Was it some cruel twist of fate? Are we just a pawn in some greater game? Well I’d be at least a bishop or something. Very suddenly, the wind picked up, caught me off guard knocking me from my balance, tripping, stumbling, both leading to me falling. I screamed in pain, I had fell face first into a slurry of broken glass gravel, and some liquid that smelled like a mix between blood and oil.
    “Oil?” I questioned invariably “Blood...” I muttered the words seeming of more understanding. A vague sound of a deep rumbling breathing, crowded me, I managed to hop to my feet, face still flowing with the fresh wounds of glass. I knew very easily what was coming, the smell gave it away. I came to sudden realization, and couldn’t help but smack my self on the fore head. Bad idea when your bleeding.
    “The smell! The smell of rotting food. Arg. Dammit I should have guessed as much” I scolded myself. I had been so out of it that I completely forgot, about how they smell. Their core rots the very air. The rumbling got louder and was soon overturned by the sound of scraping metal. Definitely couldn’t out run it. It was coming fast I had to make a plan, how many are there though? One, two? No just one. I thought to myself, maybe I could survive this. I scanned the walls surrounding me, I spotted something I could use, I placed the box down and made a run for a large metal trawling which had been compressed into a metallic pipe. Wiping the blood from my eyes, I pressed my back up against the nearest wall and waited. It must’ve been only two minutes or so but it felt like forever until the foot steps halted on the other side of the wall. There was a loud echo of metal clanging, meshing, slightly like a clockwork yet the metals pitch seemed lower. I tried to pause my breathing, holding the pipe in both hands. Sweat and blood dripping from my brow, unable to tell which was obstructing my view, I peaked around the corner. A large metal ... Wolf, M. A. W. (Mechanical Assassination Wolf) was what their called, easily the size of a large hummer. Pacing back and forth around the box in the middle of main street. Smelling, scanning, trying to pick up my scent. I hid back behind the wall, trying to compose myself, I wasn’t afraid. The emotion was more like frustration, it was a feeling of impatience that It would take too long to finish this, a feeling of apathy for myself. I’m not sure if that is even bloody but that’s the best way to describe it. It was in an instant but the clanging was literally one maybe two feet away from me, however thick this wall at my back was. I decided to just take a blank shot at it, just swing the pipe on the other side randomly, hopefully id get contact. So without any preparation I lunged to the other side of the wall. Only to have the pipe clang against the wall, the M. A. W. Was gone, vanished, the rumbling gone, the scent gone. Without a trace, I scanned the buildings, maybe it was gone. Hesitantly I walked over to the box, completely thawed from the beasts fowl exhaust. Something crossed my mind, this was probably a trap, The maw is probably hanging from a wall or hiding behind a wall or something. Then as soon as I turn around its gonna be two inches from my face. Hesitantly, just as many of my moves are, I turned, and too my surprise it really was gone. Not hanging from the walls of a building, not directly behind me. So I toke the opportunity to let the tension in my body rest, get out of defense mode, so to speak. My advice never, ever, do that! An uproarious howl came from directly above me. Gritting teeth, and shifting feet I turned my attention upward, there was a building overhang and the creature was on top of it. Glaring down at me with its single red eye, its barbed fangs meshing, impatient for my flesh. I stood at the ready as it flung itself down at me. Stumbling back at the impact, my grip released, sending my only form of defense, the metal pipe, flying across the street. As per usual, living the way I do I’m going to have to rely on a fluke too get me out of this situation, the maw didn’t waist a moment. I couldn’t even tear my gaze back to it, before I even knew what had happened, my back was indented into a wall, a rib cracked and the maw, its pungent odor hanging over me. A small grunt of pain escaped my pursed lips, I slid down from my position from the wall holding my side. Opening my eyes hesitantly from the wince, the maw was once again approaching me, I could feel the ground tremble and crack at its weight. I couldn’t move, anything I did just caused more pain, and I knew as soon as the creature came into contact with me it would sap every last bit of life from me. This was my own fault, no matter what had happened I shouldn’t have taken my attention from the maw. It’s cold black metaled face reared, its cycloptic eye staring me down, scanning me, interpreting how much energy it could take from me. It was now that a small amount of fear appeared before me, no not for my life, for the life of another.
    “Ag! Dammit” I muttered, my breathing heavy as the pain sharpened and dulled again. The blood bloodied my eyes, making my vision blurry. I couldn’t see the maw right now but no doubt I could hear it, its sneering and snarling, mere inches away from what I could tell. Fatigue began to set the snarling seemed to decimate, I desperately tried to hold my conciseness to some avail. The sudden grind of hinges and rust could only tell me that the maw was soon to start sapping me. Knowing only what awaited I let myself slip, only to my surprise a large clank sound pushed its way through the others. A second series of hinges and the maw seemed to move away from me, it had a different target. My mind flustered, mostly because of the damage I had caused to my body. What possibly could it be going after, they only feed off humans there was only me. Me and- I shot back into consciousness. Not enough too see, not enough to sit up, but just enough to hear the goings on. The growling, shifting of feet, metal hitting metal. “Cmon , cmon!” I cheered in my thoughts. Then a relieving sound, the sound of glass shattering echoed through the buildings, and finally the sound of the fall of the meck. I relaxed again, and allowed myself to slip into unconsciousness. Before I did I could make out the sound of foot steps getting louder and louder. Then of course.
    “Y’know sometimes Damien you can be such an a*****e” I wasn’t sure if I did but I tried to smirk. That was it before I slipped into a deep sleep. Hopefully I’d survive until tomorrow. So now you vaguely know, I fight to survive, sometimes it doesn’t turn out so great but I haven’t died yet so someone must be looking out for me. For myself to live something must die, Welcome to my world