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Chapter One
Ali hid behind a cluster of trees, straining to hear anything that might break the silence. A rustle of leaves. A snap of a branch. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. It was so loud, she thought it might give away her position.
Breathe, Allison.
It was a chilly fall day. Winter was just around the corner. The wind had blown several strands of blonde hair loose from her braid. She didn’t dare sweep them from her face, afraid the motion might attract unwanted attention. After several minutes of silence, she took a chance and peered around the trees. Nothing. Not even a bird or the fluttering of leaves. It was eerily still.
There was nothing beyond the rubble of deteriorated buildings. Their crumbled exteriors were covered in foliage. He could be hiding behind any of the mossy stones protruding from the ground.
Cold washed over her, sinking deep into her bones. Her long sleeve shirt, damp from running, clung to her frozen skin. She could hardly feel her toes in her boots and the tips of her fingers were turning blue. She was desperate to return home. How much longer could she hide out here?
She scanned her surroundings once more and still couldn’t spot any movement. She narrowed her eyes like a hawk, but it was no use. The man chasing her was nowhere to be found.
Where did he go? Maybe I should make my way back home. I’m not too far away. Five minutes? Maybe ten?
She cautiously took her first step out from behind her cover. Branches and dried leaves crunched beneath her feet. Before she could take more than three steps, a hand gripped her arm, fingers digging into her bicep. With a rough tug, she spun around and made eye contact with the man who had been following her.
“Gotcha!” Victory was written all over his face. His eyes burned a hole through her and the corner of his mouth perked up, reveling in his win.
“Eli!” She kicked him in the shin and he let go of her arm, doubling over. She brought her hand up to her chest and struggled to catch her breath. He had scared her half to death.
Eli shot her an incredulous look as he hopped dramatically on one leg. The branches scattered across the forest floor almost tripped him and sent him toppling. “Damn, Ali! That fucking hurt.” The fire in his brown eyes rapidly disappeared. They glossed over with tears and Ali smirked, knowing she had gotten her revenge.
“You deserved it.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him. He couldn’t really blame her for defending herself. “Where did you even come from, anyway?” She had been watching and listening so intently.
How in the world did he manage to sneak up on me?
He cautiously stood up after tending to his sore leg. He winced in pain when he put his weight on it. It would probably bruise but she didn’t feel guilty about it in the slightest. It was justified. “It’s not my fault you can’t hear shit. I found you ten minutes ago when you were stumbling through the brambles and have been stalking you ever since. You were so loud. The reason it’s so quiet now is because you scared off every little critter within your vicinity. You’re really bad at this, you know?” He chuckled at just how pathetic she was.
Ali rolled her eyes. “I do know. That’s why I hate it when you pick this game.”
They rarely had a chance to relax and just take it easy. Whenever they did, Eli chose to play hide and seek. It was a childish game. In fact, they had started playing it when they were just kids. Back then, a few other kids had played along, but over the years they had lost interest. They had slowly dropped off until it was just the two of them still playing games in the woods. There was hardly anything else to do in their small village of Andus, so Ali always played along. Even if she knew she was terrible. Even if she knew he would always find her. She was starting to suspect he only chose this game so he could scare her shitless every time.
“Do you want to go again?” he asked with a boyish grin. Eli was in his early twenties now, but in his heart and soul he would always be a kid. Like Peter Pan, he would never grow up. It was something she admired about him. He was carefree and cheerful no matter what was happening around him. Even when she was lost in her own thoughts, he could pull her out and brighten her day.
The wind blew again, and she shivered. She gritted her teeth and rubbed her palms against her thighs. She hated to disappoint him. “I was actually ready to go back home. Aren’t you cold?”
“Nope.” He placed a hand on her cold, rosy cheek and his warmth immediately radiated through her. She mirrored his movement and covered his hand with hers, although his hand was almost twice the size. He could hold her entire face in his hands. It was so warm and comforting. She leaned into it and basked in the extra heat.
She looked up to smile at him as he brushed the loose strands of her braid back behind her ear. He’d grown so tall over the years. When they were kids, she had grown faster than he did and had been taller than him for many years. She used to tease him about it. At some point though, he grew a foot and then another foot and then another until he became the tower standing here today. His boyish round cheeks had turned chiseled and stubble now covered his face. Lean muscle covered his lanky body. His short brown hair was soft and feathery. Objectively, Eli was quite handsome.
“You’re a human heater. Stay close. I might need you,” she said as they turned to walk back home under the setting sun.
They walked this path all the time and there wasn’t much to see. It was mostly the remains of old buildings demolished centuries ago. Ali loved hearing stories about the twenty-first century and often imagined how this place would’ve looked back then. Foundations overgrown with weeds outlined the town that had been here centuries ago. Every time they passed, she would pick one of the cement slabs and put a name to it. That one was perhaps an ice cream parlor. Maybe a movie theater, a restaurant, or a salon. She’d seen none of these concepts herself, but that didn’t stop her imagination from running wild.
It must’ve been so exciting living in that time period. The kids who lived here before them probably hadn’t played hide and seek in their spare time. They would’ve had so much they could do instead.
Those places didn’t exist now. Their entertainment came in the form of stories passed down through generations and singing songs around a fire. They gathered to eat simple meals as a family. She cut her hair once a year, usually with a rough blade, and kept it in a braid most of the time. It was the most convenient way to keep it clean and out of her face.
They’d been told wild stories about this thing called technology when they’d been younger. Hand-held devices that were used to communicate. A square frame that displayed moving pictures and visual stories. Ali wouldn’t have believed it if it weren’t for the photos she’d seen in books. The pages were so faded, brittle and falling apart, but it was enough for her mind to take hold. She wished they had those amenities now.
The details of the old world were a little hazy. All they knew was that over time, the oceans had swallowed coastal towns. The rising sea level forced people to move inland. Wildfires scorched the western half of the continent, leaving the land barren and uninhabitable. The small population that had remained dwindled even further due to droughts and famine. When the dust finally settled, the earth was unrecognizable. It had been reborn. Other continents were rumored to exist, but everyone assumed they had also met their demise. They had never come to help.
Very few survived that period. Life quickly regressed and became much simpler. Initially, some people remembered how to make things like automobiles or telecommunications, but resources had been so scarce. They couldn’t waste them on things that weren’t absolute necessities. Now, that knowledge was long forgotten. A wooden wagon would be considered a luxury today.
They crossed over the remains of a concrete bridge. It was sturdy enough, although the rails had crumbled. It served little purpose since the body of water that used to exist was long gone. They were far from the shore of the lake and this trench was completely dried up.
Eli interrupted her thoughts. “Did I tell you I got another tattoo?”
