Prologue (Part 2)

Day and night were much of the same as the sky only shifted from one to another, forever locked in an endless cycle of misery. From as far back as Anna could remember, it had always been this way. As a child, she loved listening to stories about a time before the ‘Sun' was purged from this world. She loved listening to the marvels depicted within the stories passed down from generation to generation. Structures of steel and glass soaring into the skies. Massive metal carriages, nothing like the ones Anna had seen, allowed humans to fly even higher than the sky itself. What infatuated Anna the most were the stories of a colorful world. A world where green plants littered the landscape along with beautiful flowers of every shade and color. ‘Trees’ purified the air and then bestowed sweets to those who approached and cared for it.

Those were the fairy tales that led Anna to run away from the orphanage with her little brother when they both turned 16. She joined a well-known freelance company in hopes of exploring the world and finding these fairy tale wonders. Her brother, being the only family she had, followed her wherever she went. At first, they simply carried equipment and cared for the wounded. Soon, after receiving training with a gun, Anna proved herself to be very capable with a rifle. Even earning a reputation as an ace. Her little brother, Stephan, excelled at planning and logistics; several of their operations resulted in no casualties thanks to his schemes. Together, they traveled far and wide with the company, hoping to see the wonders of an age far gone. In all her years of traveling, she had yet to find plots of green and these generous ‘trees’. Eventually, after falling for a fellow brother-in-arms, the three of them settled down in a small and peaceful town. To this day, Anna still fantasizes over the forgotten treasures, wondering how to approach and greet these ‘trees’ if she ever met one. On several occasions, she found herself drooling just thinking about the sweets she’d received. Stephan constantly poked fun at her for believing in these old fairy tales. Even so, the fact that relics from the past still remain was sufficient proof to her that these weren't just stories. Besides, if it were not for the lights provided by the ancient relics they wouldn’t have been able to farm, work, and in certain cases, fight.

Apart from the occasional sounds of whispering and footsteps, only silence filled the air. The distinct metallic scent of blood plagued Anna’s nose, making it difficult to stay focused. “Damnit, where are they?!” Anna whispered to the individual next to her, “Hailey, how long until they are done moving the goods to the other carriages?”

“I don’t fucking know, Ryan just got his fucking brains blown out when he left his crater to check. I know just about as much as you fucking do.” Right after Hailey finished, a bright reddish yellow ball of light flew from the far side of the street into the sky, illuminating the rubble-filled road. Anna was uncertain of what the glowing ball was, but she understood its purpose. Taking a peek from her worn-down cover, Anna could spot six figures hiding behind various debris and walls. The moment her head was spotted, countless shots were fired toward them, chipping away what little cover they had remaining. Heavily suppressed, Anna and Hailey could not accurately return fire. Hailey, in an act of desperation, stuck out her gun and proceeded to fire blindly towards the general direction of their enemy. “Where the fuck is Jack and William? They’re supposed to be backing us up!”

“You’re wasting your bullets, you won’t hit a single thing like that.” Anna quickly grabbed Hailey’s forearm and pulled it back down behind the cover. “If Jack and William aren’t shooting, then we can assume that they’re dead.”

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What the hell am I supposed to do?! Just lay down and die?!” The bullets continued until the glowing ball of light became dimmed to a point where the opposing sides could no longer see each other. “They’re after the goods, let’s just leave whatever’s in the carriage and bolt. Anna, our lives ain’t worth the scraps we got from Luminus.”

“I would if they hadn’t hit the goddamn carriage containing all our food.” Anna pulled out a cartridge from her pocket, “eight more rounds plus the two I have loaded.” Anna turned to Hailey, “move to the crater on the other side of the road and wait for my signal. After firing off my two shots, I expect return fire. I need you to aim at the source, make every shot count.”

Hailey agreed with a nod, quickly and quietly taking cover in the crater. After Anna confirmed that Hailey was in position, Anna took a deep breath to calm herself down. In one smooth motion, she peeked over her cover and aimed at the last known position of her enemy.

PUM-PUM-PING. Anna immediately ducked followed by a hail of bullets flying towards her.

PUM-PUM-PUM-PING could be heard coming from the crater, followed by Hailey’s joyous cheer: “Hell yeah! Dropped his ass!”

Immediately, half of the shots began diverting to Hailey, forcing her to once again keep her head down.

Once the firing settled, Anna signaled Hailey to retreat. Under the veil of darkness, they silently moved farther away from their assailants, eventually taking cover behind some of the thicker debris.

“Black-Coal.” A voice whispered from a few feet behind them.

“Black-Rock,” they responded at a similar volume.

“William? Is that you? Where the fuck have you been?”

“Keep your voice down, Hailey. I was checking on the convoy and figured you wouldn’t want to be left in the… well, dark. They’re almost done. Where’s Jack? He said he was going stay and back you guys up.”

“Fuck, he’s not with you? Damnit, he had a wife and kid. Anna, we need to get the fuck ou-“

Sszzzzzzzzzzzz. Hailey was interrupted by another ball of light ascending into the sky.

Carefully, without exposing herself, Anna peeked her head out to check on their enemies’ location.

“Thought so, they’re moving up.”

“What the fuck do we do? At this rate, they’ll reach the fucking convoy. We can’t afford to lose another fucking carriage.” Hailey started to panic as this is the first time they’ve suffered losses like this.

After a brief moment of thinking, Anna turned towards Hailey and William. “Hailey, give me your rifle and take mine.”

“What? Why? Aren’t they the same?”

“Not sentimentally, give this to Ethan when you see him.”

“What the fuck are you saying? You’re not thinking of…”

“Hailey, enough.”

“Anna, I’ll stay. You have Anya waiting for you at home.”

“I appreciate it, but we need more than the 30 seconds you can last,” Anna stated without a hint of humor. “I know someone’s waiting for me at home, which is why I don’t plan on dying here.”

Anna forcefully grabbed Hailey’s rifle, placing her own into Hailey’s arms. “I’ve had my gun since I was 17, don’t want to risk damaging it.”

“Bullshit,” Hailey retorted.

Ignoring Hailey’s comment, Anna continued, “How many shots are left in this?”

“I just loaded a fresh clip, so eight rounds.”

“Then I have more than enough. Both of you, get out of here.”

“I ain’t fucking leaving you behind.”

“Hailey, now’s not the fucking time. When the light dims, quietly retreat to the convoy. I’ll join you once I am able. William, tell them to hurry their ass up, I don’t have all day.”

Hailey and William glanced at each other before their gazes returned back to Anna. William was the first to speak, “once we get moving, I’ll shoot a round into the air to signal you.”

“Anna, kick some fucking ass for me.”

For the first time since they left Black-Rock, Anna let out a gentle smile. Under the dying light, her flawless face peeked through her long black bangs. Coupled with the gentle smile, William and Hailey couldn’t help but be charmed. Anna spoke her final words before Hailey and William departed:

“Who the hell do you think I am?”