I'm not really the touchy feely sort. So it was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to the guy, when I wrapped my arms around him in a bear hug. I blame it on the tense day.

"I am so glad to see someone out here."

An almost pained smirk spread across his plum colored face. "Yeah well, could you keep your voice down until we get somewhere safe?"

"Oh, sorry."

He twitched his head in a "let's go" gesture and started walking. The other two, one male, the other a female, spread out to either side of the road, their tails trailing behind them. The three seemed tense. Despite being dressed in modern clothing, two of them were carrying spears tipped with knife blades. The darker skinned man was the only one with a pistol. They moved carefully down the streets while on constant alert until they met up with another group.

Six more Tel'ani lounged or stood at a crossroads, most getting a quick drink from a flask or bottle while simultaneously keeping an eye out for danger. Weapons included spears, javelins, a few pistols, and modern crossbows. A human, or possibly a half-elf judging by his features, was laying on the ground, bound and gagged. No idea what he had done to piss these people off, but for now that wasn't my place.

"Katree." Said a pistol wielding woman, her hand held out to me.

I took the hand. "Yari."

"You from the lakeside?"

"No. I'm not from this city. I'm kind of… completely lost."

Katree chucked. "Camp is only a few blocks away. I'll take you to see Patience and she can decide if you get to stay."

"Fair enough. You don't have any water do you?"

"Mmm." Katree handed over a bottle. It was piss warm, tasted funny, and amazingly glorious. "Not too much. Might need to run. Stay or leave, you'll likely join us for tonight's feast. Plenty to drink then."

I gave the bottle up reluctantly and Katree got everyone moving again. The trip was far less tense with the number of armed Tel'ani in the group. The camp was something out of a post apocalyptic movie, which I guess fit the scene. A tall wall made of cobbled together junk filled the gap between two large buildings. The former roadway created something of a courtyard where dozens of Tel'ani lounged and chattered as children played. The bottom floor of one building, formally a gym, served as a covered extension to the courtyard. The apartments on the other side likely served as living quarters. Several of the people cheered as the group entered. I had a slight tinge of unease cross my gut. Out of all the people, not a single human. It was possible there just weren't any humans in the area, but it was more likely that the group of Tel'ani around me were anti-invader. Which made me concerned for the bound half-elf. Katree left me her water bottle as she went to find the Matriarch. I nervously waited while watching fairly happy looking people drag out picnic tables and light a large fire. It was an odd juxtaposition. Such a normal festive atmosphere set against a dystopian wasteland scenery.

"Yari?" Asked a rather young and fair skinned Tel'ani with a set of beads strung up in her horns.

"Yes."

The girl took my hands into hers. "I am Patience. Matriarch of this group. I welcome you to our summer camp."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." I said, trying not to sound too taken aback. She seemed awfully young to be a Matriarch. Even Katree looked older.

"It is of course a pleasure to have you here."

"What happened here? I mean, this city specifically. I'm not from here."

"Well, same as everywhere else I suppose. Those genocidal Anorians nuked us."

So it was nuclear war, I wonder if I need to be concerned about radiation.

"Where are you from and how did you come to be here?"

Well shit. There's the question I had been hoping to avoid. "The hinterlands. How I got here is a bit more complicated."

"Do tell."

I froze. My attention completely left the conversation to focus on the prisoner they had taken. He had been hung upside down from a large beam. It wasn't that in of itself that triggered the horror wapping around my lungs like a vice. It was the bucket. My eyes shifted from the bucket to the fire where a large spit had been set up. There was no livestock here. No cows or pigs or goats. There was nothing for these people to feast on except… Patience followed my gaze to the prisoner and back. She locked eyes with me.

"I'm sorry, where's your bathroom?"

Patience blinked a couple times. I don't think she expected such a question. "That small room there. On the wall."

"I'm really sorry. I'll explain in like, five minutes."

She chuckled as I backed away and turned to the wall. My heart was pounding so hard it was a wonder they couldn't hear it. I pushed past the people trying not to make eye contact or look anywhere near as panicked as I felt. A quick glance toward the prisoner was rewarded with instant regret. Two men were holding the body still as it twitched and convulsed, blood pouring from his slit throat into the bucket in thick spurts. I climbed the steps to the wall. Walked past the guard and eyed the ground on the other side. It wasn't that far down.

I landed on the steep slope of rubble and slid the last five feet.

"Hey! HEY!" Shouted someone behind me. Likely the guard.

I took the first corner I could and fucking ran for my life. I made it two blocks before my burning lungs forced me to stop. Gasping for air, I stumbled further down the road. The moment I thought I might be safe, six Tel'ani rounded the corner. One of them leveled a pistol at me and fired. The shot missed, but I wasn't going to stick around and see if they could correct their aim. I ran more. Taking a left after the next building I skidded to a stop. A large and slightly deformed looking dog gave a half bark, half growl and charged. I made for the other direction, stumbling down a slope of concrete rubble. Yells and barks told a short lived story about the enemy of my enemy.

Looking over my shoulder I had time to see a Tel'ani man throw a spear at me. The shaft wobbled slightly as the metal point soared directly toward the place I would have been if I hadn't tripped when I looked back. I hit the ground hard, sliding another foot or two and coming to a halt in a disorienting position where my head was lower than my feet. The spear thrower heaved a large chunk of concrete above his head. I tried to scramble backward, but didn't manage to get any purchase on the scree. The man took a single step forward and twitched. The sound of a gunshot echoed down the block a split second later. He looked stunned. His mouth opened and closed several times before he collapsed, the chunk of concrete coming down on top of him.

"Get to the fire escape!" Someone shouted.

I got myself right side up and frantically looked around, there was indeed a metal fire escape system attached to one of the buildings. Technically I couldn't know whether or not I was running into a trap, but being off the ground sounded awesome. There was another crack of weapons fire as I climbed, something large, definitely not a pistol. When I reached the top I stumbled over the edge and onto the roof, laying there and trying to catch my breath. What a shitty day.

"Hey!" Yelled the voice I heard earlier. There were a couple cracks of pistol fire followed by another from the larger weapon. I picked my head up just enough to peek over the ledge. There were two humans on the building across the street. One held a totally illegal assault rifle, the other was waving at me.

"Have you seen a half-elf?"

I motioned to the people on the ground firing the pistol at the rifle wielder.

"They fucking killed him!" I yelled back.

There was more pistol fire from a different direction, quickly followed by a single crack of the rifle. I could hear the sound of thudding feet slowly fading from below. The two humans stood up, far too exposed. The man with the rifle appeared to be talking into a com attached to his shoulder, the other motioned me down to the ground before disappearing into the roof access hatch. My legs were starting to feel twitchy as I hit the ground again and made my way to the bag of clothes I had dropped.

"Hey."

***

I quit.

Generally speaking, the moment I figure out how a book will end, I lose interest in it completely. This story isn't very good. It does end with Yari beating Patience's brains out with the crowbar.

Anyway, do to my aforementioned issue with losing interest. I quit.

I quit writing. I have so many starts and so few finishes. I dread working on my own books...