Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Young Debris ❯ Chapter 1
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Elven_mistress 
The beginng that always comes after the end.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Post-apocalyptic / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.09.2009 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 225 | Status: Work In Progress
The beginng that always comes after the end.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Post-apocalyptic / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.09.2009 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 225 | Status: Work In Progress
CHAPTER 1
Kate sat in the bay window, sipping some tea alone in her home. The glass had been shattered from the shockwave but it was over now. The cold spring wind blew freely into the room, waving her long raven hair and the tattered green drapes. Her hide vest keeping her warm even as goosebumps appeard beyond the cutoff's she wore. Her shorts used to be pants but the denim had worn at the knees and she had torn the bottoms off to use the lower pant legs as a cheap bag for food, seeds and water. Her face was painted with the red and black streaks of her gang along the jawbones, cheekbones and brow bones, thick yellow lines over her eyes like thick eyeshadow.
The war had been going on for around twenty years, she had been born into the fray. It had halted suddenly, when there was no one left to fire the bombs and other weapons of war. Billions had died and few were left, very few.
But as always, the children of war were many.
Kate leaned against the window frame, it digging sharply in between her shoulder blades. She closed her eyes against the strong wind and breathed the crip air deeply. She was now a gang leader. Her elder brother and his friends had created a gang when the war started, as did many others, and when he reached eighteen he was called to fight in the war. The gangs had been first started by the army as survival teams and pre-training for when they reached the age of enlistment so that they could be sent straight to the battlefield. It was soon abandoned as a lost cause in her village when her brother and some older teens rebelled and modified the teams to their liking, into gangs. He was dead now, she knew that…but now, she didn’t know how to lead people. She wished someone else was left to do it but there was no one that wanted to. She didn’t mind the power at all, it was the responsibility that was despised. She was sixteen and wanted to just hang out with her friends and ride her horses, go to the mall if it had still existed, even school was starting to sound pretty good.
She turned her head at the sound of several footsteps. Her gang stood there before her, all of them had black and red painted faces, only she and other leaders wore yellow above their eyes. They had decided to use it as a symbol of authority among them instead of some silly hat or piece of cloth.
Kate turned her head away and looked into the distance, other people emerged from flattened homes. She smiled in relief, her gang wasn’t the only one to hide in a basement or shelter of some kind. They’re modestly small town wasn’t even on the maps so they were never targeted and only recieved the aftershocks of the cities around them. The gang of green and orange began walking toward her home, not the best color combination in her opinion. It kind of reminded her of barf.
“Kate?” a gang member prepared himself for a fight, readying his spear. Their guns had all been sent to the soldiers long ago.
She looked at him sullenly, her eyes emotionless, and shook her head, “let’s hear what they have to say, no need for unnecessary violence.”
The leader left his gang at the end of the long driveway and approached the window. He leaned on the windowsill casually and gave a smirk, slightly showing his remarkably white teeth.
“So,” he began in a bored tone, “I guess we’re all that’s left, huh?”
Kate waited, watching his eyes. She knew him, his name was Trent and he loved the sound of his own voice if given the chance to talk, and to show off his attractive body. All he wore were tattered jeans that had a triangular flap the covered the front and back since those areas had worn away over time and considering that he wore boxers that were practically transparent anyways. He didn't bother with a shirt, not even in the winter, choosing to show off his smooth, well-tanned chest and thick muscles. During the war prices went up and no one could afford anything, not even at thrift stores. His face wore the yellow eye line of a leader and his gang colors were arranged in ripple-like circles on his cheeks.
“You wouldn’t have any food by chance?”
Kate smiled and held back a laugh; he had always amused her a great deal, she could never place why. “Yes we have food, and seeds and some good soil stored in the basement,” she grinned, “I take it you forgot to store enough or even any?” she laughed and waved a hand to her second in command, also known among their gangs as the general. Many things they had still had a military ring to them.
In all gangs there, only the leaders were called by name, the rest were given a title or number. It just made things easier in such a hectic time when members came and went.
Elisha, her general, had short brown hair that seemed to stick out in every direction. She had quickly slipped back into the basement and came out with a backpack full of bread and unripe fruit. She handed it to Kate and backed away to where the rest of their gang stood.
Kate held it out of Trent’s reach and smiled, “You can have the food if, and only if, your gang takes on our colors, you and I will...share leadership sixty-forty.”
Trent looked back at his gang nervously and then looked back at the large bag of food. He sighed, “I get forty percent? Of everything?”
She grinned, “Including leadership, you have to come to me before making any decision that affects our gang and you get forty percent of any loot for your men. Deal?” She swung the bag to and fro before him.
He ground his teeth moodily, looking around, she had been such a pain since they broke up. He sighed, not in the mood for an argument, he agreed, “Deal, we’ll take our orders from you.”
Kate held the bag still, “General, fetch an alliance contact for us,” she put on an innocent smile, “we have to make it as official as possible. Just so there are no complications”
When the General returned, Trents’ gang had already washed their faces and adorned the colours of red and black but they kept it in their circle pattern. Trent wore yellow only around one eye to show that he was only the lesser of the leaders. Now the two gangs were divided into two teams in one big gang.
Once the contract was signed by the leaders and six witnesses, three from each gang, they got down to business.
Kate’s family owned a farm and the barn had a newly constructed basement where they kept all the animals for safety. Her family had had to result to the old-fashioned ways, as did everyone else, even electricity was too expensive. They had sheep, dairy cows, horses, chickens, ducks, and even some pigeons and sparrows that had nests in their barn. Every animal counted. So the first order of business was to see how many animals had survived the mild shockwave.
Kate, Trent, and their two Generals ventured out to the barn. The upper half was mostly collapsed, the roof had fallen in and three of the walls had fallen. Only the cement-cased stairway to the basement was standing fairly intact, although the roof had been blown off of it.
They spent several minutes clearing the debris from the fallen walls from the stairs so they could go down and check the animals. Kate pushed the heavy metal door at the bottom with all her strength but it wouldn’t budge. Together the four of them pushed it open enough to squeeze through and at the door was the body of a very large dead cow.
“At least we have some meat huh?” Trent chuckled.
Kate glared angrily at him, “keep such comments to yourself,” the dead cow was Jenn, her favourite one. She had won the last county fair the neighbouring town had held four years ago with her.
Not very many animals had died, just a few that couldn’t handle the blast. But there were plenty of animals left. Sadly only six of the horses survived out of the sixteen the farm had. Two of which were twin foals, and another was a pregnant mare. Yet the stallion and the foals’ mother were in good riding condition and four others that were still being trained remained.
Kate saddled up her horse Jet, the stallion, and Fally the mother horse. She mounted and watched Trent scramble clumsily onto the mare, never having ridden before. Kate turned to the two Generals.
“I want you two to inventory everything and when we get back you are to give a report on our status,” Kate led Trent and Fally out of the barn on Jet and headed for where the rest of the gang stood.
“Half of each team shall come with us and the other half will stay and stand guard, hurry and sort yourself, we do not have the luxury of time.”
They planned to head out to where the stores had stood, all of them had storage basements and Kate hoped there would be something left to salvage and bring home.
Kate sat in the bay window, sipping some tea alone in her home. The glass had been shattered from the shockwave but it was over now. The cold spring wind blew freely into the room, waving her long raven hair and the tattered green drapes. Her hide vest keeping her warm even as goosebumps appeard beyond the cutoff's she wore. Her shorts used to be pants but the denim had worn at the knees and she had torn the bottoms off to use the lower pant legs as a cheap bag for food, seeds and water. Her face was painted with the red and black streaks of her gang along the jawbones, cheekbones and brow bones, thick yellow lines over her eyes like thick eyeshadow.
The war had been going on for around twenty years, she had been born into the fray. It had halted suddenly, when there was no one left to fire the bombs and other weapons of war. Billions had died and few were left, very few.
But as always, the children of war were many.
Kate leaned against the window frame, it digging sharply in between her shoulder blades. She closed her eyes against the strong wind and breathed the crip air deeply. She was now a gang leader. Her elder brother and his friends had created a gang when the war started, as did many others, and when he reached eighteen he was called to fight in the war. The gangs had been first started by the army as survival teams and pre-training for when they reached the age of enlistment so that they could be sent straight to the battlefield. It was soon abandoned as a lost cause in her village when her brother and some older teens rebelled and modified the teams to their liking, into gangs. He was dead now, she knew that…but now, she didn’t know how to lead people. She wished someone else was left to do it but there was no one that wanted to. She didn’t mind the power at all, it was the responsibility that was despised. She was sixteen and wanted to just hang out with her friends and ride her horses, go to the mall if it had still existed, even school was starting to sound pretty good.
She turned her head at the sound of several footsteps. Her gang stood there before her, all of them had black and red painted faces, only she and other leaders wore yellow above their eyes. They had decided to use it as a symbol of authority among them instead of some silly hat or piece of cloth.
Kate turned her head away and looked into the distance, other people emerged from flattened homes. She smiled in relief, her gang wasn’t the only one to hide in a basement or shelter of some kind. They’re modestly small town wasn’t even on the maps so they were never targeted and only recieved the aftershocks of the cities around them. The gang of green and orange began walking toward her home, not the best color combination in her opinion. It kind of reminded her of barf.
“Kate?” a gang member prepared himself for a fight, readying his spear. Their guns had all been sent to the soldiers long ago.
She looked at him sullenly, her eyes emotionless, and shook her head, “let’s hear what they have to say, no need for unnecessary violence.”
The leader left his gang at the end of the long driveway and approached the window. He leaned on the windowsill casually and gave a smirk, slightly showing his remarkably white teeth.
“So,” he began in a bored tone, “I guess we’re all that’s left, huh?”
Kate waited, watching his eyes. She knew him, his name was Trent and he loved the sound of his own voice if given the chance to talk, and to show off his attractive body. All he wore were tattered jeans that had a triangular flap the covered the front and back since those areas had worn away over time and considering that he wore boxers that were practically transparent anyways. He didn't bother with a shirt, not even in the winter, choosing to show off his smooth, well-tanned chest and thick muscles. During the war prices went up and no one could afford anything, not even at thrift stores. His face wore the yellow eye line of a leader and his gang colors were arranged in ripple-like circles on his cheeks.
“You wouldn’t have any food by chance?”
Kate smiled and held back a laugh; he had always amused her a great deal, she could never place why. “Yes we have food, and seeds and some good soil stored in the basement,” she grinned, “I take it you forgot to store enough or even any?” she laughed and waved a hand to her second in command, also known among their gangs as the general. Many things they had still had a military ring to them.
In all gangs there, only the leaders were called by name, the rest were given a title or number. It just made things easier in such a hectic time when members came and went.
Elisha, her general, had short brown hair that seemed to stick out in every direction. She had quickly slipped back into the basement and came out with a backpack full of bread and unripe fruit. She handed it to Kate and backed away to where the rest of their gang stood.
Kate held it out of Trent’s reach and smiled, “You can have the food if, and only if, your gang takes on our colors, you and I will...share leadership sixty-forty.”
Trent looked back at his gang nervously and then looked back at the large bag of food. He sighed, “I get forty percent? Of everything?”
She grinned, “Including leadership, you have to come to me before making any decision that affects our gang and you get forty percent of any loot for your men. Deal?” She swung the bag to and fro before him.
He ground his teeth moodily, looking around, she had been such a pain since they broke up. He sighed, not in the mood for an argument, he agreed, “Deal, we’ll take our orders from you.”
Kate held the bag still, “General, fetch an alliance contact for us,” she put on an innocent smile, “we have to make it as official as possible. Just so there are no complications”
When the General returned, Trents’ gang had already washed their faces and adorned the colours of red and black but they kept it in their circle pattern. Trent wore yellow only around one eye to show that he was only the lesser of the leaders. Now the two gangs were divided into two teams in one big gang.
Once the contract was signed by the leaders and six witnesses, three from each gang, they got down to business.
Kate’s family owned a farm and the barn had a newly constructed basement where they kept all the animals for safety. Her family had had to result to the old-fashioned ways, as did everyone else, even electricity was too expensive. They had sheep, dairy cows, horses, chickens, ducks, and even some pigeons and sparrows that had nests in their barn. Every animal counted. So the first order of business was to see how many animals had survived the mild shockwave.
Kate, Trent, and their two Generals ventured out to the barn. The upper half was mostly collapsed, the roof had fallen in and three of the walls had fallen. Only the cement-cased stairway to the basement was standing fairly intact, although the roof had been blown off of it.
They spent several minutes clearing the debris from the fallen walls from the stairs so they could go down and check the animals. Kate pushed the heavy metal door at the bottom with all her strength but it wouldn’t budge. Together the four of them pushed it open enough to squeeze through and at the door was the body of a very large dead cow.
“At least we have some meat huh?” Trent chuckled.
Kate glared angrily at him, “keep such comments to yourself,” the dead cow was Jenn, her favourite one. She had won the last county fair the neighbouring town had held four years ago with her.
Not very many animals had died, just a few that couldn’t handle the blast. But there were plenty of animals left. Sadly only six of the horses survived out of the sixteen the farm had. Two of which were twin foals, and another was a pregnant mare. Yet the stallion and the foals’ mother were in good riding condition and four others that were still being trained remained.
Kate saddled up her horse Jet, the stallion, and Fally the mother horse. She mounted and watched Trent scramble clumsily onto the mare, never having ridden before. Kate turned to the two Generals.
“I want you two to inventory everything and when we get back you are to give a report on our status,” Kate led Trent and Fally out of the barn on Jet and headed for where the rest of the gang stood.
“Half of each team shall come with us and the other half will stay and stand guard, hurry and sort yourself, we do not have the luxury of time.”
They planned to head out to where the stores had stood, all of them had storage basements and Kate hoped there would be something left to salvage and bring home.