A desolate wasteland lay where the small town of Haversfield, Delaware used to be. The muddy streets were scattered with carcuses, from both four years ago, or even a day or two. The atmosphere was a permeation of rotting flesh and the sun was blocked out by the heavy layer of fog. Most of the abandoned houses and buildings in the small neighborhood had crumbled to pieces, though few were left standing. By the year 2029, the entire Earth lay to die.

The crunching of heavy tires over the broken bones of the dead rang through the thick, smog-filled air as the trucks sent from the National Guard rolled through the streets. Agents sat in the trunk of the parade of emergency vehicles, ready to jump out at the first sign of life. And even though life was almost impossible to find in such a deserted region, they were still required to check. After all, every life counted when there were only 1,000 people left in the country.

In a small, brick hut made from the remnants of an old chocolate factory sat two even smaller children. Emaciated and withering to bones, the girl and boy were huddled next to a minuscule fire that was almost dying off. The boy had his delicate head rested on the girl's shoulder, nodding off into a deep slumber, but the girl was nowhere near rest. Her cold, grey eyes were wide with a sense of fear and strength at the same time, complimenting her tiny frame of a body.

"Stop the truck!" signaled an agent. "I see smoke."

The three other agents in the car looked around until all six eyes stopped on the column of smoke that billowed into the grey air.

"Where there's smoke, there's a fire. And where there's a fire, there's life." said another. The driver of the large tank pushed the truck further into the muddy soil until it was a good ten feet from the glowing fire and the two children. 

Two agents jumped out of the trunk into the muddy soil, their boots sinking in like quicksand. They made their way to the shivering children, the boy waking from his slumber as the girl shook him vigorously. Her eyes widened with fear as one of the agents approached her. He knelt down next to the girl and peeled her hand from her brother's. 

"Come with us." he ordered. The boy shook his head, crawling further back into the shack. He now sat in front of a large mound of dirt, and only then had the agent noticed that the mound had an engraving on top of it. 

The girl looked to the boy and nodded her head towards the truck. The boy hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the girl's hand and followed the other agent into the truck. As the two children were packed away into the truck, the first agent stalked further into the shack, being careful not to hit his head on the utterly low ceiling. He reached the large mound and ran his finger over it, pulling out a flashlight from the large pack on his back and shining it onto the engraving.

Auntie Meredith

Died at 42 from disease

1987-2029

Aunt and guardian of Victoria and Vincent Quint