"Have you ever wondered why the world is so grey and cold, Spere?" Before her floated a sheer white cat with no face, and a neck slightly too long. Spere didn't question how she knew it was speaking, and yet heard no sound. She also didn't question how his skull seemed to come to an abruptly smooth stop, with no place for eyes, a nose, or a mouth.

"Once or twice," Spere replied, a blatant lie, for she had thought of a green globe many more than that. Wandering, floating. Below her was the surface of reflectively golden and calm water, like when a shallow ocean reflects the setting sun. The cat purred, and glided at eye level close to her.

His thoughts echoed inside Spere's mind, "Oh, surely you've thought of that more than once or twice."

Spere turned away.

"Well, would you like to see it green again?" The cat hissed.

"Certainly. Who wouldn't?"

The gold sky reflected on the cat's plush coat as he whispered, "You're the key to all of this, Spere. I have come from God to send you a message."

Spere scoffed, "God? Are you sure?" She thought of the silver cross around her neck. Of the dead woman she had found. The woman that had started it all.

His tail swished angrily, "Absolutely certain. Your kind is the problem. Humans. They destroy everything and even after the world has ended they continue to thrive against all odds. Rather inspiring, but detrimental to the environment. Did you know that God purposefully let the world get to such a devastating and cold point as a deterrent to the human race? To rid the earth of your plague?"

"Get to the point already, cat," Spere growled.

The cat seemed angrier than before, and showed rows of shark-like teeth now. Spere was uncertain where his head ended and his mouth began. The cat hissed, "Your people are a plague. The world cannot heal and turn green again until every last one of you are dead."

Spere narrowed her eyes, "What's that have to do with me? What does God want me to do?"

"God intends for you to be the solution to this equation. An answer to this problem. A cure to this plague," the cat explained. He continued, "Your ONLY goal in this life now is to kill the remaining humans, the last of this disease, so the earth can heal. Of course, your own life would be preserved in return for your good deed, and you would get to see the earth turn green and blue again."

Spere stiffly said, "Are you serious? So God wants me to kill the last of the human population?" The cat nodded. "How come you've never come to me before, then?"

The cat did not respond.

With that, the dream faded.

Spere awoke on a cold mattress. She stood, dusted herself off, brushed her teeth, and then went out to greet the grey day. She thought of the vibrant gold she'd seen in her dream. She wanted to see more colour in the world. She decided to meet Windy and then ask to help with the greenhouse. The campus did have a rather large greenhouse where they grew food. It was rare for much to grow large enough or survive for long enough to feed many people, though. But Spere figured she'd see colours there. The world could heal with people, she knew. It would just take time. She wasn't even sure if the dream she had, which was oh so vividly engrained in her mind, was a real omen or if it was just an overactive imagination.

She'd been at the camp for a month or two by now, and knew exactly where Windy's home was located. Not far from hers, actually. Her, Stonehenge, Fallen World, and Mayhem all had their own huts now. She missed their company but didn't mind the privacy she now had. She knocked on Windy's door. He opened it quickly.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I think I want to work in the greenhouse today. Can you show me where it's at again? I haven't been in it more than a few times," Spere said.

Windy chuckled, "No, no. Today, we go and find the rest of your group."

"What?" Spere asked.

"Yup. Pulled a few strings, but we can go today. Feel free to swoon," He smirked, twisting a strand of blonde hair in between his fingers.

Spere growled, "Okay, fine. But right after you have to show me the greenhouse."

He frowned, "I thought you'd be excited about this."

Spere sighed, "I am. I'm just not feeling it today, though. I had a troublesome dream."

"Well, you know you can always talk to me, Spere," he said. "I'm sure things will turn out fine." Spere nodded. She wanted to see Stonehenge. "Seriously, though. What's up?"

Spere walked out from the doorway and onto the sidewalk, "I told you. A dream. I wish you'd take me more seriously."

He put an arm across her shoulders, and sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she said, and gently pulled his arm off of her. He seemed embarrassed.

"Boss has given us a group to take to pick up your friends, so we can head over to his place."

"Okay."

After a while, Windy asked, "So, what was your dream about? Why's it got you so shaken up?"

She explained, "It was a... a faceless cat. He told me he had news from God. Well, not news, but a job. A purpose."

"A job? What job?"

Spere continued, "He... he said that God wants me to kill everyone."

"Sorry?"

Spere struggled to explain, "I know. I mean, I don't. I don't know at all. But I know how weird it sounds. You probably think I'm crazy."

"No, no. You're not crazy. Things like that happen. Crazy dreams, I mean. It just happens. Happens to all of us. But whatever it is, I'm certain it will be fine."

She gave a fake smile, "Thanks." She wondered how he could be so optimistic all the time. Eventually, they arrived at Boss' home.

"Are you ready to get your pals, Spere?" He asked. She nodded. A new mission had begun.

They had left by mid afternoon. For the mission, Spere, Windy, Mayhem, Fallen World, Stonehenge, and a couple of others were chosen. Boss decided to also join the mission. Mostly, though, he wanted to be an observer, and watch over the new members of the camp, to learn more about them. Preferably, the mission would take only three days or less.

...

The group walked. And walked. And walked and walked and walked. It seemed farther than Spere had remembered. They stopped late afternoon, as hail had begun to fall from the sky. The group took shelter in a small brick duplex that had a back wall broken out. The whole place was empty aside from a dusty loveseat.

Windy and Spere sat on the floor, backs against a wall. She listened intently to the calm thud-thud-thud of hail overhead. She was thankful that the building had a roof.

"You said your folk hate savages. So how are you gonna convince them otherwise?" Windy asked.

Spere shrugged, "Stonehenge used to be like that, too."

Windy scoffed, "Yeah, but he loves you. It's obvious he would do that."

She looked away, "Maybe. But I think my group will like you enough to switch over, at least."

"Yeah?"

She turned back to him, a small smile on her face, "Yeah."

Stonehenge plopped down beside her, back against the wall, "What are we talking about?"

Spere chuckled, "You, of course."

"Oh?"

"Only bad things," She clarified.

Stonehenge laughed, "What else is there?" Spere laughed, too. Windy seemed uncomfortable. The two hadn't exactly bonded well, one could say.

The storm raged on outside, and night fell. Soon, the room was pitch black, and all Spere could hear was the soft snoring of Windy and the breathing of Stonehenge, and the sound of the wind howling and icy rain pitter-pattering against the building outside. She sighed quietly, lost in thought.

"Do you mind the storm?" Stonehenge whispered.

Spere shrugged in the darkness, "Not really. I do like to see the moon's light at night, though. It always storms at night."

"That's so corny," Stonehenge quietly snarked.

Spere glared at him, although neither of them could see, "Yeah? Do you mind the storm? Are you scared of the rain?" She mocked.

"I'm not scared," he hissed.

"Aww, Stonehenge is scared!"

"Am not!" He growled.

Spere chuckled quietly, a smirk on her face, "You sound like an infant."

"You are arrogant."

Spere sighed and shrugged, "My point is made."

"Point isn't made. Point is completely avoided," Stonehenge continued. "You just say things and expect us all to believe them."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Stonehenge sighed exasperatedly, "You walk and talk like you know best, like you're better than everyone else, when in reality you're just as scared as the rest of us. You act tough but you aren't at all. You're just as infantile as anyone else, if not more so, because truly brave warriors don't hide their fears for fear of judgement."

"Oh." Spere grew quiet. She was too tired to think of a witty comeback. Was she really like that? Her mind swirled. She rested her head on Windy's shoulder as she puzzled her thoughts.

"Sorry. It just seems hopeless to me, is all," Stonehenge said.

Spere replied, "Its okay. Get some sleep." She thought of the dream she'd had. The faceless cat. Was it really hopeless?

"Okay, I'll try," he said, and layed down on the floor beside her. Spere's eyes grew heavy and fluttered shut quickly.

She saw the white cat in her dreams again, but couldn't quite place what he said.

She awoke when sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the ceiling. The floor was damp and cold and mist lingered. She laid on the stone floor beside Windy and Stonehenge. She slowly pried their arms off of her, and stood up. She made her way to the door. The sunlight was blinding. It was incredible. She had never seen such a clear sunset. Where was all the dust? She coughed. The dust was still here. The sky seemed brighter than normal, all the same. The round, dark-skinned man stood beside her.

"Morning," he huffed.

"Good morning, Boss," Spere responded with a nod. She still was breathless at the golden sky.

Boss' voice was gruff, "I take it you've never been up at this hour to see the sky like this?"

"It's always like this?" She asked, eyes wide.

Boss shook his head, "No, only after storms, when the sky clears out just enough for the sky to turn gold."

"Oh. I guess I've never seen one. Maybe I have, but I just have never appreciated it until now," Spere said.

"You appreciate things when they're gone," He sighed. "It's good to be grateful before you lose it."

Spere asked, "You think we will lose the golden sky?"

Boss stared into the snowy distance, "Maybe. If another disaster happens? Or perhaps someday the sky will stop raining for us and the dust will never clear again."

"Boss, you pretend to be wise, but your concerns are theoretical. Why are you telling me this?"

He stared at her with meaningful eyes, "In this day and age, there is no wisdom. There are concerns, and death, and survival. Perhaps concerns based on theories are not ones to be simply thrown out the window. In a time of great uncertainty, anything is possible and every possibility must be considered. In the end, it is our questions that keep us alive." Spere stared right back at him, unsure of what to say or truly how to comprehend what she'd heard.

He continued, "So you see, you misunderstood me, hon. We don't really know anything about this world," he glanced at her necklace. "We only know what God intends for us to know. There is a whole nother side to this world, and we have to keep asking our concerns based on theory to discover new things and to prepare for all possibilities. Our questions and concerns, no matter how fake or far-fetched, can keep us breathing."

"Oh." The rest of the group had begun to stir. Boss turned away from the sunrise without a second glance, and began bopping their team members on the head to get them to rise.

"Wake up, brothers, let's keep moving,'' he would say. The group stood and packed up before walking out the door. Spere lead with Stonehenge. Buildings began to grow familiar.

"Spere," Stonehenge whispered. She glanced at him as they walked. "This is our chance. The building with the hole in the floor is coming up. We could use that to our advantage."

Spere raised an eyebrow, "Pardon? What chance? What are you talking about?"

"Lower your voice. Me and Mayhem and Fallen World have been planning this trip since we got here. There's only what, 4 or 5 savages with us? We could take them. We can outsmart them or we can face them head on," he explained.

"What?! What are you planning, Stonehenge?"

He hissed, "What? So what, now you have a problem? Is it because of Windy? You used to stand with us on this."

Spere spat right back, "I don't know! I don't know how I feel at all, all I know is that these so-called savages, are really just people!" She thought of the dead girl. "Maybe not the best people, but they're still people. They just have to defend themselves. It's the Bird Savages we need to be after. They're the enemies here." Apparently, Stonehenge was thinking of the dead girl, too. He fiercely yanked the shiny cross necklace on Spere's neck, pulling her head nose-to-nose with him.

"Have you forgotten? The savages killed her. Not even God can save us from them. Only we can save ourselves!" He growled. Spere pushed him by his shoulders, her neck sore from the tension on her necklace. He let her go, and she toppled backwards, and fell into the snow on her ass, out of breath. She quickly touched the emblem of her necklace, just to make sure it hadn't broken. It was cold to the touch. "What? Making sure God is watching you fail?!" Stonehenge snarked.

"Stonehenge..." Spere began. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how she felt at the moment.

Stonehenge spat, "No snarky remark?" Spere bit her lip and looked away. The wet snow had begun to seep into her pants, and she shivered. She looked up to see Mayhem standing beside her, glaring at Stonehenge intensely.

Maybe God's cat was right. Maybe people entirely were a plague.