Walking through the desert has come with interesting skill building.

Like the ability to recognize tracks even as the dust blows across the ground.

It's not the first time I've seen tire tracks, but it's extremely rare... and I can't help the curiosity that has me following them even as the stars are fading from the sky.

My bleached clothes, patched so many times they're basically just rags held together with prayers and stubbornness, are covered in silver, red, and black. The blood of my enemies, but that's pretty par for the course.

After all, the aliens bleed black most of the time. The silver ones are the hardest to kill, but I tend to get one every couple of days.

The red... that comes from those that used to be human.

I don't eat the ones that bleed red, but the meat from the aliens isn't horrible - and when you don't have a lot of choices, you take what you can get. Silver-bleeders have tougher meat, but I always buzz with energy after I eat it.

Now that I've got a good smoker in my cabin, I prioritize smoking and storing silver-bleeder meat first.

Black-bleeders are just... meat. Kinda bland, more tender than the silver-bleeders. Probably weird to say it tastes like chicken... but... well, when it's true there's only so much I can do.

Or maybe my memory of chicken is warped now... it has been a very long time.

Silver-bleeders don't really compare to anything, but if I had to pick something I guess it'd be like if lamb had the texture of beef... but... that's honestly not really an apt description.

Especially since I actually only had beef the once.

The truth is that there simply isn't anything like it from before The Scourge.

I'm not sure what anyone else calls the invasion, but that's what I've come to call it... The Scourge.

Not exactly poetic, but I'm not one for poetry.

Hell, since my brother disappeared I'm not one for words at all. I just prefer the quiet, I suppose.

Not silence... silence is what happens before all hell breaks loose. No, just the quiet. The quiet of the world as it hums around me. I like to listen to the world... to pretend, if only for a moment, that there can be peace.

Speaking of quiet...

"I'm fucking done, bro. Let's go."

I immediately dash behind a large rock that looks like part of an old building, unsure of how else to react to the sound of another person's voice shattering the quiet around me.

The sound of another human.

"Same man," another voice groaned, "I'm wiped. Let's get back."

Even not having heard human voices in years I know better than to expose myself to random people. I may have been young when the world ended, but not so young that I missed the worst of humanity when things fell apart.

Still... I can't help but follow behind at a distance out of curiosity.

Where are they headed back to, exactly?

It isn't long before I see the walls, and I watch the two men walk up to the gate - each carrying the body of an alien.

Hunters... must be. Do you pay your way in with meat?

Do I want to go in?

I'm still contemplating whether I care enough when I hear a voice from above the walls call out.

"You there! Why are you hiding?"

Looking up, I see a soldiers along the wall, several of whom are looking at me.

From that high up, my attempt at hiding is pretty useless.

I walk out cautiously, eyeing them all warily. I don't want to kill my own if I don't have to.

"Are you seeking sanctuary?" the one that looks like he's in charge asks.

I can only tilt my head in confusion, not sure how to respond. Instead, I start to back away carefully.

I don't know this place, and I'm not sure I want to.

"Hang on, kid," he shouted, reaching his hand out as if it he could grab my shoulder despite being something like 10 feet in the air on his wall of stone, "Wait a second. Don't be afraid."

Hesitating, my footsteps falter.

I can't imagine what they see. I have no mirror in my cabin, but I know I give off 'wanderer' at a glance. My clothes are all ragged, everything but my eyes covered with fabric. My long-sleeve tan shirt and beat up tan cargo pants help me blend in with the dirt and sand around me, and the hood of the vest I sport keeps my hair out of the way.

The sword strapped across my back likely gives away that I'm a fighter, but other than that there's very little to be seen past my clothing.

Plus I'm covered in blood of every color. It might be dark, but the sky has lightened enough to see it.

I'm still staring at the man atop the wall when the gates crack open and my eyes snap to several men walking toward me at a brisk pace.

That's enough to have me backing up quickly, drawing my sword even as I put distance between us we don't really need yet.

"Woah, woah there kid," the man atop the wall calls out even as the men in front of me freeze, "Hang on. Hang on a second. No one is trying to hurt you. You're from the outlands, right? You can rest here for the night, if you need a safe place to sleep."

"Ain't no one here looking to gut ya," the older man that walked from the gate added, lifting his hands in surrender, "We just wanna offer you a safe place to rest and maybe hear news from where you've just left."

A moment's pause and then, ever so slowly, I re-sheathed my sword - though I don't drop my defensive stance.

"Do you have a city you're registered to?" the man on top of the wall asked curiously.

Registered? Never heard of that - so I shook my head slowly, my eyes darting between him and the men before me.

"You lived out there this whole time?" the man in front of me asked, his eyes going wide and his hands dropping slightly in shock.

Tilting my head slightly at his confusion, I simply nodded.

"Come on in, kid," he said gently, waving at me as if coaxing a child, "It's alright. Outlanders are welcome here, valued even. The hunter's guild is looking for new blood if you wanna stay for a while. It's safe inside."

Safe. That's a weird word that doesn't apply to anything but my pocket of space.

Flicking my eyes up to the man on top of the wall, I study him for a long moment.

No one can keep me locked up if I don't want to be locked up, after all.

Cautiously, I took a step forward before a roar behind me had me spinning on the spot. Without hesitation I ignore the cries of the men behind me and dash forward.

This beast is weak, and I don't even need my vines to end it - even if I can't see it. Invisibility lost its effectiveness against someone like me long ago.

I plunge my sword through what looks like air, but I feel the resistance that confirms my aim was true - so when I pull my blade out to spin and slice above where black blood is dripping from seemingly nowhere, I end it quickly.

The body thuds to the ground, kicking up dust before it seemingly ripples into reality. A black-bleeder's body now lay at my feet, it's head rolling away freely.

Child's play.

"Holy shit," the voice from behind me is closer than I expected, and I leap backward in surprise.

"Woah, woah," the man coos, "Easy there, kid. It's alright."

I studied him for a long moment, and the silver at his temples. He reminds me of my father, and my blade dips slightly as my eyes take in his features.

"What's your name kid?" he asked gently, his eyes darting to the body at my feet then back to my mostly covered face.

My name? I tilted my head ever so slightly, narrowing my eyes in consideration.

"Grace," I finally rasp out, my voice rough from disuse.

The way he and the three men behind him froze, their eyes going wide and their jaws slack, had me stepping back warily.

"A... a woman?" he nearly whispered, gaping at me in shock.

My eyebrows furrowed instinctively, not sure if I should be insulted or not at the way he said it.

Another step backward, and he jolted forward as if he were going to grab me.

He froze when I lifted my blade instinctively, though.

"Wait!" he cried, clear panic on his face, "Hang on! Wait! Stay! Please, you... we... we just..."

Another step backward, and I'm nearly ready to bolt the fuck away when the voice that had once been on top of the wall is now coming from behind the small group in front of me.

"Grace. Wait," the man said, walking carefully forward with his hands raised, "they don't mean you any harm."

When he stops beside the older man, I find myself studying him too.

My blade dips, ever so slightly, when my eyes find his. Kind eyes. I put zero credence in the passing reflection, though - people aren't like the beasts. Their nature can be hidden behind an attractive mask and kind eyes.

"Please," he said gently, not reaching for me or dropping his hands, "We mean you no harm. This meat alone will earn you a decent sum. Come inside. Let us help you."

"I don't need help."

My words are rough, but firm. They're also true - I don't need anyone.

Not anymore.

"That's pretty obvious," he scoffed, eyeing the alien at my feet, "but we'd like to help you anyway. You may not need it, but it'd make life a bit easier wouldn't it?"

"How long have you been alone, kid?" the older man beside him suddenly asked, worry replacing the panic etched in his face.

"Long enough."

All of the men before me reacted to that, but it was the one from the wall that simply nodded in understanding.

"The city offers protection, Grace," he explained, waiving toward the wall without tearing his eyes away from me, "It isn't a jail. You can leave whenever you like. Come inside. Let us talk and understand. Outlanders are rare, these days, and you may have information we could use to make the city safer. We'll trade - the meat and the information for a safe place to stay, food, and comfort."

Why are they so insistent that I enter the city?

I know there is nothing that can force me to stay if I don't want to... yet, humans rarely play fair. Aliens are simple - strength versus strength. Humans lay traps, they lie, they cheat... in a battle of strength I have no fear, but can I win against human trickery?

"Do you realize how precious you are, Grace?" the man said quietly, his hands lowering even as his eyes never leave me, "They came for the women first. There are... there are almost none left. We would never hurt you. I swear it on my life. We just want to keep you safe."

Blinking in confusion, my eyes moved to the older man beside him - maybe trying to confirm what the other man said? Maybe because I didn't know where else to look.

"It's true," the older man said, nodding quickly when my eyes found his, "Please. Come inside. I swear, we don't want to hurt you."

"If I want to leave... I will," I said slowly, my throat fighting the words.

It's not exactly a threat, yet the warning is clear in my tone.

"I believe you," the man from the wall said, a small smirk growing on his lips, "We aren't trying to force you to do anything. We will definitely try to convince you to stay, but never with force."

After a long moment I finally lower my blade, wiping the blood off on my long-since ruined pants before re-sheathing it.

Now that the sun has begun to peak over the horizon and the sky is lighter, the fatigue is naturally starting to get to me - I could use a good rest.

"It's our honor to welcome you, Grace," the man breathed, gesturing toward the gates.

I hesitated for only a moment before nodding and walking ahead - alert and ready to bolt in a heartbeat, yet strangely excited to see civilization for the first time in many, many years.

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