It was the end of the world as we knew it. A reckoning. A punishment brought down on us by the Creator for all the destruction we'd caused as a race. None of it was a surprise, though we, as a race, were utterly unprepared.

This invasion that had caused the apocalypse was not from another world. It had come from home. Earth. The planet had decided to defend itself. After millions of years of being sucked dry of its riches and poisoned endlessly, it had decided that enough was enough. A week after the first wave, more than a quarter of our species had been wiped out. In a month, half were gone. And now, six months later, roughly thirty percent of the worldwide population remained. Seventy percent of eight billion people. Gone. Or at least that was the number on repeat via the few remaining radio broadcasts.

Only my cousin Joelle and I had survived from our family. Many didn't have anyone at all. We were lucky to still have one another. We'd survived mainly on Joelle's bravery and survival knowledge she'd garnered from girl scouts, as well as my instincts. I still didn't know how to explain it but since the reckoning had begun, my instincts had saved us more times than I could count. It wasn't exactly human nature but...more so that I could connect with the earth. With nature. Feel it's next move. Joelle had chopped it up to luck at first but after the fifth time had started to believe there was more to it. We'd met a few others with these same "instincts" but none had an explanation as to the source. Some speculated that we had developed some sort of internal navigation, like birds who fly south to avoid inclement weather. "Windtalkers" the others called us. It felt as though mother nature was speaking to us and had chosen a number of the survivors to act as guides, leading the rest to safety. Perhaps the planet didn't want us all gone and was choosing who to keep by anointing leaders. I really didn't know. All I knew was, it was how many of us were still alive.

Which is how I felt him before he'd even arrived.

The angry soul intent on harming those littered about in the grocery market we were currently at, forging for food and supplies.

It came like a whisper on the wind as it usually did, flowing through the glass front doors. A breeze traveled gently through the store, weaving among the aisles before finding me. It brushed against my ear and rustled my hair, swirling around my head. It emitted just one word.

Hide.

My eyes widened and I whipped my head toward Joelle, who was working on pulling cans from a high shelf, an easy task for her 5'10 frame. "Someone's coming."

She froze, looking over at me. "What do we do?" No hesitancy, trepidation or questioning of the statement. Just an eagerness for orders.

"Hide. Now."

Joelle dropped to a squat, stuffing the cans into her canvas sack before beginning to back up toward the far wall.

The store was brimming with people, upwards of twenty, and we were in the middle of a beautiful sunny afternoon so everyone had let their guard down, able to relax for the first time in almost a week. There were even a few children, a rare sighting out in the open these days. I couldn't leave them to die without a warning.

Standing from the crouched position I'd been in, I ran out from the aisle, stopping in the middle of the store. Turning to watch the double doors, I began shouting. "Everyone hide! Now! Someone is coming!"

The panic was immediate, some running for the back exit, others falling to the ground. Some were screaming, others stumbling over their words in a panic. Those with instincts like mine, Windtalkers, had become sort of notorious and when one of us shouted a command, anywhere, everyone knew to listen.

That was when I saw him.

Approaching the door with an automatic rifle under each arm. The look in his eyes was crazed and as dark as the black clothes he wore. He was steps away from the door when he began to unload both guns, spraying the glass doors with bullets.

I ran, looking for cover amongst the aisle I'd just been in, dropping to a crouch once I was out of sight. A bullet whizzed over my head, burying itself in a can of lentils that exploded on impact.

Everyone was screaming now, some crying as the bullets kept coming. He was shooting without cause, hitting whatever he could.

This happened every once in a while. Someone would snap under the pressure of constantly living in survival mode, having experienced a reckoning that had no definitive end, and would go on a rampage with the goal of killing as many as they could before taking their own life.

"Zola!" Joelle shouted at me, peeking around the aisle, a long black marley twist falling in her face.

I scrambled over to her, coming to hide behind the aisle where she crouched, noting that the gunman was working his way over to the other half of the store. The half that had the back exit.

"What do we do?" She had her Smith and Wesson Shield in hand, fully loaded, and was bracing it tightly against her chest, ready to defend us.

We didn't have many options. We had to choose one of three: Make a run for the shattered front glass doors with a high probability of taking a bullet in the back. Take on a gunman with the hope of killing him before he killed us. Or continue to hide and wait for an opportunity to get to the back exit. None of our options felt too promising. "I don't know. What do you think? I only have my knife." A spear point knife I'd come across on the body of a man who'd probably been a hunter before the reckoning. The knife was in my boot but I hadn't pulled it out yet, hoping an opportunity to escape would arise. And also because I'd never used it before.

"We have to take him on. The exits are too far. We'll never make it. I'll distract him while you sneak up for a closer shot."

"I-I don't know if I can." The bullets were shifting now, he was slowly turning and would eventually make it to our side. The screams continued but less so as a few no doubt had already been killed.

"We have to Zola. It's the only way. You can do this." Her green eyes were pleading, begging me to stall not a moment longer.

"Okay. I will." Fuck. I really really did not want to do this.

"On my count." There was a glimmer of fear in her eyes but she was focused. After all, she'd actually used her gun before.

I used a shaking hand to retrieve the knife from my boot, gripping it firmly even as my palms began to sweat.

"One. Two-"

I would have heard three had my attention not demanded once more by the earth. This one was quieter than the last, but stern, swirling into both of my ears with an urgency.

Look.

I felt him before I saw him. Like there was some sort of connection between us. An imaginary string linking us. The breeze brushed up against my back, soft and caressing. I turned my head to the left and there he was.

Clad entirely in black, he moved with a fluid grace, his form obscured by the layers of fabric that concealed his identity. He was walking around an aisle, a mask shrouding his mouth and nose, a beanie and a hood camouflaging the rest of him. The only bit visible were his eyes, a striking pastel blue, so pale they were practically gray, and seemed to be set ablaze by the sunlight. Those eyes shifted and found mine, as if drawn to my presence, and locked in. The energy crackled between us, so palpable that my heart leapt and my breath caught in my throat.

A moment passed before he broke eye contact, turning the corner, but the remaining tension had my body buzzing.

The gunman was back in the middle of the store, heading to our side, but he wasn't going to make it. The mystery man met him at the opening of the aisle and was ready with a move the gunman didn't see coming.

The two stopped and stood staring one another down for a moment. The gunman seemed to hesitate, taken back by someone daring enough to stand face to face with him. The moment didn't last long though as he seemed to shake it off and raise the rifle, gaze narrowing.

I opened my mouth to scream "Lookout!" but the mysterious newcomer was two steps ahead.

His hand, which I hadn't noticed was balled into a fist, he threw toward the gunman, releasing what looked to be some sort of flash grenade. It flew and ignited, a loud boom shaking the floor as it exploded into a wall of smoke that quickly engulfed the two of them. The gunman stumbled back and began firing blindly.

I ducked back behind the aisle as bullets began slamming into the shelves, the contents spraying about like fireworks and confetti. I glanced over at Joelle who looked just as confused but also relieved, thankful we were saved from making our own risky move.

The bullets stopped almost as soon as they had started, a grunt coming from within the smoke, the next moment a gun clattering to the floor. I peeked back around the aisle and blinked repeatedly, willing the smoke to dissipate enough to let me see. The mysterious newcomer was circling the gunman, delivering a devastating blow via kick or punch, before ducking back into the smoke. He repeated this three more times, delivering his last kick to the back of the gunman's legs which had him dropping to his knees, swaying to keep upright.

The mysterious newcomer appeared from the smoke once again, stopping just inches before his opponent, casual in his stance. He paused for a moment and then drove his elbow straight down into the gunman's back, causing his body to go limp and fall at last to the floor.

It was over.

I waved to Joelle that it was safe and she nodded, cautiously pulling herself to her feet.

We slowly rounded the corner and began walking down the aisle, the smoke dissolving around us, noting that our mystery savior was now tying the unconscious attacker's hands together behind his back. It was surprising to see as the usual response to these situations was kill or be killed. Not incapacitate.

He finished the restraints and stood, facing a younger couple that had emerged from hiding to thank him. "He's yours now. Do with him what you will but show compassion."

Show compassion to someone who had just murdered five people and would have killed more?

I was astounded but intrigued. There was a civility amongst many of us that were left but this level of compassion I hadn't witnessed well...ever.

He turned to make his exit, the younger couple eagerly thanking him once again. He was a few steps ahead when his gaze shifted over to me.

There it was. Once again.

Our eyes locked and it was like an electric shock hit my body, starting in my chest and dispersing throughout the rest of my limbs. That intense connection was back, almost as though the universe was alerting us of its plans.

"Zola-" Joelle started, looking down at the limp body before us.

"Hold on. I'll be right back."

I didn't even hesitate before moving to follow him, only a few feet behind as he strode out of the store, the sun washing over his dark form in greeting as he stepped over the broken glass, the shards crunching beneath his boots.

"Hey!" I called, my pace quick as I rushed to catch up to him in the deserted parking lot.

He paused and then stopped, turning around as I closed the gap between us.

Being physically close to him was more intense than I was prepared for it to be. He was tall, a bit over six foot if I had to guess, with a toned physique that fit well inside the black combat outfit he wore, down to the fingerless gloves. He still hadn't removed the mask or beanie so all I could see were his gray blue eyes. They reminded me of fog, now seeming mostly gray with specks of blue, and they all but glowed in the sun.

"Um...I wanted to say thank you for what you did. For helping us." Saving our lives I'd meant to say but for some reason those words felt...odd. As though it'd come off disingenuous.

He stared me down for a moment before responding, his voice calm. "You're welcome."

"Who are-?" I stopped myself, anxiously shifting my weight to the other foot. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I just wanted to know your name? I haven't seen you around here."

"I'm not from here. I'm just passing through...and it's Declan."

I nodded, my chest warming as his name danced around my ears and made its way to the most active area of my memory. "Zola. And welcome then..." A weird statement considering his welcome party had been a barrage of bullets.

"Thank you."

He didn't exactly seem anxious to leave but also seemed uncomfortable staying. "Well Declan. Thank you. Again. If you need anything, my cousin and I visit the town shelter almost every day. If you haven't yet, you should stop by."

A grim nod. "Thank you. Maybe I'll see you there...Zola."

The way he said my name sent shivers down my spine and to each of my toes. "Bye."

He took one more moment to stare into my eyes, something unreadable flashing through his gaze as it practically bored a hole into my soul, before turning and walking away.

I stood and watched him for a moment before turning to head back into the market to collect Joelle and assist with the victims of the attacker. Declan was on my mind long after we'd left and I wondered if he'd remain there throughout the night.

-

Joelle and I had turned the safe room in a nearby mcmansion into our own personal haven almost a month ago and had gotten very comfortable there. We usually kept it moving every two weeks or so as the weather seemed to travel and get substantially worse at each location. However the county this town was in was the first we'd come across where the weather was balanced. We encountered the occasional storm but nothing as bad as what had kept us on the run the previous six months. Here, the usual whispers I heard were quiet. In fact, the one earlier today had been the first I'd heard in a week.

Despite the calm weather, which locals attested to having been this way since the start of the reckoning, Joelle and I had decided it was smart to spend most of our time underground. There was no telling when Mother Earth would lash out and if this place would eventually be on her list. The scavengers, folks who deigned themselves untethered to human morality, were also always about, lurking in the shadows. Unless you were with a large group, it wasn't safe to be exposed at ground level. So we spent most of our time in the safe room. It was a shame to not be able to fully enjoy the mcmansion as the two of us had grown up middle-lower class, but we were grateful to have found this refuge at all.

A trepid meow greeted us as we swung open the thick metal door, an excited black bombay feline rushing out to greet us.

"Hi, sweet Noir." I kneeled down to run my hand along her back as she rubbed herself up against my boots.

Noir had been my cat before the reckoning and had survived with us. She was all I had left to remind me of home and life before everything. Normally I would have taken her with us on errand runs but something had told me not to today. Now I knew why.

"It's a good thing we left her here," Joelle said, as though reading my mind. She delivered a quick scratch behind one of Noir's ears before strolling into the room.

"I know. I'm glad we did." I scooped her up and followed Joelle, dropping my bag onto the cushion of the nearest chair.

The safe room was lacking in feminine touch but more than enough for our needs. It resembled a spacious one bedroom apartment, albeit a windowless one, with black framed white walls, a swanky bar with black velvet stools and a lounge area adorned with blue velvet couches and armchairs. There was a bedroom with an adjoining shower and a supply closet with enough provisions to last us a year. Whoever had lived here had probably taken their personal helicopter (there was indeed a helipad in the back lawn) to one of the militarized safe zones, a luxury most of the general population didn't have.

Joelle strolled over to the bar to put away the food we'd grabbed after the attack. I situated myself on one of the velvet couches with a purring Noir in my lap. My thoughts began to drift off to Declan almost immediately though I knew it was a dangerous game. He didn't exactly scream emotionally available and he could have been a scavenger for all I knew. Responsible for the deaths of who knows how many. However he'd saved us so maybe he was a former scavenger attempting to right his wrongs and ease a guilty conscience.

"Nola."

I turned my head to Joelle. "Yeah?"

"I said: what do you want for dinner? It's my turn to cook."

"Uh-oh," I joked with a smirk to which I received an eye roll. "I'm feeling open tonight. Surprise me."

"Alright." She began banging around the small kitchen, retrieving a few pots, a spatula and a large serving spoon. "So...that guy from earlier."

My ears perked up but I restrained myself from exuding any sort of reaction. I didn't know why. We practically told each other everything...well, almost everything. The one thing we hadn't discussed was the first time she'd used her gun. And the aftermath..."What about him?"

"What did he say when you talked? Did you find out who he is?"

"Not really. He told me his name. Declan. And that he was new here. That was all."

"Mmm-hmm." She had her back to me but I could tell she sensed the slight wall I was putting up. "That's it?"

Technically that was all we'd discussed. But was that it? Not exactly. "Yeah, why?" I turned my gaze to Noir, smiling at the way she'd rolled into a ball on my lap, her paws tucked into herself.

"You know you can talk to me right? About...what you feel."

She didn't mean my feelings. No, she meant my instincts. Or whatever it was that connected me to the Earth and others like me. "I know. There's not much to say. I don't know if he's...like me. If we see him again maybe we'll find out."

"Something tells me we will be seeing him again." She'd set a pot of water to boil on the stove and was headed over to me with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Sitting down on the couch for a moment, she handed me the bottle and set the two glasses on the coffee table before us. "Look, I just want you to be careful."

I started to tear the aluminum seal away from the cork of the bottle, slowly twisting open the muselet. "I will. I always am."

She clasped her hands together, resting her elbows on her knees. She was beautiful, my cousin, in a graceful rugged warrior sort of way. She'd been a computer engineer prior to all of this and dabbled in UFC fighting whenever her free time permitted. She'd toned out and built a layer of muscle she'd lacked as a teenager, her copper skin a shade darker now because of all the time we spent outside. Her marley twists reached her upper back but were always half pulled up with a twist or two loose to frame her face. Though we were related by blood, the only physical attributes we shared were the oval shape of our faces and almond eyes. Still enough for others to assume we were related, an assumption I took pride in. "I know. We just don't know the full scope of your...abilities. And we definitely don't know the full scope of others. I just felt a bad energy from him and I don't like it."

"I thought I was the one who did the sensing of energy?" I grinned as I started on twisting the wine opener into the cork but the smile she threw back at me was barely visible.

"Very funny."

"I'm always careful. And I'm not naive. If something feels wrong, I'll back off. I promise. I may not be as wary of strangers as you but I still recognize a threat when I see one."

Her eyes were on the wine glasses as I poured the dry red into them. "Let's hope so."

"Here. Let's wind down. We both need it after today."

A hazy look had come over her eyes, one that signaled she was possibly having a flashback to our encounter earlier that day. The one we'd narrowly escaped with our lives. "Yeah we do."

I raised my glass toward her. "Love you cuz."

She lifted her gaze to me and that haze dissipated, the beginnings of a smile making its way to her mouth. "Love you too."

That night we ate and talked and laughed and watched an old movie on the massive flat screen, more than happy to have nights like this where we could pretend things were normal and the world hadn't been destroyed. I was so thankful for my cousin who had become like a sister to me, and for Noir who provided unconditional love and comfort. They were my family now. I'd give my life for them without question. With them I was okay. Safe.

Until we no doubt were on the run again from another wave. It was inevitable. As much as I wanted to think otherwise. Think that this could be our last stop. But deep down I knew...

This was just the beginning.