• December 21, 2012 was flagged the day Earth had been catastrophically destroyed. The Apocalypse. Judgement Day. Ruptures on the worlds' surface caused many buildings to collapse in on themselves, break down into hundreds, maybe millions of pieces and crush those inside: men, women, pets, children. Nature didn't care.
    Those that managed to survive the earthquakes were bombarded by tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, and mudslides. Many took to the sewers, or the underground safehouses the government offered. Then flaming meteorites blazed through the atmosphere and everyone took to the shelters.
    The entire ordeal lasted seven days, with a government estimated casuality rating of eighty-five percent. It took the remaining fifteen percent of survivors two months to crawl out of their hiding and attempt to rebuild the world. Because of the lack of food and supplies remaining, many people grouped together to fight other groups for survival, or districts. They called themselves "gangs". Old feuds were rekindled and new ones were established. Many more died as a result.
    A month or so after the population emerged, the governments released a "survival tax", or the SVT, to support the now joined-together armies in controlling the rebellious gangs. Everyone was in revolt as money was extremely hard to find and keep. Soldiers were attacked by angry mobs that took their weapons and rarely left survivors or hostages. Most of the weapons and people were traded, bartered, or ransomed for food, suplies, sometimes even shelter, or sometimes just to irritate the ******** out of someone.
    And so it begins...

    Pressed against the wall, trying to stay out of view, Alexander Banks held his breath to steady his racing heart. He glanced down at the US marine issued M9 in his hand. "s**t," he muttered as he released the air from his lungs. He checked his jeans for another magazine and reloaded the pistol.
    "Alexander! This is Blake talking," a Texan voice sounded from the other side of the nearly demolished building. "If you give me what is rightfully mine, I promise not to kill you slowly."
    He replied with a loud snort of derision. "Come on, Blake. You already know what I'd say to that offer," he said and pushed himself off the wall to run home.
    "Pity. Kill him," the other said, motioning for two of the men with him to approach their enemy. They were surprised to find their adversary had disappeared. Blake swore loudly when they reported back to him. "Find him, you idiots! I want that god damn robot!"

    "Where the hell have you been? Jason and I have been worried sick about you," the petite blonde said, cornering her frustrator as he came down the stairs through the trapdoor.
    "No, I haven't," the one named Jason, her brother replied. He looked out from under the same coloured hair with the same emerald green eyes, and peered at the duo between his crossed feet.
    "Shut up, jerk!" she twirled on her heels to face him, anger etched into her beautiful young face.
    "Dana, calm down," Alex said, putting his large hands on her arms to push her away gently, to escape the corner. His chocolate brown eyes locked to hers and he smiled that charming smile that had won her over so long ago. "I got you something."
    Her emerald eyes shone with intrigue, but her face showed suspicion. When a yellow sphere-like disc emerged from her boyfriends' pack, she grabbed it right from his hands and turned it over in her own small palms. "What is it?"
    "I was hoping you'd tell me, doctor."
    "Never finished school so don't call me that. Where'd you get it, then?"
    He was silent for a moment. "Yeah, about that..."
    An irritated look shadowed her fair features.
    "Well, you remember Blake?" he ran his hand through his dark brown shaggy hair.
    "Yes?"
    "Him."
    "You stole it from him?" Dana inquired, her tone rising.
    "Borrowed without asking," Alex corrected.
    "Touche et cliche," Jason interjected, not looking up from the book in his hands.
    They looked at him and simultaneously told him to be quiet. "You could have been killed," Dana said, resuming their conversation.
    "But I wasn't."
    "And what happened to us acting as a team? Teams don't leave people behind."
    "We are a team!"
    "Apparently," Jason whispered.
    Alex looked at him, fire raging in his usually soft eyes. "Shut the ******** up, or I swear to God..."
    "Don't talk to my brother like that! You know what? You can take this stupid piece of plastic and shove it up your a**," Dana said, thrusting the yellow disc into her boyfriends' hands as tears formed in her eyes. She turned away from him and marched into the room she claimed as her own, slamming the door behind her.
    "Well done," Jason said and clapped his hands in a mocking fashion. He rose from the table and placed the book down, closing the distance between him and Alex. "I may be only twenty, and you've got three more years on me, but I know my sister and arguing with her was not the best idea."
    "It's your fault she's mad!" Alex interjected defensively.
    "I wasn't the one that went off and made her worry," he countered.
    Alexander scowled.
    "Do you know how to cook?"
    The scowl was immediately replaced by a look of confusion, one eybrow rising slightly. "Huh?"
    Jason sighed. "Cook," he repeated. "Dana's not coming out so we'll have to cook our own meals. Do you know how?"
    "I can cook toast..."
    "We're doomed!" he said as he pressed his palm to his face and let it slide over his eyes.
    "There's more important things than food right now, Jason," Alex said and walked to his room, also Dana's, and knocked, walking in before any reply was really given. "I'm so sorry."
    "Get out," Dana said, her voice muffled as if she'd been crying.
    "Have you been crying?" a concerned Alex in quired as he shut the door behind him.
    "Why do you care all of a sudden? You never cared before: leaving for hours just to come straight home to bed, making me worry senseless. You've got some nerve coming in here now," she said, jumping up from the mattress that was on the floor. She pushed against his wide frame on his muscular body, so much larger than her own small body. "Get out!"
    He grabbed her wrists and pulled them to rest around his neck, then he placed his hands on her waist. "You don't really want me to leave," he whispered in her ear, running his full lips over her neck and running a hand through her curly blonde hair.
    She shivered in delight, completely forgetting why she was mad. "You have no idea how badly I missed you," she said, taking her glasses off her nose and throwing them on a pile of clothes in the corner.
    He chuckled and lifted her up by her thighs, wrapping them around his waist. "I'll show you how much I missed you," Alex said and walked towards the bed, dropping to his knees gently as he kissed her, before laying over her and caressing her body. As they kissed, emotion and instinct seemed to emerge with every movement and it would be hours before they finally slept.