This Dark World. ((CLOSED!))

[twilighter08]

It seemed as if nothing moved, or was even alive, across the barren landscape save for the wind that was blowing through the now dead trees. Dust and sand flew up into the breeze as the sun beat down on the scorched earth, only to fall once the wind had died away again. The sound of the wind was soon joined by the scruffing of paws on dirt as a small pack of feral dogs trotted out into the daylight. Their noses sniffed the air for any scent of predators, or possible prey, but the only scent to be found was the smell of decaying carcasses that littered the wasteland. However, these animals weren’t picky, and without a second thought they converged on a nearby rotting body not even caring whether it was a dead animal or human.

As the small pack began to rip apart the carcass, the usual sounds of howls, growling, and barks could be heard amongst the dogs. The noise soon fell silent as they all went still, their ears twitching at the sound that had suddenly reached them all. It was the sound of something rummaging around a nearby pile of rusted metal, followed by the sound of a few choice curses before the noise faded off again. That wasn’t the last that was heard from the mound of metal, as a figure suddenly jumped down from near the top and landed just a few feet away from the pack. It was a young woman, probably around 18-20 years of age, with shoulder length black hair that looked as if it had been cut rather unevenly and ragged bangs that fell all around and in her face. Her green colored eyes, although glancing around slightly, were unfocused and rather empty looking giving away her blindness as she used her other sharper senses to help her figure out which direction she needed to go. Her clothing, although made for rougher terrain, was rather dusty and even torn in some places from both the elements and her constant searching through heaps of old metal like the previous one. After quickly wiping her hands together to rid them of as much dust as possible, she grabbed the old bag that she had thrown on the ground earlier and tossed a few small pieces of metal inside before zipping it shut. Ignoring the dogs that were now quickly putting some distance between her and them, the girl began walking towards the small settlement that could be seen in the distance while hoisting her worn leather bag back over her shoulder.

“Okay Solin, time to get yourself home before something else happens. Sheesh if this isn’t the scrap metal they wanted I’m going to seriously reconsider taking this job.” The girl, now identified as Solin, thought to herself as she continued her trek homeward. From the way the air around her felt and the sounds she could hear, she had to guess it was getting close to sundown and if she wasn’t home before then it could end rather badly for her. Night was when the worst things, both animal and human, came out of their hiding places and she had heard enough stories to cause her to speed up her pace a little while making sure she kept her senses out for any sign of trouble. Luckily she managed to make it back to town with little hindrance, but she didn’t let her guard down until the familiar sounds and smells of the town reached her and she was once again winding through the narrow streets that would take her to the building where her and her older brother now lived. She could have gone ahead and dropped off the metal she had picked up earlier, but since it wasn’t needed until tomorrow she wasn’t going to worry about it. For now she instead made sure her bag was still securely on her shoulder before entering the half destroyed apartment building and heading down into the underground area that many people now called home. Since the Great Disaster, as many had come to call it, had occurred very few lived up on the surface where life was hostile and dangerous. Not that life down here was much better, but at least it felt more secure living underground then having to constantly worry about the wars that still took place aboveground. At least it was a safehaven for those who wanted to avoid the wars, but for those who actually didn’t mind all the fighting or even enjoyed it well….that was a different story all together.

Although she caught a few hellos and other greetings from some neighbors that lived nearby, Solin merely waved before vanishing down a dingy alley and letting her hand slid across the wall until it landed on a doorknob. With a quick twist the door opened, and Solin let out a sigh of relief as the cool dimness greeted her once she walked inside. It went without saying that after treking around in the scorching sun all day, being down here was a welcome change. Sometimes she had to wonder how anyone lived aboveground, but then again that was their choice and she never thought much about it either way.
“Well anybody home in here?” Solin called out as she let her bag fall to the floor in a nearby corner while waiting to hear if her brother was actually here or not. She never could tell when he was home or had gone off somewhere, at least not unless he told her seeing as she couldn’t exactly look around and see for herself. Either way if he wasn’t she’d just sit around and wait for him, and if he was he’d answer soon enough of that she was certain.

[dig17]

Dane struggled against his attacker's tight grip on his neck. He held onto the man's arms, which were lightly scarred, as he choked Dane out with a death grip he had never imagined was possible with human hands. The second man came back at him after Dane moved the assault into his bedroom, and managed to get his legs up into a forceful kick that sent him flying once more into an old painting on the wall, one that Solin had found for him. She, of course, could not enjoy it, but it was the thought that counted: a gift from his sister that showed she cared. If she hadn't have been blind, it probably wouldn't have meant as much as it did.

The old charicature of a man in a funny hat came down as the second man slammed into the wall. The one choking Dane managed to wrap his legs around the front of his torso to get a better control over Dane, but as he did, Dane managed to pry open the man's large fingers from his neck and slam his head backward, his cranium crushing the man's nose and immediately flowing blood from the nostrils. Dane saw the second man approaching again with an old fire axe, bringing his arms behind him to prepare for the swing. Dane rolled himself and the first man two feet to his left as the axe came down, sticking into the rocky floor with an unsuccessful clack.

Dane freed himself from the first man's grasp and dashed for the second man, kicking his arms away from the axe buried in the floor and grasping him by the throat before he sent out a pair of well-aimed punches into his right eye. The man tripped over his own feet, and as he went down, Dane went back to the axe and broke the handle off from the head, creating a wooden stake that he then drove into the larger man's stomach. As he began to go into shock from the pain, collapsing on the ground with a cry, Dane charged at the second man, trying to get his bearings, and tackled him, sending the both of them through his bedroom door.

Dane managed to fight his way on top of the other man, sending a flurry of hits and smacks to his head. As he struggled to keep the man's arms from interfering, he noticed Solin making herself at home, calling out for him. Dane struggled to control the man for the first few moments of him discovering she was home, and as he managed to get the man pinned where he wanted him, Dane looked up at Solin and called out to her.

"Solin! Solin, I need you to close your ears for me! Close your ears, kiddo! Just for a little bit! Everything's gonna be okay!"

[twilighter08]

The moment Solin had heard the sudden commotion from one of the small bedrooms in their run down house, she jumped up from where she'd been sitting only to find herselt standing with her back to the wall. She could hear the scuffling sounds and the shatters as things were broken and torn down mixed with the voices that she could hear muttering and yelling at each other. Two she didn't recognize but one she did, and she almost called out to her brother again to see what was going on and if he'd answer. However, before she could get a word in edgewise she heard a door suddenly break and the sound of bodies hitting the floor which told her all she needed to know. Adding in Dane's sudden command only made her more aware that a serious fight was taking place, one that she did not need to be involved in or it could end very very badly.

"Dane what's going on?!" Solin called out as she stood against the wall with her hands covering her ears, but it did little to muffle the sounds of the fight that she could still hear. Her sightless eyes glanced around in a frenzy mixed with both fear and worry for her bother, even though she couldn't see anything she still had a general idea of where the noise was coming from due to her sharp hearing. Her question was soon cut off when she suddenly felt something grab her ankle and with a scream of fear she was pulled to the ground only to feel someone grab her roughly by the neck, jerk her up off the ground, and then throw her against the nearby wall with enough force that the wind was literally knocked out of her and she merely fell to the ground in a daze from hitting the wall as hard as she had.

"Stay out of this little girl." Solin heard the threatening growl as footsteps approached her, and she felt a chill of fear run through her body as she quickly backed away from whoever was approaching her only to end up with her back hitting the corner of the room. Ignoring the way her body was screaming in pain from being slammed into the wall, she sat curled up in the corner as the footsteps came closer with dull thuds. Her own eyes had fear written clearly within them as she tried to frantically think of a way out of this situation. Just as the unknown attacker had almost reached her, Solin did the one thing she knew she could do even being blind. Hearing his footsteps stop she quickly gauged where he was and with one fast movement she shot past him and started running for the nearby door.

Solin could hear a shout of anger and rage at her escape and she was about to think she was going to make it out. True she was worried for her brother but from past experiences she knew he'd want her to run as fast as she possibly could and get out of here before she ended up getting hurt. The only problem was that she didn't make it very far because as soon as she felt her hand touch the wood door that's when something, most likely a large rock, slammed into her upper back and with a cry of pain she fell to the floor right in front of the door. In an effort to still try and escape she attempted to shove herself up off the ground but that just caused another jolt of pain to flare through her back from where she'd been hit. She could also feel a warm, sticky feeling slowly spreading over the back of her shirt and she immediately knew what it was. It was the all to familiar feeling of blood, something she had felt plenty of times before and knew without questioning what it meant. Although how badly she'd been injured she couldn't tell, and that was the last thing on her mind as the sounds of the previous fight seemed to escalate as she stayed crouched against the door. Now it seemed her attacker's attention had been turned elsewhere, but where exactly was what had her worried and scared.

[dig17]

Dane began to wail on the second man, sending a damnation of epic proportions to his countenance. Dane continued hitting him, over and over and over, losing himself in the rage of battle that so many men had experienced before him. There was blood spurting everywhere, washing over his knuckles and spraying up his arm. The man tried to beg through the hits, but Dane's ears had deafened as he flew out of his mind. At some point, the man stopped resisting, too weakened from the pain to allow himself to waste energy on stopping Dane's flurry. Dane stopped, and looked at the man, weakly moving his head around and barely breathing. Dane stood back up on his feet, and looked down at him as he began reaching for Dane. Dane simply kicked his arm away before he slammed the heel of his boot into the man's nose.

He didn't look back to see if the man was dead or not when he heard Solin scream. He rushed into the room she was in, seeing the impaled man grabbing after her. He kicked the man away with a loud grunt and pulled the axe handle from his torso to stun him with pain. Dane then swung the handle into his head, splintering it again, and continued to ruin the wood by forcing it down on his head over and over. The coup de grace came when he hit the back of the man's neck just right, shocking the nervous system of the spine and forcing him to black out. Dane dropped the bloody weapon and went back to Solin.

"Solin, it's okay."

He let his voice be heard so she wouldn't think she was in danger when he hugged her tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her cheek, breathing hard as he relaxed his tensed muscles. Solin was warm, and he felt instantly comforted by her; just knowing she was safe with him was enough for him to mentally rest.

[twilighter08]

As soon as someone suddenly grabbed her from out of nowhere, Solin's first instinct was to fight back and run. The only thing that stopped her was when she heard Dane's voice as he hugged her, and even then it took a few seconds for it to fully register in her mind that it was just her big brother and no one else. Without a second thought she grabbed him and just clung to him while trying to stop her own shaking, but that was only minimally effective. It wasn't often when stuff like this happened, but when it did it literally terrified her. Especially with the fact that by being blind, all she had as a defense was her sharper hearing and her other senses and even that could trick her if she wasn't careful.

"Dane....who were those guys?" Solin finally asked, not even completely sure herself if she wanted to know. Still there was a part of her that had to question why they had been here or for what reason. Well the reason was clearly obvious that they'd been out for blood, but as for why that she didn't know. Then again there was no guarantee her brother would even tell her, because he had a habit of trying to keep her out of things like that. Not that she couldn't look out for herself in some ways, but with her disability she definitely wasn't much use if a fight broke out.

Not only that but with all the commotion and fighting she had heard, Solin could only imagine the state their makeshift house was in. Needless to say it was probably a good thing she couldn't see anything, or else she'd probably be rather shocked and disgusted by the way the interior look. Furniture was overturned everywhere, some even broken beyond repair, and pieces of wood and other things littered the floor. Blood covered a few areas, with the worst being where one of the men was still lying injured from his earlier beating, and another pool lying where the first attacker had been stabbed by the axe handle. Both men looked like they'd been beated and stabbed within an inch of their lives, and it was probably pure luck on their part that they were even still alive to begin with. So with that said, it was probably more of an advantage at this point that Solin was blind.