Whispered Lies (IC)

The End of the World has come and gone. No one knows how. Except the world's leaders. But, they figured, what people didn't know wouldn't harm them. What people couldn't affect the world any worse than it was. But they were wrong.... because honesty is always better than lying.

The year? 2900. The Earth? Barren. Completely destroyed. Refuges are set up around the globe, but only the strongest can survive. Islands, like Hawaii and even Australia, are underwater. Most people must walk for days to find firewood. Food is scarce. Everything is scarce except for weapons. In this time, only the largest and toughest animals survive. New species have come up, and ancient ones vanish. Humans walk the continents with animal companions, the only companions safe to keep. Because you never know when your best friend, your spouse, or your children will kill you in your sleep. The world is a dangerous place. And for one hundred years, the governments have been trying to help, playing the part of the caregiving mothers to abandoned, helpless children.

But now, a young woman has discovered a secret: the governments they have relied upon were the cause of all the suffering. So she and her familiar have left their refuge with weapons and stolen food, intent on forming a band that can solve the problem of traitorship by any means.

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Sarah sighed, feeling cramped in her bivouac of a tent. She could hear Yenna outside, gnawing on her prey. She rose up, careful not to hit her head on the strong pole that held it up, and snatched a ration bar from her bedside.Broccoli. Gross. Opening it up, she bit off a piece and put it in a pocket for lunch. Sarah carefully rolled up her sleeping pallet and took down her tiny tent, sighing again. Ever since she had obtained that information of betrayal life had been even harder than usual. She missed her family. Her sister, her mother, and her two brothers. The duo were currently in a bland, rocky, area pockmarked with hidden valleys and secret caves. It was a paradise compared to the plains.

"Yenna!" she called, strapping her gun-carrier to her back, "Let's head out, see who we run into today!" She smiled for the sake of smiling and walked out of the cave they had been lucky to find, facing the sun. The brunette glanced back at the crystal-filled cavern that was about midway up the foothill, thinking about the stories she had heard where just a sliver of those shiny materials meant three complete meals a day for a full year. The past had been good. And it was all their fault the utopia had washed away. Her face hardened and she drew her gun, scowling. Yenna arose gracefully and leaped up the rock face, acting indifferent to Sarah's mutterings, for she knew it was worthless to dwell on that as of yet.

Sarah followed quickly, not wanting to lose Yenna amongst the rocky terrain."Hey, Yenna!" She called, "Do you think we'll find anyone today?" The big cat just flicked her tail before disappearing above the ledge. Sarah struggled for a bit, pulling herself up to the peak. When she reached it, she pulled herself up alongside the cougar and stared. Below them was a small valley, full of beautiful, waving grass. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Wow..." she murmured, in awe of the tan grass. The sight was amazing.

But Yenna, always the anchor to reality, showed her the truth. Yenna jumped up higher and higher, ignoring Sarah's wishes to go down. But then, Sarah saw. Moving against the grass's natural movement were hints of a bigger, deadlier threat. Elephants. When she was training for the army, Sarah's general had told her these things evolved from peaceful giants into the beasts they were today. The massive lizard-like things had tusks the length of ten rifles and bullet-proof skin. The only thing they were susceptible to was nature-created things, like fire and water. Sarah sneaked around the cliff face and let her breath out when the valley passed out of view, not realizing she had held it before the plain of Elephants. Nimbly doing a backflip to the other side of the foothill, she saw Yenna waiting at the bottom. Taking a short breath, she jumped, drawing on all of her militia training. In the air, she saw a rabbit move. Sarah pulled out her hunting pistol and shot it, still falling, the shot cracking through the still air and the rabbit's scream following. If anyone else was in the area, they know now I'm here. Landing hard, she snatched the rabbit and brought it to her impatient familiar. "Time for lunch." The trek across two foothills had taken the morning.