CACKLE- Book 1

Chapter Two

"You're definitely an autumn."

Anna watched Remi try on a purple blouse they found along with some other goodies during their scavenge that morning. Only a few holes along the inner seam, both sleeves had been cut off long ago. The edges were jagged as though the garment had been 're-designed' with a knife. The dark pants they found were tight but gave just enough so Remi could make them fit. They were torn at the knees and the material around the ankles was beginning to split, but by far it was the most intact article of clothing she had ever found. The shirt was well preserved given it had been out there PA (Post Apocalypse) for nearly sixteen years.

"That colour is called plum."

Remi ran her fingers along the neckline that exposed her throat and upper chest. Her previous shirt was so thin and frail, one scratch from a demon claw and the entire garment would likely fall apart.

"How could I be an extinct season, Anna?"

Remi turned from admiring her reflection in the cove to see Anna stacking firewood.

"PA." Was all she said.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Anna smiled, looking her up and down before taking a stepping forward to brush a lock of Remi's burgundy hair behind her faintly pointed ear. "You look beautiful."

Remi scrunched her mouth to the side in a smothered smile. If she didn't say anything, Anna would eventually get to the point. And she did. Sighing, she went on for some time about the clothing she used to have. Dresses with satin and lace, high collars, and corsets. Weird frilly knickers in various colours.

"Men were fond of red and pink." She said.

"The colours of autumn, you know." She looked to Remi who paused, racking her brain.

"Red, orange, yellow, brown... purple too?"

"Yes, beautiful shades of purple. Though to be fair you look marvellous in any colour. That skin, that hair, those eyes. You could wear nothing but a linen shift and still you would be the most dazzling person in a room."

A pink flush brightened Remi's cheeks.

Anna had told her so much of the world, of the things she missed. Clothing, wine, the food and the men. Remi had been so curious. She would scavenge to find painted portraits as a young girl. Though, the only man she ever met in person was the farthest thing from those dashing works of art. It was also the last time she had seen another human.

The villages had been the first to get picked clean of useful material once hell came to Earth. When she was eight years old Remi had been allowed to accompany Anna on a supply run. They were in the basement of an old apothecary's home, picking through mostly empty boxes, looking for any medical supplies they could find. Instead, they had found a man, sitting in the dark, covered in black blood. He was gnawing on the severed wing of a flyer demon.

Demon blood is poisonous to humans and witches alike. The man must have been starving if he had resorted to eating one. At that moment in time, he wouldn't have had more than a couple days left to live.

When he saw the witches, he stared for a long time. Anna had stared back, both frozen in place. He had looked from her to Remi before he lunged at Anna. He gnashed his teeth, trying to bite and grab her. Anna pushed Remi out of the way and she fell hard, scraping both elbows on the stone floor.

The stranger tried pinning Anna down, but she kept her knees up close to her body and kicked him off. When she tried to run, he grabbed her leg, dragging her back and pulling her up by her hair, exposing her neck. Remi tried to scream but her breath caught in her throat. At that moment the man gasped. It wasn't a gasp of shock or horror. It was a raspy, sickly gasp. A strangled kind of sound.