C O L O R S

Living

Darkness.

Pure, unbreakable, terrifying darkness.

It consumed her. Bit by bit, it ate her up and she became trapped in its depths. But she didn't feel trapped. She felt... Alive.

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Else stalked through the city next to her brother, Dex, looking over each and every memorized crack in the sidewalks and buildings, each shard of glass, each growing weed. She smiled. To her, San Diego was still just as gorgeous as the day before.

Dex tensed, and upon sensing her brother's distress, Else did the same. His eyes were fixed to the ship above.

The ship that held Them.

"What is it, Dex?" Else murmured, watching the ship.

Dex gave no verbal response. He had not spoken since The Beginning. However, his stance relaxed and he continued to move forward.

Else watched a moment longer before following.

"You're right, it has been awhile since They were last over the city."

They were The Runners. People who could afford to run before their city was hit. Before the world could fall.

Else walked into an old hair salon beside her brother. The rich violet color in his hair was fading and he sifted through the racks of hair dye. Else stood guard at the door.

It wasn't often, but occasionally other Survivors came through.

There weren't many. Almost everyone died from the radiation. Sometimes, a radio transmission gave proof that the two teens weren't the only people left.

At least, they thought they were teens. They knew Else was two years older, and their ages when the war started, but after those moments time became lost. Neither one knew exactly how long had passed. They both looked to be just on the cusp of adulthood.

Else rapped quickly on the glass of the door, indicating for Dex to hurry up. The young man turned to glare at her, one hand on his cocked hip, the other holding the correct box of dye.

Else rolled her eyes at him, "Keep sassing me and I won't repierce your tongue."

Dex frowned and stuck out the muscle, the tiny hole in it visibly closing up. His sister grinned wickedly and exited the salon.

Dropping by the gun shop across the street, she refilled the ammo for her .45 HCT USP CT, and grabbed several extra boxes of it.

The handgun wasn't really for much more than the comfort of knowing she could protect herself. She'd taught herself how to handle it from an old manual, similarly to how she'd learned to pierce and tattoo. Mentally, albeit reluctantly, she thanked her grade one teachers for making her learn the alphabet.

Else smiled down at the twin snakes that wound up her arms and met at her collar bone. They were the latest addition to her body and she was quite proud of her own handiwork. She looked up when a sleek black raven landed on her right arm and chuckled.

The raven's feathers were a blue-black, akin to its perch's hair color, and it's eyes rather intricate: deep crimson, outlined by black with fiery, spark-like flecks in the iris.

"Hey, Dex," she mumbled. The raven hopped off of her arm, its body contorting midair, and her brother stood before her with a smirk.

The pair had developed unnatural abilities over the years, the radiation having mutated their once normal genetics. They were both incredibly strong and healed incredibly quickly. Dex was extremely fast, and could change his structure. Else could manipulate the minds of other organisms, and had more flexibility than that of several contortionists combined.

The younger of the two dropped his wolfish grin and stuck out his tongue once more : effectively complaining without words.

"Alright, alright. Let's get back to The Den and I'll do it."

The Den was an old Bed & Breakfast near the outskirts of the city before the war, close enough to the little house a few miles out where the first bomb had hit. The siblings had taken it over about a decade ago, around the time people began disintegrating from the radiation.

Around the time the bombs finally stopped dropping.

"Hold still damnit!" Else growled at her wriggling brother, "I can't get the needle in when you move!"

Dex glared and moved a little more, as if to purposely annoy her.

"I'm going to just push it through and if it's not centered its on you."

The threat stilled the male and he pouted a bit as Else pierced his tongue, fitting the small purple orb into the freshly reopened hole.

"There, centered."

Dex grinned and hopped up, strutting out of the room

Else couldn't help but chuckle softly. She picked up her throwing knives, hunting knife, and the spear she'd borrowed from the museum and refortified. "I'm gonna go out and get supper," she called as she headed out the door.

Luckily enough, the animals that had survived the war had repopulated rather quickly. Hunting had become easy for the siblings and, although Dex was much better at it, he didn't enjoy the act as much as Else did. This left Else on food duty most of the time.

Else jogged out of the city and into the overgrown, flourishing plant life. She stalked through the wooded area near silently, keeping her senses aware of her surroundings.

She walked out near the lake, going over to the water occasionally for a drink while she waited for prey to drop by. Kneeling to take a sip, she noticed her reflection.

Her dark, short hair was just long enough to look messy, and contrasted with her pale skin. The pupils of her eyes were malformed, and reminded her of the black holes from her space picture book. The irises that surrounded them were a deep teal, inset with flecks of silver and outlined by a similar color. She looked, overall, dangerous.

Silently, she fell back into the shrubbery to await a target.

Several hours later, feeling good about her catch, Else had started back toward the city.

A low humming that had settled over the landscape was gradually growing louder, and it unsettled the young female. She moved faster.

Upon reaching The Den, a gust of air hit Else's back. She turned swiftly on her heel and her eyes widened at the sight of the ship. Smaller than the one controlled by Them, but large enough to hold at least 15.

The doors of the ship opened, and two creatures stepped out. They grabbed her, dragging her aboard.

"Get off me!" Else shouted, fighting them off with relative ease. Suddenly, a sharp pain pulsed from her neck and she began to feel drowsy. Her last vision as she collapsed was her brother, watching her with eyes full of terror from a third floor window of The Den.

"D-ex..."