Aftermath

Prologue

The dusty air blew around the abandoned city. Ruins of it were left with nothing but the sound of distant car alarms and the occasional rustling from papers that lined the streets from office buildings. It had been three weeks since the disaster that struck the whole city. Various cities around the world now in panic over the creatures that flooded news broadcasts. Very few were actually still running.

The flashbacks from three weeks prior flooded the minds of the few that survived. Panic streamed down their faces as tears.

---

"It's not a drill..." The dark haired teen curled up with her best friend in the basement of their high school. They were in the process of taking books down to the library when the overhead PA system alerted everyone to take cover and stay were they were.

Her friend gave her a soft smile and pushed some hair behind his ear. He still had the books that he wanted to return under his arms. He wasn't as paniced as she was.

"Oh, c'mon." He had a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "What's gonna happen? We're in the basement. You need to relax."

Before she could realize what had happened, her vision was gone. His perfect blue orbs that she had been staring into had disappeared. The smell of his cigarettes and cologne mingling stopped registering in her brain. Her hearing: his sweet and constant reassuring that everything was going to be okay... Was gone.

She woke up not remembering anything else with a face full of ash.

---

Her eyes narrowed down the long winding street as her hands gripped the small bag she had found with first aid supplies. Puddles from the rain showers the day before reflected the abandoned buildings. Everything was in ruins. It seemed like the rain added a cooler affect, trying to wash away the devastation.

A small German Shepard, not quite big enough to be an adult, but older then a few months, ran to her side. She sat proudly and gave a wide smile, her tongue dangling from the side of her mouth. Her all-black muzzle merged onto her back. The only brown fur she had was on her legs. She was a beautiful dog that would have went for a lot of money.

"You're still here, huh?" The teen glanced down at the dog before returning her gaze to the abandoned streets. "I guess you can tag along then."

Her attitude was better than it was the first day of the disaster. A small sign of insanity took control as she tried frantically to find her family. Her friends. Her life. All of it was gone. The dog showed itself the day after and kept coming around every now and again since. The company was nice, but she perfered the rest of the population to come alive again.

As she began walking, the dog followed. She didn't know where she was going, but she wanted to find something to eat. Anything to settle the constant rumbling in her stomach. She had run out of water the night before, needing that was also a priority.

"Damn this place..." She looked at the broken street signs, trying to indicate where she was. "I'm lost again." She recognized a large gas station that sat on the corner of the street, but vaguely.

Her feet carried her over the broken glass, paper, and ash as she approached the gas station/conventient store. Instead of the vibrant colors and busy pumping stations, the skeleton stood barely supported by the rusting beams. Doors were barely held on by broken hinges and dangled open for her.

As she walked in, the dog hopped through the broken window to her right, meeting up with her and licking its injured paws. The girl realized what she actually needed to get before she could even think of herself. After scanning the shelves, she found two ace bandages and knelt down in a bare spot on the floor.

"C'mere, girl." She patted her knee as the dog walked over to her, smiling away like nothing was wrong.

She was so pure, it was painful. The dog's tail wagged as she placed her paw on her knee. With tender care, the teen wrapped her paws and made sure that none of them were punctured. The last thing she needed was to see a dog suffer from an infected paw.

"I've got to think of a name for you," she said as she finished. "My name is Hirukai." The dog only smiled as Hirukai gave a slight chuckle. Even in the midst of all the chaos, she smiled at the dog. "I'll call you Maxie."