What Is Left

Alec

Olivia pressed her face against the bars, "Alec? Is that you?"
A hand reached out from the cell next to hers, holding a broken piece of a mirror which showed part of his face, he gave her his crooked smile, "Hey Snow Bunny."
She couldn't help but laugh, she reached out and tried to grab his hand but it was just out of reach, "how'd you get here? Where's Ares?"
Ares was a hound they found together in the woods.
When Olivia first met Alec, the fences had just fallen, the soldiers were gone.
He was older than her by a few years, about 18.
He and his family had been able to survive without the aid of the soldiers.
He said his ancestors were able to easily live off the land, so with the tricks he was taught he survived easily.
He knew how to hide and keep away from the monsters. He knew how to collect food, even in the burnt forest he managed to gather food, most were burnt animals or fish but still.
His family had been with him when they met, but soon the monsters came and took them.
Her family took him in, well, he took them in, teaching them how to survive and keeping them alive.
She spent two years with him, until one day they were separated.

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That morning, he had gone to find breakfast.
He left Ares behind, the hound dog they rescued, so Olivia woke up to the dog licking her face.
She quickly pushed Ares muzzle away and sat up, yawning, "oh come on. Alec where are you?"
No answer, of course, he went somewhere.
Her parents were still asleep so she quietly got dressed.
She looked around and pet Ares head.
He suddenly started growling and ran off.
Olivia stood up, "Ares?!"
There was a large howling noise, a mix of howling and laughing.
The back of her neck prickled, she knew that noise. It was day. They usually hunted at night.
Her parents sit up.
Her mother quickly grabbed the bags, "Olivia let's go!"
Her father grabbed Olivia's arm as the first beast came into sight.
He pulled her away, "let's go! Where's Alec?!"
"I don't know! Alec!"
"He'll find us!" He broke out in a run, pulling Olivia behind him.
She kept tripping and yelling for Alec and Ares.
She never saw him again.
Until that moment, in that cell, when they finally found each other.

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"What happened to you?" He asked.
She tried to look at him through the mirror, his hair was pulled back into a braid and he still had his mother's necklace on.
"What happened? We were almost eaten! What happened to you?"
"I came back and you were gone. There were tracks everywhere. I didn't know what way you went. I know something happened. Maybe a raid but I saw none of the beasts."
"They followed us then scattered for some reason." She sighed, "I thought they got to you."
"No. I finally started tracking you when I met this Venit guy." He pulled his arm back into his cell.
"Where's Ares?"
There's a large pause, then, "Venit killed him. Fed him to his beasts."
"His beasts?"
"Look." She could see him point to the cell across from her.
A rat scurries along the wall, a large one.
Like a flash of lightning a dirty dark hand grabbed the rat through the bars, snapping the rat in two on account of it being too large for the bars.
She couldn't see the beast inside, but blood sprays and drips from the bars.
She could hear the crunching on the bones and satisfying smacking of lips from the beast.
She pushes away from the bars, "he keeps them here?!"
"I'm pretty sure he wants to turn us into them." Alec's normally light-hearted voice was grave and deep, as if he aged a few years since they separated.
"He can't do that...can he?"
"I ...Dont know."
That's when they heard the shrieks from down the hall.
"Juniper!" Olivia kicked the door, hoping it would open.
"Who the hell is Juniper?!" Alec asks.