Untrustable

Chapter 1: New Beginning, Near End

  Jensen awoke from his slumber with a jolt, his eyes wide open, few drops of sweat trickled down his forehead.

  He rubbed his face with his palm, a view through the holes of the wooden walls, sunlight wasn't present on the sky yet, the beautiful twilight misted by dark clouds, an elegance behind obstructions.  Jensen shoved an ant away from his elbow, good thing it wasn't infected, the bite must have woke him up.

  Jensen scrambled up to his feet, glanced both ways as the fire behind him flickered, his long shadows casted right in front of him.

  He looked behind, his one and only love sleeping soundly in the sleeping bag, holding the rough fabric tight towards her for warmth, a protection from the bitter cold of near winter. Jensen smiled at her, her beautiful face lit by the dim illumination from the fire.

  "Since sleeping isn't an option, suppose I should go for something." Jensen murmured to himself.

  He unlocked a steel chest, grabbed a steel blade from it and wrapped a thick coat around him, two daggers equipped on both sides of his belts. He crouched down beside the one he spent the most affection in, and give her a good long kiss on the forehead, never can he resist a smile on his face after that.

  Jensen exited the wooden cabin with a sigh, another day means another life risking journey.

  His small cabin camouflaged by nature, which is slowly reclaiming earth by whole. The road proved itself harsh with all the crippled terrains and fallen trunks and branches, sometimes concretes and dust.

  Birds chirped along the way, a new life, a new beginning from what Jensen had remembered. A forest is always better than towering buildings, sunshine better than city lights, animals better than disgusting human beings, that thought of nothing except for the stacks of green paper that can be traded for almost anything.

  A half an hour was always a period of time to be used for traveling on foot, for the survival of he himself and the one he loves the most.

  He reached the tournament area, a large hall built by stones, was once a church but now a bloodied battlefield for all the ones competing for basic necessities. Torches glowed vigorously, illuminating the dark area with a ghostly light, flickering flames summoned shadows from larger collapsed objects on the hard ground.

  Everything within was dusty, abandon, infested with rats and other creatures somehow mutated by the radioactivity present within air in certain areas. A chandelier hung above the ceiling, swinging with the winds and emitted a hollow jingle and chimed according to a fixed rhythm, making a ghostly tune of its own.

  The rules of the tournament was simple, two options, fight or die. Winners of each match are rewarded with food, packets of rice, vegetables or meat, no currency is included, harsh livings in the 2098, hard to know dates despite the calendars, sometimes day seemed like night and night seemed like days.

  Every day's a thrill, a survival, and it cannot be denied, life's an endless game to Jensen, with no pauses or restarts, no undoes and cheats.

  The steel of the unsheathed blade glimmered as the light of burning torches shone on it. Jensen entered the gates of the cruel battlefield like everyday he does, winter is near, but the bitter winds never freeze his burning heart for his love.