On the Run

1.

I was perched in a tall oak tree, about twenty feet off the ground. The Androids wouldn't have been able to find me through the thick, green vegetation of the tree. The new moon, which made it pitch black in the forest, didn't act as a means of direction either. I was safe, well, at least until morning. I couldn't believe that Androids had lasers that could turn you into gruesome diced fruit in about thirty seconds but didn't have night-vision goggles. Well, I was thankful for that. In some ways, at least.

Suddenly, I heard small branches crackling directly above me, Something was getting ready to fall, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A dark figure crashed downward onto me, causing me to lose my grip and plummet to the forest floor. I landed in a maelstrom of leaves, twigs, and rocks, letting out a pained cry. I'd fallen twenty feet before, but not with something twice my weight barreling down on me at top speed. Thankfully, my face pressed into soft, moist dirt. Hopefully I had nothing broken there. The rest of me was a different story, however, including the fact that whatever had fallen on me was still on top of me.

"Sorry about that." a male voice whispered into my ear. I jumped, bucking the person off of me.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded in a harsh whisper. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Sorry, I was laying half-asleep in the tree and the branches gave. I'm Cain, by the way." the guy whispered back.

A loud rustle erupted from a few nearby bushes. Cain jumped over to me, put a hand on my shoulder and took my lips with his. I realized what he was doing and pretended to kiss him back. Everyone knew that the Androids were inherently programmed not to engage with a couple. The Queen added that into the code after the global population loss from the war. A decline in world population by fifty percent meant the need for a boost, no matter the means.

The rustle disappeared forty painful seconds later, and Cain pulled away.

"Sorry again." Cain whispered, scratching the back of his neck idly.

"Well, you could warn a girl." I said.

"What's your name?" he asked, dismissing my comment.

"Sage." I replied.

"Sage," he said thoughtfully. "I like it."

"Cain, is it safe to come out yet?" a young, frightened voice asked from the shadows.

"Sure, guys. Come on out." Cain said.

Two small children peered out from bushes before reluctantly stepping out. Cain motioned something imperceptible to them and they began gathering twigs and sticks and set them in a small pile. When they were done, Cain clicked his fingers and a small flame came from his index finger. He touched it to the pile. A fire lit.

"Ah, so you're a Pyro. I was beginning to think you were just normal and sleeping in the woods." I joked.

"Yeah, I'm a Pyro. What are you, anyway?" he asked accusingly, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Me?" What was I? It was hard to explain. I had every power there was. Which was unheard of. "Guess I'm still trying to figure that out."

Cain eyed me skeptically but nodded.

The fire had flared up and now I could see what everyone looked like. The two children were a male and a female and were dressed in regular small shirts and pairs of jeans. They also had matching round faces, blond ringlets and brown eyes - twins. Then, I switched my eyes to Cain. He had curly, dark brown hair, tan skin and piercing, ice blue eyes. High cheekbones forced his eyes to be deep-set, like they’d be shrouded in partial darkness permanently.. He caught me looking at him and I shifted my eyes to the darkness of the forest.