Burning Autumn

Only Way

The morning sun burns on Alina's back. She reaches in her bag and pulls out her binoculars. She brings them to her eyes and looks out over the field below the hill she stands on. She sweeps the field and find a group of strange humanoid creatures.
"Damn, a group of Ashrage," she whispers to herself. She puts the binoculars in her bag again and slings it on her back. She grabs her hunting rifle from against a tree and slings it on her shoulder. She turns around to look begind her and catches her reflection in a small pond. Her silver hair and red eyes are what she sees first. Everyone had some sort of mutation after the Great Eruption and hers was the color of her hair and eyes. She was already beautiful with her pale skin and tall slim form. Her mutation only added to that beauty. When she is sure no one is behind her, she turns again and starts down the hill. Once at the bottom she starts running, once she crosses the field, she will have to hurry to a hunting lodge. Her family's hunting lodge. She swallows hard as she thinks off the family she no longer has. She hits the edge of the field and starts running, not looking back. She hears the grunts and shuffling of the Ashrage following her. She knows they won't catch her. She reaches the edge of forest and slows enough to avoid running into trees. She runs through bushes and branches, snapping twigs as she does. She whimpers as a branch cuts her arm, but she doesn't slow. She catches the sun glinting off a window ahead. A new burst of energy hits her and she rushes foward. She slams through the front door and turns, knocking a board down, barring the door. She breaths heavy and drops her bag after setting her rifle on the rack above the fireplace. She walks to the bathroom and grabs a towel. She starts a shower and digs for the soap and shampoo that is stored in the cabinet. Once she finds it, she gets in the shower. Just as she does, there is pounding on the door. She sighs and cleans herself. She smiles as she sees the dirt wash down the drain. Just as she dries off and gets dressed, she hears a female voice shouting outside the lodge. She runs to the living room and grabs her rifle and moves to the door. She lifts the wooden bar and grabs the handle.
"Are you still out there?" Alina shouts through the door. She hears whimpering and silence, "hello? Anyone out there?"
"Yes, please help, the closest one is only 30 feet away," a female's voice answers. Alina sighs and opens the door. She shoulders her rifle and looks through the scope at the nearest Ashrage.
"In. Now!" Alina says without moving her rifle. As soon as the woman was inside, Alina pulls the trigger of her rifle. Time seems to slow as the muzzle flashes and the crack of a gun firing fills the air. The Ashrage drops, a single bullet hole between it's red eyes. Alina slams the door and drops the bar back into place. She spins and is looking eye to eye with the woman who's life she just saved. This woman couldn't be more than 18.