This story takes place along the border of Nevada and California, but sometime in 2028, and the girl's about 12...
The little girl shivered and clinged to the only source of heat she had, which was a thin black jacket. It was a gift from her father; she had always treasured it. Her pet, a small rodent-like creature with puny bat wings crawled over to her and nuzzled her neck. In the streets of the Lake Tahoe, it was surprisingly beautiful in the winter. Soft white snow covered every inch of the place. Magnificent cabins added to it and went perfectly with the weather. Once the U.S. had gone into disaster after the 2026 earthquake, weather really never changed much here. The lake was always cold and offered no gift of life, and it was everyone for themselves now. Barely any humans survived since the earthquake had affected other countries. Tsunamis took place. So did fire and chaos. Then prisoners went loose, spreading across the world and committing crimes because no one cared anymore. Basically everyone died except for this little girl and many, many animals that had somehow known about the catastrophe before it happened. They all took cover and prepared themselves for the worst.
The lass curled into a tight fetal position in the tall trees. She hugged her pet to her chest and figured she should at least make an effort to catch some rest before she had to go search for food again.
CRAAAACK! The girl gasped but didn't move, keeping an eye out for a bear or coyote. Several twigs and stones crunched under the loud body. Suddenly she saw bright turquoise eyes peek out from the barren bushes, followed by flushed cheeks and short chestnut hair. Then a hushed male voice called out,"Is anybody there?"
