Once Again

"It's human nature. It's instinct to survive, no matter the cost."

The world has fallen into desolation. The apocalypse has already started and finished, leaving some of the surviving ones with strange powers and mysterious scars. The world has ended, according to some, and is now in a state of rebirth. Others say it hasn't ended yet and that it's only going to get worse. The remaining people have grouped together in packs and gangs, raiding the desolate cities and avoiding the ones called the Destroyers, who capture and torture the remaining survivors. No one is safe.

One fifteen year old boy knows this better than anyone. He and his older sister lived together, sticking to the dark alleys of their abandoned city, and survived for years after the apocalypse, until the Destroyers came and took her away, reigning terror on the few who remained in the city. The boy, desperate to find someone to help him save his sister, leaves the city and finds one of the youngest cooperative packs in North America, called the Raiders, comprised of unwanted individuals with the strange powers left from the destruction of years past. Their leader, a destructive insomniac, promises to help him in return for the skills and usefulness this young boy seems to possess, but something disrupting sends waves of unease through the Raiders, something about a forgotten past and talk of a mutiny.

"Maybe there's more to life than just surviving."

...

Rated C for Caution. Though it's rated mature, there is no bad language or vivid descriptions of sexual contact. It does have very strong themes. Please read the two important notices in the intro. Read at your own risk. Thanks.

Highest ranking: #98 in Science Fiction
Ending ranking: #168 in Science Fiction
Tags: #3 in Monstercat

Honorable Mention and Best Summary award in the Golden Star Awards

Started June 10th 2017
Completed December 6th 2017