1Chapter 1
"Be safe," Mother muttered under her breath, stopping me once again to sling another batch of arrows into my holster. She gripped my arm, giving me one last, piercing look that made her green eyes flash like emeralds – one of the few features I'd inherited from her – before walking back towards the larger crowd.
I swallowed nervously, eyeing the many weapons on my person that I had no idea how to use. I probably should have listened when everyone told me to learn… but I'd been too idealistic about the whole survival thing, naively believing I'd never, ever have to set a foot aboveground.
Clawed fingers and wings that stretch for miles. Half-human, half-bird beasts towering above us, products of evolution that had once seemed to merely foreshadow the apocalypse…
I shivered as the whispered tales of past gatherers flooded me.
If I ran into anything even half as dangerous as the Aeromonids, I wasn't stopping to fight for the last apple. Forget hunger – I was running as fast as my two human feet could take me.
I blinked as my stomach gave a vicious growl – no doubt in sync with twenty others in the room. Turning to take in the hopeful, shining faces of my community, a guilty, plunging feeling sank to the bottom of my empty stomach.
We were the Amazon community – one of the oldest-surviving, underground communities in the Western hemisphere. And the year was 250 A.M. – After Meteor.
Two and half centuries had passed since a meteor as large as the Pacific Ocean had struck Europe and Asia.
Many communities had reverted to old-school, patriarchal tribal systems, unable to forage technology, textbooks and resources as fast the Amazons had. In the midst of such chaos, these societies had fallen prey to their baser instincts, internal disorder giving way to complete dispersal… and a 100% chance of not surviving until old age.
So, what was different about us?
Easy.
We had a no-men policy. No testosterone, going-against-the-authority-vibes to mess with a system that had prevailed since the beginning of the new era.
Of course, being super pro and high-tech didn't mean we didn't need fresh foods and resources. That was what we had monthly gathers for: the long-standing tradition of electing and sending gatherers aboveground for food.
No. Not hunter-gatherers… just gatherers. Fruits and vegetables only.
After all, humans were the only surviving mammals on the planet, and we're definitely not cut out for cannibalism.
"Anderson, Ashley."
"Present," I said, listening as the speaker announced the names every other gatherer going out. At least if I failed, my community wouldn't be doomed.
"...It's definitely a thrilling experience. Plus, we get tans." A more experienced gatherer was speaking to two first-timers beside her, animatedly moving her hands.
Unlike her two avid disciples, I smiled wanly at the thought of what I was about to do… and a sudden, warm fury shot along my spine at the unfairness of it all. I never trained to be a gatherer, or a warrior – my role had always been that of an educator, an electrician. I fixed things… revived somehow dead light bulbs from the depths of the underworld, fixed solar panels in the glass room. I taught little kids their ABCs, taught older ones Calculus...
But of course, someone noticed my abnormal size – six feet one and still growing, goddamn it – and my broader build and said it would be a waste if I didn't gather, and so… voila, here I am. The only untrained gatherer, doomed to fail on her first –
"Hey." A warm sound rumbled to my right, a hand reaching out to my shoulder. "Relax. The first one's always the worst, but it's only because of nerves. You'll be fine."
I looked down to my right, spotting a mousy-haired girl roughly a year younger than me. On my other side, another person – an older woman – took my hand and smiled genially, reassuringly at me.
"Just stick by us."
And as fast as it had arrived, my anger dissipated like fog. I softly smiled back, a quiet determination settling on top of my restless core as the metal trap doors were opened.
I glanced briefly back at my mother and sisters before walking through the doors. Five minutes and several staircases later, there was only one more trap door left, and the two we had just passed were already closing behind us.
A strange curiosity that had been trampled by my nervousness buzzed within me. Of course, I'd seen outside on the few occasions I'd been in the solar panel rooms, fixing equipment. But to actually be outside…
The final doors opened, and I took my first, unsheltered look at the clear, blue skies.
… Incredible.
A tropical paradise. Sparkling azure waters in the distance, palm trees with leaves as long as my bed towering above us at unimaginable heights.
Everything was just so huge.
"Ashley, catch!" whispered Tessa – the older woman from earlier – as she tossed me another banana bunch to stuff in our pouch.
Like a toddler, I held it up to my face… single-handedly, with some effort. "We haven't had bananas in almost two years! And these ones are even bigger."
In fact, the smallest banana of the bunch was probably about two feet in length. And as thick as my neck.
Tessa climbed down from the tree on her rope, jumping the last few feet and swiping the sweat on her brow. "Just stuff it in, Anderson. Dissect it later, in your homey lab."
I dumped it in ceremoniously, unperturbed. "Did you know – bananas were barely averaging eight inches before the meteor –"
"Thank you, Professor Anderson. Let's get going. The forests are not a place to be after dark."
We both took a pouch and sprinted across the forest for about ten minutes when Tessa paused near a cave.
"Stay here. I'm going to check on everyone else in the meadows so we can get back home."
I gulped, nodding silently. I didn't want to be left alone… but I wasn't a wimp. I could handle this. Besides, it was on the way… closer to home.
Most of the group had been collecting almonds – important because nuts were practically our only source of protein – when Tessa dragged me along to gather bananas with her.
With her last demand, Tessa disappeared into the tangled shrubbery.
Silence.
Then I began to notice things.
It was eerie, now that I was alone, and quite easy to hear everything. The soft breeze, ruffling leaves… the occasional rustling of branches that had my heart speeding every two seconds.
I checked the mechanical watch I'd repaired and kept for myself. Twenty minutes. It should have taken, max, only five to seven minutes both ways.
What was going on?
Then I heard it. A bone-chilling, air-shattering caw, followed by very human screams. Then more caws, a whole crew of them – shoot, they were probably all migrating together and decided to swoop down when they saw us.
And the screams. Didn't. Stop.
I stood paralyzed, backed against a palm tree with my tight grip clutching two heavy, trash-can sized banana pouches. Sounds of movement seemed to get closer… closer...
"... Run, Anderson!"
I began to run, leaving one bag and lugging the other onto my shoulder as I ran faster than I ever had.
Not fast enough. The bag was slowing me down… but I couldn't just leave it. Amazons were depending on me… and especially considering I might be the sole survivor of this gathering...
My eyes scanned the area, settling on a small, hidden away cave.
Maybe… I could hide the bananas and come back for them later. Or just, simply hide in the cave… wait for the predators to disappear before heading back...
Quietly, I made my way to the hidden cave and slipped inside, panting, lugging the banana pouch onto the floor as I took in my surroundings.
The cave was larger than it looked, tunneling underground. There was a small pond flowing deeper inside, an almost fluorescent glow coming from the turquoise waters that reminded her of the ocean she'd seen earlier. On the cave walls, a glowing, green moss seemed to light up the place, giving it a mysterious sort of beauty.
But…
I frowned. There seemed to be another light source besides the natural light and glowing moss… something right above –
I froze. Right above me, attached to the cave ceiling, was a working light bulb.
"...Human?"
The voice echoed off the cave walls. Low, guttural, animalistic. The unmistakable hint of danger in it tingled my spine.
It was the most inhuman sound I'd ever heard.