Life After the Cataclysm - Chapter 1

Sin smiles, "Okay, then. The attic it is." She heads upstairs and finds the door in the ceiling at the last bedroom at the end of the hall. Grabbing the pull rope, she gives a hard tug and the ladder comes down, almost on top of her. The steps are partially rotten, so she'll have to be careful as she goes up.

Taking her new knife out of its sheath, she places the blade between her teeth and heads up. It's dark, but her vision allows her to see fairly well in the dark. She pokes her head up and looks around, making sure that nothing is in there that would cause harm. Not seeing anything, she pulls herself up and looks around.

There a lot of old trunks, rotted, wooden rocking chairs, an old mirror, a yellowed doll, etc. She heads to one of the trunks and pries the clasp open, waving her hand in front of her face to dissipate the dust and sneezes anyway. Looking in, she finds old clothes, shirts, pants, dresses, skirts and blouses. Most are threadbare or fall apart as she picks them up. Some, the ones at the bottom, are in fair condition. She puts these off to the side to take closer look at later.

Moving to the next chest, she opens it, sneezing again. Inside she finds men's clothes, t-shirts, jeans, yellowed undershirts, socks, dress shirts, etc. As with the first chest, the clothes at the bottom are in the best condition. The next chest holds women's shoes and boots, the third one holds men's shoes and boots. In the final two, she finds children's clothes and stuffed animals.


~She's playing with another little girl. She's about 8 years old and the little girl is about 10. It's her sister, Alexandra. They're playing dolls before they have to go to bed.~

The memory goes into another one, her and Alexandra, only they're older.

~Sin is about 16, Alexandra is 18. They now live in cells, next to each other, but separated by a concrete wall with only a 12 inch by 12 inch window to allow them to see each other. Sin has watched as the doctor took Alexandra away for testing and they had just brought her back. Alexandra lay on her cot, crying, curled in a fetal position. Her body is bloodied and bruised.

Sin begins to talk to her, "Alex....Alex....don't cry, sis. I'll get us out of here, somehow. You have to be strong." Alex rolls over, her face tear streaked. "It hurts, Sin....it hurts. Don't let them try to breed you. It hurts." Looking down for a minute get control of the anger showing in her eyes, Sin then looks back up, a smile on her face. "Just hang in there, it won't be for much longer." Alex looks at her. "Doctor Bainbridge said that soon, it will be your turn." That's when the doctor shows up outside her cell. "It's time, Sin. Time to prove your worth. First, let's see how fast she will heal, then we'll see if she has what it takes to breed. Sin screams, knowing what is coming.~

Sin falls to the floor, her mouth open, but no sound escapes. She had a sister. "Oh God....Oh God."

Doctor Bainbridge, reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of amber coloured liquor and an old-fashioned glass. He poured himself a shot and boorishly inhaled the contents, then shot one more before standing and walking down a corridor at the back of his lab. Along the way, he entered a room where he obtained the carcass of a rabbit then continued onward, stopping at a dead end. The doctor kicked a concealed pressure pad on the baseboard and a secret passage opened that the doctor entered, descending down a steep stairway illuminated by blue LED's. At the bottom he wound his way through a labyrinth of caves until arriving at a heavy steel door which he unlocked with a key worn around his neck.

The heavy door swung open, revealing a chamber illuminated by an eerie blue glow. Holding the dead rabbit before him, Bainbridge carefully walked into the dark room, then he stopped when something far larger than hyena-hybrids stirred in the far corner.

"Alex." Softly called the doctor, "I have a treat for you." the doctor said as he continued to approach the center of the room. He stopped and shook the rabbit before him. "Do you want this?" He asked the giant shadowy figure in the corner, then the enormous creature which must have stood nearlly 12 feet tall, stepped into the light. The head of a wolf became visible, then it's powerful, humanoid body followed.



"It is good to see you, Alex." Greeted Bainbridge, tossing the rabbit carcass in the air and into the beast's mouth. The Were-wolf-like, monster slowly devoured the meat and though the doctor was in striking distance the vicious beast kept it's distance.

"You are going to see your sister, very soon, my dear." Informed the doctor to which the creature just snarled and retreated back to it's corner.

The creature was once human, but shape-shifting exercises and an array of experimental drugs had turned the woman permanently into a wolfin-woman. Within her mind few memories of who or what she was remained, and all she knew was to kill and mangle, but not the good doctor of course.

Sin sat up, her head hurting, but not as bad this time around. She had a sister. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but couldn't. It would come, she guessed, when it came, not before.

Getting up from the floor, she grabbed the women's and men's clothing she'd found that were wearable in the trunks and finding an old bag, stuffed them inside to carry downstairs. She looked around some more and finding nothing realy important, she headed back down the ladder from the attic with the bag of clothes.

Heading on downstairs, she checks on the chicken jerky and seeing that it seems to be cooking the way it's supposed to, she heads on to the basement door after putting the bag onto the table. She heads on down the stairs into the basement and sees the water at the bottom.

"Zack....Zack....where are you? Are you still down here?"

Zack had rooted round for ages when he found what all expected in some old farm cottage a shelf of wines at the back then he heard Sin’s voice he had been side tracked over wine for almost half an hour he picked two bottles which had attracted to him most. “Found well…. Umm…. Wine!” coming back to the stairs in the thigh deep water he reached the first step his heavy boot coming down onto the step.

“So what did you find?” Zack reaching Sin he was already opening one of the bottles he had recovered. He gave a fond grin to Sin as it opened holding the bottle from his lips he opened his mouth letting it fall into his mouth. Smacking his lips he gave a nod of approval holding the bottle out he gave it a light shake to indicate whether she wanted any. “Fruit juice?”

Zack raised an eyebrow as she took the swigs and believed it was fruit juice. He watched the colour flow to her cheeks as she drunk more and taking the jerky out of the steamer. Zack went over to Sin taking the bottle from her with slight protest but he corked the end back up. “It’s an acquired taste drink to much and there are consequences.” He looked at the clothes more closely wondering which ones he would be seen dead in or wearable.

Zack began picking at pieces of clothing he scratched his head at the problems of not having a rucksack but he didn’t he lifted a finger representing 1 sec to Sin. Zack ran upstairs to the bed they had used stealing the sheet quickly he ran back down throwing his ‘essential’ taking care of the wine into the sheet then he tied it into a makeshift knapsack hanging it from his claymore. “To be honest the experimentation of your sister was probably the worst act me and the doctor had committed.”

“Permanent change the doctor called it.” Looking up to Sin as he sat down thinking over his words carefully. “It was one of the few experiments I participated in properly being the only one who could withstand your sister when as an animal.” He took a deep breath thinking further of the details bringing the bad memories to the front. “If you can imagine excessive amount’s of change, stress, risk and even combat can change a trigger within us to change permanently I was an opposite to your sisters case strangely going through the same stress even a later experiment a replica of your sisters I adapted differently to become more human than animal changing only slightly.”

Zack was finding the right words in which to describe her then he only had one sentance. "A twelve foot tall walking wolf." Thinking that maybe she would not understand the term werewolf. He knew the doctor had made one miscalculation when they had finished she was also stronger now than most of the the hybrid's dare he say even him the doctors right hand man. He pulled the wine bottle back out opening it he handed it to her. "We can stay here for another day if you want." He stood aiming to go to the basement for another few bottles of the wine he began to walk for the door.

He stood at the doorway putting the bottles he had just collected onto the floor he looked to Sin. "We were going to but you did not 'pass' the doctors standards thinking that you would not survive the procedure." He kept his space knowing that she may need to unwind and being the only thing that moved in the room gave him as a very good target but he casually tilted his head to the side trying not to show his pain at telling pain such bad new if he hadn't told her she would have found out maybe later making it much worse.

Zack walked up to her shaking her lightly. "He would not do such a thing she was his favourite he would never kill her." Then thinking in more depth. "What if i told you she sits in a large vault cell getting fed and simply left thier to her own devices which the doctor keeps secret from all other gaurds now i only stumbled upon it when Alex was moved i wondered where she had gone." He sat on the floor next to her. "We can go rescue her." Smiling slightly hoping to raise her mood.

Zack gave a carefree smile as he stood back up to help her. “Well I told you their were consequences if you drank too much.” He found some grease paper wrapping slabs of jerky in them he placed them in Sin’s bag. “We need to take a break for you to recollect yourself, and then we will get Alex.” Walking back to her he sat down cross legged in front of her as she sat on her ass.

Zack had been travelling for the few days avoiding the day he knew he hated the sun he thanked Sin’s concern many a time as it irritated him but it was a benefit instead of having some walking steam pillar. Zack looked over to her now sitting in the office block he asked himself had he fallen in love or was it him playing his duty in he was confused for he had never felt love for anything much just great care which was towards his sword which did not retort or attack at an insult he found it confusing. He looked back thinking this was the most he had interacted before the Doctor’s socially most of the priests accepted a grunt as an answer.

The two sat in the ruined office block Zack was leaning against a wall a bottle of the ‘fruit juice’ by his side. He gulped another mouthful understanding that his system simply assimilated it and no effects happened to him. He gave a smile to Sin as he put the bottle back down his sword sat next to him leaning against the wall he had been cleaning its edge for the past few days making it almost keen enough to cut through stone. “Do we have a plan or are we gonna charge at the next sunset and release all the hybrids causing chaos allowing us to get to Alex or will we separate and do the chores at the same time?” cocking his head to the side like any animal Sin had noted that it was a habit of Zack’s when ever a question propped up and he was observing ready to take the answer in.

Zack took a gulp of the wine handing it back to her at the evil eyes she was giving him. “Fair does splitting up would be bad unless we know where we going.” Listening to all she told him of her ideas so search it carefully then.

He frowned at her question. “I figured you were good at infiltration but the Doc didn’t listen, what you have to remember is also we only took research into reproduction and war.” Giving a grimace as he remembered having to brawl one of the hybrids it had been painful. “Well that’s my verdict you were only a disappointment to the doctor, in fact I remember many a time taking place of your doctor and sitting with you and Alex those were calm times.” Thinking back upon the time which was the only happy moment inside those walls talking to them as children to an adult the conversation had been about trains but the girls had ended it quickly by saying they had never seen or heard one so they couldn’t continue. Zack helped himself to a slice of jerky form his hamper-bag.

He watched her walk to the window observing then she asked about communication. “The guards may be still using radio sets we will have to check.” He scratched at the side of his neck as she mentioned the stories. “I tried to comfort the both of you but any signs of too much happiness may cause anomalies in the doctor’s results, I was never able to tell you anything amazing, Alex was never allowed to couple when we took a blood sample of her, the scientists noticed nothing but the Doc noticed a resistive streak which would cause her to kill any children trying to be born if unwanted.” He let his left hand glide across one of the 4 scars across his face. “The change had been wrong with me he wanted success at least once and he did.”

He thought over the idea of stopping Doc how easy it would be to simply release the hybrids and hunt down the filth. He had been still staring at the window when he noticed her moving to him crouching down he looked at those amber eyes being drawn into them. “Of course we could die but we intend not to don’t we.” He found it hard to break eye contact with her as they looked at each other she began to explain her feelings for him and her reasoning that he should not die for her but he knew he would die for her if it was the last moment in the operation. That’s when he was caught by surprise a kiss straight to his lips he blinked his steel eyes looking over her face then she got up his gaze following her with another blink he cleared his mind caught on his back foot as they said. “Thanks, for telling me.” He got up to look for a room or part of this ruin where Sun wouldn’t be able to ruin his sleep or rest either one he remembered the time they had been caught on their travels in the open steam rising from him a great laugh. “Call me if trouble comes it would be stupid to lone wolf it now.” With that he began to head for a dark room before daybreak.