CHAPTER ONE

I gasp as I open my eyes and look around. Fields of barren land stretch out beyond my sight. The stench reaches me first, its suffocating claws wrap around my nostrils as the bile rises up my throat. I pull my hand to my nose and finally notice the corpses that lay waste to the ground. My eyes widen in shock. What the hell happened? It looks like a massacre. I stand still in shock while remnants of my memories resurface. Images of human torture flash through my head as it aches. My heart beats rapidly while I feel a sudden sense of danger. "My name....Cora...Cora Aetós." I whisper. Why can't I remember anything else? With my head throbbing and no other option, I start walking towards the horizon with one goal in my mind; I have to find out who I am and why I can't remember in the first place.

******

I need aspirin. That thought is the only thing that has kept me going. There's practically no sight of water and the scorching rays of the sun only make it worse after noon. I walk alongside a road that leads to what looks like civilization. I can't tell if it's all a hallucination but to me, it's my safe haven.

As I get closer, my vision sharpens and I can see clearly. Most of the buildings are reduced to rubble and broken down. The streets are silent, filled with empty cars and shops. Weeds grow everywhere, even on the cars. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the only human here. It seems like the entire town has been abandoned. I walk around a little while longer and peek into the windows of shops. Where is everyone? I hear the sound of a car wailing and immediately turn around. I feel fear well up in my heart and back away. My conscious tells me there's someone else and I turn around once again.

"Who's there?"A rock rolls out from the shadows. Great, a ghost. "I already know you're there so do yourself a favor and come out before I come over there myself," I threaten. I hear the sound of heavy boots and my body stiffens as the person emerges from the shadows. A boy. He's wearing black military boots, black cargo pants and you guessed it- a black jacket. He runs his hand through his thick brown hair. His hazel eyes stare intently at me as though contemplating whether or not he should say something. A loud bang from my left grabs my attention and my eyes widen in shock. A dark cat-like creature runs towards me like a lion hunting down its prey. "What the- "Watch out!" I'm knocked down to the ground, the boy hovering on top of me. Before I know it, I'm on my feet and the boy is dragging me across the street. We hide behind a white van and he grabs my shoulders turning my body towards him.

"Are you crazy? You could have been killed!" He shouts. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" No, I'm not. "You should know better than to walk around in the open," he adds. "What was that?" I ask.

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" He asks with an accent I can't quite place. He raises his eyebrow at my silence, "You're acting like you're new around here."

I stare at him. Realizing I'm not joking, he replies a second later, "Metamorphoses, we call them metamorphoses." That sounds familiar. "Oh." He stands up looking at our former position, "It's coming." I barely say a word when the 'metamorphosis' runs towards us with a new ignited fire glowing in its eyes. Death.

"We have to get out of here," I say urgently. "It's too late for that. We'll just have to fight," he says while pulling a dagger from his jacket. "What? You're the crazy one! Fight that thing!?" I exclaim. "You got a better idea, Miss Wanderer?" He counters. I bite my lip in frustration, the boy shrugs and walks towards the creature.

I can't believe my eyes; this guy really wants to die. But it's not like I plan on stepping up, the strange thing is that I feel like that metamorphosis wouldn't leave a single scratch on me. The dehydration must be getting to me.

The boy takes a defensive stance and seconds later the metamorphosis stands tall, growling as it leans towards him. It seems like everything happens within the span of five seconds; the creature lungs for him, he dodges and stabs it in the side. With that, it cries out in pain, it's only a matter of getting on top of it and lodging the dagger into its heart. After one last cry, the creature stops moving. I feel weak in my knees and fall to the ground as it slowly disintegrates. "What a waste, I should have gotten some its blood," the boy sighs.

He walks over to me, "Well are you going to sit there dumbfounded forever?" "These things...are they found everywhere?" I ask. "More or less." "You defeated it so easily."

"Believe me, that's one of the weaker ones," he looks at me, "You really don't know anything, do you?" "More like I can't remember anything." I reply. He shakes his head and sighs in defeat. "Sebastian." "Huh?"

"I said, my name is Sebastian," he repeats. "My name is Cora." "Okay, Cora. Tell me, how did you manage to survive this long?"

I end up telling him everything from the barren field to when I met him. "That's about it." "I don't know if I can help you." I sit down on a bench and sigh. "Anyway, I have to get going so...um goodbye." He says walking away. "W-wait, you're just gonna leave me?" "Um, that was the plan," he says like it's the most obvious thing in the world. I roll my eyes. "Where are you going?" "Central." That name sounds familiar too.

"I'm coming with you." I say shocking both myself and him. "What?" "You heard me, I'm coming with you," I say with more confidence. "I'm not going to babysit you," he laughs, "Besides you want to come with me dressed like that?" I look down at my simple blue dress and black sneakers. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" "You look like you're going for a stroll in the park; you'll probably hold me back." "I will not!" He looks deep in thought for a moment. "Suit yourself then, but if you fall behind, I'm leaving you." "Then I guess that means that I just have to keep up." I say bypassing him. "What have I gotten myself into?" he sighs. If only he knew.