Earth was no longer the cradle of life. it had become a graveyard of ash and silence. Cities lay in ruins, buildings crumbled, roads cracked. Nature was slowly reclaiming what was left.
Once-bustling cities had collapsed into skeletal remains of steel and stone, half-swallowed by sand and time. Roads cracked like veins, leading to nowhere but to ruins.
The wind moaned through hollowed-out buildings, carrying the acrid scent of burnt ozone and decay.
Vegetation had withered into brittle stalks.
Above it all, the sky was no longer blue, it had turned a brooding, hellish red, a permanent reminder of the day the world died.
The atmosphere was toxic. The sun barely pierced through rust-colored clouds that bled across the horizon.
Locals called this cursed new Earth Redwake, it was named for the way the sky blushed like an open wound and the land seemed to drown in silence and blood.
Gone were the days of laughter and civilization. Now, silence reigned.
Survivors moved like ghosts, eyes sharp, guns always loaded. Trust was a luxury. Sleep was a gamble. Letting your guard down, even for a moment, meant disappearing and getting swallowed by Redwake's merciless night.
The Earth had become void of quality life.
Ashbourne was now a carcass filled with toxicity and danger. Roads were shattered, fallen buildings leaned on one another. The sky hung low, red-gray and oppressive. The air was thick with dust and decay. The wind roared like a feral beast, carrying storms of ash.
Kaden Mercer stood atop a fractured overpass, his matte black armor blending into the desolate surroundings.
He peered through the cracked lens of his helmet as his left wrist vibrated sharply. His holographic watch lit up, displaying a map that zoomed in further revealing an image.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION: AERIAL UNIT 7-DELTA
Image Feed Engaged
The screen showed a low-resolution image of a crumbling townhouse. The camera jittered and adjusted, zooming in. A child no older than twelve was trapped beneath collapsed beams, his wide eyes full of terror. Dust covered his face like soot.
The child screamed, but the drone wasn't picking up audio.
Behind the child, something moved.
Kaden noticed. He wasn't surprised. He knew what it was.
The movement revealed a SHADE, a monstrous humanoid entity, twisted beyond recognition. Its sinewy body pulsed, skin stretched thin and mottled like bruised leather. Joints bent the wrong way. It's Claws scraped along the walls as it stalked forward with inhuman grace.
The Shade's head snapped to the side, sensing the drone. Of course, it knew it was being watched.
Kaden observed.
The Shade's hollow eye sockets gave it an eerie appearance. The child shouldn't see this, Kaden thought. He'd be terrified.
Suddenly, the Shade let out a loud, piercing screech and the video feed cut off.
Kaden stood instantly, springing into action.
The city hissed around him as he moved. He passed rusted cars and broken barricades, ghosting silently through the ruins.
His watch displayed a holographic feed with coordinates, guiding him to the location.
When he arrived, the building looked ready to collapse. The second floor had pancaked into the first. Mold devoured the walls.
He entered silently, calm. This was routine for him.
He drew his gun.
The building's flickering lights cast eerie shadows. A low growl echoed, definitely it was the Shade. Then, a high-pitched scream was heard probably from The child.
"Fuck," Kaden cursed. The kid had seen it.
He rushed upstairs. The stairs were damaged, and his boots slipped on broken wood, but he maneuvered up. He could hear claws screeching on concrete. The Shade was closing in.
He arrived just in time, raising his gun as the Shade lunged. It was massive, just as he expected; tall, long-limbed, with a gaping mouth.
Its jagged, black teeth spiraled in grotesque formation.
Without hesitation, Kaden fired. The bullet hit its shoulder, bursting a sore. The Shade roared, staggering.
It wasn't dead. The bullets never killed them but they caused pain and Slowed them down.
He kept firing, pressing forward. The shade"s Flesh and bone tore.
Still, the Shade charged, smashing through debris.
Kaden dodged the falling rubble, he rolled, rose, and kept shooting. The Shade's claws scratched through the chest plate of his armour. He flew backward, slamming into a wall. He lay still for a second, pretending to be weak.
The Shade crept closer.
At the last moment, Kaden raised his gun and fired four rapid shots at close range. The Shade screeched, slamming him again into the wall.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kaden spotted the child, still trapped.
He pulled out a flash charge, activated it, and threw it.
The room exploded in blinding light. The Shade howled, shielding its face.
Kaden lunged, stabbing it in the thigh with a blade.
It screamed again, kicking wildly. Kaden held onto the knife, dragging it back and forth until he was flung across the room, crashing into a rusted filing cabinet.
He rose with lip split, still standing, still fighting. Strength surged in him.
He grabbed his gun.
The Shade staggered. Kaden slipped beneath the shade's arm and shot it twice in its armpit and then into the ribs. Black blood spilled.
The Shade cried out, crawling away before leaping through a broken window and vanishing into the smog.
Silence returned. Kaden breathed heavily inside his helmet.
He approached the child.
"Hey," he said, voice hoarse.
Carefully, he removed the debris.
The boy didn't speak. His eyes were wide, blank.
"You're safe now," Kaden reassured him.
The boy was thin, dirty, malnourished skin stretched over bone, ribs poking through a torn shirt. As Kaden touched him, the boy flinched then suddenly broke into sobs and started crying.
Kaden gently lifted the child and began walking. He limped slightly but kept upright.
The Sentinels' outpost was hidden in an old hydro-processing plant on the city's edge, buried in the sewers.
As he approached the sentinels outpost, his silhouette emerged from the fog. Guards at the gate raised their weapons but lowered them upon recognizing him.
Inside, Kaden headed for the infirmary.
The medics approached him as he laid the child down.
"Shade encounter," Kaden said. "He needs food, water, check for exposure. Get him stable."
"He is Lucky to be alive," one of medic murmured.
Kaden grunted in pain and left the room.
He passed through rows of survivors covered in blankets, coughing, crying, some asleep, others awake in fear.
He walked by a wall of names written in fading marker. Many were crossed out, and many gone.
Kaden paused at a mirror. A scar ran across his face. His eyes were tired. .
Memories of Silas, his younger brother, flooded in, a smiling boy in his late teens, unbroken by war.
Kaden looked away.
Saving people helped. But it didn't take the pain away.
That night, Kaden stood outside the bunker, staring at the sky.
The wind howled in the distance, something howled back but he couldn't tell if it was a creature or wind.
His wristband beeped again. It was not a distress signal.
It was coordinates.
A new location deep in the Redwake Territories.