Page 217 of Rage

Rapture & Reckoning

By: Theia Luna

Chapter One

LENORA

There are days when the icy touch of metal on my calloused hands brings me peace, when welding and sculpting my art calms my mind and quiets my anxieties. The metal hilt in my hand breeds a different calm, a controlled one that reminds me I’m in charge. No one, not even a Beast, can stop me.

“In ya head again, Lenora?” At sixty-six years old, it’s a wonder Antonia is part of the hunting party. Yet, here she is, strong and surprisingly nimble as we trudge through a dusty wasteland.

“You know me—the endless silence makes me daydream,” I answer quietly. I should be on alert, but we haven’t come across a Beast or any usable supplies in our night of travel. I hate to think this trip could be fruitless.

Her sturdy palm lands on my shoulder with a gentle squeeze, and we share a quick smile. On hunts, we keep talking to a minimum. The last thing we need is an ambush.

In the early days, they would prowl in packs, searching for women, but we’ve eradicated most Beasts with the help of Antonia’s skills as Special Ops in the Marine Corps. Threeyears have passed already, and we’ve adapted, mobilized, and overcome the fall of society.

The forest around us is barely that. Most trees in this area are barren, long dead. Sighing, I take a moment to stare at the dark sky above, painted with bright stars. The only safe time to travel for long is after sunset and through the night. Hell hath no fury like Mother Nature scorned. Now, according to the last checks we made before technology failed, Earth is consumed by fires that slowly eat away at civilization. So much can happen in three years, and I wonder if any other groups fared as well as we did.

Jones’ luminescent skin practically glows in the moonlight ahead of me. She’s only twenty, but she found her place among us as a scout for the hunting party. So, when her steps halt and her hand curls into a fist above her head, my chest squeezes.

The three of us stop in our tracks and listen for what may lie ahead. My grip tightens on the hilt of my knife, and I itch to let out some of my restless energy. Hours with no one in sight. Hours of encampment after encampment yielding nothing of interest. If we’ve used up all the local resources, we need to relocate our compound, which could leave us well and truly fucked.

Her eyes connect with ours, and her hands come together in an “X.” It’s not a Beast. A ring around her blonde hair indicates a woman is up ahead.

It has been over a year since we’ve found anyone in our territory. Most of the women are secure in the compound, and we work tirelessly to ensure our safety. How has a lone woman survived this long? It was hard enough in the beginning, when the civil unrest turned to all-out war. But now, when supplies are scarce, how has she managed to survive?

My palms sweat with anxious nerves. I float all the possibilities of a lone woman surviving this long, in this territory, without us coming upon her prior to tonight. Thiscould be a trap. Thankfully, the three of us are a team. Silently, we stalk forward, and just barely, I can make out the figure of a woman kneeling on the ground. When she finally hears our approach, her wild curls swing towards us, and I’m stunned by the twin pools of her eyes, the brown bright from her tears.

“Who are you?” Her voice is strong, with a slight rasp. When she stands, she towers over all of us. Jones is around five-foot-eight, so she must be close to six feet tall. Like a goddess, her glossy dark hair shines in the moonlight. Fuck, she’s beautiful. Still, the protective way she guards the ground around her doesn’t do much to ease the tension in my shoulders.

Moving to the front of our hunting party, I look up at her. “We’re a hunting party out to find supplies for our compound. Are you alone?” I don’t move to shake her hand or take my eyes off her. Beautiful or not, no one can be trusted these days. Trust in a stranger is a luxury only the foolish can afford.

A mask of pain and sadness covers her beautiful features. Her eyes trail to the ground, and her voice is barely a whisper. “I’m alone now. My brother–I just buried him.” Her hiccupped cry slices at my heart. We all know loss. For some of us, that is all we know.

It started with the loss of family. Divisions cropped up as The Beasts decided to use all their manipulation and influence to rise to the most powerful positions in the country. Then, faster than anyone expected, came the loss of shelter. Extreme weather all over the world destroyed our homes and entire swaths of land. No one was safe.

The Beasts wanted more power regardless of all the damage they had done. They took our rights, our safety–they took everything. And when we dared to fight back by no longer having children or entertaining their demands, civil unrest led to war. Then, we lost technology. Component failures and lackof supplies led to crumbling infrastructure. It was a fucking hellscape, but we survived.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” There’s no knowing whether he was a Beast, and that makes this next part even more of a balancing act. “For our own safety, I have to ask: are you a sympathizer?” I cast a pointed look at the upturned earth behind her. A grave for a man isn’t a common thing these days. She must have deeply cared for him.

Her demeanor shifts, eyes turning hard. “What? No! He was only nineteen and still tried to defend me when a pack of Beasts attacked us. We just wanted to go quietly, but they know no peace.”

“A pack? Was it around here?” My ears perk up, and my eyes scan the land around us. That can’t be. We haven’t seen more than a single Beast here and there in months. Antonia and Jones share a look. They don’t believe her, but we can’t leave a lone woman out here. None of us is safe without a community. There is safety in numbers.

“It was about two hours from here. That was where we lived. But I guess I don’t live there anymore.” Her eyes mist while her face contorts in dawning horror.

“Look, our compound is a few hours south. We have food and shelter. There are around 200 of us, and we all pull our weight to keep each other safe, fed, and clothed. You should probably come with us.” I extend my hand, and for a moment, I think she won’t take it.

When her palm touches mine, a spark ignites within me. Even in this wasteland, she is warm and soft. I can’t remember the last time my hands felt remotely this soft. She releases my hand with a start.

“Do you have any skills?” Jones pipes up from behind me. She’s leery of everyone, Beast or not. When we found Jones, shewas seventeen and beaten badly. She was from a family of Beasts and sympathizers. Poor kid.

“Yes! I used to be an OBGYN. I can help your medical team. Do you have one? I owned my own practice, so I can be useful.” The hope in her voice is foreign. We don’t hear a lot of hope around here. It has been over a year since we’ve found anyone, so maybe I’ve forgotten what it’s like.

“That’s great. We have a mortician and two paramedics, so any medical experience is a plus.” Her wide eyes tell me everything I need to know. “Yeah, it’s been quite the experience.” Huffing a laugh, I lead the way back towards the compound. It’s going to be a long night.

Chapter Two

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