Winter's Child

It was the year 2134; people were without a care, sitting in their homes and apartments in New York City. There were warnings of war, blood, and death all over the news, but no one listened to them, and prepared for what was coming next.

At 11:00am that morning, conflict started; The sun was blocked out by something, and those who had their TV's on experienced static.

Moments after the sun was blocked, there was the sound of howling, that was followed by silence, and then was followed by the roaring of an ear-piercing explosion.

The war has begun....

-*-

14 years later...

Wind howled, and snow darted to the cold, ice-covered snow. In the ruins of a building, Amity climbed up a rope to get to the level above her.

Once she arrived at her destination, she looked around with her goggles still over her eyes. "Eli!" Amity called out. Metal screws came from somewhere above her, and a young boy came tumbling down from his rope.

As the boy, Eli, recovered Amity removed her goggles, shook her head, and exclaimed, "Very graceful." Eli stood up, and wiped snow off his clothes; he then blushed with embarrassment, and said, "You scared me."

A bark sounded behind Amity, and she turned around. A young German Shepherd came bounding across the icy metal. Amity knelt down, and exclaimed, "Hey Jax, hey boy!" Jax, the dog, licked her face, and in return Amity cuddled him.

"Am, thanks for getting here so fast. I know traveling in these conditions can be dangerous. " Eli said, as Amity got back up on her feet.

"Yeah, it sure wasn't a cruise getting here. So, get to the point, why'd you call me?" She responded, still messing with one of Jax's ears.

"A gang of scavengers has been spotted near one of the bunkers. The leaders are worried that they're planning an attack." Eli explained.

Amity groaned, and replied with, "Those thugs. You're right, this is important. You have any extra weapons." Eli nodded, and walked over to the metal chest that was placed at the far wall. He opened it, and through Amity a long metal staff that had points on both ends.

"Alright, the sooner we get out there, the sooner we can stop the gang from invading that bunker....and get paid." Amity exclaimed, strolling over to the rope she had climbed up.

"Am, that bunker's supplies are running low. We don't need to be taking their money." Eli reminded her. Amity stopped in her tracks, and responded with, "Well our supplies are running low too."

"Not low enough to force us to take money from refuges." Eli argued, walking to her side. Amity sighed, and mumbled, "Fine."

"Good, now come on." Eli responded, patting her shoulder. Amity turned her head, and whistled, "Come Jax." The German shepherd, perked up and lunged off the metal platform, and onto the ledge; from there he crawled through a hole in the building so he didn't have to jump all the way to the lower level.

-*-

The wind chilled both Eli and Amity to the bone immediately after they took one step outside that safety of the building. Eli sighed, meaning it to be quiet, but unfortunately Amity overheard.

"You thinking about that day?" she asked. Eli nodded, and exclaimed, "It's been 14 years, and I vaguely remember that day since I was only 3 when it happened, but I still can't believe that a once beautiful planet turned into this wasteland."

Amity scanned the snowy horizon; she also couldn't really remember the day the Nuclear war started, but her parents had talked about what life was like before the catastrophe started before they died 2 years earlier from radiation they had gotten from the first explosions.

"We can mourn for the planet later. People are in need of saving." Amity responded, keeping her sad feelings buried.

Eli led the way into the snowy hills as wind pierced their skin, even though they were wearing nearly three layers of clothing. Jax trotted in front of them, and occasionally sniffed the air, making sure there were no enemies about.

"The gang's camp should be nearby, so stay on watch!" Eli shouted to Amity over the howling wind. Jax's head suddenly perked up, his ears alert, and he started to growl at something...or someone. Eli and Amity readied their weapons, Amity with the staff, and Eli with two pistols.

"Help!" The teenagers heard over the wind. They both turned their heads in the direction and saw a woman and a baby, wrapped up in her arms in four or five layers of blanket, trudging through the snow.

Eli and Amity to the mother's side, and caught her before she collapsed. "What are you doing out here?" Amity asked, laying the staff on the ground.

"The bunker was invaded, and I was pushed out of the bunker by my husband out of protection of me and the baby before I witnessed his murder." the woman explained. Amity spotted a blood spot on the mother's clothing, near her ribs.

"You're hurt." she exclaimed. The woman nodded, and said, "The gang that invaded...saw me escaping, and shot at me trying to hit my legs so I couldn't run. Good thing they're bad shots."

Amity and Eli looked at each other concerned for the woman's well being; the wound was bleeding badly, and they had no first-aid kit. The woman sharply gasped, and her knees buckled causing her to fall into the snow. Eli tried keeping her up right, while Amity caught the baby before it fell into the snow.

"Listen, there's no hospital, and the bunker is under lockdown now since the gang has taken over. I have lost too much blood, and can barley walk. Protect my son." The pained mother chocked out.

"We're not leaving you. We help people we don't just leave them in the snow behind." Eli protested.

The woman locked eyes with him, and retaliated, "There is no time to argue about this. This is the only way my son survives. I will slow you down." Amity looked at Eli, and said sadly, "I think she's right."

Eli was about to protest once more, but saw the paleness growing in the mother's face, and her clothing was soaked in red blood. "Alright, but let's just get you somewhere you can go in peace. Anywhere besides this frozen wasteland." Eli gave up.

The woman nodded in agreement, and solemnly, Amity and Eli took the woman to an abandoned farm house where she passed away, but not before giving them one important detail; the baby's name was Lawrence.

-*-

Eli and Amity continued to travel to the bunker, but now with a fourth member. Amity kept the little baby tucked underneath her cloak to keep him warm, as the snow began to come down harder. Fortunately, the bunker was soon in seeing ranger.

"Okay, the woman told us the bunker was under lock down because the gang took over, but I think we can get in through the vents still." Eli explained.

Amity looked down at Lawrence's rosy face, and soft black hair. "If we take him in with us, he'll get hurt." she told Eli, stroking the baby's cheek. "We can't leave him here, so we don't have a choice." Eli responded, walking to Amity's side to look at the baby.

"We need to be careful." Amity said. "We will." Eli reassured her.

They rushed into action, and crawled against the walls avoiding security cams. Soon they got to the vents, and Amity handed the baby over to Eli.

Eli gave her the staff in return, and Amity stabbed the vent door. After a couple stabs, the vent door fell into the snow. "Jax, stay." Eli commanded the German Shepherd. Jax sat down and followed his master's orders.

-*-

Slowly and carefully, Eli and Amity crawled through the vents, while Amity gingerly held Lawrence with one hand.

Minutes later, Eli kicked another vent door from under him, and hopped down. They were in the kitchen area of the bunker.

Eli grabbed a chair, stood on it, and helped Amity and Lawrence with out of the vents.

"Alright, we need to hid the baby. I can't save anyone worrying about him." Amity admitted. Lawrence's eyes fluttered open, and Amity and Eli gasped when they saw a white covering over his eyes! "Lawrence is blind?!" Amity exclaimed.

The baby then started to whine a little before tears streamed down his rosy cheeks. Amity rested the child on her shoulder, patted his back, and whispered, "Shh, shh. We're here to protect you" The baby immediately stopped crying when he heard those words of comfort.

"Who knew you were incredible with children." Eli exclaimed, impressed. Amity smiled, and spotted a closet in the far corner of the kitchen. She opened it, and saw a comfy place to lay Lawrence. She laid him down, and whispered, "We'll be back soon." She shut the door quietly, and sighed.

Eli nodded, and threw Amity the staff. "Let's get going." he said, pulling out his pistols. They then ran out of the kitchen area, and toward the main section.

_*_

Eli and Amity were met with heavy resistance, but because of their years of training they took their enemies without breaking a sweat.

Soon they forced their way inside main section of the bunker, and were greeted the leader of the gang; Gideon Keeler.

"Where are the refugees?" Amity demanded, pointing her staff at Gideon. The leader said nothing, but instead he snapped his fingers, and a light flickered on behind him. Dozens of men, women, and children were handcuffed and chained together, shivering in terror.

Amity's eyes narrowed angry at the sight; becoming reckless, she lunged at Gideon, but was punched in the gut, the staff was taken and thrown, and she was grabbed by the collar of her shirt.

Eli snapped out his guns, and aimed them at Gideon. "Let her go!" he ordered. Gideon smiled once more, before dropping Amity where she laid coughing and gasping for air.

He then stepped over the fallen girl, and strolled over to the boy. "Your turn." Gideon declared. Quickly, Eli pulled the trigger of his pistol, but the bullets bounced off the leader's chest.

"Bullet proof amour, boy, you're out of luck." Gideon hissed, before smacking the guns from Eli's grip, and tackling him to the ground. He placed his hands on Eli's neck and pressed down, suffocating him.

Gideon thought he would kill these brats off, but he was wrong; Eli's vision go blurry, but he was brought back by the sound of metal piecing skin. Amity stabbed Gideon through the heart, lifted him off Eli, and tossed the now dead man to the side.

She then helped Eli to his feet, and embraced him, happy it was over.

_*_

10 minutes later...

Amity and Eli were brought to the middle of the main section of Bunker, and Amity held Lawrence in her arms, while Jax stood next to them.

"Our rescuers, Amity and Eli!" the Captain of the bunker shouted. It was followed by cheers and applause. Amity stepped forward, lifted her hand, and the room fell silent.

"I was 2 when this conflict started, and I never thought there would be an end to the war, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. The nuclear war has caused damage to the atmosphere, and put us in an eternal Ice age. We may always have ice, snow, and howling winds, but if we try then we can make lives better for the coming generation!" Amity's speech was followed by another round of claps and shouts of excitement.

Amity looked down at Lawrence, and smiled at the precious boy. She then felt Eli's arm wrap around her shoulder, and she looked up at him. "Let's get to work to brighten Lawrence's future." he whispered, smiling.