The Cost of a Life

Anne sat upon a tree branch where she could survey the land without being seen. Her soft brown hair swaying in the early morning breeze, grazing her lightly tanned cheek. The sun began to crawl out of its slumber, painting the land in color. Anne's amber eyes rested upon the shadowy mass of an ancient city as it became more visible. It was a mere skeleton of its former glory. A rust covered ruin, with dark scorched craters where bombs had peppered the land. After the atomic war was waged, society collapsed in on itself. There was no law, no order. It had been many years since then, yet the world was still in chaos, boasting numerous clans of bandits and scavengers. Even Anne's clan was comprised of specialized bounty hunters.

In Anne's hands, she fidgeted with an old heart shaped locket, that filled the palm of her hand. She absentmindedly traced its intricate bronze swirls with a callused finger. It was a family heirloom that had survived the great collapse. Anne opened the locket and gazed upon an old photo. Its age made it hard to depict, and the photo was singed along its edges. Even so, she could make out the image of a man and woman, that bore a vague resemblance to her. Anne's distant relatives smiled calmly, and with genuine happiness they looked up at her. She wondered what life before the great collapse must have been like for them to look so at ease. The day Anne's mother passed the locket onto her was a bitter memory. One that still freshly pierced her mind.

It was only a week ago. She was suited up in thick leather, with a dampened scarf covering her mouth and nose. Her mother and the rest of their party fashioned similarly. With guns in their hands, they ventured into the metal ruins. The rest of their clan camped nearby outside. It was a dangerous place to be, with traces of radiation still lingering, and unstable architecture that could crumble down with the slightest disturbance. There was no plant growth, just burnt withered husks from the war. The only sign of life in the city was the pillaging scavengers.

Regardless, Anne's group had gone there for a reason. They had a bounty to find, one they needed to find fast. Thomas, Anne's scout partner, and long time friend had gotten captured by one of the largest bandit clans, known as Silent Thunder. Anne supposed they thought the name sounded intimidating, but she had always rolled her eyes at its contradiction. They gave Anne's clan until the following dawn to do their bidding, or else Thomas would be executed. Their target was a scientist, or more specifically his journal. He had ventured into the city in search of equipment, and had never returned. Their only tip off was to check the old hospital buildings. It would figure the Silent Thunder bozos would send them to locations notoriously swarming with scavengers. Medical supplies were, after all, always in high demand.

Anne's troupe of four walked down the cracked soot covered streets, glass shards scattered around their boots. Each person was quiet and on high alert, listening for any signs of danger, as decaying buildings creaked in the wind. They reached the hospital easily enough, but as was expected there were others there, fighting over supplies. Crouched behind an overturned car, Anne's mother, Laura, who was leading the group, gestured to the side of the hospital. There was a shattered window on the second floor. If they were careful they would be able to climb through it from the adjacent building and hopefully skip out on the ongoing skirmish. The adjacent building sat in rubble from its own walls, its rusty metal frame, clawing towards the ashy sky as it bent towards the hospital. On Laura's signal, they crept to the building and climbed up to their window entrance.

Anne, with her smaller figure, hopped into the hospital first. She made sure the room was clear and turned to help the next member through. She couldn't help but think how much easier this would be with her partner by her side. Her comrade Gary began to climb up the thick metal bar, but as he reached out for Anne's hand his foot slipped. Startled he yelped and clung fast to the bar to catch himself. Anne winced at his shout, fearing their location was revealed. She reached her hand back out to try and quickly pull him across, but it was too late. She heard the gunshot before she saw it strike him, mere inches from her fingertips, causing him to fall. Cursing under her breath Anne armed herself, ready to return fire. Laura and their remaining teammate, Jet doing the same. Whether they liked it or not, they were now part of the skirmish.

From where she was positioned Anne could see the bullets streaking by, as they clanged against the plaster and metal of the adjacent building. Fortunately, it was only a small group of scavengers that took notice of them. The bounty hunters were able to make quick work of the threat. After the fight Laura gestured from across the gap for Anne to go search for the journal. She and Jet were going to stay behind to tend to Gary's wounds, and protect him. Anne nodded, taking off deeper into the hospital. She crept through dark halls, peering into countless rooms. Any scavengers she came across were eliminated before they had the chance to notice her presence. It may not have been very sportsmanlike of her, but in this world it was either them or her.

After about an hour Anne finally found someone matching the description of her target. Unfortunately for the scientist, it looked like he had already met the scavengers. With any luck, they didnt notice the importance of what he possessed. Searching the corpse, she was relieved to find a small hand written journal hidden inside the jacket's interior pocket. Satisfied, she stashed it safely inside one of her belt pouches. With a fresh dose of enthusiasm she left the room. It was time to regroup with the others. She chuckled to herself, betting they were bored waiting for her.

Anne retraced her steps to the window entrance, confidently bridging the gap back to the adjacent building. After touching down on the other side, she was stopped in her tracks, horrified by what she saw. Jet and Gary were sprawled out, unmoving, amongst the rubble. Her arms dropped to her sides, as her eyes scanned over several bodies, searching, her breath caught in her throat. A faint cough caught her attention. After a quick glance she recognized her mom, covered in grime, and struggling to reach out towards her. Laura's legs were pinned under some freshly fallen plaster and a broken support beam. Anne rushed over and immediately started trying to dislodge the offending debris. Laura tried to speak, which resulted in more coughing. She cleared her throat, and after a second attempt managed with a raspy voice. “Stop child. Ive been shot.” Anne shook her head still desperately trying to remove chunks of rubble, tears pricking her eyes.

Laura sputtered “A group ambushed us from behind. Their gunfire brought down the ceiling. Please, stop. Look at me.” Going against her impulses, Anne finally stopped. Listening to her mother, she slumped to her knees to look at Laura. She saw the gun shot on the side of her stomach, and could see that her mom was bleeding out. There was nothing she could do. She felt defeated and her heart sunk like a stone. With weak trembling hands, Laura reached up around her neck and struggled to pull something over her head. It was the locket. Anne had never seen her take it off before. Laura gently kissed the locket and grabbed Anne's hand, placing it in her palm and curling her fingers around it. “I am proud of the strong woman you have become. It is time this was passed on to you. When you carry this heart with you, know that you carry my heart with you as well.” A saddened smile filled with love graced Laura's lips.

“No. You cant go! Not yet, Im not ready!” Anne cried.

“Im sorry Anne... If I could stay with you forever, I would...” Laura whispered, clumsily wiping a tear from Anne's cheek as her eyes glossed over.

There was a rustling of leaves that pulled Anne out of her recollection. On high alert, Anne lifted her gun from where it was balanced on her lap, pointing it down towards the noise. The bushes parted to reveal, Thomas, finally back from the clutches of Silent Thunder.

“Woah! easy there tiger.” He chuckled sheepishly, raising his empty hands over his head. Anne lowered her gun, draping the locket back around her neck, and tucking it safely into her shirt. “What? No smile for your favorite partner? I just got back, and wanted to thank my saviors.” He said jokingly with a wink. Anne stared back quietly, happy to have him back, but unsure how to tell him the price paid for it. “...Okay, you seem to be in a bad mood... Where are the others? Im sure at least someone from our misfit family of a team would be happy to see me...” Thomas pondered uneasily.

With a sigh Anne shouldered her weapon and hopped down from her perch. “They're gone...” She muttered quietly. placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Gone?” Thomas's eyebrows scrunched together. “Like gone with the ashes?” Anne nodded, unwilling to say the words again.

“Youre joking.” he claimed, brushing her hand away.

“You know I wouldn't joke about something like this.” Anne replied, tears welling in her eyes.

“It cant be.” He whispered to himself, shaking his head. After a moment he stormed off towards the camp without another word. Anne wiped her eyes, and followed behind him more slowly, knowing he would need time to process for himself.