The Echo

The dry, splintering trap door of the hollow burst open, and two hands groped the surface of the earth, clawing at the edges of the aperture. Kaelin drew in a short breath, its labor igniting an agonizing fire in his heaving chest.

Leaving the bomb shelter was anything but easy. At least the air beneath the surface, although cold and stale...at least it was somewhat clean. Kaelin grasped the wooden frame and with great pain hoisted himself out of the cramped underground space.

The ground shook under Kaelin's feet as tremors erupted across the black sands. The sky was dark, choked with ash from the remnants of the recent bombings that shattered across the city, leaving Kaelin coughing and sputtering in their wake.

Slowly, clumsily, Kaelin staggered towards the center of the city. Fragments of skyscrapers covered in dust and ash towered above him, and thousands of dirty, torn flags staked in the sand billowed in the ruthless wind.

The citizens had attempted to surrender...but it seemed it was not in the stakes. They'd met their fate.

Kaelin had been stuck in that wretched hollow for at least two weeks, if not more.

"God-forsaken valley," he muttered.

He clutched the small locket buried beneath his dirty black shirt. Small, silver and heart-shaped, it was the only memento he had left of his sister, before she disappeared. Before he forced her to disappear...when the entire city had been taken under siege.

A shot rang out, and instantly Kaelin dropped to his knees. The bullet whipped through the heavy air, narrowly missing where he stood just seconds before.

Kaelin glanced in the direction of its origin. A group of ten soldiers, dressed in black suits complete with full head gear, helmets, respirators and goggles, lurked about a hundred yards away. Every single one of them carried at least two AK-47s, and a semiautomatic pistol. They couldn't see him, only sense his movement.

Thank God for that.

The city was under watch, meaning "leave no survivors," was likely the order. Carefully, Kaelin picked himself up and continued trudging the desolate path further into the heart of the city.

Last time he saw Rain was before the bombings. Thousands of protesters marched through the streets, angrily attacking shops, homes, cars...whatever they could get their hands on. The new leader's election had been somewhat of a surprise, and while the rest of the country had generally accepted the new terms, Las Vegas was a different story.

It hadn't taken long for the Prime Minister and his men to completely destroy the place, leaving behind nothing more than endless piles of smoking, charred dust.

Kaelin picked up the precious flask hanging at his side, and twisted open the cap. He raised it to his dry, cracked lips, taking small sips of water to avoid feeling sick.

He replaced the cap. The wind whipped his matted hair around his face and he shuddered. Another bullet whizzed past. Kaelin ducked, covering his head. After a moment he stole a glance around. It appeared, at least, he wasn't being followed by the soldiers.

Good. Probably for their own benefit. At least now he could justify letting them live just a while longer, while he searched for Rain.

Rain. That sweet, precious little twelve year old girl, who had been abandoned by both of their parents at such a young age.

Not that he hadn't been. They were cowards, and had fled the city before the riots started getting really bad. Kaelin and Rain had refused to move, mainly because Kaelin hadn't thought it would be safe...and poor Rain hadn't wanted to abandon her friends. Their parents had tried to force them to come along, but Kaelin had simply stolen away, with Rain in tow, in the dead of night hours before they'd left.

Hours before the bombs had dropped, Kaelin had shut Rain away in his oldest friend Pete's bomb shelter. There hadn't been enough room for all of them, but he knew Rain would be safer there than if she were to venture off to the outskirts of the city with him.

Gritting his teeth, Kaelin picked up his pace. Pieces of cars and small, caved-in duplexes littered the area. He shuddered. The further into the city he went, the worse the sights became.

KLUMP.

Kaelin's foot struck a bulky object and he tripped. He flew towards the ground and fell flat, with a face full of sand. Scrambling quickly, he turned around and laid a hand on the foreign object.

As his hands made contact it was all Kaelin could do not to outcry a gut-wrenching scream.

A dismembered arm rested on the sand. And not just any. He instantly retracted his hands. He recognized that bracelet.

That was Pete's arm. Which meant…

Where was the rest of him? And…

Tears welled in his eyes and ran down his face, burning his dry, cracked cheeks. His heart thumped in his chest like a powerful war drum, and he clenched his fists. Only one thought remained, echoing in his head mercilessly.

Where was Rain?

Seconds later a blood-curdling scream resounded through the city, bouncing off the debris and tearing straight through Kaelin's scarred, pounding heart.