Star Crossed
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A nuclear meltdown nearly destroys the city, the details as of now are irrelevant. Thankfully the damage was contained before all was lost but all is not perfect. The Hot Zone, the newly irradiated district has been quarantined and those lucky enough (or unlucky) to survive find themselves trapped in a horrifying and chaotic warzone. People ban together but the need to survive tears at this weak alliance.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, though some might call it too desperate. Once the radiation was sealed in the HZ another group of 'humans' took it upon themselves to delve deep into the deathly radioactive underground, sewers, subways and other long buried places. They journeyed underground with the intent to... change. And change they did. The radiation or perhaps just the things they were inside became outside but they changed. They became things more suited for the new life in the fallout zone. Their skin became scales, more a kin to reptiles than men. They lived in the sewers and used the waterways to transport themselves. Soon they wreaked havoc on the surface HZ, tearing most human bands to shreds and even taking some back underground.

The HZ becomes more and more deadly everyday, contact with the outside halted and survivors speculate what the city will do to save them.. if at all.


[SCENE 1]

Snow fell in great sheets across the small human survivor camp. Huddled families tried to stay warm but even with their meager fortifying windbreaks it still was not enough. Lighting fires from drums helped but the light attracted unwanted attention and soon there was the odd potshot from the distance but the snow had driven anyone sane away.

You, like many of the people in his group, were just ordinary people before the leak. You had been a pizza deliverer, nothing special and even though you were only eighteen you are able-bodied so now that makes you a soldier. You'd never used a gun before but it was just handed to you and it was expected. You patrol the ledge of the building roof they camped on. Heights were safer because they decreased the chance of lizardmen attacks but it was also colder up here. But it could be worse, they had a clean water piper and that made this camp valuable... and a target.

You was looking past a barricade to the city when you hear someone cry out!

Lizardmen attacked from the water pipe, swam up it and emerged inside the camp. They spilled out fast! Luckily since they traveled by water, firearms were a rarity of them but that didn't mean they were any less deadly with their spears made from metal and sharped stop sign axes.

You humans are not defenselessly however. Once a defense is mounted, it becomes lizard blood that paints the snow green. Soon the lizardmen are routed and flee back to their pipe to return to the underground, their assault unsuccessful. Sharpshooters pick off stragglers or those who still thought the battle could be won.

You halfheartedly give chase with your brothers-in-arms but are internally afraid of dying. One lizardman is killed when his head explodes from a snipe and the second one almost got away. You kept your head down but you saw them fall in a red mist after a shot rang out from the sniper's nest.

The commander calls you and the others over to examine one of the lizards. Sickened by the blood, you discover the last one to be shot was indeed still alive. You also notice it looks feminine and she's been shot at the base of the base of her spine, her legs do not move. She crawls in vain to grab her spear but the commander kicks it away and she falls down in defeat.

“Kill it, I say.” One man says.

“Toss her off the building, mutant freak.” A woman says gruffly.

The commander eyes the still-living creature for a moment before throwing his cigar away to the snow. “No. Bandage her up. Interrogate it, see what it knows. Put her in the fish tank for now- they need water I think.”

And by the commander's orders the group conservatively mends the girl's wounds- reluctant to heal someone not their own. She is then deposited into the fish tank until she wakes up, if she wakes up.


[SCENE 2]


Tank guard duty was passed to you. Your job was to watch the liazrdwoman for any signs of activity. It was nice being inside but a bit boring. She just laid there at the bottom of the tank, occasionally whisking with the current. One day though, she did awake.

Just as you were about to fall asleep in your chair you're suddenly brought to attention as you see her stir in the water. She turned and looks out towards you with large reptilian eyes. Her skin is seaweed green but yet looks soft to the touch. She looks frightened, turning in the water she realizes she can't move the waist-down part of her body and sees her bandages. Then she looks at you again and this time sees you. She slowly puts a scaly hand on the glass only to take it back and then return it again slowly, as if just now discovering glass.

You bring your chair closer to the tank and she moves her arms to retreat to the back of the tank. You sense her fear and immediately raise your hands in a calming manner. You kick your gun to the other side of the room and she seems to relax.

“What's your name?” You ask.

She just looks at you, unsure how to answer. “Name?” She says legitimately confused.

You tell her your name and gesture to yourself. “What are you called?”

Again, she's confused. “I'm a firstbreed, I'm not an Elder One, I'm not called anything.”

Now it's your turn to be confused. “Elder One?” You ask.

She nods. “Yes... the ones who... like you... but... changed... made us. I'm not good with your language, they did not teach us your speak.”

You raise an eyebrow at her words. “So you're a purebred lizardman? You were never human? Come from a mom?”

She looks even more confused. “I don't know what you mean. I came from the Sulchery, all us...'purebreds' do. Eggs.”

From here you two converse and learn much about each other in the coming days. You learn she is a purebred, children of the first humans, Elder Ones, to mutate but now reproduce. Only the Elder Ones have names and the rest are nameless minions at their behest. They live in the deepest parts of the sewers, where most is flooded with radioactive water. You tell her about human culture but, due to her lack of education and negligent parents, she understands little.

Knowing this, you take it upon yourself to teach her what her parents did not. Even if you don't know why. You read her books you secretly find when out on missions for food and supplies. She pretends to be in a coma while someone else guards her, it's those days that are the longest. Before long you actually miss her when you're patrolling somewhere else and scared to get hurt for fear of losing her. You fight the thought, but you think you love her and she in turn, something about her just lights up when you enter and say your secret code phrase. It's a secret but you couldn't imagine life without her.


[SCENE 3]


One day you return back to the camp to see the men at the door to the tank room. Your heart beats one hundred times faster as you see what's the matter. The commander is there.

“Good! There you are. I think the lizard creature is dead and I'm going to have the guys dispose of it.” He said lighting a cigar.

You try not to sound shaken “W-why? How?”

The commander shrugged. “Eh, it's been out for almost two weeks now. Time to get rid it, besides- don't trust mutants. We'll most likely dismember it, only way to be sure.”

You feel your heart sink and your stomach churn. “...”

“You alright? You look like I just we gotta cut your leg off to stop an infection.” The commander said with a gruff chuckle. C'mon men we know what must be done.”

[i]You feel like passing out but as soon as the commander opens the door he suddenly shouts in anger. You look inside only to see the tank is deserted! You're filled with some kind of crazy hope but worry where she's gone too.

“Damn! She can't walk, spread out men! I want that thing as a belt TONIGHT!” He barked.

The camp went into alert and you as well. You looked for her but now to kill her. When you found no trace of her you began to worry you were tricked, taken for a fool, lied to. With each hour hope died and your once happier world grew gray again. Night fell and eventually the search was brought to half speed. The group could accept an escaped lizard though it may mean they might have to move again.

You lay in your sleeping bag trying desperately to stay warm when you hear a faint familiar faint whisper in your ear. You open your eyes to see her, her features still recognizable in the darkness.

“Where'd you go?” You whisper resisting the urge to hold her tight.

She looked down. “I thought you were in my room but it was not, I got too excited, he panicked and I had to hide. The vents. I can't walk but I climb to a relative skill. We have to leave.”

“Leave? My squad?” I said in shock. “Where to?”

She had to think, that was her confused look. “I know how to leave the... Hot, Zone.” She said motioning her hand to the entire quarantine.

“You know how to leave the HZ?!” I said in a low whisper. She nodded.

“But we have to go. I learned from the sewer routes. We can take a surface route though.”

You think about it and the choice is obvious. “Well then, let's not waste any time.”


[SCENE 4]


In the dead of the snowy night you two set out to desert your group and hopefully leave the HZ for good. She cannot walk so you hoist her on your back and she holds on. You take what little supplies were yours but you still feel guilty for fleeing your friends but tell yourself that getting out the HZ is worth the risk.

The descent down the building feels the longest. Flight after flight after flight of stairs in the dark decrepit building leaves you fatigued not to mention the extra weight but you press on for her without complaint.

Reaching the street level was a number of things; It was good you avoided detection so far but now you were alone in a ruin of a district ripe with danger, you could both very die and never even reach the secret access tunnel. Out of all these things the ruins seemed oddly silent most of all. Snow fell in great numbers piling up over destroyed cars and gusts of icy wind sent snow flying.

With her firmly on your back you trek off into the darkness. Fear lingers in your mind but for some reason you feel excited to be back with her and the hope of escaping the HZ together. She whispers directions by your ear and sometimes has to repeat herself. You two trek in the ice until you can go no more and have to find shelter for the night. A devastated building provides this shelter. Nestled deep away from the brunt of the storm you two make a small camp inside the broken bowls of the ruin while the wind howls outside.

“I think I know what I wish to be called.” She tells you while you hold her for warmth.

You perk up. “Really? Your name?” You're astonished she's understood the concept as it was one that always eluded her.

She nods. “Mhmm. Who... I am called. Who I am.” She looked up and pointed out a far window. You look and make out a billboard half destroyed.

“Ilenna. I am Ilenna.” She says proudly. You remember Ilenna is a phone and cable provider company but you decide not to tell her that and just let her have the moment.

“That's a beautiful name, Ilenna.” You tell her and hold her tight. Her skin is cold yet you are strangely warm. Your thoughts are interrupted when Ilenna moves her head and gently kisses you on your cheek. You're stopped, dumbfounded.

“Isn't that what people do in your books?” She asks but you're still stunned, internally you're beaming.

“Yes, it is.” You say and return the kiss.


[SCENE 5]


You two awaken the next morning, cold and some frost on the both of you but alive and that had to count for something. The secret access tunnel was less than a days trip so you two decided to skip the small breakfast in favor of making as much use of the sunlight as possible.

You pick Ilenna up and hoist her on your back like last night. She expresses her guilt about not being able to help walk but you swiftly put that guilt to rest. You know you'd carry her anywhere... Five minutes later you two are back on the trail. The decimated urban landscape seems to fade from thought when you being to think of life once you two leave the HZ. Ilenna couldn't live in the city, everyone would notice her. She's also need a wheelchair or something. You could leave the city, live in a more rural place, somehow some way you'd make it work. First you just had to escape the HZ.

But even the best laid plans go awry...

You stop. You both see it. A lone figure on the road wearing a long torn and flowing garb. “We've come for our own. Return the female now, human and I promise you a swift death.” The figure said as it approached. You could make out it was another lizardman and his intentions were clear.

“I'm not going with you!” Ilenna said to the cloaked mutant. He became visibly annoyed at her insolence. When his gaze turned back to you.

“Fine human. Give us the female and I shall let you go, return to your tribe or try to find the forever-tunnel. That is my most generous offer.”

“U-us?” You said as you worriedly checked the surrounding ruins, perfect for an ambush. “Why?”

The lizardman grinned. “I am not alone and the female belongs with us and because the Elder Ones demand her return or her death! Probably both once they learn of your infidelity.” He said and glared at Ilenna.

“Is he an Elder One?” You ask her.

She shook her head. “No, he's a firstbreed like me. We were in the same egg clutch together. He's nameless like I was.”

You look back to answer the minion. “That's not going to happen. We're leaving and you can't stop us!”

“Go left into the alley.” Ilenna whispers quietly to you a second later.

“So be it.” The mutant said and drew a short jagged sword cannibalized from a lawnmower blade.

Quickly you dart off into the mentioned alleyway! Running is harder with Ilenna on your back and holding your gun is difficult but you manage. The lizardmen however simply jump over any rubble you climb over or press off the walls. Ilenna asks for your handgun as you run into an exposed intersection. Surprised but not ready to debate you hand her your sidearm. Her first shots are wild and missed by a long shot but you hear the occasional scream of a mutant every so many shots. She hands you the pistol when it has to be reloaded. You barely dodge spears lobbed at you two but you are blinded by pain when the odd slingshot rock lands a hit.

After what feels like an infinite number of streets alleys and passages you finally discover the 'secret access tunnel'. The tunnel was actually an underground highway under the mountain but was rarely used once the city highway opened up. It soon fell to decay and became a place where edgy teens smoked and drug deals went awry. Getting inside was going to be difficult though. A building had collapsed right in front of the road blocking it's very existence from those who hadn't been there before the leak.

But you hadn't come this far to be dissuaded and it was unlikely the lizardmen would make a deal now. Without pausing you jump inside a blasted window. After running inside, the lizardmen seem to have stopped giving chase for now but you know the threat remains.

The interior is dark and disorientating. Having fallen over, the building lays sideways now and you walk on the old walls that are littered with rubble and refuse and even bones.

As Ilenna is whispering how to find the maintenance tunnel to get past the rubble you collapse to your knees. Burning exhaustion and painful acidic needles prick your feet from the excessive running and now the adrenaline has left your body leaving you defenseless.

“Are you okay?!” Ilenna asked worry omnipresent in her hushed tone.

You nod trying to dismiss her worry. “I'll be okay. I just ran too much. Just let me catch my breath.”

You lay back against the wall and breath in shallow breaths. Your lungs burn from the cold air and you're sweating profusely. Ilenna wraps an arm over you knowing no other way to help but it would do coming from her.

You start to stand up, weakly when you hear noises approach from the entrance. Lizardmen! “C'mon we have to go!” You say when you force yourself to your feet and go to pick Ilenna up when she stops you.

“No.”

“What?” You say surprised.

She looks down. “I'm too much, I'll slow you down and we'll both die you have to-!”

“No! We both leave or we both make our last stand here.” You say with fear in your voice. Fear of her being right. “I love you, Ilenna. We..we-”
Ilenna gently holds your face hushing your frantic pleading. “I'm doing this because I love you. I want to see you live more than myself. Go, please.” She says with tears in her voice and gives you a final kiss on your lips.

You don't want too, but you understand. You give her the last of your weapons and try to arrange barricades from the rubble before she touches your shoulder. “Go. They won't take me alive.” She says. “I love you so much. You taught me how to be a person. I'm going to die as someone and I thank you for that.”

You kneel down by her one last time. “You made the apocalypse worth living through, Ilenna. You'll never be far from my thoughts. I love you...”

She gives you one final kiss and just as your foreheads part she motions to a long door at the end of the hall. “Now go, it's down that hallway and to your right. You'll know where to go. I'll make sure they don't follow.” She said and held up your grenade belt. “Now go!”


[SCENE 6]


Ilenna trains your rifle on the door, your ammo is next to her. The first lizardman to enter was quickly put down, his blood painting the door. The next two came in low and tried to dive behind your cover but with a liberal spraying of bullets both hit the floor dead. The next lizardman peeked around the door and launched his slingshot. The rock crunches against her torso breaking a rib. She lurches over in pain and coughs blood. Forcing herself back, Ilenna fires at the slingshot lizard again and he peeked out at the wrong time and was put down.

The rifle clicked and Ilenna reloaded but was too slow. The sword lizardman entered with others. Knowing it was the end she grabbed the belt but the blade was sunk deep into her torso before she could pull the keys. Ilenna cried out in pain as the sword was removed, blood seeping out in deathly amounts. The fight was finished... she lowered her gun.

“Any last words?” He said cruelly lifting the bloody instrument to her neck.

Life quickly fading, Ilenna looked up at him weakly. “My name... is... Ilenna. I am... Ilenn...a.” And with that, she gently laid her head down and closed her eyes.

The lizardman looked at her curiously before cutting swiping her throat just to be sure. He just looked at her. “She was a person.” He said capturing the other two's attention. They were soon dispatched seconds later.

He picked up the grenade belt and pulled out the keys and tossed it away but far enough to not destroy Ilenna's body but seal himself away from it. “Rest well, Ilenna.” He said as the bombs went off, rocking thee ruins and sealing the tunnel off for good.

He would return to the HZ and still question who he was.