Thread: A Fine Predicament (Retro/Tryste)

Six years ago Esme never thought she could enjoy life on a rural farm, unable to use the devices that she had loved. When she was ten she loved to play video games and she had her own special cell phone because her parents trusted her. Then 'it' happened. It could not be properly described but almost everything modern just stopped working. Guns wouldn't fire anymore. None of her game consoles worked. Her cell phone was fried. Their oven, microwave, refrigerator, and other appliances just stopped working. No one thought it was the end of civilization as they knew it in the first few days but, as time wore on, people either adapted to the new way of life or perished. Yes, Esme never thought that to survive her mother and father would resort to a farm but she quickly grew to love that way of life. Despite a few things, like the death of her mother due to fever, things were good. Until, that is, something strange began to happen quite a few years later. The first thing to be taken was their livestock. At first it did not seem to suspect. One or two missing here or there made Esme and her father assume that wolves or another hungry beastie had made away with them in the night. Some loss of sheep during the colder months, when wild game was scarce for critters, was expected. However as time passed, more and more of their livestock began to disappear. By the time the last frost had lifted more than half of their stock had been spirited away. There was nothing her father or her could do in light of this and Esme was terrified. One day she was out tending to the fields. Normally she would have tended to the animals but most of them were gone. The only ones that they had left were some old work horses past their prime that her father didn't have the heart to put down. She pushed a small trough through some of the dirt to loosen it up. This tiny patch was going to be used for strawberries. Esme loved the delicious red fruit. As she paused to take a drink from her water skin, her pale blue eyes looking out on the horizon. They widened in shock and terror. Instantly she unhooked herself and ran towards her home, dark red wavy hair billowing behind her. Father! she exclaimed as she threw open the door. It slammed against the wall with a loud bang, causing her father to look up from the pot of stew he was stirring in the large pot over the fire. What has gotten into you child? he asked calmly. Father, there are men coming towards the farm! Please! We need to do something! Men? You know some people come from the larger city to get some of our produce. Perhaps working outside has fatigued you. But these men aren't coming from that direction! They're coming from the East, papa! I think... I think they're the one who have been stealing our livestock! Quick! We have to barricade the front door! The father sighed and shook his head, clearly thinking that his daughter was overreacting to something not really that big. Your imagination always got the better of you. Please, sit down and try to relax. Nothing bad is going to happen. Most of the cannibal gangs are gone now. Most . Most isn't all of them. She replied, straining her voice to make a point. None have appeared in this area for a long while. Quiet now I-. That was when he was interrupted by a loud 'bang' and the door splintering into millions of wood slivers as it made contact with the wall. Esme screamed loudly and her father instinctively reached for a machete hanging from the wall. Before he could reach it he was felled with a quick slice. Blood trailed downward as the man fell. The slender young woman screamed again and ran towards her father, kneeling down in the blood that pooled around him. Why hadn't he listened to her?! Pa! Pa! she exclaimed shrilly. Her delicate fingers pressed against his lips and frothy pink foam bubbled forth. She quickly pulled back. Oh! Menacingly the ones who killed her father lurched forward. While they wasted no time in dispatching her father, they were going to take their time with her as if to savor the suffering of one so weak. Come now, little rabbit, you'll not feel pain for too long. the one said, flashing his yellowing teeth. Pretty girls are my favorite. They taste the best. This was it. Esme was done for. Fear kept her rooted next to the corpse of her father.