[b]Title:[/b] Autumn of the Stranded

[b]Characters:[/b] Kiva Warwick, and a few OC NPCs.

[b]Summary:[/b] Set during the second year of Kiva's post Hammer of Dawn Counter-Offensive existence. The scrapbook focuses on the day most of her vocal functions were lost, help from an unexpected ally, and the recovery that followed.

The city of Ephyra, once bustling with human activity, was all but dead. The sound of a faint breeze punctuated the otherwise dead human settlement littered with crumbling buildings and wreckage filled streets. This made the lone human woman carrying a duffel bag all the more paranoid as she made her way down the street nervously. She wore an attire caked with dust and grime, this along with her faintly darkened skin made her look far older than her twenty year old frame would suggest.

"Nothing's gonna find you.... Nothing's gonna find you.... Calm down.... Just hit the store.... Get out.... Eat like a queen for a few days...." Kiva Warwick muttered repeatedly to herself. She knew that there was a small grocery store near the far end of Ephyra. If she was lucky, the counteroffensive wouldn't have damaged it too badly. Though she wouldn't get her hopes up.

Kiva had always known about the store, she and her mother would always shop there every other weekend. They had befriended the owner and became his favorite pair of customers. The problem was getting the nerve to make the long trip, where the possibility of running into a Locust patrol would increase, and they would gun her down on sight. That was a fate she was all to keen to avoid, her small pocket knife would not be an efficient means of defense against them.

It was only after weeks of finding less and less in the usual buildings that she was forced to look out farther into the city. She'd rather die by a bullet instead of starving to death. At least the former was faster. Though death was always her biggest fear, she did not want to die by their hands.

After several hours of painfully tense silence, Kiva began to recognize the surrounding area, and sure enough, [i]Goldman's General Goods[/i] was just down the street. Though several boarded up windows and all but faded exterior colors meant the store was far from undamaged, it look visibly untouched by the Hammer of Dawn. Kiva laughed, a grin seemed to be permanently fixed on her face, she had struck gold!

Trying to contain her excitement as she moved quickly towards the front door, Kiva checked to see if the gaps in the boarded windows gave away any signs of movement. If so, she would have to fight whatever was inside, this store was too good an opportunity to walk away from. Though after several seconds of staring, she saw no signs of habitation. Good, she was relatively afraid to fight, be it a Locust or human.

Breathing in, Kiva exhaled as she turned the handle and was surprised to find the door open cleanly. As she pulled, however, she heard a faint [i]click[/i], along with several loud beeps.

"SHIT!" She had only a split second to slam the door shut as an explosion blew the door apart, with the force of the explosion knocking Kiva into the air, where she landed roughly on her back. The second she opened her mouth to groan, the sour taste of blood, her blood, only caused her to cough, if the guttural rasps could be considered coughing. Though her dimming vision gave way to darkness before she could think on this, however.

[i]Hey. You, like the grenade?

....

Wake up, ya damn thief![/i]

Kiva returned to consciousness when the distant sounding voice nudged the side of her head with his boot. Again, she tried to groan, and heard only a small choking sound.

"Damn, girl. Lotta shrapnel in ya, real nasty round yar throat. My booby trap was damn effective. Surprised ya ain't dead." The voice, now more clear, said again. It was a male's, and it was eerily familiar.... Then her vision cleared, and she saw a thin man in a dust coated white t-shirt, black leather coat, and dark brown pants. He was balding, which only made his pale, wrinkled skin all the more intimidating.

[i]Mr. Goldman?[/i] Kiva thought, though she was surprised to find that the words did not come out of her mouth. She raised a shaking hand to feel her throat, wincing as her fingers felt the pointed ends of splintered wood. Her eyes widened, she couldn't speak. She had no means to talk, to plead for her life. Panic quickly overtook her, and she pushed herself back with her hands with a slow, pained effort. Mr. Goldman roared with laughter.

"Cat gotcha' tongue?" He said, wiping a tear from his eye, before pulling a large, curved dagger from out of it's leather sheath on his belt. "Don't worry... Won't hurtcha a bit. Can't let some sneak thief get away with tryin' to steal from me..."

[i]It's me! Kiva! Don't, please![/i] Kiva thought, desperately trying to make the words escape her lips, though her efforts only rewarded her with a soundless nothing. Realizing that her voice would be of no use to her, Kiva tried push herself away more quickly, only for Mr. Goldman to press his boot onto her stomach. Before she knew it, his face was nose to nose with her own, his tobacco scented breath became all to prominent.

"Ya know... Ya might be good for a few hour's fun, whatcha say?" Said Mr. Goldman, chuckling as if he had told a funny joke. Kiva tensed, slowly reaching into her pocket and sliding the blade out of her pocket knife. With a soundless scream, she withdrew her knife and plunged it into Mr. Goldman's neck. Though the dull and rusted blade only pierced the skin halfway. Never the less, he fell back with a piercing high pitched scream and yanked the knife from his neck. Tossing it aside, he shot Kiva look of pure malice as she propped herself up on a ruined car behind her.

"Ya gonna regret that!" He roared, running with a surprising amount of agility towards Kiva, who only just ducked as Mr. Goldman stabbed towards her, barely missing her head as the blade became lodged in the car's side. After a failed effort to retrieve his weapon, Mr. Goldman snarled in frustration, before grabbed Kiva by the back of her neck as she attempted to crawl away.

While his fingers were spaced enough to avoid pushing the wood splinters further into her neck, the pressure he put into choking her rendered breathing impossible for Kiva. Within seconds, the world went dark, before a feeling of weightlessness came over her.

[i]Hey.

...

Wake up.[/i]

Kiva's eyes shot open, and she immediately gasped for breath, which made her wince in pain. She was surprised to find herself lying on a dirty mattress, covered by a blanket with mud stains. Beside her, sitting on a small stool, was a man in dark blue overalls, a dark red long sleeved shirt rolled up at the elbows, and a red bandanna that covered most of his short, greying black hair. His skin was dark, with wrinkles that gave him a wizened appearance. All the while, he stared at Kiva with his soft, brown eyes.

"Didn't think you'd ever wake up. Saw some guy choking a girl that wasn't movin' none, and I had to step in... Fraid I got my machete a bit bloody, but I can live with that, long as you're okay. You're okay, right?" He said with a deep, soothing voice.

Kiva stared at the man for several seconds, her eyes betrayed the fear she still felt. The man seemed to notice this, and his expression softened. Picking up a plastic bottle that sat near his stool, he held it out towards her. "Go on, I ain't gonna hurt you. Take a drink, and try your best to talk." He said, smiling as Kiva slowly took the bottle. Lifting it to her lips, her throat seemed to stop burning once the warm but pure water was drank. Setting the bottle down, she looked the man in the eye.

"F-Fi-Fi-Fine. Wh-Who ar-ar-ar-ar-are y-ou?" Kiva managed to choke out, and by the end of the sentence, she was coughing up drops of blood.

"Woah, woah, easy now. One word sentences. Start with that." The man said, looking concerned. "What's your name?"

"K-iva."

"Pleasure to meet you, Kiva. Name's Paul, none too fancy a name, but I ain't a real fancy guy. Now here's what's gonna happen. You're not leavin' til you're better and actually know how to fight. No ifs ands or buts. No questions, got it? Don't answer that." Paul said, speaking quickly, and Kiva could do nothing but listen.

"You don't look like you could even aim a gun, surprised you ain't dead yet, but after we're done, you'll be prepared in case you have to fight sick bastards like that other guy." Paul said, before looking confused as Kiva stared at the floor.

"What's the matter?"

"....Mi-Mister. Gol-Goldman. Kn-Kn-Knew hi-m." Kiva whispered, before jumping as Paul placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed slightly.

"It's sad, child, I know. End of the world brings out the worst in people... But you're better than him, you ain't crazy. Just promise me, promise me you'll learn. Too many people are dyin' already." Said Paul, and Kiva stared him in the eye.

"...Promise."