*A/N:  Feedback is the most important thing to me when it comes to writing stories.  I love to write just as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to write a story no one's interested in.  That being said, tell me what you think in the comments!  I'm more than happy to hear your opinions!*

December 5th, Ruins of New York City

Four years.  The war to end all wars came to a conclusion four years ago.  Billions of lives were lost over the course of the horrendous bloodshed.  Entire countries were wiped from the face of the planet thanks to the use of the most advanced technologies and weapons that each separate government could get its hands on.  Smaller countries, such as Italy and San Marino were completely obliterated.  Only the largest, most powerful countries managed to survive the onslaught of missiles and bombs…if only barely.

The United States of America, once considered the ‘most powerful nation in the world’, was almost obliterated in and of itself.  The same goes for France, Germany, and Great Britain.  Even the peaceful Canada couldn’t avoid the savage war.  Even if a country was left standing, however, it was most definitely not under a unified government.  No, World War III shredded the walls of unity and split any surviving province into factions.  The world essentially became one large turf war.

The protagonists of our story lived within the ruins of New York, a relatively broken piece of land.  Compared to most of the rest of the North American continent, the state of New York was tattered and barren.  

Six years ago from the day our story starts, our dear protagonists lost their parents on a battlefield far from home.  Not only were they forced to live in the hell-hole they called home, they were left to fend for themselves after their parents’ deaths.  Two children forced to fend off the crime and corruption of the ruined world they were left in.  To them, they might as well have been beaten and broken as difficult as things were for them.

Malcolm Rossano, only eleven at the time, was left to care for his little sister all by himself.  In the ruined state the world was in, trust and hope were already lost arts.  He had no one to help him protect and care for his sister, only his own wits and abilities.  It didn’t take long for him to resort to a spree of crime to pay for nourishment and comparatively safe housing.  He did it all for his sister.

Loralee Rossano, at age six, lost her parents and was left alone in a cold hateful world with no one but her brother for company and support.  She never once doubted her brother’s ability to provide for them, no matter how beaten and battered he would be when he returned home from one of his jobs.  Despite being faced with the dark reality of fear and doubt, she never lost faith in her brother.  It was that faith that helped her keep a warm heart in the cold city.

Six years had passed since the day they learned of their parents’ deaths.  It was an exceptionally cold winter morning…if you could call it morning.  Since the war began, clouds of dust and smoke shrouded the sky and never allowed sunlight to burst through over the major battlefields and victimized provinces.  All hours of the day merged together, impossible to determine without a clock.  It was this lack of sunlight that led to drastic colds, worse than ever recorded before the war’s savage reign.

The two siblings found housing in an abandoned apartment building that had been salvaged and renovated by one of the local crime lords.  Their apartment was located on the fifth floor of the building, conveniently the only floor with plumbing.  Though it was no easy task to pay for the special room and board, Malcolm worked himself half to death every day to scrounge up all the rent and food money he could.

Just that morning, he had received a message from his current employer about a special job needing to be handled in the nearby ruined park.  With a promise that he’d be home before dinnertime, he left Loralee in their small apartment with a loaded .44 pistol and plenty of non-perishable canned food.  In the worst case scenario, she would have enough resources to survive over a week without him.

But when the clock struck six in the evening, his sister began to worry.  No job had ever kept him out so late, and it was already past dinnertime.  Throughout the years, Loralee had only left their apartment on rare occasions when Malcolm would take her shopping for new clothes or a few luxury items like fruit and candy.  Despite her lack of outside contact, she knew all too well the dangers of leaving the apartment, and so decided it best to wait for her brother to return.

When the clock struck midnight, she knew something was wrong.  As much as she was dying to go out and search for her brother, she knew better.  It was always best to listen to Malcolm, no matter what the circumstance.  Just as she was thinking about grabbing the pistol and going out to look for him, a loud banging erupted at the door to the apartment.  She walked up to the door and looked through the peephole.

The hall outside was too dimly lit in the late night for her to see who was knocking.  A rough voice called out, “I got a letter for a Ms. Rossano.  Priority mail, gotta sign for it.”

Despite her instincts, Loralee opened the door and took the package that was practically forced into her hands.  A small metal wire was handed to her following the package.  She sighed, “Wh-who’s it from?”  She took the ink-dipped wire and scratched her name on the bottom of the form attached to the package.

The deliveryman grunted, “I dunno.  I just deliver ‘em, lady.  Hey, ain’t you Mac’s sis?”  He looked her over with a concerned eye.

She nodded and said, “I am…  Why?”  The concern was obvious in her expression.

“He ain’t been by to pick up his pay.  I pray the guy ain’t pushing up daisies.  I kinda like that kid’s attitude.”  He shrugged his shoulders after taking the form from Loralee.  He turned around and stomped from the room, pushing a cart full of other mail down the hallway.

Oh no… If Malcolm hasn’t gotten his money yet…something must be wrong!  Maybe I should go look for…

Her eyes locked on to the package in her hands.  She immediately set it on the small table by the bed and ripped the paper off of it.  A small card was attached to the top of the small box within, which she immediately removed and read.  The message was short and sweet.  ‘Here’s the package you wanted.’  She immediately tore the tape from the box and dumped the contents out onto the bed.  Her mind raced with thoughts of what the message could mean.

Within the pile of packing peanuts and paper, a small silver object lay on the bed.  Upon closer examination, Loralee identified it as the barrel to a pistol issued to all of Malcolm’s company’s employees.  She assumed that her brother must have ordered a new barrel to their father’s pistol.  Although that did nothing to ease her concerns about her brother’s safety, it did eliminate the mystery of a midnight delivery.

Just as she came to that conclusion, another knock rang from the still-open door.  She turned on her heel in shock, the fear obvious in her eyes.  A tidal wave of relief washed over her as her mind registered who the battered figure in front of her was.  The man limped lazily toward the bed and collapsed onto it.  She quickly ran to the sink in the corner of the room and soaked a small rag in the coldest water she could.

Malcolm sighed as the cold water slowly washed the dirt and blood from his arm, “Today was one helluva day, Lora…”

Loralee scolded her big brother, “What on earth have you been doing, brother?!  I’ve been worried sick all day!  What took you so long to get home?”  She continued scrubbing the blood and grime from his other limbs, taking care to not rub the wounds raw.

“Heh, just business, sis.  I had to go pick up my pay after the job was over.  I’d’ve been home a few hours ago if my leg hadn’t had me limping.” he chuckled.

She giggled, “You really shouldn’t take on such big jobs.  I really do worry about you…”

“Don’t.  I don’t need you worrying yourself to death while I’m making us money.  Besides, a few more jobs like that and I might not have to work another day in my life.”

“How much money Mac?”

“Almost two-thousand bucks.  These wounds won’t even dent today’s pay.”  He grinned and tossed a pouch of coins onto the bedside table.  He chuckled, “You know what tomorrow is, right sis?  We’re going shopping for your birthday.”

Loralee’s eyes widened.  She gasped, “But that’s-!”

Malcolm raised a hand in objection.  He coughed, “I ain’t taking ‘no’ for an answer!  You gotta get something special for your birthday.  After all, you’ll be a teenager tomorrow.  Heh, I remember when you were still a runt.”

His sister shook her head in disagreement.  She scoffed, “We’re not going anywhere tomorrow, Mac!  It’s too-!”

“The boss has it covered, sis.  We’re gonna have some guards, so we ain’t gotta worry.”

“Your boss is sending us some escorts?  Why?”

“He knows the value of family.  He’s got kids of his own to protect, so he ain’t messed up about helping me out.”

With a wave of his hand, Malcolm dropped the subject.  Loralee finished wiping the blood from his arms and legs and tossed the rag into a small basket at the side of the room.  After closing and locking the door, she crawled up into the bed beside her brother and quickly fell asleep.  The two of them slept all the way through the night in a happy enough peace.

December 6th, Marketplace Alleyway

With the ringing of their clock came the next day’s adventures.  Both of them awoke in perfectly fine spirits, ready to greet the day and enjoy their shopping spree.  Today was Loralee’s birthday, and Malcolm was determined to make it a good one.  Taking care to grab the pistol from the small safe on the wall, they were ready to go to the local marketplace.

Just outside of their apartment building waited two large musclemen in green suits.  Both looked intimidating and unreasonably angry.  One of them greeted the pair with a smile, “Good morning, Mac.  Are you all set to go to the market?”

The other one sighed, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Lora.  The boss said to take extra care of the two of you.”

The siblings shared an excited nod, and were soon following the two large men through the dangerous streets of post-war New York.  They walked for a few minutes before coming to a large collapsed apartment building that had obstructed passage on the road for years.  A wide alley sat to the side of the collapsed building.  The only way to reach the marketplace was to pass through the alley, which was where most of the muggings and murders took place.  Anyone with the misfortune of not having a weapon or escort was definitely left for dead.

The two guards shared nods of approval and ushered the siblings into the alley.  Taking corner after corner, they eventually found themselves staring right at the large neon sign of the only market in miles.  It was at this time that the annoyed guard stopped walking to allow the others to get a bit ahead.  Just before reaching the end of the alley, the smiling guard turned on his heels and stopped the siblings in their tracks.

A sudden sense of dread filled Malcolm as he noticed the glint in the smiling guard’s eyes.  He chuckled, “What’s going on fellas?  Is there a problem?”  He slowly moved his right hand to the pistol trucked in the waist of his pants.

The annoyed guard closed the distance between himself and the siblings and chuckled, “As a matter of fact, there is.  You see, our boss is tired of you meddling with his affairs.”  He pulled a small pistol from the holster at his side.

The smiling guard sighed, “Yeah.  You’ve been a nuisance for far too long.  No one’s ever lived this long working against him.”  He drew his own pistol and aimed it directly at Malcolm’s head.

Loralee gasped in fear and tightly gripped her brother’s arm, halfway hoping it would do something to change the situation.  The older sibling scoffed, “You’ve gotta be kidding me!  Why the hell’s the boss want me dead?!”  He raised an angry fist into the air, slowly gripping his pistol with the other.

“Were you under the impression we were working for your boss?  ‘Cause we aren’t.”  The annoyed guard aimed his pistol at the younger sibling’s chest.

The smiling guard laughed, “Yeah, you’ve pretty much been duped, kid.  Haven’t you learned living in this town that you can’t trust anyone?”  He placed his finger on the trigger.

Malcolm sighed, “Yup, I screwed up big time, eh sis?  But you know, you don’t have to do this.”  He took his free hand and reached into his back pocket.  He slowly lifted a small white card from it and held it high in the air.

Loralee whispered, “What’s that brother?”

The older sibling chuckled, “This is my contract.  I’ll rip it up, right here and now, if you let us go.”  He looked at the smiling guard with a smug grin.

The annoyed guard grunted, “That’s a no-go, kid.  We’re under strict orders to end you today.”

“Fine.  Kill me if you want to, but let Loralee go.  She hasn’t done anything to your boss!”  He wrapped his free arm around his sister and let the contract fall to the ground.  His other hand was gripped firmly on his own pistol, ready to draw.

The smiling guard laughed, “Can’t be any witnesses.  Nice try though.”

Malcolm winced at the response.  He bowed his head and sighed, “Lora, do me a favor…”

His sister opened her eyes and looked up at him.  She could see tears in his eyes for the first time since their parents’ deaths.  She gasped, “Wh-what is it Mac?”

He grinned as he said, “Make a birthday wish.  Anything you want.  Make it count, ‘cause it may be the last one you get…”  He slowly tightened his grip on the pistol he’d been holding for a few minutes now.  His sister closed her eyes tight and thought hard about what she wanted.

“I…I want to go away from this place!  I want to go somewhere we can be happy!  Somewhere that doesn’t have all this dying and anger all over the place…  Someplace where you don’t have to work so hard for so little…brother…”  Tears ran down her face as she screamed this wish.

The smiling guard laughed, “You want to go someplace better?  You want to get away from New York?”  He nodded at his partner.

The annoyed guard groaned, “We can send ya somewhere better if ya want.  How about heaven?  Does that sound good?”  He pulled the hammer of his pistol back and placed his finger more firmly on the trigger.

Loralee opened her eyes and saw her brother’s tear-filled smile greet her.  Malcolm sighed, “Now that you’ve made your wish, let’s play a game.  It’s called… Draw!”

Everything passed by in slow motion for the young girl.  She witnessed everything happening as if it were a movie going by frame by frame.  Malcolm quickly shoved her away from him, knocking her against the brick wall of the alleyway, where she stood for the entirety of the scene.  He pulled the pistol from his waist and quickly aimed it at the smiling guard, who was thrown off by the sudden action.  The annoyed guard quickly refocused his aim and let out a bullet right into the barrel of Malcolm’s pistol.

The force of the bullet sent his pistol flying out of his hand, past the smiling guard, who had regained his composure and once again aimed at the older sibling’s head.  Malcolm turned and mouthed something to Loralee before he was sent to the ground by a bullet impacting with his skull.  For a few seconds, the younger sibling watched blood pour from her brother’s head.

She screamed, “Malcolm, no!”  She turned to look at the annoyed guard just in time to see his finger squeeze the trigger once more.

With a loud bang, everything went black. Next Chapter: Like Waking Up From a Nightmare Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 51 Minutes