Terra Infractus Chapter Two The Gentleman I awoke with a start. A sharp pain in my left wrist left my crippled body lying flat. "We were wondering about how much we would have to hurt you until you woke up. In fact I had a small wager riding on it." I looked up to see a tall man, maybe six foot, standing tall above me. He was impeccably dressed, a feat worthy of praise after the Global Revolution. "What do you want with me?", I replied bitterly, contempt running through my tones, "Who are you?" He leant down to meet me; a long, slender finger reached out under my chin, pulling my chin up. He rested on the balls of his feet, rocking slightly. His thin lips slightly raised, as if vaguely amused. "All in good time, my dear" "Go to hell" He let out a stifled laugh. "Is that any way to speak to a gentleman?", he chuckled. Hated coursed through every fibre of my being. I wanted to hit him, to hurt him. But that's what surviving does to you. Revert you to an animal. Everyone's is different. This man, a vulture, watching, judging for the right moment to swoop down and scavenge for the goods left. But I know better than to make a leap for freedom. I am no hero; but a machine. Let the man play his games. My immediate well being may be slightly lengthened.

Terra Infractus Chapter One Nature Prevails Running, fleeing. Fleeing for my #life. I sense the sickening groan of the car's weight stumble across the cracked earth directly behind me. Suddenly, my body is flung several meters in the sky, followed swiftly by the jeers of my friends, my friends? Is there any longer such a term? The world seems to slow, to let me think and breath for a second. I gaze out at the rising twilight over the urban jungle that was once my home. Finally, I realise, nature prevails, perseveres, survives. After humanity has risen, fallen, rebuilt and crumbled into dust; #life carries on, unchanged, unrelenting, an unstoppable force held captive by none. Newtons laws of motion grab at me and pull me to the ground. I land with a crack. 'Oh god, oh god no please. If I had broken a bone, no matter how small, I was finished in this world. Harsh hands lash on to my shoulders and waist. I'm dragged backwards, clawing and screaming and kicking at the ground. Then I black out...