> The Story of the Star
>  by MysticMelodie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Sister, a Brother, and a Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	This story starts back in the time when Humans roamed, where their cities spread out for miles. Back before there was a need for magic to move the sun and the moon, when hands were the only thing needed to manipulate machinery. It starts in a small town, directly between two of those sprawling cities, where a young women, just twenty, was going to lose everything.
“Mark! Mark, I don’t have time for your silly games! Mark!” Scarlet would have gone on, but there was a sudden rumbling from the ground. “Well, that’s strange.” Life over the past year had become increasingly weird, from solid structures crumbling from the top down, to people vanishing without a trace. It had been happening everywhere, not just in her home town.
“Scarlet! Scarlet, run!” Mark called out in a panic. Had it been any other day, he would have been calling for her to run away from him, but it was different today. Today there was a threat that may as well cause the apocalypse.
“Mark, what’s going on?”
“No time, just run!” He grabbed her wrist, pulling her along with him. “I’ll explain when we get somewhere safe, and far away. Somewhere far, far away.” Scarlet pulled away from her brother, her gaze confused and angry.
“Why do we need to leave?” She got her answer from a roar that nearly shattered both their ear drums. “Ok, running!” The two of them ran from the sound faster than most of the other people around them. They had been running most of their lives, even more so after both of their parents vanished earlier in the year. Another mile, or four, wouldn’t be too much for them.
“Coming back here to see if the house was still intact sound like such a good idea now?” Mark flashed Scarlet a cocky grin.
“Would you just shut it!” Scarlet groaned as they ran. “We’re going to need a car if we really want to get out of here.”
“There’s a dealership about a mile from here in the direction we’re headed”
“You really think they’ll just have keys in the cars?”
“You and keys! You know that at this point, finding a key for a car will get us killed!”
“True. We can do it your way this time.” 
With a plan in mind, the two ran the rest of the way in silence, stopping once they had reached the dealership. Picking out a car was easy. They chose a sturdy truck, and after a bit of rewiring, were off. Several hours of nonsense bickering and a stop at a gas station for supplies, they had managed to escape the radius of the beasts roar.
“What now, Star?”
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t think we can go back, or even stay where we are at this point.”
“Ya, don’t think stopping is an option unless it’s the last one.”
“Well then, we’ll just do driving shifts until we run out of gas, I guess”
“Sounds good, you get the first shift.”
“Hey!”
“Don’t hey me, I've been driving since we got the truck.”
“Ugh, fine.”
Days passed, never stopping unless switching shifts, until they reached the one place they had never been. New York, crumbling and in ruins, not a soul in sight.
“What happened here?”
“I don’t know, but we just ran out of gas” Mark’s groan of disappointment was followed with the sputter of the truck”
“I don’t think that we could use the truck here even if there was still gas. Too much rubble.” Scarlet grabbed her backpack from the back seat and started to climb out. “ You coming, or are you going to sit in that truck until a building crumbles on top of you?”
“You really want to explore this place?”
“Course I do,” she smirked, “This is New York after all.” She shut the door of the truck, grinning. “and we could probably salvage supplies from some store here”
Mark climbed out of the truck reluctantly, grabbing his own backpack. “True..” Sighing in defeat, he gestured forward. “Lead the way, madam.” Scarlet snorted and they made their way into the abandoned city.
“You think whatever destroyed our town did this?”
“Not a clue. I really hope not.”
“Same.”
“Hey, look! There's an athletic store, they probably have stuff we can use.” Mark jogged over to the broken windowed store, Scarlet in tow. Unknown to either of them, what had caused the destruction of their once peaceful hometown was indeed nearby, though it definitely didn't look like what had attacked them there.
Scarlet pulled her head out of a rack of sweatshirts. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I think someone might be here.”
“You sure?” Scarlet nodded, grabbing a sweatshirt that was clearly going to be a bit big on her thin frame.
“Come on, I know I heard something.” 
Walking out of the store, the first thing either of them saw was a man. A man dressed entirely in black, armor underneath a cloak that looked as if it belonged in a story book or novel of some sort.
“Who are you? Are you a survivor? Are there others?” Scarlet took a step toward the man. The man just smiled, his form shifting until a black dragon stood where he once had.
“He’s no man, Star! That’s the beast that attacked us!” Mark stuttered out, fearful.
It was there that they realized life would never be the same again. In the remains of a once powerful city, there now stood only three souls. A sister, a brother, and a beast.
> Friend from the Ruins 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Scarlet spun on her heels, sprinting down a side street, yanking her brother by his backpack. Mark stumbled a few steps, righting himself to sprint next to her.
“What are we going to do now?” His tone was panicked, his face showing that loud and clear.
“Run!” Scarlet held onto a look of determination. “We run until we lose it, or until we can run no more.”
“Are you crazy?!”
“Maybe.”
“Star, one of these days, you are going to get us killed!”
“Already in the process of doing that.” The two rounded a corner. After a few minutes, they slowed to a stop, the telltale sounds of rumbling missing.
“Did.. did it ever even give chase.
“I don’t know, Mark.” It took a few seconds, but they both let out a relieved breath that neither had known they had been holding. Mark looked at Scarlet who locked eyes with him. The moment their eyes met, they both burst out into joyous laughter. In silent agreement, they began to jog down the street that they were now on.
New York had once been a bustling place, never any empty street in the city, never quiet. Now all that remained was what had been left behind when it had been evacuated after a huge storm had hit the metropolis, burning up one end and crumpling the other. Even the famous Statue of Liberty had not survived, being washed out to sea.
The two siblings ran down one of the many streets, no idea of what street it may have been. The few signs that were still eligible had been tossed from their places and onto the streets.
After hours of running, Mark finally spoke up. “So, we going to stop and get some food?”
Scarlet laughed “Sure. Probably should find something canned.”
“Or Twinkies,” Mark smirked. “You know they never go bad”
Gagging, Scarlet continued down the street. “Come on, lets go find a grocery store in all this rubble.”
They didn’t get very much farther before a person stepped out of one of the alleyways. Unlike the man in black armor who had changed into a scaly beast, this was a person they both knew, one who they hadn't seen since leaving for their home town.
“Jenny?!” Both Mark and Scarlet starred as Jenny turned to them. With straight dark brown hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and emerald green eyes, she look as though she didn’t belong in the rundown ruins of the city.
“Mark? Scarlet? I thought-” she look at the two, realizing what had happened “Ah, ok, so no more visiting home, eh?”
Scarlet glared at Jenny, only then realizing how scuffed up and dirty she herself looked in her beat up jeans, blue jacket, and pale blue shirt. Not to mention her hair, was a mess. Even mark looked better than her at the moment, having found a fresh pair of pants in the shop they had looked through. Honestly, she didn't care for yoga pants very much and had chosen to skip out on them.
“Ya, it was definitely cut short. But hey, it’s good to see you safe, Sweetie.” Mark scooped Jenny up, kissing her. Setting her back down, He asks the question that was on both his, and his sisters minds. “So what are you doing here, oh fiancée of mine?”
Jenny shook her head. “Same thing as you, I’m afraid. Got run out of town by a giant beast of sorts.”
"Wait, how do you know about that thing?" Scarlet was frowning, her brow bunched up in thought. "Has it been attacking other towns as well?"
With a nod, Jenny turned to look at her fiance's sister. "It has been attacking small towns, completely wiping them out. The reports have all been the same  as to what it looks like, but no one has been able to predict it's movements as of yet"
"I guess that explains that," Marks expression matched that of his siblings. "But it doesn't explain why it is now in new york."
"Well, two Fishers and a Hunter should be able to figure that out." Jenny motions for the two to follow her. "Now come on, I know a safe place we can stay."
Scarlet turned to look behind her as she followed Jenny and her brother. As nice as it was that they had found Jenny and now knew she was safe, Scarlet couldn't help but feel as if it was all wrong. None of them should be there, in the ruins of a once bustling metropolis.
> Into the City
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"So the house is gone," Jenny looked between Mark and Scarlet, "so now there is absolutely nothing left of them?"
"Unless you count a bunch of broken wood, but even that might not be left." Mark leaned back against a wooden counterparts of a caffè. Jenny had lead them to what once may have been a Starbucks, or something similar. The building was still in good condition and a small grocery store around the corner had proved useful for food.
Scarlet pulled at her hair with a brush. After a few strokes, she had managed to get the worst of the knots out. "Honestly, I'm more worried now about being in a ruined city more than what is left of Mom and Dad." She pulled a fresh pack of hair ties out of her backpack, tying her hair up in a ponytail. "Also, there is that thing roaming around and I doubt it has left by now." She swung her legs over the counter, watching as her brother nodded.
"Mark, you have that look on your face," Jenny frowned from where she was sitting, "I know that look. You have an idea."
"It's not a very good one"
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Mark, for everything you have ever done, you have never had a bad idea. Now spit it out."
Groaning, Mark gave in. "Fine. I was thinking about trying to get a signal on my handheld radio. Maybe we can get some help.” He looked at the two girls, expecting them to argue that the idea was absurd. Any help that could come wouldn’t be of any help against the beast.
Scarlet looked between her brother and Jenny. “It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. Maybe we can get somebody who knows their way around out here to help”
“True. Some help escaping from that thing would also be nice.” Jenny smiled. “Now tell me again why you doubted your own idea?”
Shrugging, Mark began to dig through his backpack for the radio. “After hearing that the army could no longer do a thing to protect people against that beast, it is hard to believe that anyone will be able to help in a situation like this, much less want to.” Pulling out the radio, he dug a bit more. “Anyways, I need to get to the top of a building to manage to get some sort of signal in all of this. I don’t think either of you want to go climb up one of those crumpling things out there, and I don’t really want to split up.”
“Mark, it’ll be fine. We’ll head to what’s left of Times Square and you can meet us there after you have a signal,” Jenny grinned, “Two girls can take care of themselves you know”
“Ok, but you two have to promise me you will be ok.” Mark gave them a worried smile.
“Mark,” Scarlet let out an exasperated whine, “We’ll be fine.” 
“Fine, fine. We should get some sleep before this all happens though.” mark motioned to the sky past the crumbling buildings, “It’s going to get dark soon.” With that, the three of them pulled out sleeping bags and blankets, laying out on the floor, hopeful of a good nights sleep.
But Scarlet couldn't sleep. Something kept telling her that they should just leave, that this wasn’t where the three of them were supposed to be. She didn’t understand why she felt that way, but she did. Someone was going to die the next day, and she hoped with all her heart that it wasn’t going to be one of them. With that final thought, she drifted into a fitful slumber, her dreams haunted by images of what was to come for them.
-----
Scarlet was woken up to someone shaking her. She yawned, sitting up to see who it was. It was Mark. Jenny was there too, packing a bag full of food and water. It took Scarlet a moment to remember where they were currently.
“Earth to Star, you going to become conscious any time soon?” Mark waved his hand in his sisters face, trying, and failing, to wake her up. Unfortunately for them, the coffee machines in the little cafe they had slept in no longer worked. Slowly, though, Scarlet came to her senses, rubbing at her eyes in a sleepy haze.
“You don’t need to shake me that hard you know.”
“You won't wake up if I don’t”
“Coffee?”
“Sorry, the machines don’t work and I don’t want to try starting a fire in this place again,” Jenny turned towards them. “You can eat the coffee beans though.”
“Ew.”
“That’s what I thought, now get up lazy butt.”
“Fine.” Crawling out of her sleeping bag, Scarlet stretched her still asleep muscles. “Got anything with caffeine?”
Laughing, her brother tossed her an energy drink “It’s my last one, so be thankful.”
Scarlet didn’t even bother to look his way as she popped the can open. “Thankful my ass, you’re the one who is waking me up in the mornings.” Draining half the can in one go, she sighed. “That’s more like it.”
“Girl, you need to break that addiction,” Jenny laughed. She knew about Scarlets need for coffee in the morning all too well. “Sooner or later there won't be any caffine available to you.”  
Scarlet grunted in annoyance at that comment. Of course she knew, the whole world knew. Hell, China was gone, so half of the things that used to be a daily part of life were gone as well. If it hadn't been for the peace treaty between the remaining countries, everything as they knew it would have ended.
With as sigh, Scarlet stood up. Grabbing her worn out shoes, she looked at the two other people that were with her. "So what's the game plan?"
"Simple," Mark pointed at the two females. "You two are going to are going to search for survivors and supplies while I go see if I can get a signal at the top of one of these buildings."
Nodding, Jenny picked up her back pack. "Sounds like a plan. We meet up at Times Square at dusk."
Picking up her own back pack, Scarlet looks at her brother. "You stay safe, you hear."
"Hey, don't worry about me," Chuckling, Mark pulled his fingers through his siblings hair. "I'll come back safe and sound, I promise."
With about three of them ready, they set off in separate direction. For the next hour though, Scarlet continued to glance over her shoulder, her thoughts dizzy with worry.
Nudging the girl with her elbow, Jenny gave her a sympathetic look. "He'll be fine, and you know it."
"I know, I know. It's just.. I don't feel as safe without him around, you know?" Scarlet gave Jenny a worried grin. As much as what she said was true though, she was much more worried about the feeling in her gut. The feeling that they were not supposed to be there, the same one from the night before.
The two walked in silence, each in their own thoughts for a while more. The person who kept on entering their thoughts was currently on the other side of the city. When had life become so strange? When had everything truly begun to fall? For one Scarlet Fisher, the answers to those question had seemed so far out of reach, but they had always been so close.
As the time went by, the two struck up a conversation. It wasn’t much, but it kept them from the darker thoughts that they both had, Scarlet more so than Jenny. It was mostly about how life had been, what had happened in the time that Jenny had left to search for her cousin, and the overall strangeness of the world as it was at the moment. Soon, their topic drifted towards the city itself, and what it once might have been.
“You really think the lights never went out here?” Scarlet had a surprised expression.
“Only if the power went out, but then all the generators must have kicked in.” Jenny laughed. “If only I could have seen it in person then.”
“What about the stars though?” Scarlet looked out ahead of them. The rubble of the city was becoming a bore to look at, no matter how impressive the city may have once been.
“Scarlet, dear, you didn’t come to a city like this one to stargaze.” Laughing, Jenny looked around. “It appears to be about noo-” Scarlet rammed into her just as a building began to tumble, pushing her to the side. Stumbling, Jenny looked back to see that a building had indeed fallen, though luckily it had been a small one. “Scarlet?”
Groaning, the person in question looked up from her leg. “I’m here. I’m good.” She winced, red soaking through her fingers.
“Scarlet, oh dear god!” Jenny quickly opened her backpack, pulling out a roll of bandages. “Thank heavens you’re not hurt worse.”
Scarlet lifted her hand away from the wound. A sign had caught on her pants and given her a nasty gash on the leg. “If you blame yourself for this, I swear-”
“Oh, hush. I’m more worried about your brother chewing me out over something like this.” Jenny wrapped Scarlet’s leg up nice and tight to hopefully stop the bleeding. “Anyways, we need to get moving again, Do you think you can walk?” 
Testing her leg, Scarlet stood up, taking a step.”I should be fine.”
The two continued on, wary of the buildings around them. Scarlet’s uneven steps didn’t help with Jenny’s nerves, so much so that at one point she offered to carry the younger girl. A quick refusal and the idea was discarded. After another hour or so of silence, they had reached Times Square, dead and deserted, a shell of its former glory.
Scarlet looks around as they climb over the ruble to get to the clear space in the center of the square. The unease sense that they shouldn’t be there returned.
“Hey, Jenny,” Scarlet spoke up over the silence, “I really have a bad feeling about being here.”
“I know. I have felt that way since we split from Mark.” Jenny gave her a small smile.
Scarlet opened her mouth to say something, but freezed up. She heard Jenny say her name, heard the building crumbling in the distance, but at that moment, she was somewhere else entirely.