Renewed

It was three years ago when the unthinkable happened. The apocalypse. The end. A huge meteor crashed into the middle of the pacific ocean, barely missing Hawaii by and few hundred miles. A huge tsunami swept across land and sea, earthquakes shook the world, and people watched their loved ones fall- one by one. Gasses from the meteor and volcanoes that sprung up filled the atmosphere. Only a few kids and teenagers no more than 21 or younger than 11 survived. We don't know why a certain age group survived, even three years later, but we survived and that's that. I was with my best friend Marie when it happened we survived... so far, but our parents didn't. While looking for food and shelter away from the ravaging wild fires we came across a little girl, she was only 7 at the time, and the youngest person we new of. We met a boy named Matt and he took us to a "colony" as we call them now. The colony was completely full, and shelter was few and far between. So, Marie, Matt, Gwen, and I started our own.

Chapter 1

"Aleeya, there's a storm coming, a huge one." My weather informant says.
"Thanks Lia, Matt and I will go ready the tunnels."
Lia nods and leaves my cave. The tunnels are old mines now not being used because of the lack of people to use them. The passages twist and turn like snakes, a huge intertwining labyrinth made of stone. Matt and I walk along and the first drops plop onto our faces, the wind howls and blows my long caramel hair into my face. Soon our hair is plastered to our heads with water and we step in the door of the main entrance to the tunnels. We force open the rusted hinges a huge CREEEAAAK you can barely hear the squeal over the wind. We ready the tunnels with lit torches and lay out some stored blankets from the last big storm. We run from the tunnels as fast as we can back to camp and usher the population out and into the tunnels. Once everyone is settled. I look around at the group of kids I lead. Marie sits on a blanket feeding her 4 month old baby with her boyfriend and the father of her child ,Luke, sits next to her, smiling. Matt lights and relights a stubborn torch at the far corner of this segment of the tunnels. Lia looks frustrated, she's unable to tell when the storm may end from down in these tunnels.
We stay in the tunnels for three days when we finally emerge from the whole in the ground we blink at the blinding sunlight. The camp isn't majorly damaged, just a few fallen supports on the shelters crowded around my cave, the pile of rabbits, deer, and other thing we eat is askew but that's okay, most of it's rotten now, and there is puddles and debris all over, again, easily fixable. We get to work setting things right again, its about a week later now and... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! I may be a leader, but I can still be excited about my 19th birthday, can't I? We have a small celebration like we usually do for birthdays and it lasts into the night.
After the party I'm in my room getting ready for bed when I hear the curtains to my cave rustle softly, like a whisper. I turn around, it's Matt. My heart flutters in my chest and I don't know why.
"Hey, what's up?" I say. He's holding something behind his back.
"Nothing much, just brought you a present."
"A present? Where'd you get a present? I thought we didn't do that anymore! Not after the Big Thing."
"I know but, I wanted you to have one, being the leader and all." He hold out a little basket, its tightly woven and filled with scarlet, golden, and yellow leaves. I push the leaves aside. On the bottom of the basket it a silver chain. Attached to the silver chain is a long oval shaped lapis lazuli gemstone surrounded by two spherical grey amethysts to match my grey eyes.
"Oh, wow - I- I don't know what to say- I-" I look up and for a brief moment I see a look of determination in his eyes. He leans over and his lips tentatively brush mine, a shiver runs down my back. When I don't pull away he leans in farther and kisses me deeper, longer, more passionately.
When he pulls away he says "That was part two."
Then, he leaves.

Chapter 2
I stand there shocked for a little while before I remember how to breathe. I sprint towards Marie's shelter. "MARIE! OH MY GOD! MATT JUST KISSED ME!" I scream. She looks at me like, no duh!.
"He's liked you since he met you. He told me he was going to tonight. But I still need details!" She laughs and comes toward me as we sit on the floor.
"Okay, so well, it was about....umm... 14 seconds I think, uh... he gave me a necklace for my birthday, uh, a little bit of tongue.." I stutter awkwardly.
"Wow, you guys really got into it! Don't end up like me: completely smitten and the first pregnant person in the Renewed World at 19 years old. I love Luke and Ashton, don't get me wrong, but I feel I was too young. I've had to mature so fast lately."
Marie and I talk for a few minutes until I head to bed. I don't sleep though, all I can do is lie awake and think about those 14 wonderful seconds of my life.
When I wake up in the morning, the usual flows trough my head. What the hell? Where am I? Why am I in a cave? Then explosions and fire and screams curse my eyes and ears and I remember. The Big Thing, as we call it for lack of a better name. I get up, dress in poorly sewn deer hides, and attempt to untangle my hair with a twig. I walk out of my cave to face my day.
I send out hunting patrols and gathering patrols to scout the land for edible things. I name Matt and I to go gathering purposely so I can talk to him. About 10 minutes of awkward silence while picking blueberries goes by finally:
"Soooooo..." I attempt to break the ice. He says nothing. I turn towards him and my lips meet his. He had snuck up on me! he was five feet away a minute ago! The initial shock I feel turns to relief, I was planning to go over and kiss him anyway, this makes it so much less awkward.
When we break apart I'm a little disappointed with myself for needing to breathe. Stupid evolution... I think. We lock eyes there is no need to say anything. I see all he feels and thinks in his eyes... His beautiful blue-grey eyes..... glacial, icy, those eyes...
We are kissing again, his right hand is on the small of my back, his left tangled in my hair I tried so hard to get smooth, and his body crushed against mine. We kiss for a long time only stopping to breathe, when we realize somehow we ended up lying on the ground.
"Matt, why did you wait so long to do this!' I say as he kisses my neck.
"I wasn't sure how you'd react. But I'm so glad I finally did."
"Me too..." I sigh as his lips meet mine once more. We stay like that, lying on the ground making out passionately for a long time when we hear someone clear their throat.
We look up and see five people I sent out on a hunting patrol mouths agape. One of them is Luke.
"Dude, don't get her pregnant, I don't wanna make that mistake again." I've never liked Luke, he annoys me. What did he mean by that? We were just kissing. I look down. Oh crap. How did that happen!!! Both our clothes were in piles next to us. Matt looks just as shocked as I do. I'm now waaaay more embarrassed than I was, and thats saying something.
Matt and I scramble to get our clothes on only then do I realize we were about to do MORE than kiss! Unless we already did...
Luke chuckles and says, as if reading my mind "Yeah, you did." They move away and we look shocked like, "How in the HELL did neither of us notice?!"
I turn to Matt, "Did you notice?" I ask confused.
"Weirdly enough, no..." He answers. "Well, maybe unconciously but I don't remember making the desicion to." We walk back to camp and kill a few squirrels and rabbits along the way with bows and arrows. We are still dumbfounded and lost in thought when we walk into camp. As we walk to our seperate shelters we hear snickers, giggles, and flat out laughter.
I blush and fast walk towards my cave.

Chapter 3

Once inside my cave Lia comes in. She had been on the hunting party with Luke so it was pretty darn awkward.
"So, you saw." I say my back is to her.
"Well, yeah, I'm glad you and Matt like eachother. But it was a little um, gross. I saw more than they did too. I went ahead 'cause I don't like Luke and I stumbled upon your make out fest. I went ahead to try to hunt 'cause I thought I heard animals..."
"It was us, not any meat?" I guess.
"uh, yeah..."
"Well, thats embarrassing..."
She nods.
Its story-telling night tonight and Lia is up first she's the best.
"Well, once long ago there was a man named John, now one night while hunting..." I am swept into the story by her enchanting words, strung together musically and beautifully." ...he saw a beautiful wolf with a lusturous white pelt. and John thought to himself "I must have this beasts pelt as my own to mak a parka for the long arduous winter ahead." So now John devises a plan. He lays out raw and bloody meat for White Wolf. Each night he puts more and more meat out for White Wolf until White Wolf is so enormously fat he is no longer swift as the wind. So one night John lays out meat again but this time instead of going to sleep he hides in the bushes. When White Wolf lumbers over to the patch of meat John springs on him with a net. He says
"Because you are such a beautiful beast I will make this fast." White Wolf looks up at him with soulful blue eyes and says without moving his lips: Spare me and I will grant you one wish. John ponders this offer. In his travels he has heard of animals like these, they were known tricksters. "Now, I must wish for for something so incredibly simple, that White Wolf can not possibly twist them so they work against me." John decides on one wish, for he was very lonely, and before had actually considered keeping the wolf as a companion, but this option was better. "I wish for a wife who will love an care for me." White Wolf nods and earth, leaves, wind, water, and magic swirl around him. The swirls turn to light and the light pulses and glows until it flashes in a blinding light. When John opens his eyes a woman stands with her back to him. She stretches as if asleep for many years and turns to face him. John has to surpress a scream. She was the ugliest creature he had ever seen! He turned to White Wolf to say something but he was gone, the net that had taken so msny weeks to weave was torn and tangled, unusable. "TRICKSTER!" John yelled into the wind. "How will I ever love this- this... beast?" John thinks. The days go by slowly and as wished for, Jane loves John with all her heart and takes wonderful care of him. Finally on the 21st day of living wiht Jane, John wakes from a dream. Now, the dream changed him. Even as he emerges from his slumber he forgets it. All he knows is he loves Jane. Jane has her back to him, making tea, for he'd had a cold recently, and when she turns around, she is the most beauiful creature he has ever seen. White Wolf appears and says: " Apreciate what you are given and you will be rewarded. Jane is a woman made of Earth and should be treated with love and respect as you should the Earth." John can't help feeling a little dissapointed. "Wait!" he calls out to White Wolf who is starting to walk away. "Bring my Jane back, I love her." White Wolf smiles the best a wolf can and the light swirls around Jane again. She is back to the beautiful creature he saw the first day he met her." Lia stands up and we all applaud. The night goes on as usual, the crowds dwindle at the story telling area and soon I am the last one listening to a poorly told version of Sleeping Beauty.
I get up and head off to my cave for bed.
I sleep fitfully. There are bad dreams and one is worse than all the others.
I run and run and run, but my legs are like cement. "I'm so slow!" I think. I look down "AHHHH!" I yell. My stomach is HUGE! Just then, the dinosaur eats me!
I wake up screaming.
Chapter 4