Free Token Huntress by Kia Carrington-Russell Page A

colors and a stream of wind. When we reached the five kilometer point from the city Pac ran ahead. He was quick to report back that there was nothing suspicious on the borders. He was only ever to approach the borders; I would never allow him in on his own. I would not risk it.
                  We all paused at the border, where an old, shattered tarmac road led into the forgotten city. During the last world war this area was known as ‘San Francisco.’ There was a sign that stated it as we walked through the cracked road toward the city. This was one of the places which was not heavily bombed. It was the eastern and southern states of the former ‘America’ that had suffered the most damage.
    I could tell San Francisco was once beautiful. Magnificent buildings towered in the distance to form an elegant skyline. The city was mostly surrounded by water, but the rising sea had swallowed the edges of it to the west. I could hardly see the tops of the buildings through the mist that rose from the ground. Even through the fog, I could see that the city was built upon sloping hills; its buildings nestled on streets that gently rose and fell in height.
                  The mist was worse here because of the sewerage pipes, and I could hear a constant wheezing noise hum through the city, as if the earth itself was sick. The cockroaches grouped in hurdles as they scampered into the cracks of the ground. Many buildings had been burned down, but some still remained. I scanned the streets ahead warily. The road was lined with broken glass, discarded materials, and rats. The smell of unhealthy gases pained my nose. There were charred walls and shop fronts where fires had been lit. Many bullet holes were embedded in the walls. Wiring hung from large poles. I was informed these were electricity poles .
                  It seemed the humans had over indulged in everything; life was in no way difficoven for them. I would even say their spoilt ways was the reason why the remaining humans had no survival instinct whatsoever. They could not hunt, fight, or even tend to crops. These inadequacies alone greatly reduced the humans’ numbers after the fall of the technology age.
                  “We will take the streets in the south and then carry through to the north. We will camp an hour out of the city at nightfall, and tomorrow we will search more thoroughly in the other parts,” I said, adjusting my bag straps loosely and retrieving my crossbow from underneath. Just for reassurance I held firmly onto the handle of my sword to make sure it was also still there. Everyone else gathered their weapons. I grimaced in annoyance when Corso grabbed his chainsaw with a smug grin.
                  “Are we to gather supplies if the opportunity presents itself?” Teary whispered from behind me. Although this was not a direct order from Campture and we were only there for surveillance purposes, such an opportunity couldn’t be missed.
                  “Nothing large, and no one is to stray from the group until I have confirmed that we are all to go in that direction. Only take things so light that you can pack them in your bags. But remember, our main aim is to gather information.”
                  We crept through the dark streets, keeping tight to the walls of the decaying buildings. We were even more cautious the deeper we went into the city. For today we would not walk into the central area. The city was so large, we could be here for days living off the packaged food in our bags. Once supplies ran out, we would have to return to the Guild.
    We often raided this area in search of human survivors, but never had we been made aware of the Council here. Some hunters suspected they may reside here, but after months of searching the theory was dismissed. It heightened our caution, as maybe we had been so close previously without realizing it. This was only my second