Before the Bane
by: FireLeiLotus
[This story takes place during the Bane's initial invasion of Earth and chronicles how Ashlyn Lotus survives to become a soldier for humanity.]
Ashlyn leaned back, smiling brightly, moonlight sparkling in her eyes as she squished the warm sand between her bare toes. The beach at night; lounging beneath a warm summer sky with the man she loved. What a perfect way to end the perfect evening. She smiled as she gazed down at the sparkling gem on her finger, twirling it to catch the moonlight. It was a bit too big… but that could easily be corrected. He finally proposed… that was more important then anything else right now. Everything was falling into place and Ashlyn had never felt more joyful… more content.
She had finally found a job she adored. She had paid her dues, first during her residency and then for 2 years working in the hospital’s free clinic. Now she was working in a good, well respected practice, a place where she could really take the time to get to know her patients. Nathan said she had been happier then he had ever seen her since she started there. But that happiness paled in comparison to the way she felt at that moment.
The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. “Odd”, she thought. "Thunder on such a clear night?" Maybe someone was launching fireworks somewhere. She closed her eyes and snuggled back against Nathan. But the rumble kept getting louder… closer. She opened her eyes in time to see a bright light streak across the sky. She turned to look back at Nathan, but he was already scrambling to his feet, pulling her up.
“What… what is it?”
He never did answer her… only grabbed her arm roughly and started running towards the car. Her mind was swimming as the rumbles turned into ear-shattering booms. The night sky was suddenly on fire. They ran without looking back, her bare feet kicking up sand as they closed the distance to the car..., and she suddenly realized she didn’t even know what she was running from.
Her eyes fluttered open but everything was still dark. She gasped for breath, her chest barely able to rise and fall under the weight crushing down on her. “What they hell just happened?” she thought. This can’t be real. I must me dreaming.
But as she laid there, the stench of burning cars and seared flesh invading her senses, she came to realize that it was in fact real. She had to get out of here… had to find Nathan. She wriggled her arms free from the weight that was pinning them and wiped the debris that was covering her face away. The sky was lit by the orange glow if the fires surrounding her, the moon and stars blocked out by thick acrid smoke.
Ashlyn looked down to see what was pinning her. She could make out the mangled remains of a car… well… maybe half a car. It had been torn apart by the force of the explosion. She braced her hands against it and, using her shoulders against the ground for leverage, pushed as hard as she could. She was a small woman and the large hunk of metal barely moved, but the weight shifted and she was able to wriggle into a new position. She turned slightly to the side and caught a glimpse of… a hand? Was that a…?
“[censored],” she screamed. Nathan was trapped under here with her. In a moment of pure will, she shoved the mangled car off her and what was left of her fiancé. She turned away and wretched. Whatever tore the car apart had ravaged his body too. All that was left was a gruesome shell of the man she loved.
She scrambled to her feet and quickly surveyed her surrounding. Whatever had torn through here was gone. Fear overtook her as her eyes fell on the remains of buildings… cars… people… everything seemed like it was on fire. She felt like her heart was burning too. There was no thought… only instinct. Ashlyn began to run, never looking back. Not wanting to see the beachfront, the place where she and Nathan were supposed to be starting their new life, as it was engulfed in flame.
That day she did start a new life. One she had never imagined. The life she had known had been engulfed by fire... wiped clean. Tabula Rasa. A blank slate…
Ashlyn stumbled forward, her mind swimming. She felt as if she had been walking for days. Actually, she may have been walking for days… reality had escaped her, helping her stay sane as she walked down street after street of broken bodies and burning buildings. The truth was she had no idea how long she had been wandering the streets, the sky was blackened by plumes of thick smoke and as far as she knew, sunrise had already come and gone.
What she did know was that she had not seen another living soul, and was starting to wonder if she was the only one left. Not a logical thought, but a deep rooted fear that was beginning to consume her thoughts. So she continued on… searching… taking cover every time she heard the sound of machinery or gunfire. She had caught glimpses of her attackers. Inhuman. Monstrous. Walking nightmares hell-bent on destruction and carnage. She had seen the face of evil and one thing was certain, she would never be the same.
But fatigue was bearing down on her. Even though the instinct to find other survivors was strong, her body was feeling the strain of her ordeal. Her chest ached from what she had identified as two broken ribs. Her head throbbed and her eyes burned from the putrid smells and acrid smoke that surrounded her. Luckily, she could no longer feel her feet, they had become numb. Earlier, she feared she would not be able to walk another step as her bare skin left a trail of bloody footprints behind her. But the mind is an amazing thing, and her brain eventually blocked out the pain. Just as it was starting to block out the devastation surrounding her.
She continued on, street after street, trying to find a clear path in the destruction. Her steps became automated, her eyes glazed over, either by the fatigue or the shock, or both. She was numb. In the distance, she didn’t even hear the screaming engine as it raced towards her. She simply continued forward, stepping out into her destiny.
Unable to comprehend what was happening, Ashlyn blinked into the blinding light. She had lost too much blood… seen too much horror. She stopped in her tracks and just stared. Was this the end? She watched as if she was embedded in a dream she could not awaken from. He walked towards her… definitely human. Nathan? Could it be? Yes… he had finally come for her. Her time had come.
As he approached her, she collapsed into his arms. The world went black. She could finally rest.
The blackness surrounded her like a shroud. She was so still at times that the man had to stop and see that she was still breathing. Hours passed before she emerged from the depths of this darkness… But slowly, the pain returned and the sounds and smells flooded her senses. Even with her eyes closed, barely conscious, she could tell she was moving… fast.
Her eyes fluttered open and she surveyed her surroundings. She was in the back of what looked like an open Jeep. In the drivers seat, a young man with broad shoulders sat, eyes locked on the road and hands grasping the wheel with a death grip. She tried to sit up, but sharp pain bit into her side and she yelped in pain. He swerved to the side of the road and braked so hard she was tossed off balance onto her side. She looked up at him and their eyes locked. It was like looking in a mirror she imagined. The same look of shock and disbelief at what was happening.
“It’s ok,” he said. “Stay put. You’re going to be ok. I’ll find someplace safe.”
Ashlyn nodded slowly. She could hear the uncertainty in his voice… like her; he too doubted that they would ever find someplace safe again. But she heard something else, too. Compassion. So she laid back and closed her eyes… trusting in that his kind voice enough to place her life in this strangers hands.
