Comic

The first and last, let me sum up my writing process.

Oh, text is tiny...
You can totally click it to actually read it.

Oh look, it's another update

You know what? Screw zombies. Those things are really hard to write.
(Okay, I'm just being lazy. It's taking too long to write. And I haven't been trying.)
Besides Zombies! I also have a few other ideas floating around... plus, I still have to work on Static... ug, it's like I have job.
Oh, and I've been playing black ops. So that might be why I'm busy.

EDITED!:
I'm undertaking a monster job:
Rewriting a NaNoWriMo from 2009. It's isn't very good, and was in fact my first real story attempt.
You can read it here if you want. Just be warned, it might confuse you to death.

Also, it cuts off very soon after part two, and quite abruptly.

If you want to stare at my slow writing progress, it's here.

Blog: Not as much as a post then a update

Here are things I was working on with some updates.

Spiras: It's dead. I'm a point where I can't find a way to shuffle along but I know the plot. It's just weird.

Static: I broke out of my writer's block yesterday, but was interupted by a sudden need to play online games... Not much progress has been made since. 

As for short stories: 

I just started one with (le gasp!) zombies. Never written about zombies, read a zombie book or saw a zombie movie... I just suddenly needed to.

I have a back-up, almost done Christmas one. This will be posted near Christmas. Because it makes no effing sense to post it in july.

I also have, like six one-paragraph projects. And a thing with ferrets. 

I think I should string them together and call it modern literature.

Also, I haven't got a single view for a week. I mean, really.

Hetalia

This is a short thing involving Hetalia.
It's a manga from Japan where every country is represented by a person who personifies that country.
It has a big female following, but it isn't yaoi or anything.
It's also highly amusing and I suggest you try it out (via episodes on youtube or the manga.)

The crazy thing you notice when you're reading Hetalia is that it sneaks into your mind and teaches you history.  Every relationship in Hetalia is based on relations at that time period (They skip around) and if it's in modern times, the current relationship.
(There are still plenty of jokes unrelated to history, but it's all-okay.)

Also, everyone is based on stereotypes, so that's amusing. And the english dub has every character with a strong accent, so it's funny to just listen to.

This was all an excuse to post this:

Forever alone

inb4: THE JOKE IS THAT ONLY ENGLAND CAME SEE MAGICAL CREATURES. 

Just going to leave this here...

"I can see Alaska from my house"

Blog: It's not Aywas! (Or, a Harry Potter related thing for once)

I must not be the only HP fan out there. Actually, of course I'm not. Pretty much all of my friends are.
Yesterday, or this 12am, was the midnight showing of the last HP movie.
I seriously wanted to go.
However, I had not heard anything from my friends.
Not wanting to disrupt any plans we might have (I thought we might go today for whatever reason), I did not go.
When I get up today to check my email, I am surprised to see this:

Well, fuck.

I realize it isn't all about me, and such. It just looks like all my friends (besides the one in Poland- unless she did too somehow) got together to go. It would be pretty weird to go to the same showing to something everyone likes without going together.
I'm awaiting response, but in the mean time I'm slightly agitated.

Aywas: Ugly anime

Task: Design a anime poster and a episode guide.
This is for Team Squirrelly. Y'know?
The Almighty, 2574.

(Pic gone! It was ugly.)

Episode 1: Prelude

It opens with a mental battle inside of the body of Kaz/Shoe. Another hour has been added to the day, and they are fighting over this. It seems to be an even match, but it cut short when Shoe suddenly wakes up. Elsewhere, a green Manicore called Kasha wakes up suddenly. His head hurts, and he seems sense Kaz and Shoe's battle. He dismisses it as headache and heads out to town to meet his friends, Laila and Anya, a Orimi and Lunaris. As they head out, an earthquake strikes. Part of the town falls into the earth. Out of the earth flies a golden Reve, Clive. Clive warns them to be causious, when suddenly a monster attacks. Everyone is surprised, but Kasha head on attacks it. Once it is defeated, he says he doesn't remember fighting it. Clive warns of danger to them.

Episode 2: The long road

Clive stays with Kasha, and they become friends. Clive says trouble is happening everywhere, for no apparent reason. Anya mentions a cave of the lunaris that might bring them answers. They decide to set out. Laila doesn't want to go.

Episode 3: The wastes

Laila makes a last minute decision to go with them. They set out. Right outside town, there's a large cloud of darkness. When they investigate, they are attacked. Clive manages to get the flying enemies with a lightning attack.

Episode 4: Sundown

When setting up camp, Anya is attacked by a Melo. It seems to be acting as vicious as a monster. Anya isn't able to do anything. Elsewhere, everyone is wondering where Anya is. When they find her, she attacks them. Clive gets ready to fight, but Kasha refuses to hurt her. They flee. At sunrise, she finally returns to normal.

Episode 5: Lunar cave 

They arrive in the cave. They are informed about the extra hour and Kaz and Shoes's conflict. Clive realizes that their fighting is causing the spawn of the monsters. 

Episode 6: A child of the night

They split into two groups based on who they feel should get the extra hour. Clive and Laila choose Shoe, while Anya chooses Kaz. Kasha is undecided. Anya pressures Kasha to join her.

Episode 7: Crossroads

They split up fully. Clive's group heads for the mountains, Kasha's for the Fissures. Kasha doesn't know what to do. Anya seems to have an idea, and keeps going. Clive encounters a swarm of monsters, and manages to get out. There seem to be more ahead.

Episode 8: Epic

Kasha realizes the Earth is moving below him. Anya doesn't agree. Upon inspection, he finds most of the fissures is composed of a giant monster, possibly some sort of dragon. Laila is forced to fight a horde of monsters when Clive is knocked unconscious. Clive is amazed to see she is unscratched.

Episode 9: The top of the world

Clive and Kaila reach the top of the mountains and are surprised to see the world simply ends at a certain point. Clive feels certain they should head to the end of the world, and insists they go. Laila is not sure. Meanwhile, Anya attacks Kasha when he is sleeping on night. He is forced to attack her to survive.

Episode 10: The ancient

The monster in the fissures wakes up. It attacks both of them, but Kasha suddenly goes into fight mode while fleeing and charges it head-on. It isn't very effective, but the next time he takes damage he starts glowing and the entire monster disappears.  He faints after this. Clive and Laila are sure they should have reached the end by now, but it keeps going. Clive realizes that it is impossible to reach the end and gets upset.

Episode 11: To move a mountain

Kasha quickly finds the monster, as it has moved to the fields. Kasha, quite upset, decides to fight the monster. In the burning field, he confronts the thing. He taps into his power and starts bleeding all over his body. However, he makes one large leap and smashes through part of the monster's gut. It dies. Anya fuses over Kasha's wounds, but he says he can't even feel them. Laila uses magic to find the end of the world. They jump off the world.

Episode 12: Truth

At the end of the world, they land in a very normal looking place. However, the person to greet them is Kaz. Kaz dismisses their question about his fighting with Shoe. He does, however, remark on Kasha being somewhat of a failed experiment. Laila and Clive contemplate on this. Kaz sends them both away. Kasha has been fighting more and more monsters, and Anya worries he's developed bloodlust.

Episode 13: Bloodlust

Everyone meets up again. Laila and Clive decide to not mention what Kaz said about Kasha. They encounter a large monster. Kasha takes it down with increased power, but goes a crazy. He accidently kills Laila. Everyone is shocked. Anya and Clive decide to leave him while he is unconscious. 

Episode 14: Daylight

Clive and Anya start on their way, with no real goal in mind. Kasha wakes up and finds Shoe above him. Shoe wants him to kill Kaz, or the very least make him give Shoe the extra hour. Kasha is unsure how to respond.
Season 1 end.

Aywas: River monsters

Team Squirrelly presents...
A task of writing about river monsters!
By The Almighty! (2574)
There is no word minimum.

The most common monster by far is a tricky beast called the Scivib. It looks like a regular piece of seaweed, often greenish in hue. It will bite the bottom of the river, letting it's tail hang up. If someone simply brushes it, it will wrap itself along the person's (Or  pet's) leg and attempt to drag it down. Luckily, these animals are not very strong, and are only dangerous in large numbers.
One animal to watch for is the luminous snarkschittergonish. It's about as big as a breadbox, but is much more deadly. It hunts only in the day, as it's luminous nature makes it really easy to spot. Watch out for it's six pairs of poisonous fangs- It's poison is really, really effective.
Perhaps the largest thing out in the river is a passive creature affectionately called the Lump. If you dive to the very bottom, you might see it sitting there. It's huge, pale white body simply sits at the bottom, it's wide jaw open. It won't move if you do anything to it, except step into it's gaping jaw.
The easiest to spot and perhaps the one with the dimmest wit is the Gleeep. It toils all day digging pitfall traps under water, but when it swims it leaves a purple trail. If you see a cloud of purple in the water, there's a pitfall below you. The Gleeep's traps also never work, possibly because no one stand on the bottom of the river. And if they do, they can always swim right out.
A very simple fish, the Simple Fish is simple. It enjoys eating and breathing. It likes to swim. When it comes to breeding season, the females lay eggs. It hunts smaller fish and plants by swimmer after them. It enjoys a simple life, doing simple things.

Aywas: Comics

I am the master of comody. Now shush.
Team: Team Squirrelly
The Almighty is I, 2574

Full view all the way!

If you need a transcript, ask.

I need a transcript. My scanner isn't that great.

Comic one-

Panel one-

"Choose a clover"

Kyuu- "The middle one!"

2-

*gaze*

3-

"You didn't win anything! Try again later!"

4-

Clover disappears in puff of smoke.

Comic 2-

1-

"You gaze into the crystal ball..."

2-

*Stare*

"A biscuit basket reveals itself to you!"

Kyuu is trapped under sudden basket of biscuits.

Comic 3-

1-

HA- "I wish I had a custom!"

2-

HA-"Half the site is about them! (Plus they're cool...)"

3-

While on a computer, HA- "Blah. Customs."

4-

*Shock face* HA- "What the..."

5-

In the lair, it says there is one custom.

6-

*Click*

7-

Kyuubicon shows up. Apparently is custom.

8-

HA- 

Comic 4-

1-

HA and Kyuu are adventuring in the fissures.

2-

Sudden! Merchant appears- "I'm selling something for 100 BP."

3-

HA- "Okay!"

4-

HA is holding a charred bone. Merchant is happy.

HA- "Wut?"

Merchant- Thanks! I needed to get rid of that!"

Also, these are four separate comics. Each line is a new one.

Aywas: Cards

Team: Team Squirrelly
Name: The Almighty, number 2574
Task: Create a card game.
Well, I have experience with this...

For one thing, there are a few types. Pets have a default type. It can be changed. The types are as follows:
Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, ground, Water, light and Dark. It works a bit like rock-paper-scissors. Fire does 10 extra damage to grass, grass to water, water to ground, ground to fire.
Light and dark do 10 extra damage to each other.
A deck has about 50 cards. To win, you need to defeat 7 enemy pets.
To defeat a pet, lower it's HP to 0. Pet's have attacks that let this happen.
There are items in the game, like healing ones. They heal. There also items with special effects, like breeding coins.
A breeding coin lets you take two pets in play (but not fighting) and combine them into a hybrid. Hybrids are stronger and have strange names.
About the whole 'in play' thing. You start with a hand of 5. You draw cards each turn. When you have a pet in your hand, you can put it in play. Only 5 pets can be in play at one time. Only one of those may be  fighting. The other 4 are behind the fighting pet, and are put into play when it's defeated. Or with an item.
After defeating a pet, a player is allowed to draw a card from their 'spoil' pile. This is a pile with cards from their own deck.
There are also location cards. These stay in play until replaced. They have different effects.
Pets with colors are known as 'rare'. They can be placed on top of pets of the same species. They can not be placed otherwise.

This is the outline of a pet card:
Name:
HP:
Type:
Attacks:

And this is an item:
Name:
Type of item:
Effect:

Here are the first 40 or so! (Because I have to.)

1

Name: Melo

HP: 60

Type: Normal

Attacks:Tackle- 10 

Cuteness- Flip a coin. If heads, next attack does 20. If tails, this attack just does 10.

2

Name: Phanto

HP: 40

Type: Fire

Attacks: Spark- 20

3

Name: Reve

HP: 70

Type: Light

Attacks: Tackle- 10

4

Name: Insi

HP: 60

Type: Dark

Attacks: Charge- Next turn, do 30

5

Name: Gael

HP: 50

Type: Water

Attacks: Splash- Flip a coin. If heads, this does 20. If tails, 10.

6

Name: Vyne

HP: 60

Type: Grass

Attacks: Growth- If enemy is at full health, this does 20. Otherwise, 10.

7

Name: Clover stone

Type of item: Item

Effect: Discard a card in your hand and search your deck for a 'rare' pet.

8

Name: Explore

Type of item: Item

Effect: Shuffle discard and draw a card.

9

Name: Breeding coin

Type of item: Item

Effect: Select two pets in play and discard them for the appropriate hybrid in your hand. 

10

Name: Canteen

Type of item: Healing Item

Effect: Attach- Give to pet. Next time it takes damage, remove 10.

11

Name: Octoberry

Type of item: Healing Item

Effect: Heal 10 damage

12

Name: Lab

Type of item: Place

Effect: +10 damage towards attacks that benefited from the last location card, if any.

13

Name: Fields

Type of item: Place

Effect: Attacks by grass types have +10 damage.

14

Name: Fissures

Type of item: Place

Effect: Attacks by dark types do +10 damage

15

Name: Bridge

Type of item: Place

Effect: Attacks by normal types do +10 damage

16

Name: Town

Type of item: Place

Effect: Healing items have double effect.

17

Name: Goldfoot Melo

HP: 70

Type: Light

Attacks: Revive- Find a discarded Melo and shuffle it into your deck.

Tackle- 10

18

Name: Forsaken Phanto

HP: 50

Type: Dark

Attacks: Curse- 30

19

Name: Patchwork Reve

HP: 80

Type: Normal

Attacks: Slam- 20

20

Name: Icestorm Insi

HP: 60

Type: Water

Attacks: Bite- 10

Knock down- If the enemy has 20 Hp left, this does 20.

21

Name: Pheonix Gael

HP: 50

Type: Fire

Attacks: Flail- 10 

Trap- If you are defeated before your next turn, enemy takes 40 damage.

22

Name: Withered Vyne

HP: 70

Type: Grass

Attacks: Spore- Flip three coins. For each heads, do 10 damage.

23

Name: Flee!

Type of item: Item

Effect: Switch active pet out for another one in play.

24

Name: Desmond

Type of item: Character

Effect: Search your deck for a healing item.

25

Name: Asher

Type of item: Character

Effect: Search your deck for something with 'pink' in it's name. Or that has pink on it. 

26

Name: Rogue

Type of item: Character

Effect: Switch your active pet with anther in your hand.

27

Name: Chaos

Type of item: Character

Effect: Fully heal both your active pet and the enemy's pet. 

28

Name: Xero

Type of item: Character

Effect: Look at your opponents hand. Discard one of their cards.

29

Name: Epsilon

Type of item: Character

Effect: Look at the top 5 cards in your deck. Rearrange them to your liking.

30

Name: Griffin (Hybrid)

HP: 80

Type: Normal

Attacks: Peck- 20

Flip- Flip a coin, if heads next enemy attack does nothing. Also does 10.

31

Name: Manticore (Hybrid)

HP: 80

Type: Fire

Attacks: Flame- If enemy is a hybrid, this does 40. Otherwise, 20.

32

Name: Shisa (Hybrid)

HP: 100

Type: Light

Attacks: Sacrifice- When active pet takes damage while Shisa is in play, Shisa takes 10 damage from the enemies attack.

33

Name: Sway (Hybrid)

HP: 60

Type: Water

Attacks: Wave- 10 damage to active enemy pet and two enemy pets in play.

34

Name: Campe

HP: 80

Type: Ground

Attacks: Tackle- 20

Frisk- Grab a card from the enemy's hand and use it. If it is a pet, this attack does nothing.

35

Name: Ennae

HP: 70

Type: Grass

Attacks: Leaf shower- Flip 6 coins. Damage is 10x the number of heads

Pollen- Find a healing item in your discard, shuffle it into your hand.

36

Name: Rainforest Terrarium

Type of item: Item

Effect: Search your deck for a grass type pet and put it in your hand.

37

Name: Cave Terrarium

Type of item: Item

Effect: Search your deck for a dark type pet and put it in your hand.

38

Name: Desert Terrarium

Type of item: Item

Effect: Search your deck for a fire type pet and put it in you hand.

39

Name: Island Terrarium

Type of item: Item

Effect: Search your deck for a water type pet and put it in your hand.

40

Name: Mountain Terrarium

Type of item: Item

Effect: Search your deck for a light type pet and put it in your hand.

DONE.

I AM TIRED.

Aywas: Team Squirrelly

Team: Team Squirrelly.
This is: The Almighty, user 2574
Task: Draw your team working on the scav.


Let it be known that I am not good at drawing people. So it looks pretty weird.

Aywas: Aywas music

Yes, this is my first time writing music... Hand written because there seems to be no way to have a music program that lets you write music on a staff...
Team: Team Squirrelly.
This The Almighty, user 2574
Task: Write a song for Aywas with notes and everything.

IT'S SO PRETTY

I wish I had a ruler...

Aywas: Sinking sands

Writing 500 words is harder then it sounds.
Team: Team Squirrelly! (Which is a real word!)
Thing: Write a 500 word essay on what lives in the sinking sands
Word count (min. 500):
My name is: The Almighty, user 2574.


The creatures in the sinking sands are how most would imagine them. They primarily take the shape of something more snake-like, using their strong and smooth bodies to slide through the sand as easily as water. These creatures are primarily carnivorous, feasting on small animals and bugs. Despite this, they know their place, having never attacked a traveler.
However, if this fills you with a sense of safety, then keep this in mind: These creatures are not alone. Among them lives a giant monster, resembling a flytrap, that waits for someone to pass over the sand where it lives. As soon as you apply the tiniest amount of pressure, this monstrous animal snaps close quicker then lightning. You won't even have time to say goodbye to anyone.
Besides this, a few other animals lurk in the sand. One such beast is easy to spot, as it lumbers round on the sand. It is large and moves extremely slow. It won't harm you, and it's typical response to anything is to ignore it. Just don't let a pet attack it, because it WILL attack back. And when it attacks, you want to be far away.
Another example would be something one might think is a Cactus at first. It leaves an easy to see trail of footprint shaped like circles, so seeing one isn't much of a problem. They are the exact size and shape of a cactus, but upon closer examination, one will find they have a definite face. The animal feasts solely on bugs, so rest assure you are safe.
If you look to the sky while out exploring the sands, you might notice what looks like a flying snake. This animal is known for it's many large wings. It has a total of six pairs spread out along it's back. If your lucky, it might drop a feather as it flies by. It's suggested you keep the feather, as they're believed to have magical properties.
Water is hard to find in the sinking sands. Many animals have adapted to this by being able to live without water for very long periods of time. One good example of this is the small bird-like creature that is found hopping through the sands quite often. These birds are flightless, and prefer to jump rather then walk. It is unknown exactly how long they can manage without water, but it is estimated they can survive an astounding nine months without any source of water.
In the hot lands of the sinking sands, there are still water dwelling creatures. The most common one is a beautiful fish-like animal that is sometimes called a mirage. It only lives in an oasis, but if you should find one you should know not to drink the water. When one of these fishes is in the water, it means the water is bad. If you drink it, you will end up very sick. Many people see this as a sign of the fishes kindness in warning about bad water. Many scientists see this as proof that the fish is the one making the water bad.
With that, this short guide is done. Make sure to bring it with you next time you explore the area of the sinking sands!

Aywas: Exploring

Info to anyone not from Aywas viewing this:
Aywas is a pet site thing. I'm a member. They have a Scav hunt. A few of the entries require writing. I will be uploading them here. Most of the content is Aywas related, so you probably won't get a lot of it. Also, there will be screenshots.
Feel free to skip it.
My name: The Almighty! User 2574.

Team name: Team Squirrelly!


Word count (Min. 1000): 1017


Prompt: Write a 1,000-word stream of consciousness about exploring.


I don't know how to really interpret this... So I'll just give it a shot. -_-'



Exploring. It's another one of those broad terms.
A child will tell you exploring is just looking for new places. Exploring a new house. Exploring forest.
Anyone older will tell you it's something that has stopped a long time ago. Everything has been found now. There's no more exploring to be done.
No one can think of an explorer off the top of their head. (That's alive, that is.) After all, what training would an explorer require? Curiosity training?
Perhaps a few more positive people can list explorers. Astronauts and spelunkers. Astronauts prob the heavens as they fly into space, don't they? We sent people up to the moon, a virgin territory unexplored by human kind, didn't we? And spelunkers explore the depths of the Earth, right? We don't exactly have full maps of moon and no one is sure what is under the Earth.
Hell, maybe the underside of the Earth will reveal another Earth. Then we can back to exploring again.
Besides, exploring is a honorable profession. Imagine how it would be to find something new. You can name it, leaving something people will remember you by forever. History books will remember you. Generations upon generations of children will have to learn your name. You'll pretty much be immortal. You might even get a title like 'The Great' or become a knight. There are so may benefits to exploring.
It would be hard to describe the negatives about exploring in a pleasant way. The most simple way to put it is that you have a very good chance of dying. A VERY good chance. There's no telling what is out there. You might pick up a disease from a plant you've never seen before. You might be mauled by a wild animal. The best you can hope to do is just be prepared. Bring weapons. Bring a camera. Bring all sorts of poison antidotes, pain killers and medicine. Bring food and water. In the end, you'll be weighed down by stuff. But at least you might live.
Oh, and the most important thing of all is to write your name on everything. If you die, you want everyone to know you died HERE. In fact, you discovered this place, and you want credit for it.
There are a few ways you can be prepared for anything as well. The most important is logic. Here are a few basic things you can do:
1. Think about where you're going. If you seem to be heading north or south a lot, it might be very cold. If you've been heading down the equator, it's going to be hot.
2. Think about how the land you've arrived in feels. Is it muggy or not? Is it composed of grasslands or swamps? Can you see mountains? This all can prepare you for how to survive. (And what you can name the land.)
3. When naming land, think about it. If it's swampland, don't give it a name that suggests it's paradise (such as Eden). It may have worked for Greenland, but it's just going to give you a bad rep. Do you want to be seen as a liar?
4. Logic still applies to animals. Go ahead and give them made-up names, but if you want to give them realistic names (like Chomper or Furry) then make sure they make sense. If it's poisonous, please include the word poisonous in it's name. You wouldn't want children to eat it, thinking it's food, now would you?
5. Keep a log. If you return alive, you can become extremely rich off of it.
And another thing, over hype everything. Do you want to be known as the person to discover 'A new land that has mountains, trees, some animals, some plants, a few lakes and rivers, some ice up north, four seasons, maybe a few canyon things, etc.' or the one who found 'The great land with the world's best mountains, tallest trees, coolest looking animals, awesome plants, tons of deep lakes and awesome rivers, giant glaciers, sixteen seasons, and like, a million canyons and tons of other awesome stuff.'
I know I'd prefer to find the latter land.
So yes, it's been said that you shouldn't lie. But lying about the height of trees and the awesomeness of plants isn't going to kill anyone. (Unless all the awesome plants are malevolent, psychic and poisonous.)
Another thing to look out for is the press. They twist everyone's words, even yours. If you say that it's a bit hot, they will change it to as hot as the sun. If you say it's dangerous, they'll say you die by stepping foot there. The best way to avoid them is to simply not talk at all. Maybe just release your lo to the world, as well as photos and video. Then, learn sign language and self-control. And forget how to read. Then you'll be ready to face the press.
This should go with out saying, but watch out for natives. You are visiting their land after all, so don't be surprised if you are considered an intruder. They might attack you.
On the other hand, they might try to be friends with you. It is because of this that we suggest you bring some sort of pretty thing from your home with you. Maybe a lampshade or a dolphin. You can simply trade this for whatever you might need. Later, make sure to make the natives learn your language. There's a pretty good chance their behind you in technology, so they might be wiped out as soon as more people arrive to the new land you find. They have a better chance of living if they speak your language. Maybe they'll even get a deal for casino ownership.
If you find yourself confused by this guide like thing. It's understandable. I mean, perhaps you're reading this and wondering why it even exists. After all, it doesn't have a point to it. It seems to assume that there are still places left to explore, and that plants can be malevolent. If you believe that, that I suggest you just go back to exploring houses. It'll give you something to do.

Short story: His world

Info: I'll be doing this for all short stories now

This is about a person who is living in a post-apocalyptic world. They have sent for help, but no one has responded yet.

Warnings: Bad science explanations, a dead body and a bad ending.

A small squad had been sent to get you. Stay still.

That was the message I had received days ago, and though I made sure to never go far from the small house I had fashioned for myself out of an old car, no one came anywhere near. As my stock of food and clean water ran lower each day, it was on the eighth day of waiting that I left with my remaining food and my gun to go hunting.

It was only a few years ago when hunting meant waiting for hours for an animal to cross your path. These days, all you had to do to find prey was go out into the open. Though the animals you would find weren’t deer or turkey anymore. And you certainly didn’t find them.

When I stepped out of the dense forest land where I lived, I was immediately spotted by a common sort of animal. I had named it a joker, simply because it's wrinkled, gray body with short legs looked comical- if it wasn't attacking you, that is. The beast itself seemed to have been spawned from a mix of big cat DNA and rhino, as if you looked carefully at the bald head of a joker, it resembled a wrinkled cat head. It seemed to also pull traits from something like a rhino, as it's leather skin and tendency to charge lead me to believe.

One of them had me in it's sights, but I was used to their tricks and quickly dashed up a tree. The joker seemed confused by my disappearance, and trudged off in search of something else to eat. I used my time in the tree's branches to my advantage, trying to get a good look-out of the plains below and whatever creatures roamed on it.

I was searching for a herd of blights, a sort of strange two-headed antelope. I right away could see a huge herd of them not far off. Blights were one of the few animals left that were more afraid of humans then humans were of them. They were large with lots of good meat on them, making them ideal prey. However, they moved extremely fast. Besides their usual, faster-then-you-could-run speed, blights also could move so fast, you barely saw them move. They'd suddenly be far away in a blink of an eye. These sudden bursts of speed made them extremely tired and hungry, resulting in a dramatic loss of plants whenever a predator lost a hunt. This quick consummation of plant life resulted in an unbalanced environment, making them more of a problem then any other animal. Not to mention that they bred like rabbits.

I figured it's be best to try to pick off one of the smaller blights from a distance. Even a child could feed me for a few days. The herd was currently grazing, one head watching while the other eat as much as possible. I crawled as close as I could, about ten feet from the target I had in mind. I aimed my shotgun, doing my best to  make sure my one shot would be a hit. I knew I had to conserve bullets, as they were hard to come by these days. I was lucky to have a good amount stored away, but every time I missed I wasted a bullet that could have got me dinner another day.

I fired, and was satisfied to see the blight go down. The rest of the herd scattered in every direction, disappearing before my eyes like ghosts. I took the heavy corpse of the blight over my shoulder, and started to drag it back into the forest where my home was.

What was a rather routine trip for me was interrupted quite suddenly, as when I was just entering the cover of the forest, the ground shook. And it shook again. I recognized the source of the quakes, quite unfortunately. It was an animal I didn't see very often, and always hoped to not see again. It staggered on six legs, each one thick as ten trees. It's body was covered in thick scales on it's legs, but above that I could not see. I knew it had a tail though, one that forked off into two points.

The beast was one I called Epic. I had not known anymore of it's kind, it seemed to be one of a kind. I had never seen it eat or drink anything, not like any animal would be enough to fill it's appetite. But whenever Epic came, it brought havoc. Animals of all kinds fled from it, the land itself was shaped by it. Once Epic fell asleep for days, killing an entire forest it had been sleeping on.

I made a run for the shelter of my home, and watched the beast from a distance. I did not dare leave my home until Epic had gone to sleep, for I was afraid I might be stepped on. When night came, I gutted the blight and prepared dinner for myself under the moonlight.

I woke up to the sound of Epic stamping it's feet. Each time it's foot hit the ground, everything shook. I woke myself up, and crawled out to see what had gotten Epic to make so much noise. The answer was what I had been waiting for since I had first arrived in these hostile plains. A helicopter was maneuvering around Epic's head. Inside was no doubt the squad that had been sent to pick me up.

I gathered everything I owned of worth into my only bag and set out, determined to get their attention. They currently were preoccupied with Epic, but I knew they were fighting a losing battle. There was no way a small helicopter could take down a beast such as Epic.

I took out an old lighter and managed to light a branch on fire. I waved it around in the air. It wasn't much for a signal, but I hoped it would be enough for the helicopter to notice me.

I seemed to be in luck. Shortly after lighting the branch, I found myself sitting in the copter, relinquishing in the artificial-ness of it all. I barely remember how long I had been living in the wild.

"You okay? You look like a mess." The pilot said, still hovering near Epic. It was odd to hear someone speak after so long, and I had almost forgotten how to speak myself.

"Yes. I'm... okay. I'm good. I'm fine, really." I said.

"Good to hear. We'll be leaving as soon as Leo and Charles are done taking care of that beast."

"Take care? Epic is too great of a beast for that."

"What? That thing? We have to get rid of monsters like them all the time. They're quite common. I expect they'll be done very soon."

I brought my attention to two figures on top of Epic's snakelike head. It actually saddened me to learn Epic was not one-of-a-kind. It had always seemed like such a noble monster in a way. Like a force of nature. To find it was just another mutant made by a Biolab depressed me. The two figures, Leo and Charles, seemed to be doing something. Epic reared it's head around, snapping at the air, but the two of them stayed on.

Epic's movements were becoming slower and slower. Eventually it fell to the earth, eyes crossed. The pilot dived down to pick up the two people who had killed it. My first impression was slightly disappointed. Charles had red hair and wore glasses. He looked like an accountant rather then someone capable of bringing down Epic. Leo couldn't have been older then twelve, but he looked even younger with his blond hair and large blue eyes. They both helped themselves to some water before Leo finally spoke up.

"How come you always get to finish them? I want to be the one to kill something for once."

Charles took another sip of water, "I suppose it's my lucky day. You should be glad you don't have to kill things anyways. You don't have a guilty conscience."

"I don't care about that! I don't have a conscience to get guilty. And it's always your lucky day. When will it be my day?"

It was my turn to speak up. There were a few things I didn't understand. "What about killing monsters like that gives you a guilty conscience? They're just pests. Epic caused tons of problems."

"Ah, no, it's not killing part that makes me feel bad. It's how we kill them. They all have such thick skin that we can't shoot them or stab them. We have to poison them through the mouth. It kills them, but the poison seems to grow in it's body as it decays. In a year, this place will have become a barren graveyard." Explained Charles.

"But wait- if these things are common, how much of the Earth have you guys poisoned? We can't just lose jungle like this! There will be nowhere to live but the few cities left." I said, outraged at the loss of so much. I knew this land well, and knew that plenty of resources were going to be lost.

"It serves the monsters right! There won't be anymore land for them to live!" Said Leo, piping up suddenly.

"You have a point, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. This is the only way we can keep the cities safe." Charles said.

"There has to be something!" I said.

"Afraid not. We only have what the government gives us, and that's this poison."

Though I was still upset, I had to agree they didn't have much of a choice. I spent the night in a small, cramped bed in the helicopter, but after having slept on the ground for so long, it seemed incredibly comfortable. We arrived in one of the cities the next day, flying over the hundred feet high walls around daybreak. It took all morning to get checked in and registered, but by the end I had been given my own small apartment complete with a bed, bathroom and TV. Though the city was at first overwhelming at first, I was delighted by being safe within it's walls. It was good to feel safe and not have to hunt for breakfast each morning.

Leo and Charles were also in the city for awhile before they got another rescue mission. During their free time however, I spent time with them. I found Charles to actually be an intelligent, and the two of us often debated our opinions. I also spent time with Leo, and found that he really the self-centered child I had mistaken him for. He was older then I had taken him for and also, though not a genius, full of thoughts and ideas. He was a bit pessimistic, a bit of a coward and a bit anti-government. I was't used to people like him, so it was always interesting to hear what he had to say.

It had been a few months after I had arrived in the city when Leo and Charles got another job. They actually came and told me at my apartment when they heard the news.

"There's been sightings of some human life around the area where we picked you up. This is an emergency, as they could be very sick from that monster's poison. So we'll be going right away." Said Charles.

"Okay then. When will you be back? Be sure to get in touch when you return." I said. I wasn't very concerned, as this job couldn't be very dangerous. All life there was dead or near dead by now.

"Oh, in a few weeks," Said Leo casually, "But I was wondering if you wanted to tag along. You know the area. If we have to do ground work, you could be useful."

"Ground-work? Isn't everything dead now? You can just see through the dead trees from the air, right?" I asked.

"Well, no. It'll be a bit before everything is fully dead. The animals are probably all dead by now, so we won't have to worry much. But the plants and some of the bigger animals might be alive. We'll also have to wear protective suits because of the poison in the air." Explained Charles, with a bit of a nervous smile on his face. Every thing he added made it seem worse and worse.

I accepted nevertheless, as I would miss Leo if I didn't go. The helicopter once again provided an uncomfortable flight, one that ended above a place that I couldn't believe had once been the plains I used to hunt at. Epic's corpse was still lying on the ground, but it wasn't rotting. Out of it's mouth I could see a yellow haze emerging. It suddenly twitched, and thrashed in place before falling still again.

"Epic's alive!" I exclaimed out loud.

"Yeah, it won't be dead for awhile. At least it won't be moving much." Leo said.

"But what's that haze?" I asked.

"It's the poison. Don't want to breathe it in, it'll mutate you if it doesn't kill you first." Said Charles.

"That doesn't sound like poison to me..." I said. That didn't make sense. Poison should have killed Epic, not make it release a strange haze.

"It... really isn't poison. It's more or less a gene bomb. Like the kind used during Operation Evolution."

Great. So they were killing Epic by bombing it from the inside. Not only that, but the bomb was releasing radiation that was made to infect any living thing with random genes. Gene bombs were basically a time saving way to wage war. You could bomb a city and make life uninhabitable around the city at the same time. Even if they try to rebuild, the wild has become a haven for mutant animals, most of them set on killing anything that crosses their path. Operation Evolution was the name of the program to build gene bombs. The government was delighted with the results of their work, but it wasn't long before everyone had gene bombs. One things led to another and soon all natural animals had been replaced by the mutant animals, too many varieties to count.

I grew angry once again with the killing of the land. But once again, I couldn't argue with Charles. They didn't have anything else left. Still, it saddened me to see Epic wake up every so often, crying out in pain.

After one day of searching from the air, Charles decided we had to search from the ground. We all had to wear somewhat bulky suits with helmets to make sure we didn't breath the infected air. I was put in charge of the ground work, being familiar with the land.

Yet I couldn't be sure if I really did know the land anymore. The plants that were still alive were a sickly shade of yellow and the ones that were dead were standing like white skeletons, arms outstretched. The lakes had all dried up and some of the land had turned into desert.

As the days added up, it became clear that we were getting nowhere. No progress had been made. In fact, there were no signs that anything had ever lived there. When we first arrived, I saw a few animals in the forest. Now the forest was a ghost forest, all the animals dead. The only living thing in sight was Epic, still slowly dying.

It was raining white dust when Charles declared today would be the last day we stayed here. We split up again, each person going a their own way. I went through the dead forest, looking for anything that showed signs of life, when I stumbled upon my old house below a car. The car showed even more signs of decay then when I had left. Feeling slightly nostalgic, I slipped down below into the hole where I had made my home.

Unfortunately, I bumped right into something. It was a decaying body, and at once I was grateful that I was wearing a suit that blocked out smell. It appeared to be a woman, her face was melted partially and her body seemed to have been devoured by some hungry creature. I noticed out of her back were several legs like that of a spider, and I realized she must have been alive when Epic had been killed by the gene bomb. If I had been rescued a bit later, I might have had a chance to meet her. She might have been saved with me, actually.

I figured that she must have been the one we were supposed to rescue, as I told everyone when we grouped up again.

"It's sad we couldn't have found her earlier. Mind you, we probably would have had to put her down. She was infected probably as soon as the haze started spreading." Said Charles.

"Put her down? Why not just treat her?" I said, outraged at the idea of such an inhumane act.

"Even after removing any mutations, it's still in her blood. It could carry into any children she has or if she donates blood... We could end up with a pandemic."

"You could easily prevent problems! You can't just kill someone!" I said angrily.

"Think of it as this, we're just killing another monster animal. It just happens to have a large amount of human DNA. Now let's get going." Said Charles calmly.

"That's monstrous! She was human!" I yelled, "And we're not going anywhere!"

"Quiet! You just won't give up will you? Besides, you agree with me, right Leo?" Said Charles.

I then noticed that Leo was missing. We both did. We put our argument to rest for a moment, both driven to search for Leo. He had left the helicopter, that much we were sure. Charles and I split up soon after stepping back outside. He checked the forest, I looked in the fields. However, as the world suddenly shook beneath my feet, I realized I wouldn't be looking for much longer.

Epic was back on it's feet. I do not know how, but once again it stood high above my head. It let out a strange growling noise as it looked around it's land. Then Epic suddenly drew interest. It lowered itself to the ground and drew close. I was close enough to see it's strange scaled skin was also covered in small rainbow feathers. It looked at me with it's three sets of eyes and once again I was filled with the idea that Epic wasn't a common beast but rather a noble titan, come to examine Earth once more.

"Hey! Guess who's day it is today!" Said an unexpected voice. It was Leo, sitting on top of Epic's large head.

I couldn't help but smile. "I'm going to guess today is Leo's day."

He helped me up on Epic's large head. "Right you are! Today is my day, and tomorrow also has my name on it. All of future belongs to me."

I grinned as I sat on Epic's head. I could see everything from here. I could see fertile land to the north, while the dead land stretched to the south. I could even see the city on the horizon, with it's high walls and cubic skyline. And as I looked out on the ocean, the world seemed a whole lot better.

(I was tempted to make it so that Epic was a lizard and (maincharacter) was just very small. Then I changed my mind. I wanted to include Leo, as he had been in my mind for awhile. Also, I wrote this in a straight two-hour session. I am now very tried.)