The year is 2055. Only 5 years ago the 80 year long war has ended. It was a brutal battle of Psychological warfare, inhumane killings and many deaths. Almost every world nation was involved and of almost 7,5 billion people on Earth at the start of the war, world population got reduced to just under 3 billion Humans in total.

Roughly 87% of Landmass was either destroyed by Bombs or made uninhabitable by Nuclear warfare which really wasn't as rare as previously thought. Big cities like New York, Berlin, Moskau and many more do not resemble the peak of humanity but just serve as a reminder that the human race was on top of the food chain and its direct predator was itself. Cities aren't the only affect Land pieces by the war though. Fields got burned down, Flowerbeds got disrupted by artillery craters or destroyed by factories built on top of them. Water sources got poisoned, lifestock killed and beautiful forests and meadows reduced to dry land.

Most of Humanity got kicked back into an older age, relying on farming and mining to keep themselves alive. Many more turned to hunt scarps out of old factories, war machines or crashed planes in hopes of selling said scraps to rich people just to get to survive because the war robbed them of everything.

Not everything was a dead piece of dirt though, some spots like deserted islands, spots of very rich and influential people or just overlooked places bloomed with beauty. The Flowers that grew there seemed more colorful, Trees seemed more resilient, the grass seemed greener. Reaching such a place was a dream of many people but it was hard due to the dangers an old warzone posses.

The current day was 15th of July, 2055. The heat was unbearable and the land which once was east germany was a void of life. Between craters, exposed mines, crashed planes and blown up tanks crawled a few lizards which originally were only found in the deserts of Egypt. Amongst all of those things stood tall a few old factory buildings. Most of which were collapsed or burnt down, but a few stood strong. Rust climbed up the steel beams and the smallest wind made the whole structure creak as if it was in pain, but yet it stood. The factory inside left much to imagination as even someone who knew their way around machines would not be able to decipher what was once made here.

Ivanna’s fingers hooked onto the edge with every might she had in her bone. Pulling herself up through the bitterness that came after the endless war. Which ironically did end after some time, whether it was through the understanding of destruction or bitter leaders died out, or maybe it was because the loss of so many lives grew too personal. Ivanna’s feet landed roughly against the broken wall that was blown apart too many times to be secured. Yet it was better than traversing the land devoured by landmines. One wrong move and she would fly like a bird, well at least a piece of her would.

As the dark joke settled in her mind, she pressed forward. Boots of a dead man that was surprisingly in good shape gripped the stone structure like a vice on a soul. A low hymn escaping her ruby lips, some tribes still had some idea of a catchy rhythm. One foot after another, ignoring the bony limb remains of some soldier who thought himself a hero before the mine changed his path forever. Honestly, if she was with Issac this would take just as long. He hated skeletons more than climbing across some minefield. Though the thought of him squealing like a little girl made her laugh.

After another tedious balance of broken walls and debris just so that she wouldn’t plummet down into the loving embrace of an explosion she reached the ruined factory. It was smaller than what she expected, lined with markings of war and death across every wall, the roof barely a structure to trust, and of course whatever laid inside was a fortune. Prewar tech sold better than most bounties, and instead of facing a barrage of insults and bullets from dying men… maybe a few scraps would sell well in the market.

Slowly she steadied herself on the rim of the roof, her blonde hair flowing freely as if the wind itself was pulling out the debris to make herself presentable. Her nimble fingers worked fast and hard to just tie the rope on something that was better than duct tape and prayers. Inch by inch she worked herself down until her boots hit first. Echoing the sound of her feet as she slowly begin to explore the factory. Brushing against panels. Messing with buttons. Anything and everything to see if this decayed factory still had some life to give out.

The factory itself was a somehow beautiful ruin of what once seemed to a industrial marvel and beauty. Besides the destroyed outside of the building the inside was surprisingly well intact, showing the ingenuity and industrial wonder that was made to withstand war and bombs and still stood strong, at least to some degree against the heavy forces of nature.

The buttons and gave away in a lifeless but satisfying click. The Panels and screens showed no sign of life, nor any other sign at all. It seemed hopeless. The precious metals that were once hidden in machines were all either rotten by time or stolen by merchants. Many feelings came up: Anger, sadness, hopelessness. However, as Ivanna brushed against a final control panel, it gave out and fell from the wall. The sound of the metal panel falling onto the concrete floor created a deafening ringing sound that only got amplified by the hollow walls. Fortunately the ringing stopped quickly, and even more fortunately behind it something came up: a hidden hatch. The rusted lock gave way almost by looking it and fell through the floor into another ringing clank to the floor. Behind it a faint light glowed. It definitely was not sunlight but rather artificial light. It was weak and flickering, but it was there. A sign of Life.

Curiosity is a beast that can kill but also reward. After crawling through the small tunnel, Ivanna reached what either looked like a control room or something similar. It was a big room with big, oval shaped table that had a rug made of dust on top of it. It was surrounded by chairs, many fallen over and broken while covered in spiderwebs of long dead arachnids. At the far wall was a wall made of screens and a few keyboards, suggesting it was a solid camera feed once of either the factory or something different was important.

A single, flickering and almost burnt out lightbulb shined overhead, illuminating the room ever so slightly, enough to see everything. Even the few skeletons that littered the room, covered in rotten uniforms covered in holes made by moths. Some had bloodstains with them that are now rather black than red, some just rested against a wall, their cause of death uncertain.

However, right as the lightbulb had a surge of life, creating a short, bright flash before popping, something else catches the eye.

Right by the hatch, directly next to it sat a woman on the floor. A knife pressed deep into her shoulder, blood flowing out and staining the fully black uniform in a unusually dark red. It seemed impossible for her to be there. Her skin was very pale, but not rotten. she did not move, even as Ivanna entered with all the noise that was happening. The faint smell of copper and iron, a distinctive smell of blood raised more questions. But one thing answered the most important question: Is she alive? and by all means: she was. on a closer look her chest softly rose and fell. The woman was softly breathing, showing her life still in action. A singular thought crossed the mind...

She should be dead.

There was no trace of this room ever having any food or water. The other people being completely stripped of their organs, skin and else, being just a husk of broken cloth and bones. The laws of time and human biology would make it impossible for this woman to survive, especially if she was bleeding.

A dark smile formed on Ivanna’s lips as her cyan eyes lingered on the small tunnel. Despite most of the factory being in ruins, pre-scavenged and destroyed. There was still some secret beauty in this ruin, and the chances of anymore leftover prewar tech just raised exceptionally. Almost playfully, Ivanna sauntered over to the small tunnel stealing only a glance before immediately she shuddered, whincing in disgust as the shimmer of the webs could be seen through the daylight. Spiders, of course there had to be spiders. Carefully, she straightened herself up. Her hands, removing her tattered coat before she angled herself into position. Deep breaths in and deep breaths out. Just had to crawl through and there had to be some prewar tech.

With eyes closed, she crawled through the tunnel crawling forehead as she continued to wince in pure agonizing disgust. Hurrying as fast as she could as she felt the sticky silk staining her skin with tightly closed her eyes. Until her head slammed against the tunnel door on the other side. A loud annoyed groan escaped her lips before her eyes lingered on the small room. The brief light shined against the skeletons on the ground, the smell of decay still present but also, something that shouldn’t be in this room. The tangy copper smell of… Blood.

Slowly, she crawled out. Her feet hitting the ground first as her hand immediately drew her makeshift revolver. She glanced around for a moment before she felt the spider webs again in her hair. She scoffed annoyingly as her fingers brushed against her tattered shirt, ridding the forsaken weaves of arachnids that stained her shirt. A shudder escaped her lips as her fingers tried to rid themselves of the final web. Chances are, the spiders were long gone or dead but she couldn’t take the chance to let any of those creepy crawlers on her, with their many big eyes, crawling with their stupid hairy legs. A shudder chilled her to her bone as she closed her eyes tight. “Stop. Iv, they are probably dead.” With a softer sigh she explored the small room. “Unlike something in here.”

She murmured softly, as her eyes darted around the place as if her head was on a swivel. There had to be something alive. The dead don’t bleed. Softly, her eyes lingered on the skeletons as she walked towards the woman she last saw during the flash. The revolver aimed on the ground as she moved closer until she was close enough to watch the woman breath. She was alive, there was no food nor water. Everything else seemed decayed by time and this woman was breathing. Untouched by the hands of time.

Upon closer inspection, Ivanna focused on the black uniform. It seemed fresh and modern. So that removed any connections to the Osedax or the rest of the scavenger guilds. She seemed to clean to be part of mercenary or bounty hunters, plus Ivanna would’ve noticed her before. Was she part of the rumors of the old government? Or something else entirely. She should be dead. Then, Ivanna’s eyes lingered on the knife. Her fingers twitching just slightly as she reached out putting pressure onto the woman’s shoulder. Seeing if she was conscious or not, as her hand gripped her gun tighter.