Guys, please don't kill me. I swear this is an old story I wrote eons ago, and it hasn't kept me from working on Curse of the Dragons. Lol. Curse of the Dragons is still coming in a few days. Like...super soon. I just wanted to surprise you all with two releases. XOXOI was supposed to be sleeping. �Gwynn and Mckenna snored softly on the pile of blankets the creaky wooden floor of our living room fireplace, while I sat up staring out the window at the odd, red sky.In all of my seventeen years, I’d never seen the sky that shade before; crimson, with trails of white that resembled lightning. But, there wasn’t a storm, or thunder, and the moon was brighter than ever.�Frowning at it, my stomach grumbled so loudly that I feared it would awaken them. I drank some water, hoping it would quench the ever-nagging hunger that plagued me every single day of the five miserable years since the gods had returned left the world absent of every great invention it had once developed. I remembered great power; electricity, cars, airplanes, cell phones, and every possible luxury and convenience. I also remembered the weapons, and those who owned them—how their hate and greed nearly destroyed the entire world.Perhaps the gods were right in sending us back to the Dark Ages.�I knew I should sleep, and drown out the hunger with dreams of Chinese buffets and cute pizza delivery guys bringing hot pies to my front door. It had been so long since our table had been filled with food. After Darren and our parents died, I was left as the protector of my small family. As farmers, we were better off than most after the lights went out, and grocery stores became looted graveyards of past memories.I was only a child back then, but a smart one—a resilient one. In the beginning of the aftermath, I sold everything we could afford to lose for the essentials we needed to survive, but it was never enough and there were still a few weeks of winter left before the land would grant us with fresh food again.“Skylar, where are you going?” Mckenna asked, big blue eyes staring at me from the darkness. Stark white hair shone from over her pale shoulders in waves—hair like mine. The three of us could have been twins, if I hadn’t been born two years earlier than them. It was the most recognizable traits of our muddled line of extraterrestrial blood.Starseed was the title humans gave to those who had bloodlines from distant planets and galaxies. We were rare, and feared. Perhaps that’s why my sisters and I hadn’t been bothered at all by the full-blooded humans, even when we were here all alone on a rural farm.“Out,” I said, simply, and she narrowed her eyes.As she began to stand, I sighed.“I’m coming with you,” she said.I crossed the room and took her narrow face into my hands. How I hated to see the effects of near-starvation on my sister’s face and frame. With a broken heart, I kissed her on the forehead and let my lips linger on her dry skin for a moment as I fought tears.“No, you must stay here with Gwynn. I’ll be fine. I’ll even call Orion to join me,” I said, hoping to soothe her worries.“Okay,” she said, nodding. “As long as you take Orion with you.”As a fifteen-year old, she acted as though she was the oldest—like she was the mother of the three of us.I loved them both fiercely.That’s why I ventured out that fateful night.I smoothed her hair, forcing a smile. “Of course. He’s always a call away. Just like the old days.”She returned the smile, and settled back onto the makeshift bed where we all felt safe and secure by the crackling fire.“I’ll be back before you awaken. Hopefully, with fresh meat for breakfast.”That made Mckenna’s smile widen. “Be safe, Skylar,” she said, and closed her eyes.I breathed in a heavy sigh and turned to leave the house. I tensed as the sound of branches breaking in the distance outside our window. Stifling a startled gasp that would surely frighten Mckenna, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I shot a frightened look in its direction.Slowly standing, I slipped on my boots and tugged on a heavy coat.Food.Whatever animal made that noise and those tracks in the snow would feed us for days.I tip-toed over the sleeping bodies of what was left of my family and grabbed my father’s old crossbow. He’d taught me how to use it when I was as young as eight, and I’d become quite good at it. Now that he was gone, it seemed I was the only one brave enough to take chances and do what needed to be done for survival. War had destroyed our lives and the world around us. It had taken my father, mother, and brother, but that didn’t mean we should stop trying.That’s not what they would have wanted.Armed with only a crossbow and the ancient powers passed down from a galaxy far away, I slipped out the door and into the frigid air.See you tomorrow XOXO