Lush green grass, autumn leaves, birds chirping, dogs panting and running around; light blue sky, the fluffy clouds drifting peacefully across it. That's what it was like. Peaceful, serene, all those wonderful things you could ask for. What more would you want? Or need for that matter. It was perfect, and I do say was for a very good reason. They bombed us, the new government that is. Sent in row after row after row of military command and slaughtered everyone. Well, nearly everyone. Some bled to death, others burned; Some simply stabbed in their sleep. Fire wrapping around buildings as they spray everything with diesel and ignite it. The screams still echo through my head. The children... Those little, high pitched screams ringing through my ears. It was the day of the purge. Even those in the military are dead now. Oh yes, the government lives on. But in the most brutal and horrific way imaginable. Those that survived the purge, if caught, get beaten and dragged to an unknown location. In this location they must fight to the death with whomever or whatever may be there. It's dreadful. Everything is. I watched my own mother's head be blown off with a shotgun. My dad smacked to death with the stock of a gun. The flames, screaming and blood of my parents haunt my dreams and nightmares. I can't escape. No one can...

Lykos' body jerked upward before collapsing back again as he writhed in a cold sweat. His eyes flew open and he bolted upright. After waiting for a moment, he rested his head in his hands and stared at the patchwork cloth he had been sleeping under. It was made of random stretches of denim, polyester and cotton. He grappled the corner nearest him and pulled the patchwork away from his body. As he turned to get up he winced, his back aching from the hard concrete floor. Lykos lifted himself onto his feet and looked around. Shafts of golden light were streaming through gaping holes in the building. The floor was shattered and splintered. Roof tiles were powered on the floor. Lykos thought back to the day of The Purge, and shuddered slightly.

He shook his head and turned back to the patchwork cloth and pulled out what looked like a metal sleeve. He picked it up and slipped it around his forearm. He flattened his hand and a small sliver knife darted out slightly beneath his wrist. He smirked at the sight of it and relaxed his hand again. He sat down and began fine tuning it. He flattened his hand every now and then while he toyed with small metal rods that attach to the little knife. Once Lykos thought that the knife was reacting at a high enough speed, he smiled and got to his feet again. He bent over and grabbed onto a ragged rucksack.He slung it over his shoulder and looked down in a piece of cracked mirror. He saw his own blackened eyes and a thin purple scar marked his left cheek. He sighed and made for the door, pushing the battered plank of wood open.

The dirty red earth reflected the already blinding sunlight into Lykos' eyes. He winced and covered his eyes for a moment, slowing letting more and more light into his eyes. He saw the battered street, tarmac blasted everywhere; small craters lining the road and pavements. Building desecrated and demolished. The day of The Purge was marked everywhere he looked. He cringed at the thought as he walked slowly down the concrete steps and down onto the road. There were still bone fragments cast around. Whether crushed into dust or not, they were still there. Ghosts of The Purge blowing in the wind, the whistling of the wind through the destroyed buildings.

Lykos came back to reality once more and began to walk up the scarred road and towards the city centre. The crumbled pavement moved underneath his feet, releasing small puffs of powdered concrete into the air. A miniscule fly darted towards the dust cloud. It flew straight into the dust cloud. A small pause and the fly glided to the floor. A small, black spec colliding with the concrete. Lykos continued to move on, disregarding this strange sight.

He looked up, and came to an abrupt halt. What looked like a burnt and mangled human was limping its way down the street towards him, dragging its right leg behind it. Lykos stood in awe, having never seen anything similar to this bizarre occurance. It began to hobble slightly faster, somehow picking up speed with its singularly operational leg. It moaned lowly, its voice seeming to echo through the ground. Lykos felt a sting of nervous fear pass through him. He flattened his hand, the little dagger protruding from the metallic sleeve. Suddenly, the re-animated corpse bolted towards him. It lunged forward and moved fifty metres in seconds. It screamed as loud as it could and rammed its crippled fist squarely into Lykos' chest. He was launched backwards and slammed his back hard against the ground. He felt a sharp, searing pain digging deep within his back. He staggered upright and saw the being running towards him again. He reacted faster and slid to the side as the brute's fist slammed into the ground. The punch would have crumpled Lykos' head down into his spine. Lykos twisted his torso and rammed the dagger through the burnt corpse's head. The dagger glided through the bone and the force of the impact caused the being's head to split in half. It's hollow skull, burnt and ruptured, came apart cleanly as Lykos forced the corpse's face into the floor with his free hand.

He retracted the dagger and stood up, panting gently. He looked down and examined the crippled corpse. He winced as a flash of pain ran through his back. He moved his hand over where the pain had occured and felt that it was wet and a small, rough edge was protruding from his back. He pulled on the rough shard and it slid smoothly from his back. He moved his hand infront of him and looked down at his hand. A tiny concrete shard lay in his bloody palm. He sighed and threw the shard to the ground then started to move onward once more. Walking sent stabs of pain through his back with each step. The pain eventually faded as he walked, but it caused him to feel numb all over.

The afternoon's blinding sun glared down upon Lykos. His body started to sweat and his breathing became heavier as the golden heat beat down on his body. He wondered over to a smashed block of concrete, dropped his rucksack to the ground and sat down to survey his surrounding. The brunt of his environment was crushed or burnt bushes and demolished buildings. He stood up, drinking in the surrounding properties. A small bush rustled briefly, but the faint rustling of the leaves cause Lykos to spin around and glare at the bush, his dagger protruding from the sleeve. The bush quivered, then lay still. Lykos didn't remove his eyes from the bush, it was as though the bush was staring right back at him. A sudden glimmer of silver darted from the bush and slipped through the air, heading straight for Lykos' heart. He saw the shimmering glimpse as it left the bush, and stepped casually to the side of the shimmering light. It glided past him and wedged itself in the ground. A girlish groan came from the blackened bush:

"Oh for fucks sake. Why don't you just die!?" She moaned, moving forward a few steps. Her hair glistened in the sunlight, golden orange waves flickering in the wind. She had brown eyes that looked blank and shallow against her pale white skin. Her clothes tightly matched the curves of her body. She wore a white and near transparent gentleman's shirt, which the bottom half had been ripped away and tied together. All the buttons on the remaining section were undone, only the knot was holding the shirt partially closed. As a result of the gaping opening, most of her chest was revealed. Including a lacy, red bra protruding from the sides of the shirt. She wore thin, black lycra leggings. They accented the curves of her thighs and barely met her hips. You could clearly see the trim of a red thong wrapping around her waist.

Lykos looked back at her calmly, "Was I supposed to die from that feeble attempt? Why, I know chickens who can throw harder than that." He said, looking into her eyes, trying to find something the girl may be hiding. Work from a contractor, or a tatoo marking a clan eligiance.

She glared back at Lykos, flames dancing in the brown marshes that were her eyes: "How fucking dare yo-" She exclaimed. Yet Lykos cut her off quickly,

"Please, watch your language. I don't see a need to curse so frequently." He said slowly, judging her aggressive personality. 'Possibly she has some disorder?' He thought to himself.

She stepped closer again, the fire burning throughtout her eyes, "Why the fuck should I!? You have no manners at all! At least be respectful to a young lady like m-" She was cut of once more as she heard the ping of a metal spring. Next thing she knew, Lyko's blade waspointed at her throat, a small bead of blood trickling down her neck.

"I said, no need to curse." Lykos repeated. Her eyes ignited in fire as she unleashed her fury. Two sai blades had launched from slots on her hips and flew up to around eye level. She clasped them in her hands and dragged them through the air, across her body and down to the Lykos' blade. He dragged his arm backward and retracted the dagger. As the girl's blades slipped infront of her, she screamed, and bolted forward towards Lykos. He sighed and waited until the last second before ducking low and grappling her thigh. He reached up and snagged her neck with his other hand. He proceded to lean back and pull down on her neck. The girl cascaded over him and slammed onto the red earth. The girl moaned on contact with the ground and scrambled back up to her feet. Lykos stood straight once more as she took another charge towards him. She span one of the sais in her hand so it was being held with the blade facing the ground. She slid to a halt infront of Lykos and slashed the sai towards his face. Lykos contorted his entire body and slipped past the attack. The girl became unrelenting as she turned her body to attack with the other sai. Lykos, once again, bent around her strike. The girl yelled once more and pulled incredible amounts of force from nowhere. She pulled her leg in tight and slammed a well aimed kick directly into Lykos' ribcage. Lykos buckled under the force of the contact and staggered sideways. He held onto his ribcage and stood up as she charged to him once more. She stood over him and smirked:

"All bark and no bite eh? I've met a lot of guys like you" She remarked, raising the sai into the air. She began to bring the sai down fast, aiming directly for Lykos' spine. Suddenly, Lykos launched himself backwards as the sai flew past him, missing my millimetres. He grabbed hold of her hand and slammed his free palm into her chest. The flattening of his hand on contact had caused the blade to extend. It penetrated straight through her lungs and protruded from the other side. Lykos felt her becoming weak as tears welled up in her eyes. He let go of her as she started to choke. He grabbed the collar of her shirt and dragged her to the nearby block of concrete he was sat on. She was wretching violently now, blood pouring from her lips as she did so. Lykos rested her head on the corner of the smashed piece of stone. He took a step back and stood firm, judging the girl. Within seconds his foot was gliding through the air at a tremendous pace towards her head. The foot made contact, ramming her skull into the concrete. It shattered. Blood spurted from her head as the concrete buried itself inside her skull. She became completely still. Blood still oozing from her lips. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her away from the concrete, dropping her on the earth infront of him. He wiped the slab down with his jacket and sat, staring.