"The. Boys. And. The. Girls." John repeated slowly

"What do you mean?" I asked, utterly lost. My eyes moved back and forth between the two boys in front of me. John's eyes never left me.

"Dude, she might not actually know" Clayton said in a low voice

"Its possible...but its more likely she's faking it" John muttered under his breath. Clayton looked at me, holding my eyes. I bit my lip, holding myself.

"John, we found her in one of those tubes" Clayton said "Its possible she's been in hyper-sleep since before the war"

"That would make her nearly 300 years old, dumbass. No hyper-sleep lasts that long" John snapped

"They say the 21st century had an experimental drug they gave to the sleepers. It could have something to do with her abnormally long hyper-sleep"

What's hyper-sleep? What does he mean 300 years old? What tube? The questions buzzed through my heads. Questions I was too afraid to find the

answers to.

"Girl!" John shouted, my eyes darting to him. I knew I looked pathetic, sitting here half-naked, hair wild and dirty, eyes full of the terror I felt inside me. I

couldn't control any of the way I looked and I could tell John noticed all of it. His composure hinted the enjoyment he gained from seeing me like this. A small

bubble of anger poked at the back of my mind, but fear for my life pushed it away.

"Are you from before?" John asked

"B-before?" I whispered

"You know, before the Great War" Clayton said in a calm tone.

"World War t-Two?" I asked, fully knowing that wasn't the answer they were looking for. Unfortunately, that was the last war that would be large

enough to be considered 'great'.

For the first time, John's eyes left me for Clayton's. They exchanged a look, one unreadable to my eyes. I watched them both, wondering what was

going on through their minds.

"How old are you, girl?" John questioned me, a strange expression on his face.

"S-seventeen" I answered

"And when were you born?"

"March 3rd."

"What year, stupid girl" John snapped

"N-nineteen- ninety-three"

There was a short silence.

"Holy shit." Clayton breathed out. John didn't say anything, but I noticed his eyebrows had risen. Both of them stared at me. I felt a blush creep

across my cheeks for the first time in forever. The heat was unfamiliar to my skin, yet I knew actually what it was. I lowered my eyes, biting my lip, hoping I

hadn't said something wrong.

"Do you know what year it is now?" John asked

I looked up at him, shaking my head slowly

"Its twenty-five-oh-seven" Clayton said.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Torturing me for days and they expect me to believe it's the year 2507? I would believe in unicorns before I believed that.

Once I managed to calm my laughter down, I opened my eyes, wiping a stray tear from it. My face slowly fell as I took in their expressions

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" I asked

"Ellie, we're being serious" Clayton said

"You mean..." I blinked, feeling slightly dizzy "that its... its..its 2507?"

Both boys nodded their heads slowly. I looked around, the world spinning before my eyes. I felt like I was going to puke. I closed my eyes, reaching

for my head.

The last thing I remembered was someone shouting "SHIT!"

~*~

"And she awakes" A voice laughed from my left. I rolled over, my head hurting worse than a hangover.

"Bout fucking time" A different voice said. I opened my eyes to a blinding light. Instinctively, I raised my hand to shield the sunlight away. Squinting, I

took a look at my surroundings.

"Where are we?" I asked quietly

"Like I know" John snapped, poking at a fire.

"We're far away from society. You've been out for around 12 hours" Clayton answered. He scooted so he was next to me, John giving him a dirty look.

Clayton simply ignored him, leaning next to me. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts" I moaned, rubbing my temples.

"Oh poor baby" John muttered sarcastically.

"Dude, shut up. She fell pretty hard. You'd be hurtin' too if you did that" Clayton snapped, punching John in the arm. John cussed under his breath,

reaching over and landing one on Clayton's side.

My eyes widened. Please don't fight! I thought

Clayton laughed, rubbing his side. John smiled slightly, leaning back. My eyes widened even more, if it was possible. John, smiling? I didn't think it

was possible.

"What are you looking at?" John snarled at me

"Nothing" I whispered, looking down at my hands.

"That's what I thought" He growled, leaning back on his elbows.

"Just ignore him" Clayton said low enough for only me to hear. I gave a weak smile at him, telling him I understood. He grinned back.

I stood up cautiously, looking at my surroundings. We were still in a forest. It appeared thicker this time, greener. Clayton watched me as I paced

around our little camp.

The fire was the middle, a cluster of messed up sleeping bags set off by a tree. The boys sat opposite them, next to some sticks I assumed were for

the fire.

I noticed something was off. The forest was like a typical forest, except for one thing. I turned to Clayton and asked the question.

"Where are all the animals?" I asked

He looked up at me "What animals?"

"The birds, the deer, the squirrels?"

"Dead" John said, looking at me curiously "They've been dead for two hundred years"

I gasped "Wh..what?"

"The wildlife's all gone, girl" John said as if it was the stupidest thing to ask

"But...how? Why?" I asked, feeling a knot in my throat.

"When the War first started," Clayton explained "Some dumbass sent off a nuclear bomb from our side. Cleared out all the wildlife on the western

hemisphere and a good chunk of our people. Thankfully, enough boys were born in the later years to keep our population alive"

I sat down, taking in the shock.

No wildlife?

"There are no frogs?" I whispered "No turtles? No bunnies?"

They both shook their heads in unison.

I felt a tear swell up in my eye. Clayton and John exchanged a look. I turned away, sitting with my back to them. I didn't want to cry in front of them. Not

anymore. There weren't any animals. Because of whatever stupid war this was.

I gave a sob, one that ripped through my entire body. I felt a hand rest gently on my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Clayton asked quietly, obviously unsure how to handle the situation

I nodded "Give me a moment"

His hand disappeared, leaving my shoulder colder than before. I buried my head in my hands and released the tears for the animals.

I cried for more than just the animals that night.

I cried for my family.

My friends.

My old life

The war.

What the world had come to

Myself.