A ray of sunlight awoke the Wanderer from her sleep. The morning sun had seeped through the missing chunks of the grey, slate ceiling and had fallen just into her eyes. She shook the drowsiness from her head and rose from the scratchy mattress. Dust erupted in all directions as she plucked her gloves off of the hotel night stand. It was beginning to be a tight squeeze to get the sun shrunken leather around her fingers, but they were necessary. Scarlet tiptoed to the end of the room and peaked over the ledge. The only room that she had come across, with enough protection from predators and the elements had been nearly five stories from ground level. The elevator had stopped long ago, and the stairs had long crumbled in the unmaintained building. That left one option. Scarlet was used to scaling the height and had no fear when climbing up there. There was only one minor problem she hadn't considered on the way up.

　　"I hadn't thought of the climb down." Scarlet scowlded herself, as she slowly made her descent. Careful, she made sure her foot caught with each step. It wasn't pleasant to fall from six stories up. Once on the solid ground, her eyes swept her surroundings. Unstable infrastructures were torn apart, neglected homes that once housed family after family, left to rot in the wild. And abandoned streets, where frames of cars remained, most ripped to shreds for scrap metal or to sell in town. The cars were just relics of a past long forgotten. The only remaining stamps of humanity. Scarlet tiptoed through the city, careful to make as little noise as possible. Everyone knew that so far from major civilization, anything could be lurking in the shadows. As she rounded a corner, the sound of feet on the pavement caught her attention. The feet were definitely animalistic, as sharp talons scratched the concrete surface. Scarlet drew her knife, just as a wild Rat ran right past her. The four and a half foot long rodent didn't even glance in her direction as it zoomed past, in a panic. Scarlet’s whole body shook as she laughed, let out a sigh of relief and sheathed her weapon, amused by her own timid actions.

　　Sssss. Scarlet froze, as the familiar sound of a large rattle filled the air. Without any sudden movement, she turned in the direction of the horrid hiss. A twelve foot Vybra stood in attack position, and bared its eight inch fangs at the woman. It’s scales were easily three inches long and and inch thick. Scarlet froze out of fear and tactic. The Kreature would react to any sudden movement. It was too dangerous for Scarlet to move, to reach for her weapon, or run. Her options were slim to nothing. Slowly, she used her thumb to wiggle her gloves off. It was her only chance. The glove slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. The wild Vybra eyes caught the sudden movement, hissed, and with lightning speed, lunged for her. Scarlet knew she wouldn't die from its bite, but as her eye caught the needle sharp fangs, she knew it would sure as hell hurt.

　　Man, I hate snakes.

　　The kreature attacked swift and clean. Scarlet rolled away to avoid its blow and snatched her knife from its holster. It immediately regained its composure and sprung back. She tried to strike its head and the blade snapped in half. The kreature shook its undamaged head and struck again. There was only one option. Scarlet lurched to the side and clasped her hands around the cold blooded reptile's scaly head. It starred her dead in the eyes, as her hands sucked the life from its body. Scarlet watched, in awe as it was always a sight to see, as its life drain away. The kreature stopped moving after a few spasms and fell as she released her grip. Her body cracked with gasps as she struggled to catch her breath. After a moment, Scarlet checked for a pulse, like she had with a dozen other Kreatures. Dead. With a sigh of relief, she heaved the kreatures onto her shoulders and began on her way to town.

　　In 2075, a tragedy shook the planet. January 16th, 2075, a high pitched noise was heard all around the world. And then, in an instant, people began to drop like flies. One day, there were 8 billion people enjoying their simple lives, without an inkling of what was to come. By lunch, only two billion people remained. 75% of the population, gone in the blink of an eye. The Cleansing had the highest death toll in human history, surpassing even the most devastating plagues. There was no connection, no pattern in who it took. People of all ages, race, blood type. The common diagnosis was mass heart attack, across the world. All at the exact same time. Throughout the next few decades, many theories surfaced. Terrorist attacks, government experiment gone wrong, mass suicide, aliens. Some believed it was the result of Global Warming, others thought it was the pollution. Some even, truly, believed it was an act of God. Animals developed in ways previously thought unimaginable. They evolved at a rate previously unheard of. Though, as time went on, people began to change as well. The next generation began to develop genetic anomalies as if they experienced evolutions, alongside the animals. With their dwindled population, what was left of the populus immediately fell a few levels on the food chain. Animals quickly realized that they were no longer outnumbered and began to hunt remnants of humanity. Humans clustered together, like herds and packs of animals. And their evolutions were limitless. In the beginning people experienced simple changes, like being able to breath under water, or levitate. But as time went on, the evolutions because thicker, coursing through their veins and leaving not an ounce of humanity left. And just as quickly as humans rose, humanity fell. And the Evolved stood to take their place. Large areas, once densely populated, were over taken by natural overgrowth. The kreatures became more volatile, and traveling became near impossible, without someone willing to risk a limb or a life. The towns were pretty similar to when humanity lived, though few and sparse between. Running water, which most major cities had managed to maintain. Electricity, thanks to the miracles of Solar Panels. Hospitals, hotels, any way someone would maintain a living. Though, there were no leaders. No authority. No police. The cities policed themselves. Out of the towns, however, laid dangerous lands and harrowing terrain. Kreatures had taken back 87% of the planet, and they planned to keep it that way. As far as Scarlet knew, the only thing they wanted was blood.