I open my eyes, breathing rapidly. As if awakening from a nightmare. I look around to see the nightmare that still consumes me every night. The desolated landscape, the burning cities off in the distance along with whatever lied within. The rubble of what once was a small town littered the ground around us. Far in the distance I could see the sun ever so slowly, rise above the mountains. It was dawn.

I took a deep breath of the cold air, the cold reaching out inside of me. Looking next to me, I could still see the fire I had made still flickering, but none of it's warmth even grazing me. I sat up, pulling the warm fur sleeping bag off of me as I did so. Taking another deep breath, I stood. Putting on my heavy hiking boots and throwing my american-made leather jacket over my dirty, grey t-shirt. I knelt down in my ragged jeans and began rolling the sleeping bag.

After I had tied my bag to my pack, I nudged the woman next to me awake. She too awoke startled and grasping for air, another nightmare. I calmed her down a bit before she began to rise. Her smooth dark hair flowing from her narrow frame as she stood. She turned towards me and smiled, stopping me in my place. The only thing I could do was smile back as she turned back away and began getting her things together.

"How did we even get here? The last thing I remember, we were at some farm house." She said in a calm, almost soothing voice.

"We were on the outskirts of that place, yes. But after I went to check it out and found that there was 'something' inside, I came back to you and found you sleeping against a tree. So, I carried you over here."

"Wow," she said surprised."I never caught your name after you saved me from whatever that thing was."

"My name's Will," I said as I slipped through the straps of my backpack." And you never gave me yours."

"It's Adrian," she said smiling. "Question number two, what are you doing way out here? You have an american accent."

"I was going to school. This was going to be my last year, but this happened. Your turn." I said.

"I was visiting my aunt." I could see the hurt in her eyes as she spoke quieter."We were just walking around the house, doing the chores when one of those bird things showed up." I could see tears were starting to fall as we climbed through the destroyed town. "And, you saved me," she said softly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough," I said quietly, unsure if she actually heard me. We were silent as we made our way through the town, not wanting to open up each others already fresh wounds. Around us, it was dead silent. No one talking, no birds chirping, not even the usual white noise of cars or the restaurants were heard. Just the breathing and footsteps of me and Adrian. The feeling of the this was unnerving. I noticed something against my chest underneath my jacket. I brought my hand to the left side of my jacket and it was still there. My wand.