Dust, Blood, and Fur (Teaser)
#1 of Dust, Blood, and Fur
2015: A continued economic downward spiral damages the world's economy beyond foreseeable repair
Tensions rise in the US when homegrown terrorists successfully bomb the Empire State Building. Twenty are killed, and sixty-eight are wounded. Martial law is declared within the city, but the bombers were long gone.
The death toll of the H1N1 virus increases to several million, and millions more are estimated to die.
2017: Even more destruction is caused when several cities are the host of several low-grade nuclear bombings. An estimated 120,000 die from the explosions and fallout.
A coup in Iraq brings it into a new dictatorship.
War is declared between Pakistan and India, and Egypt and Israel. Both wars, at the time, were cold for the most part, with limited confrontation and massive military empowerment.
2018: Large-scale conflict in the Middle East erupts, soon followed by limited confrontation between the Korea's. This is the start of the third world war.
A second planned attack on the Empire State Building is foiled, and three perpetrators are incarcerated. All three are American and claim to not hold to any religion, and had a military record. They claimed it was all for psychotic fun.
2019: The Red Water Private Military Group is founded. Many conspiracy theorists claim they were behind the terrorist acts in the past years, but no evidence can be found to support these claims.
2022: Riots break out all over the North Eastern coast of the US over declining employment and pay. One accident led to the deaths of eleven and injuries of eight protesters when a police officer opened fire on the crowd, soon followed by the others shooting. Soon after, the police officers were overran and beaten to death by the enraged crowd.
2025: Several more terror attacks bring on a national state of emergency and martial law into the US.
2026: One final attack destroys the Empire State Building. Hundreds die.
No longer feeling safe under the US Government, local militias are formed. When instructed to disband, the newly declared ‘rebels' go underground.
2027: The first successful rebel attack is an ambush on a group of soldiers. They seemed insignificant at first, but they grew bold quickly, and started targeting power plants and military placements. One attack was even successful in destroying a satellite center. The rebels were quickly gaining ground. The Second American Civil War has begun
2028: WWIII is intensified when several Former-Bloc nations go to war, along with several African and South American nations.
With the destruction of more satellite centers, the US Military has limited view over the world and the nation.
2030: The Civil War becomes more complicated when Red Water becomes a ‘Militaristic Entity.' Though they claim neutrality, their true loyalty is to whichever side was losing, as they tended to pay more.
2031: Red Water, after doing enough recruitment from both sides of the war, decides to join the fray. To extend their power, they would extort several communities for resources and recruitment, and would exterminate those who refused.
2032: The Red Water's "Re-Education" program is enacted. Instead of simply killing those who didn't obey them, they'd bring the dissenters to a camp and mentally/physically condition them into loyal soldiers.
2037: There is no end in sight for World War Three or the Civil War. Many more decades will follow both. Nuclear tensions are high all over the world.
This is now. This is where we live. This is where many of us will die.
***
(October 15, 2035. Two years ago)
He remembers an explosion. He was unsure of its origin; it could have been an attack, an escape attempt from that god forsaken ‘re-education' camp, or it could have just been dumb luck. He just remembers a hole in the wall, and his mind...his feral instincts...yelling at him, "Run!" And he did. He forgot for how long, but the sun was starting to rise when exhaustion finally got to him. His adrenaline fueled sprint slowed to a slow, clumsy jog. His lungs burnt, his blood ran as acid, yet a part of him was screaming, "Don't stop! Don't fucking give up!" But then he looked down at his chest. What was once proudly covered in fur was now blood encrusted and dripping, once healed wounds reopened. Blood loss was getting to him. He came to a stop, and he just stared. He stared down the direction he wanted to run: over the wastes of what used to be lush forests, but was now war-torn and devoid of life. But he had to run. He had to get away. He tried to jog a little ways, but fell to all fours. His growing determination picked him up, but his waning strength only got him a few feet. If he can't run, he can certainly crawl. His crawling only got him a few more feet before he collapsed onto the ground. He picked himself up a few inches before falling back to the dust. There was nothing now. He wasn't going to survive, to get revenge, to save his sister, to even see the downfall of Red Water. Then there was only death in his mind as he let darkness take him.