In Love and Sacrifice

PrologueThe year is 2041. After ignoring and underestimating it for years, global warming finally made its full devastation known. A tsunami of epic proportions has wiped out almost the entire North American Pacific coastline for at least one hundred miles. A spectacle the rest of the world watched with horror and morbid fascination. The piles of recovered dead were so numerous, and the concern with spreading disease so rampant, bodies and buildings were burned by the thousands. Taking advantage of North America’s mourning, a sect of religious zealots—The Chosen—operating from around the world but based deep within the Australian Outback, released a virus that immediately began wiping out hundreds of thousands more. Dubbed Teal-47, the virus was merciless and wiped out almost everyone who came into contact with it. The Chosen ensured blame would be placed with different groups, resulting in the breakout of WWIII. When collective armed forces started dying off due to a combination of both fighting The War and the virus, regular citizens were called to duty in what was known as the First, Second and Third waves. Cities were razed to the ground, and the greater parts of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Australia were wiped out with nuclear weapons. Airports, planes, oil wells and other sources of fuel and technology were targeted and natural resources became coveted. Washington, London, Ottawa, Berlin, and Paris were specifically targeted and obliterated into nothingness. With most of The Chosen wiped out by their own wrongdoing and a cure for the virus discovered by the brilliant young doctor Angela Sadhu, it would be ten years of destruction, disease and death before what was known as The War finally came to an end. All in all, more than two thirds of the world’s population were lost. In North America survivors rallied, collected what they could of their lives before The War, and started life anew in what manner they could. With the sheer destruction of fuel sources, vehicles became almost obsolete, and to see one was almost akin to a reemergence of the dodo bird. In one city, once known as Calgary, a large number of survivors gathered, led by a brigadier general of The War’s allied forces. A good soldier yes, but one who also recognized people required a strong leader. And one whose vanity would see him become more of a dictator than a leader. The man even went so far as to dub himself the Duke, ruling with an authority not seen since medieval times. People followed the rules he dictated, hungry for some sense of normalcy and a hopeful return to what life and creature comforts they had once known. Governments had collapsed around the world, and while the Duke’s realm was one of strict patriarchal adherence, it was safe. The Duke managed his tight rein on the people of the city through strict laws enforced by his own personal band of military personnel, the New Earth Army, or NEA. Much of the city itself was wiped out, but the Duke made himself a home in a vast brick building, once an armory, overlooking a river. Those who came when they heard of the city, rebuilt the best they could from the rubble. They occupied homes abandoned by others, while all other structures were either burned or reclaimed by nature. In the five years since The War, wild grasses and trees allowed to grow rampant, made city streets look like something out of a science fiction novel. Some, however, made the choice to live life away from regrowing centers like the city, in rural towns and villages. Others, known as renegades, succumbed to their instincts to make a living roaming the prairies and foothills in roving bands, killing and stealing what they needed from those they came across—echoing the violence that had not abated in some fifteen years. One man, another general from The War, and the remainder of his former squad—known for their skill with handguns—found themselves at an old tourist stop, a heritage town called Fort Snow, and utilized the space to live simple lives of days gone by, avoiding the tyrannical thumb of the Duke. Fort Snow grew what they needed, and traded what they didn’t, with neighboring towns and villages, including local tribes. Villages of indigenous people: Sioux, Cherokee, and Crow dotted the prairies, the people reclaimed their lands as well as their language and traditions. Most refused to speak English ever again. Tribes traded with Fort Snow, occasionally battled renegades and the NEA. Most of these groups shirked the comforts of the technology that soothed them before The War, feeling it beneath them to return to such a life of sloth. While Fort Snow looked like a peaceful village at first glance, a series of sentries, escape routes, and squads did their best to ensure its safety. A few days on horseback from the city, the Duke generally left Fort Snow to its own devices. He fought with its general and knew him to be wise and shrewd in the art of war. The two were also congenial but rare trade partners. A thoughtful man, the general often sent spies to the city to keep an eye on their forces and seek out any potential danger to Fort Snow and its people—people who have seen enough of war and sickness and only longed to build on the peace they created with their families, new and old.