Astrid knew she was in trouble as she ran deeper into the craggy wastes of the Dead Lands. She had meager supplies and little knowledge of how to survive the unforgiving desert. The wasteland was reserved for criminals and dangerous outcasts that were unfit for civilization. All the garbage from the city, living and non-living, was sent there.
Astrid is the beautiful noble daughter of High Lord Daren Cole. They live in the dazzling modern city of New Athens, a depraved battleground for rich and powerful families. Modern gladiator fights are the epitome of entertainment, but the violence behind closed doors creates city champions.
Astrid was sick of her shiny bloodstained prison. Her father had trained her as an assassin since she was five. He had high hopes of seeing her as a city champion. He would beat her senseless if she refused to participate in his dream. On the eve of her first planned assassination, she decided to run. She couldn't stand the thought of murdering a fellow noble daughter. All she wanted was freedom. She knew she could find it in a place where people didn't pretend to be moral.
She ran under the unmanned turret station along the border wall with her heart pounding. She was finally free of the city. The turrets were programmed to fire upon anything attempting to leave the desert, so there was no turning back.
Her new landscape was an endless horizon of sand, jagged cliffs, and piles of scrap metal. She slept peacefully under the stars that night. She camped beside a large stone outcrop in view of a Ruffian settlement. Scruffy men rode around that place on dune buggies and ATVs armed to the teeth. There were constant gun battles and explosions. The dead were simply stripped of their belongings and dumped in a hole outside the settlement. None of this scared Astrid. It was all up front and simple. The Ruffians weren't trying to deceive anyone with their motives. She planned to sneak in and look for food after sunset.
She wrapped a scarf around her long dark hair and over her face before she crept into the settlement. It would be disastrous to be recognized as a woman alone in the Dead Lands. She was surprised to see signs in the town pointing to various stores, weapon shops, and mechanics. Her heart leaped when she came upon a food ration store. The sign outside read, "Everything Freshly Expired!" Food was scavenged from the dumpsite just like everything else. On her way in, she was startled by a quad bike zooming into the gate. She dived behind a broken refrigerator to hide. The quad bike parked in front of the ration store, forcing her to avoid it for a little while longer.
She crept back into the shadows to explore the town's layout and discover where various scary people were loitering. Then she spotted him again. The owner of the quad bike was walking down the street. He was a tall, lean figure completely clad in black. His helmet had a shiny reflective visor. He had a bag of recently purchased food in his hand. She watched him as he approached a solid metal hut. He unlocked a round iron door and disappeared into it. She crept around the small fortress looking for a weak point, but the place was sealed up tighter than a submarine.
Astrid sighed in disappointment. She had been hoping to steal the man's food. As she turned to leave, she bumped right into the dark figure. She was almost too shocked to react as she stared at her reflection in his visor. No one had ever been able to sneak up on her like that. She couldn't believe what was happening as his hand clamped over her mouth faster than she could blink. Then she was hauled into the building through a hidden side door.
She was flung across the fire lit room into a wall. She quickly recovered herself and spun to attack him, but he blocked both of her kicks and used her foot to launch her into the wall again. She hit it hard the second time and fell to the dirt floor in a daze. She raised up to see the barrel of a gun pointing at her nose.
"Why are you stalking me?" he demanded. His voice was deep and clear in spite of the helmet.
"I was hungry," she said softly.
"What's wrong with your voice? Remove your scarf," he ordered impatiently.
Astrid gulped and nodded. She slowly reached up and unwrapped her scarf, letting her beautiful dark hair spill over her shoulders. She looked up at the man in black, wondering what he thought of seeing a woman in the Dead Lands. She knew it was mostly unheard of.
He stood very still for a long moment, staring at her. Then he slowly lowered his gun and put it back in the leather holster on his right thigh.
"Unbelievable," he whispered in amazement as he slowly knelt down in front of her.
He removed his helmet and set it on the ground so he could see her better. Astrid gasped in disbelief as she watched him run his fingers through his shiny black hair. He was absolutely lovely. He was also much younger than she was expecting. His eyes were bright gray, and his face was beautiful. He had the beginnings of a flattering black beard around his jawline like some of the young nobles in the city.
He was close enough at that point for her to attack him, but she was too stunned by his appearance to do it.
"You're a female," he said as he studied her soft features and elegant green eyes. "I haven't seen a female since I was a child. You're amazingly beautiful."
Astrid felt her face blushing as she stared into his wild eyes.
"Thank you, I guess."
"What in god's great earth brought you to this shit hole? And what were you planning to do to me?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
Astrid stared at him worriedly for a short moment. He was pretty, but that didn't make him a good person. She made a split-second decision to defend herself before it was too late. She gave him a lightning-fast punch to the throat and dived for his gun, but what happened next was a blur. The man's arms snapped out, and he grabbed both of her wrists before her punch landed. He was holding her steady an inch from his face and his eyes looked furious.
"Damn, you're fast!" he said in amazement. "But you're obviously not a Ruffian. Let me demonstrate something," he growled before he jerked her to her feet and clamped his hand around her throat. His gun was pressed to her temple before she realized he had drawn it.
She was shocked and humiliated at that point. A contending city champion was being tossed around like a rag doll by a wild man.
"How do you move so fast?" she asked, barely above a whisper. She was struggling to get air through her pinched windpipe.
"Fighting for your life in a desert for twenty years has that effect on a person. I'm guessing you came here from the city for some stupid reason. Did you think I looked less brutal than the other men in this town? To a Ruffian, my physical appearance screams DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" he growled before he pushed her against the wall again.
She crashed into it and stumbled to the floor in a daze. Her arms were shaking as she pushed herself up again. He walked over and pressed his gun to her temple. She froze as he leaned in close to her face.
"If you attack me again, I'll beat you senseless. Understand?" he demanded.
"Yes," she said with a dry rasp in her voice.
"Good," he sighed and put his gun away. Then he sat down on the dirt floor in front of her.
She recoiled from him and scooted against the wall with her legs pulled to her chest.
"Stay still. I won't attack you unprovoked," he said as he scooted closer.
They stared at each other curiously for a moment. Astrid was scared and angry that she had misjudged the wild man so completely. She flinched away from him when he reached for her hair.
