Chapter 1

“A long time ago, my name was Esmeralda Vasquez, but now… Now, I am something else.”

Everything began after the storm. Back then, I didn’t know that that cold, misty morning after it had passed would be the last one I lived as my true self. So when Father asked me to ride upstream and check the calves with their mothers, I was thrilled about the adventure.

My mother packed lunch and gave me one of the family rifles to bring with me. After a quick breakfast, I saddled Falcon, glad that Father and my brothers were too busy repairing the storm’s havoc to object to it. No, I wasn’t too young to ride him. I was 15 and confident that I could handle that proud stallion. I had trained him for months, so by now, he let me ride him most of the time.

I put the lunch box Mother had given me into the saddlebags and, after hesitating for a moment, mounted him. Luckily, he stood still, and I waved goodbye and set off before my father could realise what I had done.

The fog slowly lifted as the sun rose, and the breeze played with my hair as I rode. It all just felt like a silly adventure, and I wish I had known what the day would bring. But I was blissfully ignorant of the upcoming events, and when our town disappeared behind the hill, I stopped and pulled my old watch from my pocket. It was a gift from my grandpa and one of my most treasured possessions.

Of course, the watch didn’t work, and its arms had stopped at the exact time when the bombs had fallen from the sky, initiating the Big Blackout. If only I had paid more attention to Grandpa’s stories, my life would have taken a different turn that day. Back then, Spectres were nothing more than spooky stories my brothers used to scare me with, and not the monsters that had almost destroyed us.

I strapped it to my wrist. 12:15... I wondered if, for once, it showed the correct time, but it was probably too early for it. I smiled. Time for adventure, I told myself, and nudged Falcon into a walk and followed the stream.

I rode alongside it, searching for a place where the water was deep enough to take a dip on my way back, when Falcon suddenly stopped. I looked up, but I could see nothing else than the pasture lying further ahead. The calves and their mothers were grazing peacefully, and I sighed. Nothing would need to be done here. I was disappointed at the prospect of going back so soon and probably being given some boring task by Father. There was always something to do on the farm, but almost none of it was fun.

“We should check so that the fence is still holding after the storm”, I told Falcon.

At least that was a valid reason to stay away for a bit longer, and I wouldn’t need to make up an excuse on my way back.

We rode slowly, and I could see nothing unusual until we reached the far end of the pasture, where the green meadow began to give way to the rocky hills. I glanced around, and then I saw it. The fence was broken. I dismounted and walked over to inspect it. Father would have some work to do, I thought as I saw it. I just hoped I wouldn't be the one to help him with it. I took a step, and my foot sank into the soft ground.

I glanced around, trying to find the best path, when I spotted tracks leading towards the hills. My eyes shone with excitement when I realised that one of the calves must have escaped, frightened by the storm. It couldn’t have gone far, I told myself as I walked towards the hills, leading Falcon behind me. The ground was too wet to ride him, but I enjoyed walking. After an hour in the saddle, it was nice to move, and the fact that my shoes got wet only added to the adventure.

As I came to the foot of the hills, the soft ground turned into rocks and pebbles, and I lost sight of the tracks. Of course, I wouldn’t give up so easily and return home, so I left Falcon at the bottom and began to climb the steep path. With the rifle in my hands, I followed it, driven by the feeling of adventure. I should have turned and run, but I didn’t know, so when I saw the entrance of the cave in the hillside, I stared at it in amazement.

I knew what it was the moment I saw the remains of the heavy steel door. Of course, after so many years, the door was gone, and only the metal frame that once held it remained in place. I would never have dared to enter if I had found it at any other time, but I was unlucky, and the sun stood just opposite, lighting the concrete path that led inside.

I took a deep breath, and even though I hesitated, the thought of the treasures I would find there overcame my fear. I had heard so many stories being passed from settlement to settlement about what places like this might hold. Even if we no longer dared to rely on electricity, there was still machinery powered by steam or wind, not to mention the medical supplies that a place like this might be full of... And I would be the one to bring them back. I was pretty sure that no one had found this place before. If they had, it would for sure be on the list of the places Mother had forbidden me to go to.

I walked over to it and peered inside. It seemed empty, but just to be on the safe side, I gathered dry bushes, placing them at the entrance before using my fire starter to set it ablaze… If anything lived there, it would run, scared by the smoke, I told myself as I hid behind a boulder with my rifle ready.

I watched the wind carry the smoke deep into the cave, but nothing moved, and when the fire died down, I stepped from behind the boulder and entered. It grew colder as I ventured, until almost no sun showed the way, and the corridor ahead was hidden in the darkness. I hesitated for a moment as a strange uneasiness filled the air, but I pushed away my fear and kept walking.

Just a little more, I told myself, not wanting to come back home with empty hands. Suddenly, I saw it. The darkness in front of me shimmered with luminescent colours, and the air filled with a high-pitched hum. I knew what it was, and I wanted to scream and run, but my body was frozen with fear and refused to move.

I could only stare as the Spectre forced its way into my soul, turning my blood into liquid fire that burned me from the inside. Darkness overtook me, but oblivion did not, and instead, I floated in the void, helplessly watching as the Spectre consumed my essence bit by bit… Only now did I understand what those tales that grandpa had told me really meant, but it was too late.