Something about the way the wind was blowing embedded a feeling of serenity into Luca's mind. He felt as though he could stand on the edge of the building forever, staring out towards the distance sunlight. A dark cloud loomed over head, blotting out any chance for sunlight to penetrate the thick smog. The boy found himself looking down, towards the far off ground, searching for an answer, or maybe the courage to dive off after one. The calm feeling was becoming even more comforting, most likely a symptom of being in the city for so long. Just standing there was so peaceful and calming, a cool breeze blowing past his hair, feeling as though he could remain there forever. There was a slight scent of what smelled like gasoline, or some other fuel burning in the distance, as well as a thick mist taking place in the area. This was obviously one of the reasons the vendor had warned Luca against going into the ruins. If he remained here long enough, he would most likely die of the inhalation of the fumes. He had to keep moving.
Turning quickly, Luca raced towards the door to the stairs, throwing it open and dashing down them quickly, bursting through the front door and continuing his journey towards the center of the city, towards the massive emblem industries sky scraper in the distance. The temperature seemed to be dropping, along with the visibility of the road ahead. The only apparent thing now were the small flakes of snow dripping from the sky above. A sure sign of the temperature ahead. Luca untied the cloth on his leg, dropping the blood stained rag on the ground, knowing it would only hinder him in the future by freezing and slowing him down. There was heavy snow on the ground only feet in front of him. Conditions were worsening. The foot prints behind him disappeared fast as more snowed filled them in from the storm above. In front of him, he could see nothing, only a wall of white snow, he knew that odds of making it through such a storm with such little warm clothing were low. But he had to get the map. He had to get back to them all.
The question of how these cities had gotten into this state was still fresh in Luca's mind. Some kind of fallout from major warfare, it had to take something of epic proportions to deal this kind of destruction upon such a major scale.
The cold was beginning to get to Luca a little bit, losing feeling in his feet for a a couple seconds before pulling himself together and taking shelter in a nearby building. He knew that there was probably a good chance the storm would not end, but he needed rest, and it was something which he would need to get a lot of. Hearing a rustle in the back of the building led Luca to force his way into a back room, making his way past a shelf before a glass bottle hit the wall beside him, followed by a large figure grabbing hold of him and tossing him back towards the front of the building, he had been caught off guard again. This really wasn't his day.
Luca scampered outside, rolling out of the way just as a table came flying through the front window and into the snowy, frozen street. From the building arose a large beast, ripped clothing and blood dripping from it's teeth. Obviously it had been feeding when Luca disturbed it. For the first time in his life, Luca was struck with fear for an instant. Suddenly a huge fist came flying down towards his position, he made a narrow escape and bolted down the street towards the center of the city, further into the storm, further from the beast. He could feel the quake of large objects hitting the ground behind him, seeming to be nearer to him every time. Luca kept running, pushing his way towards the center of the city, hopping to find shelter from the creature once there....
