 
### Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Mother Nature: The Chosen One

About the Author

Copyright Statement
MOTHER NATURE REINCARNATED

by

Robyn L. Taylor

This is an IndieMosh book

brought to you by MoshPit Publishing  
an imprint of Mosher's Business Support Pty Ltd

PO BOX 147  
Hazelbrook NSW 2779

<https://www.indiemosh.com.au/>

Copyright 2018 © Robyn L. Taylor

All rights reserved

Cover design and creation by Robyn L. Taylor

<https://robyntaylor96rt.wixsite.com/creativeside>

**Licence Notes**

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author and publisher.

**Disclaimer**

This story is entirely a work of fiction.

No character in this story is taken from real life. Any resemblance to any person or persons living or dead is accidental and unintentional.

The author, their agents and publishers cannot be held responsible for any claim otherwise and take no responsibility for any such coincidence.

# Dedication

"This story is dedicated to those who have continued to reach for their dreams even when they have been told to let them go, to those who suffer from mental states of the mind yet continue to live their life in a positive light, to those who strive to make a difference in the lives of others as well as the Earth without expecting anything in return, and to those who think that they are too different to be here but have yet to learn they have every right to be who they are and who they want to be. You are all a part of this beautiful Earth, so continue to believe in your own true self so that you may never forget who you are and how important you are within this Universe."

# Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my family, my partner and my friends who have supported my creativity and encouraged my artistic ideas throughout the years. In addition, I would like to send my thanks to my sister Jaimèe Taylor and my aunt Angelique Walker for taking the time out of their busy lives to be the editors of my first novel. Also, to my friends, and my family, as you read through this story, I am sure that you will stumble upon a character that reflects some of your features or characteristics. This is because I wanted to thank you all in a creative and personal way for being intertwined in my life. I appreciate all these people that I have mentioned. Thank you. Lots of love, Robyn.

# Introduction

The story you are about to read is a fictional tale that I have predicted to be the possible future of our lives and our Earth, as humanity continues to take the natural environment for granted. Pollution, global warming and climate change have continued to devastate our planet, and guess who is to blame for our decreasing water resources? Our increasing humidity and heat? Our loss of beautiful and unique natural habitats? Our loss of beautiful and unique species of flora and fauna? Our depleting natural ecosystems and acidification of waterways? Humanity. That is your answer. I bet you didn't know that humans were the only species on Earth that consciously acts out in selfish deeds for the benefit of themselves, often at times without any guilt or remorse for the outcome of their actions. However, even though humanity is to blame for the Earth dying in many ways, there are those amongst the takers of the world whose sole purpose and heart are focused on conserving and protecting the natural environments of the Earth. This story reaches out to those who fight for the planet's survival. Let the energy from Mother Nature flow through your mind as you get pulled into the lives of those who are thrown together and intertwined to make this fictionally predicted future come to life.

# Prologue

LEGENDS are told, of a beautiful goddess who carried the power to create life itself inside the center of her heart. She walked the cosmos, collecting stars that shone brightly as they scattered the universe. It was not until another odd billion years later that she decided that she was satisfied with the trail of luminous plasma held together by its gravity that surrounded her being. The glowing stars flowed around her forming a milky way so breathtaking that it would stun anyone who laid eyes on it. She reached an empty spot of the universe, it was pitch black. It was just so empty that it saddened the goddess. She had decided that this was the perfect spot for her creation. She dropped her hands gently into the Milky Way that flowed around her. With delicate hands she directed the stars to break free from her grasp. She raised her hands in front of her; with a determined smile she clapped her hands together. The sound from her hands colliding set off a thunderous bang that echoed throughout the cosmos. She smiled eagerly as the stars that were flowing between her hands collided together just as her hands had met a few seconds before. Just as the bang that erupted from the collision of the goddesses' hands, the stars hitting one another created a much larger bang that broke through the first bang made by the goddess herself. The noise was followed by a light so bright it lit up the empty darkness within the universe. Rocks began to form together creating planets, rotating around the brightest shining star. The star was in the center of these planets, it had burning flames that licked at the darkness of the universe, which she had called the sun. The goddess had smiled for the third planet from the sun was just close enough to the heat to begin to evolve and adapt. With faith and eagerness, the goddess reached into her chest and slowly began to pull at her rib cage. With a delicate tug she pulled out a glowing, beating heart. Her smile grew larger as she reached into a slit of her flowing Milky Way dress and pulled out a small dagger. With surgeon-like precision, she cut out a small piece of her heart and guided it towards the planet. She watched as the segment of her heart fell through the planet's core, causing a wave of earthquakes to flow through the planet. The impact of the earthquakes caused parts of the planet to fall inside itself and split apart. What became known as oceans, lakes and rivers began to form, creating the planet we now call home, Earth. Satisfied with her work, the goddess left to once again wander the cosmos, planning on returning to Earth in another million or billion years to see how much her creation has grown. This goddess, as the legends told, was named Mother Nature. Others called her Mother Earth or Mother of All as she gave birth to life on Earth. All that lives and breathes within the Earth are her children.

### A few billion years later...

When Mother Nature returned to her creation she had high hopes. She felt really good about what she had done and hoped that, over the time that had passed; the third planet from the sun had evolved into something truly beautiful. However, she was wrong. When she looked at the planet she could smell something toxic. Each breath she took was filled with a darkened cloud that was gradually blocking her airway, killing her very, very slowly.

This only made it all the more painful. Struggling to breathe she waved the darkened clouds away that seemed to surround the Earth's atmosphere. Eventually she was able to peer through the white clouds that emerged and was in shock, for what she saw was nothing she could ever have imagined. She saw a mass of buildings, which pumped out black smoke, accompanied by towers that reached high into the sky. These smoke-exhaling buildings appeared to be at the heart of what caused the black, toxic clouds which were flooding into her airways. It burnt through her. Her eyes began to tear up from the pain. She was so confused, what was this? What was happening to her beautiful creation? She felt rage and fury build up inside of what was left of her heart. She had not given up such a treasured part of her so that it can be abused in such a way. This was not right. It was then that Mother Nature looked deeper into the planet and what she had discovered shattered the remainder of her heart. It fell from her chest and broke free into the universe. For there were these creatures that walked on two legs, they were scattered throughout the planet. Some were slaughtering other creatures that seemed but innocent and undervalued; some were laughing as they cut into their flesh. It was as though they had no conscious of their own. What fascinated Mother Nature the most was that these two legged creatures were allowing toxic waste (such as the darkened clouds and sewage) to escape their buildings and to flow through their waterways, into the oceans and lakes where more innocent creatures lay suffering. Mother Nature, now heartless and cold, took it upon herself. She decided that she would take on the form of one of these two legged beasts and she would find a way to rid the Earth of the pests who were sucking the planet dry.

There was just one thing to figure out- who would be worthy to take on the form of Mother Nature, her warrior to lead her army against the two legged creatures, and be the saviour of Earth?

# Chapter One

## Tasmanian tiger: Last captive one died at Hobart Zoo in Tasmania, 1936. Extinct.

NIERA held on to her lunch quite strongly as they cruised along the freeway into the city. Her stomach was throwing flips inside that caused her to swallow the nachos that were clinging to the back of her throat. She didn't do well when it came to sitting in the car's backseat for more than 10 minute drives. She often suffered from car sickness, flight sickness, just motion sickness in general. She was also known to start blowing chunks after taking five spins in the pool with her eyes closed preparing for a game of "Marco Polo". As Niera clutched on to her mid drift to calm her raging stomach, her hair fell in curls of brown and liquid blonde puffs over her shoulders, shielding her from the piercing rays of the rising sun. She was picking at her nails, well what was left of them to pick. She had bitten down hard enough to pierce her skin and cause blood to flow. Her fingernails weren't exactly the best. She knew long ago that she would never be a hand model. She had experienced too much anxiety for her nails to be perfect and unbitten. She never saw herself as perfect; to be honest she had a list of things she would have loved to change about herself. She desired longer hair that flowed along her hips and a stomach that didn't cause so many issues and perhaps be flatter in some places. You know, to have all the right bumps and lumps in the right places. But she was who she was, and she was just starting to understand the things that she liked about herself. She had her headphones on and her music pumped through her head, taking her mind off the swirling sick feeling that stayed inside her gut and the spinning in her head. As she took in a deep breath, she could feel the tension in her body escape as she let go of the negative energy that clung to her body and soul. Then, for a split second, things stopped and everything went quiet. Her music was tuned out by shrieks and deathly groans as a truck veered off its side of the road and collided side on with the car Niera and her family was in. The car was hit with a bang so loud it burst Niera's eardrums, she couldn't hear her mum yelling her name from the passenger seat, and she couldn't hear her dad yell out in pain as the headlights of the truck slammed into his chest. She could only see as her vision started to fade in and out of darkness, and she could only feel the metal around the car crushing her legs against the car seat like a human burrito being wrapped in metal ready to be eaten by the world. She faded away until the darkness took over her vision and her breath left her lungs in a last gust of hope to suck in oxygen.

In a moment of pitch black and nothingness, things began to shift, Niera was in a void filled with nothing, nothing to see, hear, feel or touch. Who knows how long she was trapped in that void. It could have been hours, days even. However, in a sudden sense of motion something swept across Niera's ears and she could hear a soft striking voice whisper so close to her ear that she almost believed she was still alive and that there was someone definitely next to her. This eerie presence was scary yet defying all possible means of the universe. Goosebumps and shivers ran over Niera's body urging her to turn and run in the other direction.

Then all of a sudden, warmth like the sun on a warm winter's afternoon caressed her chest and filled her heart with the energy to pump warm blood to the rest of her body. One by one her arms, legs, feet and hands began to heat up to the point where Niera's body relaxed and she felt as though she had been swallowed by a giant marshmallow and was being dipped in warm sweet honey. And again that voice came to her. It was whispering the same conversation over and over again until Niera understood what she was saying. It hit her all at once, this woman wasn't whispering, she was shouting in a delicate sweet voice. She was claiming to be Mother Nature, the spirit of Mother Nature and the Mother of the Earth. She had been seeking an opportunity for millions of years, an opening in time and space to reincarnate herself into the body of someone who saw the damage, destruction and slaughter the Earth had faced. In true fact, she was waiting for Niera, it was fate that was written in the stars over billions of years ago.

Niera had been destined for something greater than that which was planned for her by society's standards. Within that warm bubbly space, Niera felt something grip hold of her waist; she felt pressure on the centre of her back and around her chest. It was as though someone was giving her a strong embrace, one that both supported her body yet crippled her bones from the inside out. She could not cry out in pain, nor could she let go of the air that was building up inside her lungs. She could not comprehend what was happening to her and nothing was making sense anymore. Niera was losing consciousness again as all the feeling in her body escaped her. That was when she heard the voice again. "Hold on, Natura" it moaned. "For we shall save this Earth, and save those innocent from the corruption that surrounds us". Then darkness filled her eyes once more and her head fell back as her body was cradled against something strong and powerful.

At first there was light, shallow and dim. It shone a blurred red as if the sunlight was blocked by a transparent maroon red wall. Niera pulled herself up by her elbows and sat up on her knees. In a few minutes her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. This was not the car crash she had just been in; there was hardly anything to see. She took a good look around; all that was surrounding her was red walls which concaved over her head forming a cone-like roof. It looked soft and fragile to the touch, as if she had been placed in a shrine of pillows.

She reached out to touch the wall in front of her but noticed that her hand was covered in yellow gold droplets. It looked like pollen. All around her legs she had the same droplets.

As she stood up to dab the pollen off her body she, she started to panic. She was no longer able to recognise her body. Her breasts seemed to perk up without the support of a bra, her stomach appeared somewhat toned into the type of fit stomach muscles that one would only notice after a few months of hitting the gym hard and not eating just carbs. Niera was a 'carboterian' (she was not the best vegetarian, but she made do with the energy she gained from carbs). Carbs for life.

Niera loved eating in general and she had a strong love for nachos which her mother never understood. Getting back to the rest of her body, Niera noticed that her legs were toned and coloured light brown like the Earth.

She stepped back and took in her body as if it was the first time she had seen herself clearly and it was. The closer she looked, she started to notice her veins in her arms glowing a tender green and yellow. This left breathtaking dark green vine-like tattoos across her forearms that stretched all the way beyond her shoulders. She could feel the sensation crawling from her neck down to her back, stopping at the edge of her lower back. Her stomach appeared more colourful than her arms. She could make out silhouettes of animals appearing in shades of earthly blues and sunset purples. There was a striking resemblance of an elephant missing a tusk that took over majority of her hip. A panda in sunrise shades was imprinted on her chest across her heart. There was a fierce growling tiger detailed in stripes flowing down her shoulder which mixed in with an African lion, whose mane stood out in a deep maroon red.

Her body was starting to look like a walking artwork, as breathtaking as it was impossible. For when she touched the animal imprints softly with her fingertips they came alive. They moved over and across her skin like shadow puppets. As she was examined the new wonders of her body, she noticed that some of the animals didn't move or simply twitched every few seconds. From her knowledge of wildlife, she was able to recognise that these particular animal imprints were the ones regarded as endangered or extinct species. The others that roamed along her back and waist represented the species that were still alive and abundant. Niera thought that maybe the animals on her body that stayed in the same place in which they appeared may represent their vulnerability on the Earth. Her mind was spinning with thoughts and doubts. She was still in that red room where pollen stuck to her legs. With her right hand she reached out and gently pressed against the wall. It was soft; however, it reacted to her touch quite differently than imagined. Alarmingly, it poked right back at her. Suddenly, the walls started to close in on Niera. The closer they came, the more the pollen rose into the air until it covered her whole body. She could feel a tingling sensation flow across her bare skin. At first she felt panic rise inside her gut and her breathing came in gasps. Until, she heard that voice again, this time it was more delicate and it came from inside her head. "Be calm Natura, you will be free". With that Niera took a breath and let her body melt into the pollen.

In a sudden burst that hit the blue sky like fireworks Niera was flung from the red room into the air as if she was blown from cannon. She did not utter a scream for the pollen which surrounded her calmed her nerves. She became trustful of the reassuring voice coming from inside her head. Everything was going to be okay. Niera felt her stomach lift up as her body was falling to the ground, her weight drawn back to Earth by gravity. A heartless bastard who let her fall more times than she could count. From the air, Niera looked down and shock took over her heart and body as she saw a giant red rose start to bloom from beneath her. The pollen started to lift her body until she was floating mid-air; her toes came to brush against the pollen bed in the center of the giant rose. Once again she looked down her body and noticed red petals cupped her breasts covering her nipples and a light green flowing leaf that transcended into a deep red colour was draped across her hips covering majority of her legs. A slit up the leg revealed more animals that imprinted her brown skin, as well as waves of blue that collided with solid green patches which may as well have represented the oceans and land. As she admired her new garments her hair caught her eye as the wind blew strands into her face. Her hair that was once short and uncontrollably curly was now flowing into flawless strands of deep maroon reds and purples that curled around her hips and poured down the length of her spine.

Dark green vines with thorns pierced through her hair and skull, intertwining with her glorious curls. Amongst the vines she could feel soft outbursts of roses growing midst her hair. A gasp came out of nowhere causing Niera to awaken from her own world and into the reality surrounding her. She looked around, completely aware that she was still floating within the rose and from a distance she could see smoke and fire erupting from a crash site just across the road from her. The gasp came again followed by a few shrieks and a commanding voice yelling "Stand down!" Niera turned her shoulder and looked over at the ruckus. Red and blue lights were flashing from emergency and police vehicles, a group of paramedics were huddled over two bodies near the car wreck while a few police men were standing with guns pointed out right at Niera. Their hands were shaking with fear or nerves, if they took a shot, they'd surely miss due to their own fearful reactions. "Stand down!" one of the police men at the back of the group yelled out once again. Niera was about to obey when she felt a sensation warm her body starting from within her heart. She felt her blood pumping quicker and more erratic within her chest. Then without a second to react to what was happening to her, Niera felt herself change and slip into a darkened state. Her eyes changed colour from blue to green, which caused everything she could see to appear in shades of green. She felt anger build up within her, rage took charge in her veins and her tattoos started to glow violently. She felt powerful, however, the power felt unforgiving and stronger than her will to stop. Niera spoke out in a voice much deeper than her own, somehow harsher and bolder than she had ever been.

"Mother Nature has come, reincarnated in a body made from the Earth itself. The water that runs through these veins is the source of your oceans. The ashes that burn once this body dies are the sustenance and nutrients of which your trees grow from. The air that passes and expels through these lungs is the oxygen of which your bodies require to live. Mother Nature has suffered greatly for your inconsiderate and destructive actions. You have polluted her waters with oils and plastics; you have cleared her lands of trees and sucked out the oxygen from beneath the soils. You have hunted and murdered innocent animals for purposes of economic and agricultural benefits. You have overharvested plants that could have one day saved many lives. In a world that was once wonder, you have destroyed everything. I am Mother Nature and I have come to claim back the Earth and to lead it back to its original state where balance will be restored."

Niera choked on her own words and tried to negotiate with her own body to stop, but all attempts failed. She was somehow trapped within her own body, as if she was but a vessel for this spirit that took over her. The policeman that yelled out before stepped back as if frightened by what he had just witnessed. The others followed with their guns still shaking in their hands and others with their phones and cameras directed at Niera. Niera felt her body float forwards in such a delicate manner that she felt as though she was not part of herself and this Earth anymore. Until she felt herself being dragged into her own body. A black hole within her heart was sucking her up. With nothing to grip onto she blindly followed the darkness of the pit into the beyond. Before Niera could even acknowledge what was going on, her body fused with the spirit from the other side of the dark portal inside her heart, and they became one. When Niera opened her eyes again, she could still only see in green, however, this time she felt as though it was her that had the power. She could move and when she opened her mouth to speak it was her voice that filled the silent void, though it was more confident and fierce. The woman's voice in her head was still present and willed Niera to embody her passion for conservation. The voice became persistent as it pushed Niera over to the point where she understood what the voice had been planning all along. Her head filled with words and images, the voice had wanted to save the Earth from the destruction it had faced and Niera was its only hope.

Convinced, Niera edged forward and out of the rose. Her bare feet touched the ground causing a gust of wind to blow beneath her, lifting her skirt free from the ground. The witnesses in front of her shrieked in terror and backed further away from her. She knew they were afraid of her. Why wouldn't they be? She had just come back to life and had just claimed to be the reincarnation of Mother Nature ready to bring justice to the people responsible for causing the Earth so much pain and devastation. As Niera stepped forward, she tried to explain to the people that she was still somewhat normal, and that she wasn't going to cause them any harm. However, the more she spoke, the further away they crept, and the more eager the policemen became to shoot her. Niera took a chance and took a leap ahead of her position ready to talk some sense into the closest officer. He lifted his gun and pushed it forcefully against Niera's arm. "Not one step closer" he managed to stutter. Niera pushed the gun to the side and spoke "If you hurt me the Earth will suffer, if you kill me the Earth will die. And if the Earth dies you do too, along with the rest of mankind, and perhaps the Earth will be reborn and begin anew. It just depends; do you feel like dying today officer Smackentosh?" The officer stood down for a moment but obviously his reality came into conclusion and he must have assumed that Niera was crazy. He moved his gun back to her arm and in an instant pulled the trigger. The bang was muffled by Niera's groan as the bullet made an exit wound out of her arm, a clean shot yet still very painful. As Niera clutched her arm the Earth began to quiver and shake. The ground in front of the officer's feet began to crumble and fall into itself forming a big dark hole that hollowed into the earth. Cracks started to break free from the newly formed hole and spread across the landscape swallowing the police vehicles in the process, claimed by the Earth. The officer that shot at Niera made an attempt to run from the incident but to no avail. The tip of his shoe caught on the edge of a crack and he fell back, head first into the gaping hole. His gun fell beside the hollowed out Earth. Niera kicked it into the hole, no thud was heard which meant that the hole reached further than the centre of the Earth.

Screams of terror reached Niera's eardrums, their fear fed power that built up inside of her body filling her head with pleasure and pride. "Monster! Freak! Mutant!" the people yelled, whilst others were crying out in horror at what they just witnessed. Niera took in reality and understood what she had just done. "Please, everyone relax. I won't hurt you. I'm here to... I'm here to..." Niera couldn't finish her sentence. She didn't have control over her body, she couldn't tell them she was here to help. In actual fact she wasn't. So why would she lie about the safety of the people shrieking in front of her. Niera shook her head fiercely; the paramedics ditched the two bodies laying cold on the ground and revved the engine of their emergency vehicle. Across from the ambulance Niera watched the two remaining police officers scattered like ants under a magnifying glass as if their pants had caught on fire. Within minutes of deafening chaos and disorder, Niera was left alone in the road. The car crash still visible from the corner of her eye and the blooming rose filled her nostrils with an over powering scent of a luscious bouquet of wild flowers. It was intoxicating and everything all at once was overbearing. The gaping hole in the Earth still remained causing Niera's stomach to clench in nervous pain. What had she done? What was happening to her, why was she acting out so violently? She had just killed a police officer. He could have had a family, with a loving wife and kids. Niera felt sick to her stomach, her head started to spin in every direction and she felt as though she was going to shit herself. She felt weak and definitely not in control of her own body.

Niera couldn't shake the feeling away, the more she tried to take control of her own mind, the more she was getting pushed away and locked inside a cell within herself. "Calm yourself Natura, you now know who I am and you know my purpose. I have sacrificed my own salvation so that these human parasites may live. The beauty of the natural world you see around you now is but a dim reflection of the deep inner beauty of my great soul". The voice rang softly and warmly through Niera's mind and she felt as though her head had been slipped into warm spring water that flowed into her earlobes, soothing her eardrums of chaos.

"But, Mother Earth, not everyone on the planet has a bad soul. Not everyone living now or who have lived caused destruction to the Earth, at least not intentionally. There are good people, powerful and caring people who have fought for the planet, who have fought to save you and all that inhabit you. If you give me the chance, I can lead you to them. If you give them a chance, they could help you complete your mission. Just give me the chance". Niera waited, she held her breath and she waited for Mother Earth to respond to her message. Tension was building in her hands, her palms wet with sweat. Then just as she was about to lose hope in getting through to Mother Earth, her voice, though stern, pierced through Niera's empty thoughts. "Take me to them Natura." Niera let go of a sigh that clung to her chest, pleased with the compromise she smiled and brought forth a series of old memories she had gathered throughout her Conservation degree at University. One by one, the memories flowed through Niera and into Earth. She could feel the energy transcend from her thoughts, down the length of her body, out of her toes and into the solid ground. As Niera watched, Mother Earth recalled the memories flashing them in sequences of light and colour within her head. At first she rushed through the memories, trying to grasp hold of something useful, something she could use against the rest of mankind, but then Mother Earth stopped. The images left in Niera's head formed into a documented file that contained information about hundreds of Earth Loving communities, groups and people. The list went on from Wildlife Conservationists, Greenpeace, Wicca Witches, The World Wildlife Fund, The National Audubon Society, The Natural Resource Defense Council, The National Wildlife Federation, and Sea Shephard, the list just kept droning on and on. Hours had passed since Mother Earth had gathered Intel from Niera's research memories. With a set mind Mother Earth spread her soul around Niera's heart and once more pumped her blood through Niera's veins. Thud by thud, Niera felt herself being dragged once more into that black hole within her, where she knew she would feel nothing but rather see and hear everything. Niera's body violently trembled and lifted into the sky a few meters off the ground as Mother Earth took over her body again. Niera's vision shifted into shades of green as she watched her body take action. Niera's still levitating body came down with gravity as her naked feet crumbled into the dark brown soil. Her toes dug into the loose gravel till she felt clumps of aggregates and rocks digging into the flesh between the webbing of her toes. Her arms raised themselves above her head before they descended softly to rest palm open onto the topsoil of the ground. Niera knelt down onto her right knee, pressing down hard on the surface of the Earth with the shift of her body weight. Niera opened her mouth as her head fell forward causing waves of maroon red hair to wash over her face. In a voice, hard yet tender Mother Earth spoke with eager purpose "Pests of the Earth that take the human form, among you I seek the true protectors of my realm. I seek the lords and ladies of Karma who will not allow me, Mother Earth, to continue to bear this terrible burden of pain and suffering indefinitely. I seek those who will rise up and fight alongside me, into battle and death to defy those who threaten to harm the Earth through intoxicating pollutants, and through the abominations of Atomic bombs and nuclear experimentations. To those who listen to the beating of Nature's heart, I summon you to meet with me and my vessel over the course of two weeks. Come to the center of the abandoned copper mine near Mount Isa in north Queensland, Australia. Surrounded by the dry outback sand, and polluted waterways; there we shall meet and I shall reveal to you my true powers. To save the Earth. Rise up!" Niera felt the words leave her body and travel through into the ground, pulses of her deep voice travelling across the Earth, but a whispering plea in the wind.

# Chapter Two

## West African Black Rhinoceros: Last seen in Cameroon in 2006. DECLARED EXTINCT IN 2011.

THE first to hear the strange voice calling from beyond the hustle and bustle from the campus café was Zavier. He crooked his head to the side, to hear once more, a woman with a deep husky voice beckoning in the air as though she was whispering right in his ear. Confused and dazed at the thought of going crazy as he was hearing a voice in his head as clear as crystal without actually seeing the woman who the voice belonged to. He looked around and swiveled in his chair to take in the whole café, students drinking coffee and laughing over one another, others shoving sausage rolls into their mouths as though it was their final meal, but no mysterious woman of which this voice belonged to. It came again and again until he heard the last plea drifting in the wind that caressed his rugged face. "Come to the abandoned mine, come see my powers, and fulfill your destiny". With insane carelessness and without a second thought Zavier raised himself from his table, spilling his Cappuccino all over his pizza pie. He felt a strange urge to strike forward, to run with determination and perseverance towards this woman, engulfed by her enchanting voice and magical spell. His mind became clouded, smokes of green floated into his head, blocking any thoughts that would have allowed him to think clearly and to change his mind. Zavier grabbed his backpack out of haste and darted towards the car park of the campus, completely forgetting about his next class. Statistics, well let's just say it wasn't a loss. As Zavier ran, foot in front of foot in great leaps he noticed other students sprinting and darting towards the car park. Their faces looked fierce, yet determined and brave. There were at least one hundred-odd students that he counted. At a loss for words Zavier carried through, his head filled with questions that he could not answer himself, and he doubted anyone else could be of any help either. As Zavier got to his car, he had his phone open on the 'Last Minute Flight' site where he instantly booked the next flight out of Perth that would take him straight to Queensland, straight to the woman who possessed something powerful that had the ability to relinquish Zavier of all self-control. He turned his key in the ignition and started the car. With a revving step on the pedal, he was ready to face the greatest adventure of his life. He could feel it in his gut, the excitement and the fear was building and bubbling up inside him.

When Zavier first got out of the cab and stepped onto the abandoned mine soil, he sensed something intense and alluring a few meters into the site. Being a conservation student he had seen similar degraded sites before. The soil was clumped; hard and crumbled in masses if he really dug his heel into the ground. There were no trees or shrubs that grew in the area, a classic sign of severely degraded, eroded and malnourished soil. He had seen similar effects on land overgrazed by cattle. The only growth of life he could observe were patches of thick weeds that grew abundantly within the area. As Zavier continued to walk along his path he noticed a slight indent within the ground that sloped deep into the land and spread widely across the ground. His first impression was that the cavity in the ground must have been the skeleton of a vast fresh water lake. Zavier was about to kneel down to have a closer look at the compressed soil when his attention was caught by a patch of vibrant green foliage from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look at the patch, it was grass. There was fresh green grass with red roses shooting from the soil. It was as though the Earth was acting in rebellion against the degraded land. As Zavier walked towards the green miracle he heard commotion, loud and clear. People were talking away as if in an uproar of excitement and anticipation. The noise was all over the place, too many voices were being heard, and Zavier couldn't make any sense of the conversations going on. The closer Zavier got to the roses his breath quickened and his heart pumped faster, he could feel the atmosphere building around him. His shoes touched the grass and in a swift gust of wind a pathway of green grass and flowers emerged from under his feet that continued into the center of the abandoned mine. A feeling of safety and calmness washed over Zavier. He wanted to feel the grass between his wiggling toes; he wanted to breathe in the sweet, sweet scent of the roses that grew before him. He hurriedly and quite clumsily removed his shoes and casted them aside into the empty lake. With a leap of faith, he threw himself forward into the path before him. Before Zavier could acknowledge his movements he was already sprinting towards the crowd ahead. His head was filled with wonder and so many questions. Yet strangely he had faith and hope, he could feel it hugging warmly to his chest. Zavier stopped at the end of the grass patch and suddenly he was able to take in his surroundings. There were people everywhere. They formed groups and circles which extended as far as the rising sun in the horizon. He took in his surroundings in utter amazement. He also realised that he knew some of the people around him, some of which he had read or even researched throughout his degree. There were organizations from the Government set out to protect the Australian environment as well as the native habitats. DPAW, WWF, Sea Shepherd... Zavier's head was about to burst from the overbearing excitement that made blood rush to his head. Even Wiccans, the powerful healers of the Earth that use natural herbs and flowers that grow around them and who place great importance on the care and protection of the Earth. Zavier was lost in thought when he felt a familiar presence touch his shoulder. He turned around and to his great surprise stood Rose. Rose had been one of Zavier's companions since childhood. However, after high school, they had grown apart as Rose left to pursue her wildlife conservation degree in South Africa with the big cats, the lions, and the love of her life. Zavier couldn't help but smile, lions was all she could ever talk about. He used to zone out every time she brought up the subject, not out of rudeness but simply because he had heard the same passionate story over and over again since he could remember. Rose smiled and threw her arms around Zavier. He took it as if it were a big bear hug. He had missed her and she had grown up a lot. Her hair was somewhat short but curled in every direction and her body grew into proportion to her height and rounded face. In other words she looked quite beautiful and when she smiled, her dimples popped out from her cheeks giving her this adorable persona that would make anyone around her glow like a fire fly.

"Ahhhh Rose! Hey! What are you doing here? It has been years! How's Africa? Wait, wait... Let me start over. Do you know what is going on?" Zavier realized he had been stammering for the last five minutes, just bombarding Rose with ridiculous questions that were all over the place. He was just overwhelmed and happy to see his childhood friend. She used to eat flowers when they were younger, he recalled, smiling as the thought crossed his mind.

"Ah, hey Zavier. No, all I know is that I felt something. Something strong was willing me to come here. And this voice, this unbelievable voice kept finding its way into my head and well here I am. Confused and dazed just like you but very excited for something big to happen. It feels really good, like good Karma is about to awaken and kick some ass, you know?" Rose had captured Zavier's attention for but a few seconds, as before he could manage a properly formulated sentence to respond to her, the ground beneath them shook. The movement of the Earth caused every conversation to end almost immediately, accompanied by everyone falling to their knees as if entranced by the sun rising over the horizon. The silence was deathly, and no one dared to utter a single word. No wind blew past Zavier's ears. No rustling of trees or weeds. It was just pure and complete silence that would have left the world to fall into insanity. In the distance, a figure appeared. Her shape was full and flowed like a stream of spring water gracefully flowing through the bedrocks of the river. She was walking towards him and the rest of the group. Her eyes were the first thing that struck Zavier; they were a dark emerald green that glowed vibrantly. He felt his chest open up and fresh air filled his lungs, floral scents were washing away the polluted fumes that resided in his chest from the city. Zavier watched as she continued to walk till she reached the center of the group, the people closer to her scurried a few meters away from the center in a mild sense of fear of the unknowing. What was she? More importantly who is she and why are we here? Zavier was about to clear his throat and be the brave voice to ask those questions when she spoke. Her voice carried through like thunder spreading across the crowd.

# Chapter Three

## Baiji White Dolphin: Not yet officially classed as Extinct. No one has seen one since 2002.

"NATURE warriors, Earth protectors, I am Mother Nature, Mother Earth the very reincarnated spirit of your world. I have beckoned you all to this vast and empty place so that you may bear witness upon my natural powers of which I will use to save this planet. I am a sentient being; I feel all the harm that has been done to me, to the Earth. Everyone here is just as guilty in the Earth's demise as the rest of the human population, however out of hope and empathy I seek help among you. I stand before you, not as a leader but as inspiration of love and beauty. Today is the beginning of a new era, where we will remove the shroud of self-imposed limitation which you all call home and we shall let the glory of nature break through the haze of pollution." Niera spoke the words of Mother Earth, as proudly and confidently as if they were her own. "Let me show you, how the kindness of love and selfless giving can completely change the dying environment on which you all rely on" Niera's words rumbled from her chest, she knelt down and with her right hand she caressed the soil. She let her fingers glide across the ground as she felt a warm flow of power embody the gravel that lingered at her finger tips. The ground was swallowing up her energy as if it were a starving bird malnourished from lack of water and food. Then, to Niera's astonishment, the ground shook once more. Instead of a gaping black crack on the surface, green shoots of grass sprouted in the place of Niera's soft Caress.

"Let it grow Natura" Mother Earth whispered to her. Niera rose from the ground and with a gust of confidence she threw her head back, letting waves of her hair flow down to her thighs as she threw her arms out to her sides. With a demanding yet nurturing voice Niera willed the Earth to grow. She encouraged the dormant seeds in the soil to break and sprout into the sunlight. The more she pushed her warm energy into her surroundings, the more floral scents filled the air. She could feel the soft coolness of the reaching shadows casted by large Eucalyptus trees, and the moist gentleness of the grass growing and curling beneath her naked feet. Niera opened her eyes to see an ocean of gaping mouths and eyes that stared out of shock and unbelievable surprise. Everyone had eyes on her, they hardly batted a lash. No one looked away as Niera walked towards the empty crevasse of the lake. Gigantic trees shot up and rose from the ground throwing people around the place as they took over the landscape. Niera stepped into the dried lake, her toes cracking into the soil that had hardened over many years. "Feel the water flow through your veins Natura, let it seep through your fingertips into the ground before where you stand" Mother Nature spoke encouragingly to Niera. Once again Niera felt the power, she felt her veins fill with flowing water, the volume was building up inside her body causing her head to ache with the built up pressure. Niera gracefully thrust her hands and spreading her fingers out before her. The relief of pressure overwhelmed her as liters of fresh water escaped her grasp and flowed steadily into the bank of the lake. Niera expected to feel the wetness against her skin, to feel the flowing water rise from her feet to the centre of her back. Instead, she giggled with utter glee as the water crept beneath her feet where a large lilly pad took its place, rising her up as the water level rose in the lake. Within a few minutes the lake had been filled, and soon enough life followed close behind. Fish appeared first, both large and small, swimming gracefully in circles around Niera. Some even attempted to leap out of the water to capture a glimpse of their goddess. The chirping and singing of birds filled the atmosphere with hope and prosperity; they flew low and perched on top of the Eucalyptus trees where they waited patiently for the sun to warm their feathers. Niera turned to behold hundreds of faces staring directly at her in amazement. Among them, was a young handsome fellow. Through his shocked face, his features appeared quite strong, somewhat a trait that many leaders possessed. He looked ready, and full of anticipation and excitement. His eyes were the first that met hers, hazel brown with splashes of green. He smiled nervously with a crooked grin before turning his eyes to the ground when she remained focused on him. Niera turned her attention away from the young man and swept her gaze across the rest of the people waiting impatiently before her. She parted her lips to speak the wish of Mother Earth. As she did, her feet carried her towards the center of the lake, gracefully stepping softly on a second lily pad as it appeared magically in front of her. As if her body had subconsciously willed the lilies to grow, as if the Earth was a part of her own body, responding as naturally as twiddling her fingers or blinking. Niera and Mother Earth spoke in unison towards the crowd now surrounding the lake, feet and shoes touching the rim of the water's edge. "Earth warriors, step forth into the water. Let your bodies feel my presence, and your skin soak up my radiance. I wish to bestow upon you a gift of natural power that will allow you to grow stronger in order to protect the Earth. First, I call upon marine and ocean lovers. Take off your shoes, and step into the lake."

Niera watched with patient eyes as masses of men and women hurriedly took off their shoes and drifted as a solid mass into the lake. One tall brave man was the first to walk through the stream towards Niera, where to his surprise, water lilies begun to lift his body from the deepening water. His blond hair reminded her of dark soil tainted into white beach sand. He stopped in front of Niera, the lilies supporting his burly weight. Niera beckoned him closer with a simple wave of her hand, causing the lilies to drift forward until they were but noses apart. Niera lifted her hand towards his forehead and with her index finger engraved an invisible infinity sign on his brow, followed by a light kiss. The man took in a gust of breath and staggered back, almost falling into the lake. Mother Earth took this opportunity to beckon over the rest of the marine group. One by one they followed in the steps of the tall man who was now kneeling on top of the water, caressing his shoulders as if shielding himself from a cold wind. Niera repeated the infinity marking and kiss upon their foreheads to which they all responded by falling to the water and eventually floating upon lily pads. "Arise, my Water warriors!" Mother Nature's voice commanded. The lake, now filled with huddled bodies, rose in unison to the command and stood before Niera and Mother Nature awaiting her next plea. "You have been chosen to protect the Earth's oceans, lakes, rivers, streams and waterways. You will serve the Earth as warriors who fight for the fauna and flora who occupy these underwater worlds. Do you accept my request?" "YES NATURA!" their voices boomed in unity causing waves of excited cheering from the crowd left on land surrounding the lake. "Good" Niera's grin was so intense that her cheeks stung from the harshness of the smile. Niera turned, facing her back towards the water warriors who surrounded her and with that instant movement the water in the lake started to form hand-like extremities that reached out towards the legs and bodies of the warriors. One after the other the water seemed to engulf the bodies standing upon the lake, the water hands gripping tightly upon their legs, dragging them under into the deepening lake. Shrieks and grunt echoed across the landscape, both from those being dragged to the depths of the lake and from those who stood at the lake's bank, simply watching in terror. Niera watched helplessly, she started to question what the purpose was, why was Mother Earth drowning these innocent people? She tried fighting back to gain control of her body and consciousness once more. But to no avail. Mother Earth simply cooed at Niera, asking for her trust. She claimed to gift those people within the lake with powers, yet from where Niera stood it seemed as though the lake was eating up the group, like it had been starving for weeks on end. A few minutes passed after which the last person in the lake was dragged under after a vigorous fight to get away. At first, a few air bubbles popped from the breath escaping the lake's victims, but those ceased all together within seconds. Then all was quiet, no one uttered a word and the water in the lake started to flow in its original state. The waves had calmed and the birds began to chirp once more.

The people left on land began to stammer and shriek in fear and anger towards Niera. She felt the fear build up in her stomach, as if she had swallowed a stone caught in her throat, cutting off all air to her lungs and causing a mass build-up of spit and mucus inside her chest. She was definitely freaking out. The people began to close in on her, forming a circle that had no gaps for escape, until gurgles and large splashes of water could be heard which emanated from the lake. Everyone turned around, their attention shifting away from Niera and towards the lake. Niera's eyes could not believe what was jumping out of the water. The Water warriors she had thought had drowned were leaping out of the lake with surprising strength and landing on one knee upon the bank of the lake. Hundreds of men and women now knelt in front of Niera; their faces looked stern and serious, except for their crooked smiles and grins. Niera suddenly believed that they gained some sense of happiness from this horrifying experience. Niera smiled back as they rose to stand on two feet. Something had changed in those few minutes that they were dragged under water; their bodies all seemed to have been pulled tighter which made them appear fitter and quite athletic. Their hair had been removed of all colour, but yet looked strikingly beautiful when the sun shone through the white silky stands. Niera walked towards them to get a closer look at their new transformation. Their necks appeared to have cuts or slits that ran horizontally from their collar bone to the back of their head. "Gills" Mother Earth whispered into Niera's head. "I have gifted them the power to live both on land and in water, an efficient transformation to ensure the protection of the ocean. They possess the ability to switch between lungs on land and gills when in water. Their bodies are also now capable of withstanding immense pressure for when they dive down into the depths of the deepest ocean canals" Mother Earth continued with her explanation. The Water warriors had skin that glittered in light coloured fragments as the sun radiated over them; this reminded Niera of scales, which at the time seemed a bit ridiculous. They looked beautiful and powerful simultaneously, as if they were part of an entirely unique human race. They stood strong like statues, waiting for Mother Earth's plan to save the planet. However, not all stood at bay, once again the tall man who used to have the dirty blonde hair walked confidently forward till he was faced in front of Niera. "Natura, I am Damien. I wish to be the leader of the Water warriors so that I may personally ensure that your plans for the Earth are carried through without a fuck up" Niera could see that he was quite the confident man, though his language could be tweaked a bit. "Damien, you shall be the leader of this group if that is their wish. For your part in this war would require bravery, strength and cunning. I require you and the Water warriors to march into the oceans and waterways, to travel across seas and their vast crevasses to bring down whaling ships, oil spilling ships, fishing ships and illegal waste dumping ships. I ask of you to sink them deep into the ocean. To break apart the very wood and iron of which they float upon. To drown those who believe that the ocean is their personal trash can. I will summon the creatures and monsters that live in the depths of the oceans, those who have been known quite well, those who have been thought to have been extinct in the prehistoric period as well as those who have yet to be discovered. These animals will join in your fight and help win the war against mankind. Now go forth into the ocean, I shall listen to the ocean through the sea shells to hear of your success." When Mother Earth had finished her voice went soft and warm. Niera observed as Damien turned and jogged back to the rest of his team, they welcomed him in with pats on the back and punches to his shoulders and chest. With a final hurrah, the Water warriors strode into the setting sun towards the ocean with Damien leading the way.

It took but a few minutes until Niera couldn't see the Water warriors anymore, she was squinting quite strenuously, but they had disappeared over the horizon. "What about us?" Zavier, the handsome man who couldn't keep Niera's gaze had walked up and stood next to her. Niera turned to look at him; he had a kind of awkward, but genuine smile. Niera let her gaze travel from Zavier towards the rest of the group still watching the horizon. The sun had almost set completely and the sky was turning dark as the night was falling upon them. Niera whistled a low soft harmony into the wind, summoning up a wave of fireflies that shone in bright oranges, yellows and reds. They circled around Niera, lifting her hair from her waist and letting it flow in the wind above her head. They settled in the perches and branches of the Eucalyptus trees that had grown in the valley. It was a sight to behold; they looked like fallen stars that had twinkled their ways into the hollows of trees. The atmosphere set off a romantic vibe that sent Niera's heart a flutter, especially with Zavier still so close to her. Their shoulders brushed against one another with every few breaths that they took together. Her palms grew sweaty at the thought of being in such a beautiful place with such a handsome guy. If only she could manage to utter words of her own that didn't sound weird and wasn't the plea of Mother Earth who has taken up residency within her body. "He's got a good aura, and his face is quite appealing. For a human at least" Mother Earth whispered to Niera. "Please refrain from listening to my private thoughts" Niera stammered right back feeling embarrassed causing the heat to rise in her cheeks. "I require the rest of you to form a circle around me" Mother Nature proclaimed. Everyone hurriedly tried to form a circle the best that they could, using those kindergarten techniques of holding hands and stepping backwards to form a perfectly symmetrical circle. "Now, I ask the vegans to step forward." Mother Nature kindly let her words flow into the center of the group. About a hundred or so men and women stepped forward breaking the circle and leaving gaps from where they originally stood. Some looked quite unsure, with worry lines deeply indented into their faces, while others looked excited and ready to explode when given the opportunity. "You are the protectors of those animals slaughtered for their meat, their milk, their ivory and their skin. In the name of the souls of those cruelly murdered for a price, I bestow upon you the gift of the wild. From here on and forever more, you shall have the ability to communicate and to understand the language of these animals; you shall have the ability to ask them to join in our battle for the rights and freedom of those caged for the luxury of mankind. Step forward so that I may bestow upon you these powers of insight into a new world where caged and tortured animals may once again roam free upon this Earth."

As Niera gleamed with the words spoken by Mother Nature, a young girl stepped forward amongst the groups of vegans that were summoned into the center of the circle. "What is your name my child?" Mother Nature asked. "My name is Rose, and I would be honored to serve the Earth in the undoing of the pain and damage caused by our species", Rose responded with sheer determination. Niera felt her heart skip a beat and possibly grow two times bigger. These people were actually volunteering their lives to go against their own species and to save the lives of those who have no voice to speak or themselves. Once again Niera traced an infinity sign on Rose's forehead and followed it with a light lingering kiss in the centre of the horizontal figure eight. As Rose kneeled and bowed her head on the ground where she stood, others stepped towards Niera to receive the same greeting. Niera watched again as the people fell to their knees with their foreheads pressed into the soil of the Earth. One by one they began to hum, an eerie tune that lingered in her ears. It was hauntingly beautiful as they all synchronized into an enchanting melody. In a moment which seemed to last but a few minutes, the melody stopped and the group rose from the ground to form a circle of their own. The girl known as Rose stood proud and her skin shone with a small hint of emerald green, just as how Niera's eyes had changed colour once Mother Nature touched her heart. Rose walked towards Niera in a kind of grace that could only be compared to galloping deer within a green forest in the midst of morning dew. "Natura, I will be the leader of your Animal warriors. Let my team and I follow your wishes towards every country and continent. We shall go to Africa where we will free the lions, the elephants and the rhinos that remain threatened by poachers. Forces will remain here to join the Australian wildlife, including the Koalas and Kangaroos. We shall go to China for the Pandas and to Russia for the Leopards." With but a simple shared nod, Niera watched as Rose turned away from the remaining people still with gaping mouths awaiting for an explanation and headed with her team of Animal warriors away from the little oasis created by Mother Nature.

Niera continued to look on after the team had split off into different directions, heading off to their separate missions to fight alongside the terrestrial land dwelling animals on this Earth. With the night calm and peaceful, Niera turned to those who still remained in the broken circle. "What is your plan for the rest of these people in front of you?" Niera asked Mother Nature with curiosity. "They are going to be the warriors of Chaos and Destruction my dear Natura." With a loud and thundering voice Niera broke through the silence as she focused on those who still remained. "Step forth into my glowing light." Zavier was the first to move his feet towards Niera. Her stomach did something she wasn't expecting would ever happen again after she became one with Mother Nature. To put it simply, it flipped as cocoons of caterpillars begun to erupt into butterflies, chewing on the insides of her stomach lining. "What on Earth was going on with me?" She though as she tried to hide the heat of her cheeks with her hair. "Natura! Never use the Earth's name in vain." Mother Nature hissed at her harshly making Niera wince and temporarily forgets about her surprising emotions. "Focus Natura..." The thought faded into the back of her head as she turned to once again look at Zavier. He had his head tilted to the side with his eyes staring at her deeply and filled with nervous curiosity. The type that could only be satisfied with a gift from the Earth itself. "Zavier, come closer till you can feel the presence of my breath on your cheeks." Niera almost stuttered but forced herself to remain graceful as not to lose her footing on the ground. Zavier moved cautiously towards Niera so that he stood but a centimetre apart. Their bodies almost touching. Niera could feel the heat and power that radiated from the core of his heart. He was a good guy. She could feel it. "Kneel before me; place your right hand as a fist across your heart." As Niera spoke, Zavier's knees fell to the ground and he caressed his heart with his fist and looked up at Niera with his hair falling messily over his forehead. "Zavier, in the name of Mother Earth and the living and breathing environment I shall grant you the strength and courage you need to head out into the world, into the concrete jungles known as cities to wreak havoc and destruction upon their economy and their pride. Tear down the buildings, ignite the fires that burn inside power plants, and spark out their electricity. Go forth and stop this everlasting pollution that has corrupted this natural world." Niera bent down so that she could reach Zavier's forehead, she brushed away the hair that covered his forehead and began to draw the iconic infinity sign. She was leaning in to kiss the center of his forehead when all of a sudden Mother Nature took over the muscles and ligaments in her body leaving her with only the control of her mind and lips. In a moment that sent a shock to her body Mother Nature redirected her body where she found herself with her lips pressed against those of Zavier's. At first she was freaking out, adrenaline was pumping through her and she could hear her heart beating loudly inside her chest trying to break through and out of her rib cage.

Then she felt herself settle and calm as Zavier stabilized her with his hand on the small of her back, supporting her body against his. At that moment, Mother Nature withdrew her power allowing Niera to take control. However, instead of pushing away from Zavier, she lingered. Her lips parting as his breath entered her lungs with every kiss. There was so much passion. She had always fantasized about these kisses that only seem to always appear in romantic comedies. The ones where the guy meets the girl in this dramatic scene, sweeps her heart away with this mind-blowing kiss that just stops the world from happening around them. She had never had a moment like that, nor did she believe that they existed. Yet here she was snogging the face off this drop dead gorgeous guy who was practically sucking the blood to the surface of her bottom lip. Niera pulled away slowly as she felt her body heating up and her legs turning into jelly. If she didn't stop, she wouldn't stop, and well, nobody wants to see what would happen. It was awkward enough watching sex scenes with her parents in the living room, let alone starring in a scene like that with Mother Nature lingering in the back of her mind. "That was... That was... Umm... Sorry I am at a loss of words." Zavier had stammered, and fallen on his butt as his leg had given way during his kneeling position when Niera surprised him with that make out session. "Just look at him, give him a dashing smile and say, "It was good for me too." Mother Nature giggled in Niera's head. "I am not going to do that; I can't believe you did that. Why would you do that?" Niera softly thought to Mother Nature while reining in her "You like this human, I wanted to give you a push." Mother Nature had her comebacks ready to go, it didn't matter what Niera had to say. Mother Nature was 'Always Right.' "Well stop, it looks weird." was Niera's retort. "The only weird thing right now is you talking to me in your head for five minutes while that boy over there on the ground has been waiting for your reply" Mother Nature replied in a sly voice. Niera cringed and turned her attention back to Zavier. She tried her best to give him that dashing smile Mother Nature had talked about, and she managed to mutter "It was good for me too." With cheeks flushed she presented her right hand to help pull Zavier to his feet. Once he had his feet back soundly on the ground, Zavier brushed his index finger and thumb across her right cheek, drawing the loose strands of her hair from her face and safely tucked them behind her ear. "Natura, I thank you for the gift and for the overwhelming kiss. I will fulfil your wishes and ignite a flame of destruction upon the cities of this Earth. The cities will fall in the name of the Earth." Niera smiled as Zavier left a lingering kiss on her lips before parting and walking towards a Eucalypt tree that stood dominating and proud over the vegetation in the Oasis. As Zavier watched, the remaining conservationists lined up to Niera who repeated her gifting process until everyone was found kneeling with their fists pressed over their hearts. Zavier joined the group; he kneeled as a warrior beside his team. Then, as Niera kneeled to the ground, a wave erupted from within the Earth. It cascaded underneath their bodies, carrying them over a wave of soil and grass. The eruption ceased, and the ground settled. Niera rose from the ground, flakes of grass and soil clinging to her knees. "Rise my warriors of Chaos and Destruction." Niera's voice lifted the bodies of those who kneeled before her. "I command you to direct yourself to different cities that stain this Earth. Pull them down till they are but rubble that sits between your naked toes." With a thunderous roar of delight Zavier and his companions rose off their knees and began their long journeys with their minds set on nothing but destruction. Zavier, however, turned to look at Niera one last time before he headed for the city of Tokyo in Japan. "We will meet again Zavier." Niera let her words flow towards Zavier as she could sense the lingering longing that was springing from his body. With a smile and a little nod in her direction he fled with a group containing two burly men and one dainty woman. Niera knew that he was going to make it out on top with hopefully just a few scratches.

With Niera alone with her thoughts, her mind began to wonder into the darkness. "What were to happen if any of your warriors were to fall in this battle of yours?" Concern filled Niera's head that she began to doubt Mother Nature's plans. "If a warrior should fall, they will be returned to the Earth. They will be rebirth as the Earth freezes over in a dome of frost. They shall once again walk on this ground, not as humans but as a Natura." "A Natura? Mother Nature what on Ear... Shit, I mean what do you mean they will be a 'Natura'?" At this point, Niera was so confused and could not make any sense of what Mother Nature was referring to. She wasn't really planning on bringing the Ice Age back, was she? "Natura, I am not talking nonsense. For now, I need you to focus on our battle. All will be revealed come the end of mankind. Your friends, my warriors and yourself will be saved, for you have all shown me the kindness of the human soul. However, your human forms still remain a threat upon the natural Earth. Therefore changes are to be made, sacrifices are to be made. For the good of the planet. To unite mankind and the Earth, the human race must perish or change." Niera let the new information soak in, along with the realisation that the human race is going to come to an end. It left a jittering fear inside her stomach that she could not shake. "Mother Nature, can I ask you one last question before we fall into full on battle with my race?" Niera asked nervously. "What is it Natura." Mother Nature sighed heavily as if she was impatient to head to the frontline of this war. "Why is it that you call me Natura then?" Mother Nature's voice turned warm and motherly when she replied. "Niera, when I chose you to be my vessel as I reincarnated into this world I saw that you could be the representation and the symbol of the new race. The Natura Race. You embody the great things that I want the future to be. You have the strength to carry the future in your hands and to make it into the beautiful and self-sustainable Earth it has the potential to be." Niera felt the fear leave her belly and in its place a fire was lit. A fire so warm that it heated up her very soul. She had a future in this new world still to come. She was to be the leader of the new world and Mother Nature chose her because she believed in her. Niera felt herself slip away once more as Mother Nature took over her body for what seemed to be the hundredth time since they were thrown together. Niera stood inside her mind as a bystander as Mother Nature took her body and settled herself onto a patch of fallen leaves at the centre of the oasis at the abandoned mine. Waves of calmness flooded over her body till she felt like she was drowning with relaxation and stillness. "I am going to call upon the animals of the forgotten land. Those who have been presumed extinct or dying and those who have yet to be discovered." Mother Nature's words were flowing through the waves that already surrounded Nieras mind. Niera became intrigued as she focused on what Mother Nature was saying. Those who have been presumed extinct? "Dinosaurs!" Niera stammered with excitement. She had visited many museums in her lifetime and she always liked to imagine what the Earth would have been like if the giants known as Dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. Her mind became puzzled however when she tried to figure out what Mother Nature was referring to when she said that "Those who have yet to be discovered." Niera understood that not all of the animals have been discovered on the Earth yet. Heck, most of the ocean still remained a mystery. Humans have discovered more of the Moon than they have of the surrounding oceans of the Earth. Niera figured that the species yet to be discovered would originate from the oceans, possibly as deep sea creatures that have never risen to the surface of the water. The excitement grew inside Niera and fed the fire in her belly with every thought of the possibility of discovering new species. Mother Nature began to call the names of all extinct species that have been lost on this planet since it had been created within the universe. She called upon species that were a thousand million, billion years extinct, she summoned species that died out only yesterday and she called out to those who have yet to meet their end in a few days' time. Within but an hour Niera felt the Earth shake, as if the planet had a heart at its core and had skipped a beat. Upon that beating of the Earth's heart, Niera watched through green emerald eyes as monstrous shapes began to distort the rising sun over the horizon. As they grew closer, Niera couldn't breathe. She could do nothing but watch in wonder and curiosity as mountainous beasts with long necks, and thundering thighs march past her in herds and groups. Following them were fierce predator-like dinosaurs, with long stubby snouts and sharp teeth that cascaded from their upper jaws. They had short stubby arms that looked severely inconvenient and useless. It made Niera think about the leg bones found inside some whales, because those would be useless in water when you have a tail. It was just common sense. Niera lost her train of thought when she felt a soft nuzzle rubbing up against her shin. She looked down surprised to see a Tasmanian tiger marking its scent of her legs. The species was last seen in captivity in a zoo in Hobart back in 1933. It has been classified as extinct ever since, and now they are literally everywhere. "This is insane!" Niera thought to herself. There was bird or bat-like dinosaurs that were soaring in the sky above her head; they looked a lot bigger than any plane that she had ever seen in her life. "Quiet Natura, I am trying to concentrate, I need to summon the creatures that have yet to be discovered. You are distracting me with your silly thoughts." Mother Nature had scoffed at Niera's curiosity. She held her tongue but still allowed her mind to wonder. Mother Nature began to call upon the ocean, she beckoned the creatures of the deep to release themselves from their dark dwellings to surface and break through the waves of the ocean. As she was concentrating on what Mother Nature was doing, Niera could feel her spirit lifting and growing stronger with every unknown and foreign phrase that was exiting her lips. It was working, she could feel it glowing right from the center of her core, the creatures were emerging and were about to join the most thrilling fight of their lives.

# Chapter Four

## Caribbean Monk Seal: Last recorded account of the species was made in 1952. Declared Extinct in 2008.

MEANWHILE, over the Pacific Ocean, Damien and his team were treading through seas and breaking through the waves as their bodies made contact with the wet surface of the ocean. With haste Damien led the way, strong minded and dedicated to completing his mission. As he dove down under the water and jumped through the surface of another wave, he couldn't help but notice the rays from the rising sun glistening and reflecting amazing colours off his newly formed skin. They reminded him of fish scales, however when he lightly touched them, they would harden as if he was wearing a suit of armor made up of the most powerful element found on Earth. This only increased his confidence; he felt invincible, powerful and strong. He was going to protect the ocean. As distracted by his new appearance as he was, he couldn't help but notice large ships over the ocean horizon. They didn't look like ordinary cargo ships. No. These ships had a weird and different feeling to them all together. Damien could feel his stomach tighten, and at that moment he knew those ships meant trouble. With a quick breath into his lungs, he winced as he felt a sharp pain hit the center of his spine, right between his finely-toned shoulder muscles. His arms reached behind him to find the source of the pain, but came out empty. It felt as though a spear had struck him on his back, piercing through muscles, tendons and breaking through the bones of his rib cage, but inches away from his beating heart. A high pitched screech erupted from up ahead where the three ships floated.

The sound was too high for any human ear to catch on, but Damien and his team could hear it as loud and clear as if it were a fire alarm going off inside their heads. It sounded painful as it rung through the waves of the ocean. It was at that moment that Damien knew what was making that sound. He knew why he felt such a piercing pain along his back and in his heart. He knew that a few meters in front of him a pod of killer whales were being slaughtered and speared for their blubber. These ships, they were whaling ships. And they had stumbled upon a pod of killer whales.

As Damien concentrated on the pod in the distance, he tried to communicate to the pod leader, however was unsuccessful. All he could feel was pain and death. Their leader was the one that was speared in the back. He was trying to protect his pod. There was one female in the water, just a few meters under the waves where the male was being attacked and roped up. The more Damien focused, the more he could see. His heart began to race; he could taste the blood that was drenching the water filling in his mouth. The metallic taste hit his tongue and it stung like a bitch. His heart skipped a beat when his body picked up that there was a calf in the water as well, just hiding behind his mother's dorsal fin. He was terrified and confused; he didn't understand what was happening around him. He couldn't have been more than a few days old. Anger began to grow inside Damien. The kind of anger one would only hope to see once in their life. Nothing would be able to quench this anger, not the destruction of the whaling ships, nor the death of every sailor on board. His mind raced a million miles within those few minutes as he considered the best punishment that would be fitting of these heartless bastards. He could hear them laughing as if they found the death of this majestic creature amusing. This only fueled Damien's rage. He began to charge forward, only to be stopped by a sudden surprise as the water in front of him erupted in an enormous wave that swallowed his team and himself whole. As if the ocean had been deprived of nutrients. Once the water cleared of froth and bubbles from the crash of the wave, Damien could clearly see through the water. He let out a cry of shock sending air bubbles to the surface of the water. He could not believe his eyes. He literally wiped his eyes three times with the back of his hands, yet still he could not believe what was in front of him right now. It was a creature, some sort of beautiful monster from the deep. It was about the size of a war submarine. Its skin was dark, black almost. Damien could only make out a silhouette shape. Out of curiosity, his anger completely forgotten, he swam over to the creature. With one arm stretched out in front of him, he reached out and held his breath as his fingertips brushed the surface of the creature's skin. It was rough and hard under Damien's fingertips. His hand fell instantly to his side when the creature reared its head to face Damien. Its mouth opened to reveal a beak with five sets and rows of sharp teeth that cascaded over Damien as if he had wandered into the city and the buildings were the teeth. Damien let his breath catch on his lips when the creature began to glow. Damien watched as bright glowing lines of deep blues and purples formed mandala like patterns all over the creature's body. It reminded him of one of those deep sea jelly fishes who would glow to attract prey. Yellow and white dots begun to shine on the creature, mixing in with the blue and purple lines. The more Damien looked, the more enchanted he was by it. It looked as though the galaxy of the night had fallen into the ocean, for all he could see was stars. It was beautiful. Before Damien could reach out his hand once more, the creature began to swim, propelling it forward with its highway long tentacles towards the ships in the distance. This was going to be a fight not to be missed, Damien thought to himself as he smiled to himself. The team behind him began to cheer and follow behind the sea creature, ready to join the battle. However, Damien remained where he floated under the water. For he could hear strange sirens calling from the deep below where his webbed feet cut through the water. He must have waited there for a good few minutes before he heard a beautiful melody that grew stronger and louder with every second that passed. When the music finally broke free as another group of mysterious creatures made their way into the light from the sky.

From the sirens, Damien would have thought that Natura would have summoned mermaids of some sort, as those who were always depicted in the fairytale books he read to his little sister when they were growing up in the city. To his surprise these were not mermaids. Not even close. To be honest he didn't really know what they were. However, he knew they must have belonged to some sort of shark family. A type of new shark species that would have existed during the Dinosaur age. Something that had never been seen before, by human eyes at least. They had muscles that sat packed on their skeletons, as if they were bodybuilders on steroids. They looked vicious, yet they swam through the water with such grace and elegance that if you didn't see them you would not even know that they were there. Their melody continued to be sung as they swam circles around Damien. Damien felt his heart fill with wonder, these massive creatures from the deep were creating a suction portal that was pulling him under, further into the darkness of the ocean. Without hesitation and with a new found confidence, Damien managed to exit the portal and began to do his best to sing along to their haunting melody. It seemed to work, as the shark-like creatures began to follow Damien towards the three ships. They had to swim quickly to catch up with the rest of his team who were following the deep sea creature who was creating massive waves and currents with every pump of his tentacles. They grew closer and closer to the killer whales pod, when everything went still and quiet. The tension within the water was so thick that Damien could have cut it with his machete. He didn't really have a plan. He was just going to drag those bastards hiding in their boats to the bottom of the ocean to meet their drowning fate. It seemed that everyone else in the water had the same idea, because before Damien could give out an order the large Kraken creature had maneuvered itself underneath the largest ship of the three. The one that had the carcass of the male killer whale on its deck. The sailors had not wasted any time; they were already cutting the flesh away from the body. Pain struck Damien once more, but this time right in his heart as he could feel every shallow breath that the whale was taking. He was still alive, but barely. These humans had no sense of mercy; they had nothing in their hearts. All they do is take what they want, without a care of the pain and suffering they are causing this poor creature on the deck of their boat. Damien considered saving the killer whale, but it was too late, he had taken his last breath. The pain was too much to bear, and he let go of the last strand of life that he had left. Damien felt obligated to avenge him and his family, he felt protective over the female and her calf. Damien took charge and headed towards the second ship, followed by his fellow team right behind him. Damien looked to his right and began to hum a low melody. The prehistoric sharks caught on to the tune and began to swim in circles underneath the third ship. Their haunting melody hit the water hard, synchronizing Damien's heartbeat with the tune of their voices. Damien's voice grew lower as the Kraken on his left propelled its tentacles up and out of the water on either side of the ship.

With screams of terror and fear escaping the lips of the sailors, the Kraken's tentacles grabbed hold of the ship's mast as well as some scurrying humans on the deck. A deep groan escaped the Kraken's beak as it began to emerge itself deeper under the water, pulling the ship beneath the ocean's surface. The pressure from the water and the Kraken's tentacles broke through the center of the ship causing it to snap and split apart. While the rear end of the ship sank deeper and deeper to the ocean floor, the Kraken began to gnaw on the front end of the ship, crushing the bodies of the sailors who had secured themselves to the railings. Damien had to look away as there was too much gore, an empty stomach could only take so much blood and guts before giving in. Damien looked to his side at one of his companions who was already dry heaving from the site they had just witnessed. "One ship down, two to go" Damien thought to himself. To his right, the melody of the prehistoric sharks deepened. If one was foolish enough to pay attention to the song they would find themselves drawn to the center of their whirl pool portal and suffocated by the lack of oxygen and immense pressure. To Damien's surprise, the whirl pool grew stronger and stronger and the ship on the surface started spinning and spinning until it began to get drawn down to the oceans floor. It wasn't long before the second ship was emerged under the water, which also got caught in the tidal pool made by the prehistoric sharks. It was literally being torn apart, limb from limb, by the forces of the spin created from the sharks swimming patterns. Some brave sailors were seen jumping from the ship, screaming their lungs dry as they tried to escape their watery deaths. However, they only met a different fate, in which their bodies were swallowed whole by either the Kraken or devoured by the prehistoric sharks as they continued to swim in their circular pattern. There was blood everywhere, a deep red colour, which made it difficult for Damien to see past the tip of his nose. His feelings of nausea also had not yet dissipated, which made completing the mission even more challenging. Nevertheless, he had a job to finish. There still remained one ship and it had turned its engine on in attempts to flee. Foolishly one of his comrades had been swimming too close to the motor and for some apparent reason he was wearing a black ribbon in his rat tail that clung to the back of his head and neck. Unfortunately, that ribbon got caught in the spinning of the motor, followed by his rat tail. Let's just say that we would all learned from that mistake. No ribbons when going into battle with ships.

Anyways, with Damien's fallen companion caught in the motor, the sailors were trapped and unable to escape, besides jumping over board. Damien and the rest of his team decided to board the ship. Their strong muscles lifted their bodies out of the ocean and onto the deck of the ship. Damien saw the intense expressions of fear and anger on the faces of many of the men who were staring at Damien as if he were the devil himself come to wreak havoc on their poor defenseless souls. As if they did nothing to deserve the pain that was coming to them. "Let's show them the same courtesy as they did to our friends the Killer whales, shall we lads?" Damien smiled a wicked smile as his eyes glistened; he was ready for a fucking fight. His comrades cheered and bellowed out as they charged forward, each grabbing a man with their strong arms and hands. "Leave the captain to me..." Damien snickered as he marched towards a large man with a graying beard and a comb over. With his hands in fists in front of his face, Damien let lose the first blow. Pain struck him hard and he couldn't help but wince as his right hook collided with the cheekbone of the captain, whose head fell to its side, spit and blood spraying out of his mouth. With blood staining the salted cracks of his lips the captain returned with a right upper cut, hitting Damien just under his chin. His teeth chattered together, and Damien knew some of his teeth were shattered or chipped from that hit. Damien tilted his head to the side spitting out teeth fragments, green blood and spit. He wiped his mouth with his hand and repositioned himself ready for another attack. The captain was ready and attempted to send a right hook to the corner of Damien's eye. Damien reacted with fish-like reflexes and dodged the hit, with his right arm he took advantage of the captain stumble and hooked the inside of his elbow around the captain's neck. His other arm came around the back of the captain's neck, bracing him with a traditional choke hold. With the pressure from the choke hold, Damien watched as the captain's struggle slowly started to settle down. On the brink of his body going limp Damien gave his head a quick but deadly twist to the side with both his hands. A haunting crack was heard that stung and ached as it went through Damien's head. With a bit of guilt and remorse Damien stepped back letting the lifeless body of the captain hit the deck of the ship.

Damien was trying to calm himself. He had just killed a man with his own hands. He was only twenty-four years old for fucks sakes. He was breathing quickly and his head was spinning so fast that he was falling into a panic attack. Adrenaline was coursing through his body causing his heart to beat like chaotic drums in his chest. All he could pay attention to was this shit feeling he was experiencing. Another one of his panic attacks. His last one was a few weeks ago when he found out his mother had left his little sister at the park down the road. He could remember that day as clear as if it was happing right now. It took ten hours to find his little sister. This memory wasn't helping Damien at all. He was feeling more like shit than before. He tried to remember what his psychologist had told him the last time he had found himself in this position during their session. "Breathe through it, ride it like a wave" Damien repeated the words in his head as he let the feelings of the panic attack wash over him. Wave by wave. He began counting to ten and breathed after every number. He began to calm down, he could feel his heart rate slowing down and his body became still of the quivers and shakes. What seemed like forever was but a few minutes and Damien was ready to return to the present where his comrades watched with concern plastered on their faces. Damien shrugged his shoulders and managed a soft smile "I'm fine lads, just a little shock going through my body. Nothing more." With faces still filled with concerned his team smiled back at Damien as they formed a cheering circle around him. Damien felt relief wash over him as he received pats on the back followed by light hearted punches on his shoulders. For a moment laughter was shared as everyone forgot the ordeal they had just encountered. Damien took a few seconds to look over the last standing ship. Lifeless bodies scattered the front deck. Some lay in puddles of their own blood, while others simply looked as if they had a crooked neck or spine. With all the whalers dead within the area, Damien tried to gather what remaining strength and courage he had left and turned to his comrades, ready to lead them into another battle further across the ocean. For there would always be trouble in these waters if humans had anything to do with it. They still had many battles to come. He could feel it; he could feel the pain and suffering of confused marine animals as they were being taken from their homes, as they were being deprived of valuable nutrients and as their homes were being destroyed by manmade pollution. "Come on lads, we have only begun. There are bigger fish to fry." Damien made sure to smile as he looked at his team. He could tell that they were tired and some were still going through shock from what had happened. But they all swore an oath, and they all had a mission to complete. They were all the protectors of the waters environments, and dammit they were going to do their best to fight for its survival and growth as the Earth becomes consumed by human greed for more and more. With their hearts in the ocean and their minds on the animals in need of their protection, Damien and his comrades dove into the ocean, now cleared of a mixture of green and red blood and fear. Damien led the way, followed by the Water warriors, the Kraken and the pack of prehistoric sharks. They were headed for the Great Barrier Reef. For if any place could reflect the most damage that humans had caused on the marine environment that would surely be the place. Without the Great Barrier Reef, many species would die and become lost, and many other ecosystems would follow the same devastating fate.

When Damien first arrived at the Great Barrier Reef he could not believe what he was seeing. The reef had finally collapsed in on itself. The coral structures that must have taken centuries to form were crumpling as they degraded and eroded from lack of nutrients. Damien saw some parts of the reef have changed colour from pinks, reds and yellows to a shocking white. These sections were being bleached due to climate change. Other parts of the reef were dying and eroding from the magnificent structure because of ocean acidification. This meant that human activities such as pollution, water, air and land were putting a large amount of pressure onto the Great Barrier Reef. These threats influence the quality of the water that flowed around and within the reef which in turn supported the marine communities that resided there.

Damien was not prepared for this at all. He knew there were severe side effects that fell onto the reef from human influence. Damien had only just finished his degree in Marine Biology, yet nothing he could have done or studied would have prepared him for this devastating sight. He didn't even know if there was anything he could do that would fix this man-made destruction. The longer the reef goes without care, the sooner it will be forever removed from this planet, and this would cause an even bigger devastating blow on the ecosystems that depended on this environment. It was one of the most important and beautiful natural environments within the ocean, and here Damien was, watching it vanish before his eyes. He had powers, Natura had given him powers, but there was nothing that he could do about global warming. There was no way that he could destroy all the technologies and buildings that relied and used fossil fuels which were considered the main cause of climate change and global warming. He couldn't do that in a day, not even during the course of the rest of his life. Besides, he was sure that if he tried, and if he had more people to back him up, he would surely start a war which would only cause more pollution and further degrade the Earth. Damien felt useless, utterly useless. Mankind does not have the technology to right the wrongs they have done upon the Great Barrier Reef. Sure enough they could come up with management plans and a method to conserve what is left of the area, but what would that really accomplish? Damien was sure that within the next few years this place would no longer exist. Even if it was being conserved, and there were attempts to re-grow the reef. Humans would never be able to compare to the natural and time consuming work of Mother Nature and the Earth as they created these beautiful structures that supported many lives. Humans could never replicate something so delicate and pure. Sometimes Damien only thought that humans had the power to destroy rather than to create. Damien decided to leave two of his comrades in charge of the reef, so that they could protect it from losing any more nutrients of becoming more bleached. He wanted them to take care of the reef so that the marine animals that depended on it could survive as the reef collapses further. Damien thought that maybe Natura could give him the answers as to how to save the reef; maybe she could show him how he can undo this destruction so that the reef may have a future. Just as his mind wondered to Natura, her voice fell into his thoughts as a calming wave that rushed through his body. "Damien, I shall need your assistance soon, back here to Perth. I suggest you summon some water dwelling fauna that are able to march upon the soil of the land. Bring them with you. It does not matter if their bodies are unable to cross the Atlantic, their fighting spirits will follow you and take on a solid form alongside you when you arrive. Stay strong my warrior. I shall expect to see you soon." Damien, thought long and hard about Natura's request, though it sounded odd and fucking impossible he decided to head off towards the lakes and rivers of South Africa before he headed back to the coasts of Australia. He wanted to make a few stops, to round up a few friends who might be able to follow him in spirit. He had his mind set on some hippopotamuses, crocodiles and alligators. He knew that their strong jaws would come in handy during a battle. A hippopotamuse's jaws could crush a human's skeleton with one chomp alone. They would form the perfect weapons to ignite when faced with an army of soldiers. If someone had told me that they had a hippopotamus charge at them out of the water, I would never believe them; he would have been dead and not telling the world about that 'one time in band camp' nonsense.

# Chapter Five

## Golden Toad: In 1989, a single male was recorded. This was the last recorded record of the toad.

ON the other side of the globe, another battle was progressing. Rose and her team of Animal warriors had split off into separate groups. A few remained in Australia where they found themselves in zoos and aquariums. That group worked on freeing the captive animals; once freed, they began to fight alongside the Animal warriors. Niera and Mother Nature watched from their oasis as terror and fear began to spread throughout Australia as the native and introduced animals began to attack the people. Niera felt like she was watching some sort of animal documentary where the animals became wild and were released into neighborhoods and homes. She watched with such intense interest that her eyebrows were burrowed deeply into her forehead and her eyes were drawn open so wide that she must have looked like an owl on steroids. Koalas were hiding in the tops of Eucalypt trees, as if they were but slow, sleepy and sluggish creatures, only to jump out of the trees like ninjas whenever a pedestrian walked past. They would drop like bowling balls on the people's backs or heads causing them to fall hard onto the ground. Niera could hear these thuds from all over the country, these drop bears were of no laughing matter. Once they had you pinned to the ground, those claws of theirs slowly began to peel the clothes off your skin, causing blood to seep from the gashes. They were deadly creatures, if someone was stupid enough to find themselves taking a stroll through a Eucalypt forest, may Mother Earth have mercy on their souls. For they could find themselves being the victim of a drop bear, and if they were to be lucky enough to get away, the thudding sound of their furry bodies landing on their back would surely haunt their nightmares.

Niera kept her composure as Mother Nature focused on more on the battle in Australia; she could see Kangaroos hoping through the suburbs. They would hop after anyone who dared to leave their homes. With their powerful tails, they could lean back onto it for support and with a mighty push of their back legs they would send people flying back with broken ribs and pierced lungs. Niera was growing somewhat fearful, she had lived amongst these animals for years and she had even studied some of them during her days at university. She could not have ever believed that these animals could become so vicious and malicious as soon as Mother Nature asked for their aid in the eradication of mankind. "Everything will be ok Natura, just watch as nature evolves and claims back what is theirs." Niera trusted Mother Nature, but still remained concerned for the safety of herself and her friends. Zavier. The name popped up into her head and she began to wonder whether or not he was ok. She also wondered whether or not he still thought about that kiss they shared just as much as her mind kept going back to that moment. "Natura, concentrate. How is it that every time I try to focus on saving the Earth you go off and start fantasizing about this human?" Niera felt her cheeks begin to blush and her palms become wet with sweat. Her body was becoming hotter and she could not manage a response other than a few stammering stutters. "I know you like him, but he is only human. What is it about him that has you reacting to oddly to my way?" Before Niera could continue the pointless conversation with herself in her head, a burning pain took over her lower back. She let out a groaning scream and swiveled around where she sat to have a closer look at her body. A shocked breath escaped her lungs as she watched as the giant one tusked African elephant marking on her lower back begun to fade into a dull black. Rage burst through Niera as Mother Nature took over her body. She was pissed. "What's going on?" Niera's voice tried to break through Mother Nature's rage that was building throughout her body. "The last African elephant on this Earth has just taken its last breath. Poachers at the game reserve in South Africa killed him with a single blow to the head. All for his tusk, for his ivory. Those savages! I shall smite them all!" Niera felt sadness wash over her as her body became numb upon the sudden realization that her kids would never be able to see an African Elephant. "Mother Nature, it is going to be ok, Rose and her team of Animal warriors are over there right now. She will take care of it. Just calm down. Everything will be ok." Niera tried her best to take the rage away from the mourning heart of Mother Nature. After what felt like hours, Mother Nature finally settled down. Niera's body eventually ceased shaking from the anger that rose from Mother Nature's hardened core. Niera felt her breath returning to her lungs, slow and calm. Her body slowly became her own once more and she was able to breath more deeply to restore rhythm back to her heart. "It is almost time. I shall leave Africa in the hands of Rose, but we must make haste. Our battle is underway and I need your strength to carry us through till the end." Niera was confused, our battle? What battle? She thought to herself. "What are you talking about? I don't really understand what you mean by 'our battle'" "Natura, together we will bring the frost to this Earth, as I have told you before. Therefore we need to get to a crowded place so that we may initiate the ice age and watch as the fear freezes over the faces of those who have violated this natural planet." "But Mother Nature doesn't that sound a tad bit cruel to you? Or is it just me?". "Natura, I give no mercy to those who have had the opportunity to right their wrongs. I give only revenge for the planet and the species that it has lost. Your species, these humans, they have no warmth in their hearts. They will all catch a cold from the frost inside their souls before they die from the cold brought by the ice age." With that Niera and Mother Nature left the oasis and followed the setting sun over the horizon, scattered with the silhouettes of the prehistoric and extinct animals she had summoned back onto the planet.

# Chapter Six

## Quagga: Last captive female died in 1883. Extinct due to hunting.

MEANWHILE, as Rose was hiding within the yellow savannah grass along with her team at the game reserve in South Africa, they prepared for an ambush. Her body was still breaking through shakes and quivers as she was trying to overcome the shock that had hit her system when she watched as some reckless poachers pointed a gun to the head of the last African Elephant in the world. The gunshot still echoed in her head and would remain there ever still through the rest of her life on this planet. She was fighting so hard to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks and onto the dry soil beneath where she kneeled. She was trying to figure out the best way to stop these poachers who were now sawing off the one tusk on this beautiful fallen creature. It was a sad thing to behold. As man was taking the life of such an innocent and selfless creature, just to harvest its ivory for money and wealth. The tears began to flow down Rose's cheeks, it was pointless to hold them in now, and if she tried it would only make her feel worse. She needed her emotions to escape so that she could focus on her mission. It was then that a beautiful voice entered her mind. The exact same voice she had heard a few days before when she was summoned by Mother Nature, Natura. The voice was soothing as it took over Rose's emotions and thoughts. "My dear warrior, I have felt your pain and I know of the fallen species. To help you I have summoned forth a powerful force of the true legends from the heart of East Africa itself. Back from 1898, I gift to you the Ghost and the Darkness." With that, Rose's breath caught in her lungs and she had to cough to clear her throat. The Ghost and the Darkness. This couldn't be! Rose couldn't believe what Natura had just said. She had summoned the legendary Ghost and the Darkness back into Africa. Rose's heart thudded loudly in her ears as the excitement grew inside her chest. She thought back to the story her "ouma" had told her back when she was younger. The story about the legendary Ghost and the Darkness. The story depicted two man-eaters, or lions, who back in 1898 in East Africa begun to hunt and maliciously kill workers who were there to build a railway bridge in Tsavo. There had never been two male lions who have worked together to hunt before. Except on this occasion, where fear was struck amongst the locals as they saw these lions, not as ordinary lions but rather as demons of the night. The two lions rampaged and killed throughout the railway site without any fear or remorse. They were hunting for the pleasure of the kill. The human hunters were becoming the hunted. The fact was that these lions lived purely on humans for 9 months straight made Rose shiver. They were named the Ghost and the Darkness by Patterson as their coats appeared white under the moonlight, as in their ghost-like appearance, and dark as night, as in the darkness of their souls. Patterson eventually killed them and their bodies can be seen on display in the Field Museum in Chicago. Recalling the story filled Rose with hungry anticipation to watch history unfold itself one more on this African soil. Her body begun to shake once more, however this time in excitement instead of sadness and fear. A few minutes passed by as the anticipation built inside Rose. Her team could feel the atmosphere become electrified with excitement and curiosity as they all began to huddle up next to Rose with wide eyes and racing hearts.

A thunderous roar that melted Rose's heart was heard from behind them. Rose couldn't bear the temptation any longer. She turned on her heels and came face to face with a glorious lion. Their faces but a few centimeters away from each other. She could smell fresh meat on his breath, his yellow, silver mane framed his muscular face as the wind blew parts of his hair to the side of his savannah coloured shoulders. He looked like a magnificent beast, the type you could only imagine in your wildest dreams or nightmares even. The lion snorted through his nose as he inched his forehead closer to Rose. Rose felt honored, she snorted back and leaned in to touch the top of her head to that of his. In that moment she felt surreal, she felt as though she had just done the most crazy, dangerous and possibly insane thing in her entire life. The lion leaned in closer, pushing on Rose's shoulder; she leaned in further with her body till she could feel the heat that radiated off his body. She felt his heart begin to beat in unison with hers. She had fallen in love with this magnificent beast. There was no way she was ever going to feel this amazing ever again. This was her life, this was what she wanted. To feel as though she was a part of nature itself. She wanted to feel the beating heart of the Earth, and through this lion she had done exactly that. She had done the impossible. She had found herself and was ready to fight for their future. She forgot herself in that moment when her fingers intertwined with the loose strands of his mane. It was then that another mighty roar erupted and before she knew it, the other lion was nudging his massive head against the center of her shoulders. Rose filled her heart with a burning desire to hunt alongside these legendary lions. It was true; Mother Nature had brought back the spirits of the Ghost and the Darkness to Africa. With the setting sun and a coy smile on Rose's face, she and her comrades joined the two lions in the long savannah grass as they crouched and prepared to pounce on the unsuspecting poachers in the distance. As the night fell, Rose finally understood the words that Patterson had written in his journal during his battle with these two magnificent beasts. In the moonlight, these lions took on the persona of ghost like demons as their bodies weaved through the dark savannah grass. The whites of their eyes shone an eerie glow as they signalled for Rose and her team to join in their stalk. Rose knelt down and begun to crawl with her toes curled under her knees. She joined alongside the lion she thought must have been called Ghost while the other, now known as Darkness was navigating up a head. A deep vibration groan escaped Ghost's mouth, a signal for Rose to stay behind with the remaining pack while they charged and led the fight. Rose nodded and edged her head towards Ghost's shoulder; she had made sure to lean in enough for him to feel her touch so that he would know that she was right behind him. With a final grunt, Ghost vanished into the dark of the night and for a few seconds all was quiet and still. It was as though the Earth had stopped and everything had frozen in its place. All that Rose could hear was the sound of her breath as it entered her lungs and filled her stomach.

Then, just as the peace and quiet of the night settled in, a magnificent ear piercing roar thundered across the landscape. A chesty scream was heard soon after. It only lasted a few seconds before it was muffled out by another roar emerging out of the chest of Darkness; the other lion still emerged in the long grass. Ghost made cooing sounds from his chest, which made Darkness follow in unison with his own melody of cooing and grunting. This was the final signal. This was it. Rose could no longer stand by the side lines. She rose from the ground, ignoring the dirt and gravel that clung to her damp skin. With nothing but eagerness she threw her head back to the sky and with the might similar to that of the lions, she let out her own silence breaking roar. Her chest heaved deep and heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Her comrades looked at her with crooked smiles before they too stood up from where they had been crouching, to let out roars that together would have caused fear to erupt from the hearts of their enemies. With spirits as high as the stars in the sky, Rose led the pack alongside the Ghost and the Darkness. She sprinted as hard and fast as her legs could bear. The strains on her muscles were sending pleasurable pain signals to her brain, she was becoming the predator. She was becoming the hunter; she was becoming one with her inner lion. Ghost had already taken down three men by the time Rose and Darkness had arrived on the site where the poachers had slaughtered the elephant. The bodies of these men were drained of blood, as if the lion had sucked all life out of their systems. The only blood Rose could make out was that covering the shimmer white coat of Ghost, whose mouth was now, tainted a dark red as he licked his whiskers clean from the droplets he had missed from the attack. While Rose was distracted by the bodies of the men, more terrifying screams were heard all around her. Darkness had vanished and had taken the lives of five men, whose bodies were flung in the air landing in thuds and rolls by her feet. Again, they were drained of blood. They reminded Rose of those frozen treats that came in plastic sleeves that you could suck dry until the ice had been removed of almost all its colour. It was making Rose feel uncomfortable. The severity in the way these lions killed made her realize how vulnerable she actually was. She was made of exactly the same components as these men that lay dead before her now. She felt small, insecure and an easy target. She literally had no idea what to do, sure she had the spirit of a lion, but she was terrified. She had never been part of a mass slaughter, let alone been the leader of one. She tried to breathe and muster all the courage she had left in her heart. She knew that this was the way of Mother Nature, this was her will. To cleanse the Earth of evil spirits and to make way for a new world, a more sustainable and protected one. Throwing her head from side to side, Rose shook off her insecurities and charged forward towards Ghost. She took her place beside him so that she could once more receive the same confidence she had gotten from him before when they connected so strongly.

She muffled out the screams of the people within the game reserve as she tried to concentrate on finding her own strength from within her soul. Before long Ghost started to growl a deep nervous growl that caused Rose to open her eyes and come face to face with a caliber rifle pointed directly at Ghost's face, right between his eyes. The shot would be precise and definitely fatal. He would die. The growl grew deeper and deeper until Ghost let out a threatening roar for the poacher to step aside. The poacher did not move, he barely showed any fear, aside from his trigger finger shaking slightly. Rose could see that he was ready for the shot of his life, nothing would deter him, and his mind was already set. Again adrenaline moved through Rose as if she had taken one too many shots of Tequila. She knew she wasn't one for killing and she knew that inside her gut she could probably never kill anyone for that matter. She knew about sacrifice though and she always thought that giving one's life so that another may live would be the best way to leave this Earth. Without much thought or hesitation, Rose grabbed hold of the end of the caliber rifle and pulled it towards her heart just as the poacher's finger pushed down on the trigger. The gunshot hit. Rose felt an unbearable aching pain from within her chest. She fell to her knees clutching hard on her left breast. She as she attempted to muffle the pain by distracting herself with the pinch of her skin from under her hands. It wasn't working. Rose's lungs began to fill with thick liquid causing her to cough up oozing green blood that spattered onto the ground. Tears began to flow from her eyes, wetting her cheeks as they made their way down her chin to her chest. Ghost turned to look at Rose with a crooked head that made her wonder if he could understand what she had just done. That she had just saved his life. With another roar that lifted Roses' spirit, she watched as Ghost pounced on the poacher who had been shocked and distracted by Roses' sacrifice. Ghosts jaw opened ridiculously wide as he pushed the poachers head into his mouth. Rose looked away and closed her eyes as she knew what was coming, but didn't want to look. It wasn't the thing she wanted to see before she left the Earth. A loud, cracking sound came from where Ghost had stood and Rose knew that he had just crushed the poachers' skull with his bare teeth and strong jaws. Rose felt Ghost rub his head against hers, encouraging her to open her eyes.

When she did she saw the most beautiful blue eyes staring into hers. They took her last breath away; his eyes perfectly reflected the stars and moon which shown in the darkest sky. It looked as if he had fallen head first into a galaxy with his eyes wide open. Rose smiled to herself, thinking that those eyes were the exact thing she wanted to see before she passed on. Feeling safe and warm in the presence of Ghost and Darkness, Rose slipped from beneath her knees and onto her back on the ground. Her eyes slid shut slowly as she began to recall all the happy moments she encountered throughout her entire life. The first was of her friends and her family and her last being of that brief moment where she got to stare deeply into the eyes of the African spirits, the Ghost and the Darkness. She had played her part in this war, her fight was over. With her last breath she sighed and let go of all her worries as her body went numb and her world stopped spinning.

Following the darkness that fell quickly upon her mind, Rose focused the energy that she had left in her head to concentrate on the positive things that have happened to her before all of her was to be swallowed by what lay beyond the living. At first Rose recalled her young adulthood memories; she thought about how she had felt when her family moved from South Africa to Australia to give them a new chance. So that she could grow up with opportunities falling from the sky into the palms of her hands. She thought of how brave and strong her mother and father had to be to make such a life changing decision, to leave their country, their families and friends behind just so that their three young children may have a safer and brighter future to embark on. She was proud to be considered the daughter of such courageous parents. Rose remembered her older sister; she was insanely smart and kind hearted. She had always looked up in admiration when it came to her sister. She just always seemed to know what to do and always powered through anything that came her way with a little delicate smile on her face, popping the or dimples from her cheeks. Rose always thought of her as a second mother who would tell her off for her reckless ideas whenever she described them to her. But she needed that and she loved her sister dearly. On the other hand, her little brother gave her such headaches. He was truly a different kind of annoying. Or so Rose used to think, but now when she looked back at all the times they spent together she saw the good moments they had shared. Sure he had eaten her ice cream more than a dozen times, and yes possibly he did annoy and push her buttons a lot of the time, but on occasion he would step up his game and take on the role of an older brother. He would at times protect her from the world, and even show her that boys aren't always the jerks that they have made themselves out to be from her experience with dating. Her family was definitely one of the reasons why she fought in this war with Natura. Even though she will probably never see them again, Rose felt as though she had already said her goodbye to them. She had already sent her love the second her body had fallen to the ground. She wanted them to know that she was proud of each and every one of them, and that they were why she strived to make a difference on this Earth, so that they could have a better future with a sustainable planet. Roses mind continued to fill with bright colours as she went back to the moment she realised exactly what she wanted to do with her life. She had been studying Wildlife Conservation at a university in Perth, Western Australia. She was sitting in her final exam of her degree when she heard Mother Nature calling her. It was that moment that she had decided that sure education is important but how was she making a difference to the planet right then? How was this exam going to show her or tell her how she could save the Earth from mankind? The answer was simple. Quit.

The issue with exams and tests was that they just put so much unwanted pressure on students and Rose had gone through years and years of all that bullshit and at this final exam of hers, she had had enough. Somewhere in her head, her mind cracked and she decided it was not worth all the mental stress she was going through. Instead, she listened to Mother Nature's voice inside her head, about to accept the fact that she had finally snapped and gone crazy. Only to find herself filled with confidence and a new-found purpose in life. She stood up from her desk at the far corner of the examination room; her desk fell to the floor with a deafening thud that sent heads spinning from all over the room to her direction. She simply stared back with a smile as she made her way to the door. The second she felt the door shut behind her, her heart began to flutter and she squealed with delight till her lungs gave out. She was finally happy. She had freed herself from years and years of governmental pressure that had been giving her anxiety issues for over a decade. She had never stopped smiling since that moment, not even when she found herself being bestowed with powers by Natura, nor when she faced death at the end of a bullet. This was what her life was meant to be, this was who she was destined to be. And for a few days she had been able to relish and bathe in the happiness of her purpose and her true self. She sent her thanks to Mother Nature and to the Earth as the darkness returned once more for the last time inside Rose's mind. She had reached her inner peace.

# Chapter Seven

## Pyrenean Ibex: The last female died in 2000. First species to be brought back from extinction by cloning, however, the clone died 7 minutes later. Still Extinct.

ZAVIER had felt a change in the atmosphere the moment he had left the oasis where he had shared an intimate moment with Natura, the reincarnation of Mother Nature. His thoughts still carried him back to that moment where his lips lingered on hers. He wanted so much in that moment to grab her by the waist and push her body up against a tree so that he could feel her heat pressed up against his. The thoughts were sending hot sensations up his leg, and he had to control his mind to stop his body from following the heat. His team would surely know what he had been thinking of soon enough if he kept this up. He had to distract himself from her; he had to concentrate on his mission. His part must be the last piece of Natura's plan to save the Earth. Zavier had split off from his team, each member grabbing a partner then heading off to different cities scattered across the globe. Zavier and his partner Clarence had found themselves in the heart of Tokyo, where the largest nuclear power plant currently exists, producing over seven thousand megawatts of electrical power to the citizens of Tokyo. Zavier had his plan all set, Clarence and himself were two of the warriors of Chaos and Destruction, as such they planned to behave exactly as their title described. Upon nightfall, Zavier sat upon a ditch he had dug in the ground, so that he may monitor the behavior of the security guards as they patrolled the area outside of the nuclear power plant. He was about to call for Clarence when he noticed that the guy was nowhere to be seen. Sighing with annoyance, Zavier crawled on his elbows and inner thighs through the rough soil towards the place he last saw Clarence. The guy was massive, and had fucking muscles on his ears. How could he have lost such a walking cloud of a man? Zavier kept muttering under his breath as he continued to look out for his foolish comrade who had miraculously disappeared into the night.

This was not the time for games. He had his mission to complete; he didn't have time to babysit a muscled, steroid-filled Neanderthal. Sweat began to form on top of Zavier's brow as he thought of all the ways he could strangle the daylights out of this guy before he got crushed by his muscles upon the attempts to strangle him in the first place. For fucks sakes man, where did you go! Zavier's anger only grew as he continued his ridiculous search for Clarence. It was only until Zavier's hand reached out in front of him that something sticky and warm touched his sweaty palm. With a shriek that only a girl with a broken nail would make, Zavier tucked and rolled in attempts to get away from the sticky hot mess, only to collide with a pile of freshly dropped shit. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE FUCK!" Zavier's voice cried out as he began to jump up and down to get the shitty muck off his clothes. The stench stung his eyes as the smell, causing him to rub viciously with the back of his hands across his closed eyeballs. Eventually, Zavier tried to compose himself, though how could he forget that he was covered in a pile of shit that could only be explained by a gigantic creature such as a fucking dinosaur. But those things are long gone; they've been extinct for millions of years, so this couldn't have been dino's shit. Zavier couldn't stop himself; his eyes began to well up as tears ran down his cheeks, as if his body was trying to ease the sting of the stench that burnt through his eyes. "Zavier, my man, are you crying?" A voice so familiar yet mocking to Zavier somehow came from above him.

"I just fell in shit Clarence while I was fucking looking for you! Where the fricken fuck have you been man!" Zavier shouted with rage as he looked up above him to find the source of Clarence's voice. It was pitch black, he could see shit all in front of his face. Stumbling with the anger still lit inside his stomach, Zavier looked for his flashlight from within the utility belt he was wearing whilst making strenuous efforts to avoid touching any of the shit he had missed when he tried to shake it all off. "Zavier, if you shine that light of yours to the sound of my voice you might further shit yourself." Clarence's voice broke through Zavier's silent battle to locate his flash light. "What do you mean when you say that I'll further shit myself? Who says that? Clarence what did you do!" This was only pissing him off more; he had it up to his eyebrows with Clarence and was about to kick his ass if he didn't start making sense, even if he had to do it with his flashlight. "Ok man, chill ayete. I need your ass to chill so that I can tell you that I am sitting on the back of a fucking T-Rex man." Zavier let out an unstoppable chuckle as he pictured this photoshopped muscle man riding into the sunset on the back of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The thought alone made Zavier choke on his own laugh as his spit became lodged in the back of his throat. Coughing attack aside, this was no laughing matter. "Very funny Clarence, you got me. Now stop fucking around, we need to break through this shit and light this bitch up. Set the sky on fire, you know? Our mission?" Zavier's hand finally found the flashlight hooked on the back of his belt. He aimed the device above his head and took a few steps back so that he could catch Clarence hiding in the tops of a tree. With a slight flick off his index finger, accompanied by a soft clicking sound, bright light shot from the flashlight and illuminated straight onto the face of a disturbingly wrecked-looking T-Rex. Zavier let out another girlish shriek as he stumbled back into the dino shit and dropped his flashlight in the process. With his body going through shock, Clarence jumped down from the back of the prehistoric dino and ran to his aid. "Dude, it's ok, he's on our side ayete? Look he's harmless, just like a little staffy. Watch this, yeah?" Clarence attempted to ease Zavier's nerves, however, it was not working. Clarence whistled causing the T-Rex to tilt his massive head from side to side before it took a few eager steps towards Clarence. Zavier muffled another scream with the back of his hand as he tried to calm down and deal with the situation. "Tyrone, pick up this flashlight for Zavier." Clarence spoke to the T-Rex as if it was a pup that just got back from training school. Zavier couldn't have been more confused. He had literally just taken fifteen minutes to dig a ditch while he sent Clarence to scope out the area and yet here they were. One warrior covered in dino shit while the other was teaching doggy tricks to a fucking Tyrannosaurus Rex. Could this night get anymore fucked up? Zavier watched with fearful eyes as the T-Rex attempted to follow Clarence's command to pick up the fallen flashlight. His fear soon subsided and was replaced with complete and utter amusement as Clarence and himself watched the T-Rex wriggle its massive head into the ground while stretching out its short stubby arms to try and grab the flashlight. Zavier sat there for what must have been ten minutes just watching and laughing alongside Clarence as the dinosaur had already created a mound of dirt with his head from pushing into the ground. It was hilarious, definitely a trick to remember for the future. "Okay, okay, settle boy. Here you go." Clarence got up from his seat and walked over to the T-Rex. He reached down from underneath the crevasse that the dinosaur had made to grab hold of the flashlight. In a movement so quick, Clarence threw the device high into the air which triggered the dinosaur's instincts, causing him to jump and snatch up the flashlight with his powerful jaw. "So why do you call him Tyrone?" Still dazed by the situation, Zavier was curious as to where the name came from. "It's Tyrone, short for Tyrannosaurus Rex." Clarence replied with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "Good boy, Tyrone!" Clarence extended his arm up high so that he could praise Tyrone with a few loving pats on his snout and jaw. "Why not T-Rex though?" Zavier asked Clarence, as T-Rex seemed like the more fitting for such a massive creature. "Nah man, T-Rex is too stereotypical, I like me some originality you know? Besides, he seems to like the name Tyrone. Don't ya my big boy?" Clarence continued to scratch the underside of Tyrone's jaw, his massive tail waved through the air as if he actually was just a big staffy. A staffy with fucking sharp teeth that would probably eat Zavier in a heartbeat. Best not to think about that, Zavier decided. "Okay, so now that Tyrone is involved, change of plans. I think we should ride magnificent beast and charge him straight through security and straight towards the nuclear reactor! What do you think Clarence?" Zavier turned to focus on Clarence who had now been rubbing Tyrone's belly who had now fallen onto his back from all the attention Clarence was giving him. "Actually man, I was thinking. Tyrone here, he is more like a ninja, ya know? I mean, he has some epic sneaking and eating skills that could come in handy in this situation." "Clarence, what exactly do you mean by sneaking and eating?" Zavier asked, the impatience was clear in his voice. "I mean, Tyrone here is good on his toes and fuck is he silent. We should use him and sneak into the Nuclear power plant as planned. While we sneak along, can eliminate any threats by eating them. Thus we have the sneaking and eating method. It works out perfectly, we get to our destination and Tyrone gets free treats!" Clarence continued to show his adoring affection towards the dinosaur while Zavier stood, flabbergasted, his face frozen in utter amazement.

It sounded like an insane idea, he almost laughed about it, but considering there was a carnivorous dinosaur a few meters in front of him, Zavier thought it was best not to argue. Besides, a sneak attack would be a lot quieter than his original plan to just bust the place open. What could go wrong? Hesitatingly, Zavier reached out to clasp a strong grip onto Clarence's forearm, and with an effortless tug from Clarence's bulging biceps Zavier was tucked safely behind Clarence, his ass on top of the fucking T-Rex. "Okay, let's go for it." Zavier proclaimed, more so for himself than for anyone else. At least if there was an accident or a crash while he was on top of this tall as fuck dino, Clarence would surely break his fall with those so called muscles on his back. They definitely looked like they could function as airbags in the time that an occasion such as a falling dinosaur could occur. While Zavier was lost in deep thought as to how Clarence and his muscles could be used as a safety device in the time of an accident, Tyrone began to move towards the power plant up a head. However, to Zavier's surprise Tyrone did not move as he had expected a gigantic predator to move. His movements were insanely graceful. Zavier couldn't feel a thing as Tyrone carried himself and Clarence another hundred meters closer to their final destination. It was as though the dinosaur was somehow treading on its tippy toes, like a ballerina almost. The thought seemed humorous to Zavier that he couldn't help but muffle a little chuckle to himself. Just out of curiosity, Zavier leaned over the dino's side to take a glance at his footing, and to Zavier's surprise, Tyrone was indeed walking on his fucking tip toes, with his back heals pointed straight up to the night sky. This was some sort of weird cross of a dinosaur, ninja and ballerina. A dininjarina! Zavier chuckled some more. Damn if he lives past this mission he was definitely going to write a book about this Tyrannosaurus Rex. No scientific mind within this Earth would ever believe the nonsense he would be writing though. Then again, it depended on whether there were scientists to show the book to. It was still funny as shit to Zavier. Damn. Joking aside, they were getting closer and closer to the main entrance gate of the power plant. "This is it guys, it's time to start that sneaking and eating thing you were talking about Clarence. I can see two security guards with tasers up ahead. And I don't know about you but I don't feel like being tasered tonight and shitting my pants. I have had enough of shit for tonight." "Yeah no worries bro, I got this. Yo Tyrone, it's time to get your yum yums! But sneakily. We don't want to arouse suspicion." "Suspicion, Clarence you idiot, of course we will arouse suspicion! We are riding on the back of a fucking Tyrannosaurus Rex who is walking around like a fucking ballerina!" "I know man, ain't it fucking awesome!" Clarence beamed back. Zavier face palmed for what must have been the hundredth time since he met Clarence. "Look, let's just get in there and sabotage the power plants system and get the fuck out of there before it explodes." "Sounds like a plan my man." Clarence agreed with the plan, which was now set in motion. Tyrone made his way to the first security guard. They had managed to slip out of plain sight by lurking within the darkness of the night and the shadows of the buildings and trees. With moves so slick and smooth, Zavier watched as Tyrone pushed his body against the wall of the power plant as if to stealthily move alongside the wall to the nearest security guard. Zavier literally couldn't believe that this was working.

It seemed completely ridiculous. But what other options did he have?, he thought. The night seemed eerily quiet and no sounds were heard from Tyrone as he neared the entrance of the main gate. They stopped and watched as the first security guard a few meters away pulled his trousers back over his bloated belly. Zavier could clearly see then that the man was carrying more weaponry than just a taser. That definitely lit a fearful fire inside Zavier's intestines. He was going to throw up. Not tonight, Zavier urged himself and forcefully swallowed the food that was bubbling up from his stomach and into his mouth. Tonight he was a warrior. "Okay Tyrone, when you're ready I want you to stick out that tongue of yours and suck up that security guard!" Clarence commanded Tyrone, and like a trained puppy, he obeyed. Tyrone's tongue ejected straight out of his powerful jaws and, in a blink of an eye, it wrapped right around the man's fat belly. Zavier watched as some kind of grossed out fear and confusion spread across the man's face as he attempted to escape the grasp of the dinosaur. "Now!" Clarence commanded, causing Tyrone to propel his tongue back into his jaws just as the man's mouth opened wide with his own tongue pulling back preparing to let out a petrified scream.

However, it was too late. Tyrone already closed his powerful jaws, and all Zavier could hear was small, muffled screams that ended soon after Tyrone let out a massive gulp which swallowed the poor officer whole. Maybe he will come out the other end uninjured like in those gross comedy movies... Or maybe not. It was all dependent on the intestinal biology of Dinosaurs, which Zavier had no inkling about. He shrugged it off as Tyrone began to sneak up closer to the remaining security guard. This was where Zavier got an idea. "Hey Clarence, how about you and I ditch this ride so that he could enjoy his midnight snack while go and sabotage that nuclear power plant up ahead?" Clarence turned to look at Zavier, smiled deeply and gave him a thumbs up. With that they jumped off Tyrone, and tucked and rolled to the ground so that they didn't break their bones from the impact. "You keep doing what you doing Tyrone. Pappa will be back in a few ticks." Clarence patted Tyrone on his back leg causing the dino to do a swift turn to face Clarence followed by a massive, sloppy wet lick that covered Clarence from head to toe. "Good boy! Now get!" With his master's last command Tyrone continued to play his sneak and eat attack on the second security guard.

Meanwhile, Zavier and Clarance sprinted and hid in the shadows as they headed towards the nuclear reactor from within the power plant. They had just reached the entrance door, which Zavier knew off by heart as he studied the blue prints of the power plant on the plane flight to Tokyo. "Behind this door is the main system, we need to override so the whole plant will malfunction and hopefully implode on itself." "Okay and how do we do that Zavier?" Clarence looked at Zavier as if he had all the answers in the world. "I don't fucking know Clarence, do I look like an Engineer? I am a conservationist for fucks sake. They don't really teach you how to override a Nuclear Power Plant." Zavier tried to breath and calm himself; anger was not going to help him here. What they needed was an engineer. Why didn't Natura summon a fucking engineer? That would have solved a lot of problems.

Shaking his head from side to side, Zavier tried to think of a solution to their problem, but nothing. Nada. He was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't hear Clarence breaking the lock on the door with a fistful or boulders. Nor did he notice Clarence breaking into the system and simply pushing a fuck load of buttons and twisting all the knobs and switches that he could find to the max. The only time Zavier actually realized what was happening was when an ear piercing alarm broke through the silent night initiating a warning that the Nuclear reactor was unstable and was about to implode upon itself. "What the fuck did you do!" Zavier exclaimed as Clarence ran up to him, grabbed him by the waist and chucked him over his shoulder as he sprinted away from the power plant. "Dude we gotto blow this popsicle stand, cause it is going to fucking blow." Zavier watched, bouncing on Clarence's shoulder, as red flashing lights filled the area of the power plant. And within a few minutes there was silence. The kind of silence one would only see and hear before an explosion. Almost exactly like the calm before the storm. "Clarence, get your ass down into that ditch!! NOW DAM..." Zavier's voice could not finish his sentence before his eyes fixated on the pulsing orange, yellow glow that was pushing its way out of the power plant.

It looked beautiful, in a strange and creepy way, but still beautiful none the less. The yellow and orange light continued to pulse sending ripples of forced air and wind towards Zavier and Clarence knocking them both to the ground with such force that Clarence hit his head and lost all consciousness. "Clarence!" Zavier dragged himself across the ground towards Clarence who wasn't responding to his name. Zavier reached over to Clarence's neck to feel for a pulse. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach as the only heartbeat he could feel was his own. The force from the blow and the fall had broken his neck; he was gone as soon as his head touched the ground. Zavier left his hand on his friends face as tears began to flow down his face. Clarence was an idiot, but he was the best idiot he had known. Another pulsing wave made its way towards Zavier and knocked him on his chest sending his body down to the ground once more next to Clarence.

He had to get out of there; it would only be a few minutes before the whole place would be consumed by a nuclear blast. Zavier used all his strength to stand up. In the distance he could see something large running towards him, coming from the pulsing glow of the Nuclear Reactor. His breath caught in his throat as he began to panic. He tried to turn and run but pain was spiking from his right leg. He must have broken it during the fall. Fuck this shit. Zavier turned to face whatever was plummeting towards him like a bullet, ready to fight to his last breath when relief washed over his body causing him to go numb when he realised the familiar buff headed figure. It was Tyrone. With nothing but relief and joy Zavier hoisted himself onto his rescuer and together Zavier and Tyrone gracefully ran towards the rising sun over the horizon. Not once did Zavier turn his head to look back as the Nuclear Reactor exploded over the city of Tokyo. Nor did he bat an eyelash as he heard screams and smelt the stench of burning flesh as the atmosphere filled with the death of those who lived within the city. His mission was complete, he had lost a fellow comrade, but had gained the trust of another and their battle wasn't over yet. The war had just begun. Zavier and Tyrone headed back for Australia, ready to fight alongside Natura for the final epic battle that would change the course of the Earth. To destruction or resurrection.

# Chapter Eight

## Bubal Hartebeest: The last female died in Paris Zoo in 1923. Extinct.

NIERA felt her body growing stronger and stronger with every passing day and night. Her skin began to glow with a kind of unearthly radiance one would expect only to see in fantasy films. Her hair had grown longer and brighter than it had been before when she first awoke to her changed appearance. Her fingers threaded through the silky strands of her hair as she recalled those memories of her past. Mother Earth had changed the way she saw herself. Whereas before she thought she wasn't worthy of a second glance, but now she had learnt that accepting the things that made her who she was could very well help other people see the beauty in themselves. She smiled to herself.

It was a lovely day, the sun was shining and the natural environment opened up for her as if to claim her as part of the Earth. She felt grounded and supported. It was completely amazing. Mother Nature had brought her to this spot so that she could come to peace with herself and prepare for the final battle that they were to face together as one. She was nervous and afraid, but that is what made her human. Everyone has their moments of fear and anxiety. Everyone. But they are just emotions and if one tried to understand them, then they would have the ability to control them. Niera had learnt a lot in the last few weeks as Mother Nature's reincarnate. Her respect for the Earth had grown and she felt protective over its future. She wanted the Earth to be able to grow and replenish rather than be left to rot and die from human wastes such as pollution. She knew she wanted to make a difference and she found herself further convinced that cleansing the Earth of the Human race and replacing it with the Natura race would be the best way to go.

Honestly, going from a selfish taker who only cared for their own health and wealth, who remained reliant on money and laws to becoming a self-sustainable and ever peaceful Natura would be the ultimate utopia. Niera sat upon the green patch beneath her feet thinking to herself that this is the way that life could be; this is the way that life should be. No worries, no stress, no need to work for money, no toxic chemicals that we breathe into our lungs every day. Just nature and its giving cycle. She felt her mind drift off as she thought about all the possibilities that could come her way if people decided that enough was enough. That maybe they would wake up one morning, look out of their window and realize that they have been killing the Earth. That they have been involved with cruelty against all the animals of the Earth. Every action has a reaction. Simply by purchasing eggs from the store could support farmers who have their chickens locked up and squished against cages where they forced to lay eggs till they die of poor health and environmental conditions. Niera knew that was merely one example of how people could unknowingly be involved with such disturbing acts of cruelty against the Earth. She also confessed that a few moments in her life, she too was the villain holding a pistol against the Earth. She accepted this fact, but that acceptance was the first kick in the butt she needed to realize that the planet and the environment needed her help.

Niera remained lost in her own little wonder land about the Earth, its past and its future when Mother Nature's voice rang strong through her ears. "Natura, it is time." Niera raised herself from the oasis Mother Nature had brought her to. With her hands together she brought her thumb to the center of her forehead and drew a horizontal infinity sign. The second the infinity sign was drawn, the Earth swallowed Niera whole leaving no sign of where she had once stood. A few minutes passed; this had been the second time that Niera had used teleportation to get from one part of the Earth to another, and honestly, she loved it. The excitement of being part of the core of the earth for a few minutes sent utter bliss throughout Nieras body. Niera couldn't explain how the teleportation thing worked; she barely understood the concept as is. All she knew was that if she put her palms together and brought her thumbs to her third eye at the center of her forehead and drew the horizontal infinity sign with her thumbs together followed by a whisper to the Earth from under her breath to the destination that she wanted to go to, the ground would open up and suck her down to the very core of the planet. It would feel as though she was dreaming. Her eyes would close delicately and she would be floating through a galaxy filled with stars. The first time she felt as though she was floating on a lake staring up at the clouds as they passed by, the hot sun warming her body as she travelled to her next destination. It would only last a few minutes before her feet would touch the ground of her new destination. Now here she was standing, on soil that had compacted and hardened in its place. The atmosphere was heavy and drenched with gunpowder and smoke, which created a light haze that covered the whole area.

The sun felt hot on Niera's back, almost as if it was beating down on her with the heat. The smoke from the air began to burn inside Niera's lungs causing her nostrils to ache with the sting. "What is this place?" "This is a battlefield my dear Natura. There is a war happening here between humans of different countries and religions. This has been going on for years and unfortunately will continue to do so. As you see before you, nothing grows here. When humans go to war they fight for power and their right to have the power over others, and when this happens, devastation and destruction erupts onto the very soil they fight on. With bombs and chemicals, they hoped to destroy and stain the ground with the blood of their enemies. Gun powder, smoke and carbon dioxide filled the air, choking and burning the lungs of every living creature within the area, including humans. What they did not see was that through war, through their nuclear weapons and bombs, they were not only killing their enemies, they were also killing themselves in the process. If they did not die by the poison they let their bodies endure from the toxic chemicals radiating from their weaponry they will die from the toxic poison they leaked into the Earth. They caused soil compaction, erosion and pollution to the soil when they commenced these idiotic battles. That was why nothing grows during a war."

"Patch by patch they deprive the Earth of the nutrients it needs to sustain itself", Mother Nature continued. "Not to mention the pollution they sent into the atmosphere. They were killing the Earth while they attempted to kill one another. Now tell me Niera, where is the logic in that? Humans are selfish and vain creatures. This is why I plan to eradicate them from my body, from my Earth. They do not deserve to take from my bountiful, natural environments. They have had enough opportunities to change, and I am tired of giving the human race another chance. Today we end this, today a new Earth shall be reborn and today the Earth shall welcome its Natura Warriors into a sustainable and resurrected environment." As Mother Nature's voice projected out of Niera's mouth, the smoke began to clear and Niera came to the sudden realization that they were not alone.

She was standing directly in front of an ongoing battle. Niera watched as foreign soldiers marched forth from the frontline towards the barricades and defenses of the opposing country. These were men and women in green vomit coloured uniforms. Screams could be heard as gunshots from machine guns fired across the valley littered with twitching bodies and blood. Oh my spirit there was so much blood. Niera's body began to shake as she fell into shock. Her stomach collapsed in on itself causing her throat to burn as she threw up everything she had inside of her. She felt empty and tired. With her body still shaking and her heart about to burst she felt power surge through her mind. Mother Nature was taking over, she must have realised that Niera couldn't take much more of what was happening around her.

She couldn't understand why that man in the distance slit the throat of the woman who had been trying to get her injured comrade to safety. Nor did she understand why there was a young man who couldn't have been older than 19 trying to catch his breath as he tried to cope with the immense anxiety that was causing him to freak out and pass out every few seconds. They were all in pain and they were doing it to each other. Niera felt her mind drift off as Mother Nature cooed to her calmly with her warm honey voice and presence. She fell back into the soft darkness of her mind as she lost all will of her body to Mother Nature. "It is okay now Natura, I will take over from here." Mother Nature's voice hit Niera like a soothing wave of reassurance. Within Niera's body Mother Nature took a few confident steps forward towards the fire of the war that was destroying this land. This war had gone on long enough. Mother Earth integrated her heart and soul deeply into the body of Niera, so much that when they connected together, they truly became the embodiment of Natura herself. Niera and Mother Nature felt the warm light from within themselves stitch together their lives, and from hence forth, Niera knew that she was truly Natura, and had been her all along. Natura took a deep breath, the beating of her heart as true and honest as that of a newly born baby who had taken her first breath after emerging from her mother's warm womb into this cold, cold world.

With her arms hanging heavily at her sides, she bent down upon her knees, her skin clinging to the ground for support and stability. With another few deep breaths, she sent a plea to her remaining warriors of the Earth. She called upon her protectors of the Earth's Oceans and water ecosystems, her warriors of the Earths Fauna and Flora and her warriors of Destruction and Chaos. "Warriors return to me, you are needed by my side as we endure this final battle for the life of the Earth. My protectors, summon your most powerful beasts, those who are not afraid to let their life fade as the Earth is resurrected. Come forth and fight alongside the spirit of the Earth, your Mother. For after the battle has been won and the Earth has been reborn so shall your lives. You shall live with freedom and with the power of sustainability that will allow all of you, my children to live amongst nature itself without disrupting the Earths system. You will all be free." As Natura spoke, her words flowed from her body like the stream of a river and into the soil where she stood. The wind which blew free the strands of her maroon red hair also carried her words as messengers towards her warriors and protectors. She knew that within minutes she would be surrounded by her supporters as they teleport through the Earths' core and her own army will be lit a flame with a burning desire for revenge. She had no mercy for the human race, and as such she planned to give none.

While she waited, Natura held her breath for four seconds before breathing out a melody of words that flowed into the atmosphere as if she was initiating the call of the wild, trying to bring nature to her where she stood upon eroded soil. The melody was low and deep as it rang through the battlefield, however, no heads turned to look at her. No one had heard the calling of nature, and no one had seen the woman smile mockingly in their direction as her eyes focused on the center of the war where the most blood had been spilt. With a terrifying shake of the ground, soldiers and armies fell head first to the ground, their bodies kissing the Earth as a wave within the ground itself knocked them all off their feet. It was deafeningly quiet, and nobody made any attempt to move or turn their head or even lift their bodies off the ground where they had fell.

That didn't last long though, for heads began to turn towards the horizon as sounds of ground ripping apart and boulders rolling into empty crevasses came from the distant land in front of them. The sound grew stronger and louder causing many of the soldiers to clutch onto their ears with their hands as they cringed and attempted to bury their heads under the gravel. Natura's smile deepened ever more as her eyed met with those of Zavier's, who, to her surprise, looked quite dashing riding on the back of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Oh did her heart skip a beat when he smiled back at her. Her happiness did not stop there as she noticed more and more of her followers stepping over the horizon amongst beasts of their own.

Natura could see Damien marching proudly with larger than normal alligators and crocodiles by his side, there were over a dozen large hippopotamuses that charged on after him with their mouths gaping as if in midst roar. His face was pumped with adrenaline and his fists were curled to his side ready for a fight. She could tell he had been in a few traumatizing situations and her heart went out to him. He was a strong soldier and it made her proud. Natura looked around, but her eyes did not meet with those of Rose who she had been so worried about when she felt her pain after the last African Elephant had been shot. Tears stung behind Natura's eyes as she realized that Rose must have given her life to protect the life of something she loved dearly. She died in battle, as did many others. However, she did make a promise to them when she gave them their powers and they gave her their trust. She would see Rose again, along with the others that had fallen alongside her. She sent a promise to Rose and those who fell behind, she would bring them back onto the Earth just as she had planned to do once she had fought her final battle. Natura's sadness was replaced with anger and rage as she threw her head back and let out a warriors cry, letting all the air inside her lungs and stomach flow out of her body and into the deepness of her scream. With her body high on anger she threw her arms to her sides and began to lift them up from the ground to the sky as she spoke these words "Rise my seedlings." Upon her words sprouts began to break through the dry and eroded soil in front of her. "Now grow!" Her command was harsh and cold, yet the seedlings obeyed and grew with their branches reaching for the heavens of the sky. They were already taller and more ancient than any buildings or structures that had been created by man. "Part for me and let me through."

The gigantic trees that appeared without rain, care or time swayed aside and picked up their roots from the ground causing crippling cracks on the Earth's surface. With her head bowed to the ground and her hair spilling in front of her eyes, Natura began her walk through the valley she had created from within the forest that now filled the war ground. The soldiers who had been distracted by the entire ordeal turned their attention towards Natura. All eyes were on her. Eyes of fear, eyes of desire, eyes of pride and admiration were all focused on her every move. Natura felt an ember burn inside her chest from the attention. It only grew stronger until she felt the heat radiate off her entire body. She continued to walk through the valley towards the center of the battlefield. As she did, the heat in her body could no long be contained and she gave in to the temptation of destruction that was bubbling inside her.

She let the fire free, it erupted into dark blue flames of heat that flew off her entire body and flowing hair. With her arms still out stretched, she let her fingertips brush upon the rough bark of the Eucalypt trees. The great adaptation about this species of trees is that they are able to reproduce during the event of a fire. That even if they burnt to nothing but ashes, their hard shell covered seeds will germinate in those ashes to produce a new forest of Eucalypt trees. Natura smiled at the fact that these trees, which appeared so simple and vulnerable, have the adaptations to survive forest fires whereas humans do not. With trees being lit a flame by the fire in her heart she made her way to the end of the valley. Where she stopped to stand in front of thousands of soldiers, many of who have managed to rise up from the ground and shakily point their weapons in her direction. "Now my lovelies, lift your roots and set this war a flame with your falling bark, crush their bodies with your branches and burn them so that they may be the nutrients that allow your seeds to rise up and grow from their ashes." Natura's smile was somewhat dark and twisted as her tree warriors lifted their deep roots and began to march over and into the battle field. Their branches set alight the uniform of the soldiers as they tried to escape the burning fire. "Welcome to a forest fire humans." Natura's laugh filled the air wickedly as she let her own flame dull out till her body simply shone with her own natural radiance. Screams and shrieks of pain erupted from the war zone; weapons were being misfired and hit the flesh of other soldiers. "Join the battle my warriors!" Natura exclaimed with her head to the sky as she signaled with her arms open wide ready to embrace the Earths protectors. Without hesitation or any fear in their eyes,

Damien was the first to lead the attack on the front line. His war cry filled his comrades with such passion that they shouted in unison as they joined their leader. This encouraged their mighty hippopotamuses and crocodiles to join the fight. Zavier and Tyrone threw their heads to the floor as they barricaded through the groups of soldiers who were cowering in fear from the forest fire. A tank in the distance let out an ear dropping blow as it fired like a cannon and sent a payload-carrying projectile shell towards Tyrone and Zavier. The shell hit Tyrone over his right shoulder blade, just scraping the reptile like skin off his back. With a rage filled roar escaping his strong jaws, Tyrone leapt out from amongst the burning soldiers and began tearing at the machine gun situated on top of the army tank. The soldier inside was going insane with fear as he tried to fire his gun directly at the T-Rex that was chewing the tank open like a can of tuna. Unfortunately for him, he was the fishy smell that Tyrone wanted to sink his teeth into. Tyrone managed to break the tank open with his strong claws. He had the soldier inside pinned to his seat with fear. Tears began to break out across the soldier's face as he began to beg for mercy. Zavier gave a command and Tyrone obeyed. The soldier was dragged from out of the cracked tank by his head, and with a clean chomp, the soldier's head was torn off his body and down the dinosaur's throat it went.

Natura was watching her fight break out into small scattered battles as each warrior was fighting their own battle. Damien had already crushed the life out of so many soldiers. She knew this as all she had to do was follow the trail of lifeless bodies with crooked broken necks, where her eyes would eventually fall upon Damien with his strong arms wrapped around the neck of another soldier. Their flailing arms and gasping breaths only lasted a few minutes before Damien twisted their heads with his arms which caused a sickening crack to cascade throughout the valley. His face was stone cold and he showed no signs of remorse or guilt, as though he had died inside a long time ago.

# Chapter Nine

## Javan tiger: The last track count that held evidence of their existence was in 1979. Their extinction was due to agricultural encroachment.

DAMIEN felt Natura's eyes on him from the other side of the battlefield; it burnt two holes in the back of his neck. He knew what she must have been thinking in that moment just then. He was a stone cold killer, who felt no pain from the guilt that should have built up inside the pit of his stomach. She must have thought that he was some kind of monster, who took the pleasure in suffocating the last breath out of every soldier with his own bare hands. She didn't know who he was though; she didn't know how he came to be here, how he came to be who he was. In his twenty-two years on Earth, he had only killed another human for the first time just a few days ago. And he suffered dearly for it. He felt the pain and fear in the sailor's eyes. Damien could still see those same eyes every night as he struggled to fall asleep. After tossing and turning restlessly, he would get up and forget about sleeping. He would go for a run in the middle of the night under the moonlight where he could outrun the nightmares that haunted his consciousness. Although he knew that this was the only way he could help save the Earth, it still felt wrong to him. He knew somewhere inside of him that it was wrong to kill one another. However, people would never learn. He could attempt to sit them down and to spread his will of peace as if they would simply turn from their bad ways and look towards the light. But the world had slipped way past that, it had already chosen a side, and that side involved violence and corruption. Something the world could definitely do without. So fighting violence with violence made sense to Damien, the people of the Modern world only understood this concept. For giving in to peace, tranquillity and equality would only show weakness amongst the people.

The people of the Earth feared the concept of simply solving conflicts with words of kindness from the honesty and truth of their hearts; they feared the loss of power. In honest truth, they showed fear in one another that if they showed this type of weakness, such as peace and equality, that another would come along and strip them of their power and their rights. So killing these soldiers for peace on Earth did make sense, even though it felt wrong. Damien knew mankind won't change, even if they stopped this war. They would just take mercy for granted and instead prepare more severe and enhanced technologies that would become a more endangering threat to Mother Nature and the Earth itself. Another soldier made his way towards Damien, an army knife in his right hand. With utter ease Damien assaulted the soldier's hand with his own causing the knife to fall through the air a few meters away from where they stood. The soldier looked really young, about the age of nineteen years. His face was scrunched up with wrinkles as he wriggled and squirmed out of fear from under the pressure of Damien's strong arms. What if I let him live? Damien's thoughts analyzed this question over and over again every time he had his hands wrapped around the throat of another person. He was always at a constant battle with his consciousness. What if this boy was just doing what he was told? He was just serving his country. Confused and drained of mental energy, Damien just looked into the boy's eyes as he gave his head a quick twist to the right. Damien watched as his eyes faded as if his body had been switched off and completely drained of life. The blood that once rushed through the soldier's cheeks began to drain of colour as his heart beat its final drum.

Damien dropped the boy's body on the floor; he turned to look behind him to see all the bodies of the soldiers he had killed within but a few hours. He has been pushing his anxiety out of his head since the day he joined this mission. He had to constantly remind himself why he was doing this in the first place. He was fighting for a brighter and better future. He was hoping to leave his past behind, to leave a lot behind actually. He let his mind drift back to his little sister; she was only four and had been through so much. His mother was never there for them when they needed her. She was always away somewhere late at night, and when she would come back she would stumble through the front door, reeking of cheap whiskey and cigars. Damien was the one that had taken care of his sister. He was like her father, more than her brother. He had to be. His father had passed away when she was only two. He was driving back from the hospital after their mum had a drug overdose. That night Damien knew something was different. He knew he was going to lose a parent. What he didn't know was that he was going to lose his father, the only stone in his life, the only one who pushed him to achieve his dreams to study marine biology. But, life is a funny thing, it never happens the way you want it to. So his father died as his cars breaks failed and he lost control of the car. And his little sister... Well, Damien came home one day to find his mum on the couch with a rubber band tied to the top of her arm and a needle sticking out just under the band. Damien had initially run to his mum and checked for a pulse. But it had been too late. His mum had overdosed and was gone. Damien remembered feeling his stomach twist together his insides. His heart knotted in with his intestines and his lungs became deprived of air. His instincts had kicked in and he found himself calling his sister's name. However, he heard no response, no usual giggle that he would be greeted with when she knew he was home. Damien had searched the whole house, when he noticed the backdoor had been left open. He couldn't recall all the times he had sworn and yelled at his mum to keep that fucking door closed. Yet, there he had stood. Just outside of the open backdoor. He didn't have to take any more steps forward. He could already see his little sister, her lifeless body, floating face down in the swimming pool. Her light blonde hair floating in the ripples of the water, her teddy bear that had drifted away from her to the other side of the pool. Damien knew exactly why he was doing this. He wanted to get away from it all, and to start a new life where he could be free from his past. It was the tears that he had shed for his little sister and the heart that he felt shatter inside his chest when he realized that she had died that drove him to kill three more soldiers on that battlefield. If he was a murderer, then so be it.

# Chapter Ten

## Tecopa Pupfish: First animal to be declared extinct according to the Endangered Species Act provisions of 1973.

NATURA'S spirit rose as her eyes wandered from Damien towards two male lions that stood proud and strong alongside a pack of lionesses just a few meters away from her. She cooed at them and grunted with a low voice, their heads crooked to the side. She knew exactly who they were and where they came from. The spirit of the Ghost and the Darkness had arrived in Australia. The one male lion looked somewhat different to what Natura had remembered when Mother Nature had summoned them back to Africa. He seemed as though he was carrying a loving spirit and heart within himself. Out of curiosity Natura cooed once more and directed her attention to Ghost. When his blue electric eyes met hers she choked on a tear as her throat tightened with disbelief. She could see Rose's spirit reflecting from within Ghost's eyes. She was joining the fight after all, as part of a pack of lions she had always hoped to study and become a part of. She had fulfilled her mission as well as her dreams to be the protector of African lions. Natura's heart grew warm once more, however, instead of the heat of revenge she knew all too well, the warmth came from the happiness she felt inside of her. She was proud of Rose.

She was strong and had a heart that only had room for kindness. She was the hope for mankind. Rose had brought back the hope for humans within Natura's heart. None the less, she hadn't changed her mind. She was still planning on killing mankind, for it seems that throughout history not even the caring heart of one person had the ability to change those of many other selfish hearts. This species have had the time to change their hearts to match that of Rose's and others with the same perspective as she had. However, to no avail. One could give mankind the time to change, but the question would be whether they would take that chance or would they fill that time with more selfish consumption and vanity? As she had said before, history has shown that mankind had chosen to do the latter. They consumed everything given the time they had been gifted. Therefore, one change of heart does not signify the selflessness of the human race upon this planet. Natura nodded towards Ghost and gave out a deep grunt letting him and his pack know that it is time for them to join the battle. With haste, Ghost, Darkness and their pack spread upon the land like a plague of man-eaters. Their teeth tore flesh from bone and their tongues sucked bodies dry from blood just as they had done in Africa.

With World War III just beginning, Natura watched from the center of the valley as death surrounded her. The scent of iron from blood, the stench of burnt flesh and the smoke from dying embers that lay embedded within the ashes of the Eucalypt forest filled her lungs with such dread and pain. She had never thought that she would have to initiate such a torturous war. Then the sadness began to consume her as she saw a soldier plunge a dagger from his pocket into the pulsing chest that belonged to Damien. She felt his life slip away as if it was but a dandelion weed that had its seeds blown away by a calming wind.

Damien felt a cold dagger force its way deeply into his chest from the center of his shoulders. The soldier who had been the owner of the dagger twisted it deeper with the force of his own hands causing the serrated edge of the weapon to rip through the central artery of Damien's heart. At first he felt anger arise from the pain that was filling from inside his chest. It only lasted a few minutes before the dagger was ripped clean from his chest and his body fell heavily upon the ground. With a thud his head slipped into darkness as his hand reached out to clutch the open wound of his chest. The darkness took over his mind, filling every nook and cranny with nothing but black shadows. His breath became shallow as a light, so bright began to flash from behind his closed eye lids. He felt a smile pull on his cheeks as his sister's beautiful chubby face came into his view. She was smiling and giggling as if he had just come home from work. He wanted very much to reach out and trace the edges of her pudgy face. Happiness filled Damien, happiness and calmness as he continued to watch his life flash in front of his eyes, the darkness of his mind fading as the light grew more and more. She was just as beautiful as the day he had left home to go to work. Her light blonde curls still glistening in the morning sunlight as she searched for roses in their garden. This was what Damien was fighting for. He was fighting to keep the memory of his little sister alive, even if it was just in his head and his heart. Damien's smile remained fixed on his face as his last breath was exhaled from his lungs and his chest grew heavy and finally stilled. Damien had passed on, with his body finally at peace.

# Chapter Eleven

## Bali Tiger: Extinct about 50 years ago on the island of Bali in Indonesia.

MEANWHILE, as World War III broke out within central Australia, two girls by the names of Kat and Sienna were hunkered down in the corner of a nuclear war bunker their father had built back in 2000. Their father had hustled them into the bunker as warning swept through Tokyo city. Something about a Nuclear Reactor malfunctioning and imploding, they didn't fully understand what was happening at the time. He had been screaming at them to come out of their rooms and to sprint down to the basement. His face was red and the veins were pulsing in his forehead as he grabbed them both by their forearms and literally flew them down the stairs of the basement, into the bunker and dropped the heavy metal doors of the container so that the light that reached down from the kitchen faded into pitch black darkness. The girls had screamed for their father, their throats became swollen and sore. But he never came back, even after several hours had passed.

Kat, being the eldest held onto her younger sister, six years old, who had been crying for the last three hours. Kat had been trying to dry her tears by singing nursery rhymes softly to her as her fingers threaded through her curly, unruly red hair. Kat herself had red hair but hers fell dead straight from her shoulders to the grounded cement where she sat. She was much older; her father had just bought her a cake the other day with candles to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. She figured that the celebration was not that important now. She had to forget about her sixteenth birthday and focused her attention on her sister as well as how they were going to get through this. She had to remain calm; otherwise her body would fall into shock and cause a panic attack. Kat knew that she definitely could not manage a panic attack right now. That would only make their situation worse.

Kat had managed to break the darkness using a glow stick so that they could see what they had around them from within the bunker. She rummaged through the resources that her father had stacked into the boxes at the far end of the bunker; where she found a small portable radio that ran on double AA batteries. She held her breath and hoped the radio would turn on as she turned knob. She had no idea what was happening outside in the world and she was desperate to find out whether they can come out of the bunker or not. With her fiddly fingers and a sensitive on switch of the radio she managed to get the device up and running. But all that she could hear was static, just fuzzy static. With dread and concern bubbling up inside her, Kat began to skip through the channels of the radio, trying desperately to find a voice that would break through the static that was filling the silence of their bunker. Nothing. Kat heard absolutely nothing. No voice came through the radio as she had hoped; it was as if the outside world was numb, frozen and dead.

Kat was running out of ideas, if there was no one outside to help them, what was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to take care of herself let alone her little sister? "Sienna, it's been over three hours; we need to get out of here. I don't think anyone is coming to get us and we are not going to be able to survive off moulded bread crumbs and canned sardines." Kat felt Sienna's head nod as her forehead dug deeper into her chest. "Ok, we just have to get something here that we could use to open up this old rusted tin can." Kat began to look around the bunker, holding the yellow-green like glow stick over her head and waved it within and between the crevasses of their bunker. Her heart sunk just as it had before when the radio didn't pick up any voices through its speakers. The only things that her dad had left down here were cans of either sardines or kidney beans, bread crumbs that had turned a fluffy blue, a useless radio, one glow stick which she was using and a clipboard with a piece of torn paper and a chewed pen attached by a piece of woven string. Seriously dad, Kat had considered giving him a lecture on human survival. That is if they were able to get out of this metal bunker and if he was still alive, out there somewhere. This time the thoughts were too much and Kat found herself drying the tears that wet her face with her white shirt, staining the fabric with the ink from her mascara and eyeliner. She had to hold herself together, for her and her sister's sake.

This was not the time to panic! Although Kat couldn't think of a better time to panic. With calming breaths, Kat crawled on her hands and knees to where her sister was pressed into the corner of the bunker. She pulled her small warm body close to her own, and wrapped her arms tightly across her sisters back. She hugged Sienna closer to her chest with every breath that she took. She was going to get out of here, and she was going to do it for her sister. She was all she had right now. She had to be the hero, the Disney prince that came to her daring rescue and save the day. It was then that the floor began to shake with might and fury. Sienna began to cry, her swollen throat distorting her screams so that it just sounded as if she was choking on her own tongue. Kat grabbed Sienna tightly as she tried to push their bodies deeper into the corner they had been sitting against. Kat positioned her body so that her back was facing away from Sienna and towards the open space of the bunker. After what felt like an eternity, the bunker stopped shaking; it must have been an Earthquake or something, Kat thought. When the ground beneath them stopped vibrating a large beam fell onto the top of the metal doors of their bunker, denting a small opening in the door frame just big enough for the two of them to wriggle free from their bunker.

Kat carried Sienna to the opening as she looked at the beam, it looked familiar, and it looked just like the wooden structure that held up the roof of their home. It must have fallen during the entire ruckus from the Earthquake. Kat peeped her head through the opening of the bunker. There was so much smoke and haze that she could barely see a thing in front of her, let alone what was lay further ahead. Kat was about to yell out for help, when her consciousness told her that it might not be the best idea. So instead, she pulled her arms from her sides and leaned her forearms against the concrete of their basement. With a smooth step-up with her tiptoes she managed to slide her body out of the gaping hole of the bunker and onto the cold basement floor. Kat remained there as the coldness of the floor touched her skin. She lifted her head and paused to look around where she lay. Alas, the haze continued to block her vision. She rose onto her knees and swivelled around to reach down into the bunker to help her sister up to the landing.

At first Sienna wouldn't budge from the corner, but after a few encouraging cooing noises, Kat felt sharp little nails pierce and pinch the skin of her wrists. Ah huh, finally! Kat stabilised her feet against the fallen beam and tugged on her little sister's arms, pulling Sienna free from her hide-hole. Sienna collapsed once again onto Kat's chest and stomach, knocking all air out of her lungs. At first she thought she was just gasping for the air to return to her lungs from the collision she just had with her sister, but after a few minutes of choking for air Sienna began gagging and dry heaving as though she was struggling to breathe as well. Kat tried to gulp for oxygen but nothing that went into her lungs satisfied her body's quench to live. What felt like hours finally came to an end as Kat watched Sienna's body fall limp in her arms, her chest stilled of movement. It wasn't too long after that Kat's vision turned black and she passed out.

Kat's mind was still, all around her everything was dark and still. She must have been knocked out for hours on end. She couldn't move her arms, legs or anything for that matter. She forced all energy she had to at least open her eyes, and for a brief second, her eyes fluttered and hope grew inside her heart. With her eyes now wide open she saw a bright light stinging through her pupils. She squinted into the light to try and figure out where she was. Ever so slowly she lifted her body from the surface she was laying on. As she did this she realized that her hands were bound with woven thread, as were her ankles. Her heart rose and began to beat a million beats per second. Where's Sienna! Kat's mind whirled and she felt the dizziness from her anxiety begin to take over her head. Just then she heard a frail moan, causing her to direct her attention towards the floor just across from her. It was Sienna, she was ok. She was tied up as well, but she was ok. Kat managed to smile with relief as she attempted to make her way towards her sister. She tucked her arms into her chest and rolled her aching body across the room. The second her body touched the back of her sister, Sienna squealed and fell back to lean against Kats chest. Together again. The moment was sweet but brief as two older men accompanied by a woman entered the room from the locked wooden door that imprisoned the two sisters.

"Where are we? Who the fuck are you?" Kat had had enough, her mood swings had won over; she had been through enough shit in the last twenty-four hours. All she wanted to do was be free of the ropes that bound her so that she may protect her little sister. The two men laughed as though her courageous outburst was entertaining and humorous. Kat just stared back at them with such hatred that she could feel the anger and frustration bubble up from her chest, blocking any positive thoughts from entering her mind. She was pissed. "Who. The. Fuck. Are. You."

Kat let the last word linger in her mouth, savouring the power she felt over the two men who looked at her with such disgust and anger. "Little girl, you better watch your tongue before I slice it off with burning hot metal, you little bitch!" The dark haired man with a scar on his face made an advance towards Kat, pulling out a six inch dagger from his utility belt. "Ruan, enough. We are not here to hurt them; we are here to welcome them into the new world. Into the age of the Mutationems, into the changing. Now step aside, so that I may give them a proper introduction." Kat watched with wide eyes and curiosity as the woman walked over to where they crouched, and knelt down beside them. She felt her head spinning more and more with questions. What are Mutationems? And what is this new world? She knew there was a toxic chemical explosion from the Nuclear Power plant that exploded, but that couldn't have destroyed the whole world could it? What had changed? Kat's stomach didn't like the idea of such questions; it began to grow a mind of its own inside her intestines and broke the silence with a growl that could have made a mamma lion proud of her cub. Kat clutched Sienna closer to her chest as if her sister's little body could silence her talking gut. "You must be hungry, when was the last time you ate?" The woman spoke in a soft voice, making sure to make eye contact with Kat, as if she was trying to unlock the secrets of her soul. Kat kept her mouth shut, she didn't want to respond, and she definitely didn't know how to respond to that. When was the last time she ate? Must have been the dinner from the night before.

A black bean burger maybe. She couldn't really remember, but the thought of food definitely didn't do anything to shut her stomach up. It was throwing a tantrum like a little kid who wanted the chocolate bar his mother held in front of him, that he could never have. No matter how loud he cried or shouted. The woman smiled within the silence. "I am Jolene, but everyone around here calls me Jo." With nothing but more silence between them, Jo reached over towards Kat and began to untie her bonds. Kat was puzzled and confused, but she decided not to make a fuss. Her sister was weak and needed some food, otherwise she wouldn't last long. Her baby fat would only sustain her for a few days before her body would starve. With her bonds undone, Kat rose from the floor, lifting Sienna from her chest onto her right hip with her hand supporting her bottom.

Kat looked at Jo, and Jo stared right back. They shared a moment, with the silence surrounding them. Jo smiled and nodded at Kat and Sienna. "Come my darlings, tell me your names. You have nothing to fear here." Kat hesitated at first, but decided that she had nothing to lose at the moment. "I am Katherine, Kat for short. This is Sienna." Kat moved her right hip up, making Sienna bounce and giggle. "I call her Nenna when she is in a good mood." Jo continued to smile as she went to brush a loose curl away from Nenna's little face. "It is nice to meet you both, now if you would please follow me. We have a lot to talk about. After all, both of you have been asleep for four days." "Four days! What do you mean four days?" Kat began to freak out, this woman must be crazy. Four days? No. Kat remembered clearly that they had just passed out as soon as they stepped out of their bunker. "What happened?" Kat was bombarding Jo with all these questions that she demanded to know the answers to. She had the right to know. No one passes out for a few hours then wakes to find that they have been asleep in a fucking coma for four days. Something must have gone wrong.

"Kat my dear, first thing first. Follow me into the next room. I will give you and your sister the nutrients you require and then we will talk some more." With one arm behind Kat's back, Jo lead Kat and Nenna out of the room and into a larger room, filled with people. They all looked as if they had been dragged through the bush and gravel by a rope tied around their ankles as a Ute drove them around for hours. They could honestly do with a good shower, and maybe a tetanus shot or something; some of them looked like they were infected with something very obscure. As Kat shifted her gaze around the room, a body caught her eye. It was a young man. He had these muscles that bulged as if he had clouds on steroids strategically placed underneath his skin. He was a big guy, but he did have some handsome features. Kat moved closer to see if he was breathing. She could only make out the small movements of his chest as it moved up and down with each one of his shallow breaths. He looked as if he was about to slip away from his own body. It made her sad, as some kind of darkness began to cloud over her mind. He was dying. "Who is he?" Kat asked with a break in her voice as she tried to hold back the tears that were forming from the back of her eyes. "The driver's license we found in his wallet said that his name was Clarence Walker." Jo replied heavily.

Clarence, Kat thought. It was an odd name for such a massive guy. "And why aren't you helping him?" Kat looked at Jo, as if she was to blame for the state that Clarence was in. "I told you Kat, you will eat first and then we shall talk." Kat was confused once more. Jo smiled with an eerie grin as if she liked the fact that Kat felt lost and uncomfortable. "Come closer Kat. I want to show something to you." Hesitantly, Kat forced her feet to move a few inches closer to where Clarence lay and knelt down next to Jo. "This man in front of you is what we call a Natura. He is human, just like you and me. But also like you and me, they have been mutated and changed by certain circumstances. Clarence here was gifted with powers from Natura, the Mother Nature Reincarnate. The Natura's are a new race made from the Earth itself to be the saviours and protectors of the planet from the human race. He is one of many which are quite fortunate for us." "Why is that?" Kat interrupted Jo, before she could continue on with her prophecy of the Earths future. "Well if you had the patience my darling, you would be hearing it right now." Jo turned to smile at Kat, waiting for her to be quiet before she continued.

"Sorry." Kat apologized to Jo, and simply looked up at her with a nod to indicate that she was ready to hear the rest of Jo's story. "We are fortunate the Natura's are abundant as once they die, Mother Nature brings them back to life and they lay dormant as if in a deep, deep slumber until something, a sign, initiates their bodies to awaken and grow into the new world. They resemble that of a seed that has a set level of dormancy that can only be broken by a specific event or action. Now this seed has yet to be broken, which is why he is how he is at the moment." Kat was bursting with questions. Before she could stop herself, she opened her mouth and words escaped. "Excuse me Jo, but how do you know all of this?" Jo gave her a disapproving look but addressed the question none the less. "Well my darling, as you can see there are so many of us around you. Some of us have had the time and energy to spy on Mother Nature and the Natura's following the event of the nuclear radiation that mutated our cells and bodies. We were concerned for what was happening out there in the world. We all decided to have a few spies to inform us on what was happening and who those people were that had started World War III. "Wait, wait, we are mutants?" Kat interrupted. "Darling, what do you think Mutationems means? Anyways enough questions. If you let me finish I am sure that all of your questions will be answered." Jo replied, silencing Kat's next question before it could leave her lips.

Kat tried to still her mind and block out the questions that were buzzing around her head like bumble bees. "Alright, where was I?" Jo continued, "Okay, so there are Naturas, they are part of the Earth, when they die they are dormant until the time a specific event or action brings them back to life. Their bodies will possibly have adapted to the new world, we mutated in the incident of the nuclear explosion and yes well here we are. Now, we have found that with the mutations that happened to our bodies, we are able to self-sustain ourselves without the need of food, water, heat or electricity." Jo stopped her sentence to look at Kat as if she knew that Kat was about to ask what she meant when she said self-sustain. "We have the ability to draw the natural energy and life out of the bodies of Naturas." Jo smiled her grin once more as she lifted her hands from her sides and let them hover over Clarence's chest, just above his still beating heart. "Watch Kat my darling, as I show you how to draw your nutrients from the living body of a Natura who lays dormant."

Kat felt on edge and honestly speaking, she felt as though she was in a nightmare. She could not believe what was happening. Her mind was rejecting the images her eyes were sending to her brain. She could feel her body go into shock, but she couldn't move from her spot. Her curiosity and bewilderment had cemented her to the floor. She watched as Jo chanted a deep and low melody under her breath causing a ghost-like vapour to escape from Clarence's chest into the tips of her fingers. The vapour was a deep red colour; it was powerful and full of rage and destruction as if Clarence had soul that had been fucked with one too many times. "This one's power is Chaos and Destruction; he had been gifted with it by Mother Nature. He must have been one of the men who blew up the nuclear reactor. Kat, come closer and join me." Jo waved her hand towards Kat and Nenna, beckoning them closer to where Clarence lay. "Give me your hands, so that I could help your fingertips guide his soul into your empty stomachs."

Kat froze. She didn't want this. This was wrong; she didn't want to kill anyone just because she was hungry. She only considered that once a month, but she'd never seriously consider committing murder for an empty stomach. It was then that Nenna saved the day, her fussy little sister began to bawl her eyes out. Her chubby body began to wriggle and thrust out of Kats tight grip. Thank you Nenna, Kat had thought as she held on tighter to Nenna's wriggling limbs. Kat could see some concern in Jo's eyes as she stared at Nenna. It was as if she had no words to say, no sense of motherly instincts that she could tune into to give some advice to Kat on how to handle a tantrum thrown by a little girl. Kat decided to take on this opportunity and made sure to sound concerned when she addressed Jo. "Jo would it be okay if I stepped out for a few minutes just to calm Sienna down please?" At first Kat saw a puzzled look spread across Jo's face, as if suspicion had risen to the surface. "Yes, yes by all means darling. Just take a right turn down the hall and head straight for the two wooden doors at the end. Tell the men guarding those doors that I sent you out to catch your breath." With a small nod and a smile from Jo, Kat turned on her heels and walked with a solid pace towards those wooden doors.

When she arrived there were two men standing guard in front of the doors. They both held heavy weaponry, looked like some kind of machine guns from the looks of the components and the bullet shells that lay wasted on the floor surrounding their feet. They had been using those weapons recently. Kat could tell from the stinging smell of gun fire burned deeply in her nostrils as she took a breath in. It was still fresh. She eventually found herself standing tall in front of the two men. They were huge and their faces were set hard like stone. She took a few seconds to compose herself and made sure that her voice sounded calm, collected and overall demanding. "Jo sent me to get a breath of fresh air." Kat waited for a few minutes while the two guards stared at each other. One of them threw a nod her way while the other one grunted as his hand left the trigger of his gun and latched onto the handle. With a jerk that could have ripped the door clean off its frames, the man pulled the door open in one swift motion.

Kat held her breath as she moved her feet one by one towards the opened passage way. The moment her feet touched the soil of the ground from outside of the house she felt an intense wave of relief wash over her. The crumbly soil of the Earth made her feel safe and welcomed. She decided that she would move further away from the door just so that she could be away from any prying eyes. As she stepped further away from the house she heard a deafening thud from behind her. She did a swift turn of her head to find out what had happened, the door had shut behind her. I should have known, she thought. Kat was now a few hundred meters away from her kidnappers, or were they rescuers? She didn't know which one they were. Did they save her life or merely capture her, drug her and bring her into some fucked up cult? Either way she wanted out. But she had nowhere else to go at the moment, and her sister was starving and she had to admit to herself that she was feeling the hunger pains as well.

Nenna was still fussy and her tears had soaked through Kats shirt, so she decided to kneel down on the ground and placed Nenna on her back so that her whole body was exposed to the shining rays of the sun. That seemed to quieten her almost instantly. Kat could almost see a smile spread across her face. Kat took her place next to Nenna as she lay her aching body down onto the Earth were she felt supported by the ground. She reached out and took a strong hold of Nenna's hand, feeling her little fingers intertwine with her own. With nothing but a relaxed mind Kat closed her eyes and took a few moments to embrace the sunshine. She felt so good on the inside that she allowed her mind to wonder. Eventually she thought back to what had happened from within the house. She attempted to recall the soft melody that Jo had sang before the body of the Natura Clarence. She felt the tune escape her thoughts and into a soft hum that erupted into words that flowed freely from her mouth. "Come to me the energy from this living soul, take hold of the blood that from within these veins flow. Quench the hunger for life that grows, and wash over my body with the power of that which only you can bestow." It was at that moment that Kat felt a tingly sensation take over her body. She felt warmth circulate from within her veins and her mind became clearer. She felt as though the sun itself had reached down and sent wavelengths of energy through the pigments of her skin, into her muscles and her veins. She was no longer tired, nor was she hungry. She jumped to her feet, bent her knees and took a leap into the air above her.

Giggling and spinning on the spot Kat looked down at Sienna who was also tumbling around on the ground, her laughter breaking through the silence of the devastated landscape. Kat couldn't believe this, she enjoyed studying science when she was at school, and she remembered learning about photosynthesis, but what had just happened would have to be impossible. Kat sat back down as she watched Nenna play with the rocks that were eroded loose from the nuclear explosion. She moved her attention from Nenna to her skin; she poked and prodded the skin on her arm. As she did so she began to notice small pigments of green reflect from the sunlight. They reminded her of the leaves she had been looking at from under a microscope. The green pigments were of similar shape and colour as that of the chloroplasts that were embedded within the tissues of the leaves. The chloroplasts were responsible for the process of photosynthesis, which in turn was responsible for the energy plants gained and the amount of Oxygen it released as a by-product.

When Kat and her sister escaped from their bunker at their home they must have been exposed to left over nuclear materials which they would have inhaled into their lungs. This meant their bodies were both exposed to toxic nuclear chemicals and that Jo was right! They had been mutated! Kat and Nenna were Mutationems! They were a part of these people who had been holding them hostage. However, Kat was confused. If she was able to absorb light energy from the sun to supply her body and Nenna's body with the nutrients and the power it needed, then why was Jo taking the life force out of the body of that dormant Natura? Kat had discovered, by accident a more sustainable way to gain energy and nutrients from the environment without murdering anyone, or devastating the surrounding environment! She had to go back inside and tell Jo of her significant discovery! This could potentially change everything.

Kat was so excited that she ran and scooped up the still giggling Nenna as she headed towards the closed wooden doors. With her free hand she banged on the wooded frame. "Jo! Jo! I have something very important to tell you! Please open up!" She knocked the fist of her hand on the wood one last time before the door swung open and nearly knocked Kat right off her feet. Without hesitation she ran through the open door, straight down the hallway and took a sharp left turn where she ended up being back in the room where she had felt so uncomfortable and out of place. Jo was standing there in a corner watching as some other man had his hands over Clarence's heard. He was taking his turn, extracting the energy from the dormant Natura's body, which looked weak and fragile. Almost as if he was but a few minutes away from death. With concern in her voice and motivation in her steps, Kat marched over to where Jo was standing and tugged heavily on her arm.

"Jo, you have to stop this. I found a better way! I found something amazing while we were outside! Come let me show you! Please." Kat looked up at Jo with such anticipation and eagerness, she wanted Jo to stop this murderous act and literally join her on the light side, where they have sunshine and happiness. "Kat, hun, this is how we get our energy. This is how we survive, there is no other way we have tried everything." "But Jo" Kat said exuberantly. "You haven't. If you just come outside with me, I can show you. We have chloroplasts within the tissues and muscles of our bodies. We can photosynthesise! Just like the plants that grow on this Earth. You wouldn't have to take the lives of any of these people" Kat pointed towards the dying Clarence to make her point clear. "Enough Kat, the Natura's are our enemies, they made us this way. They were the ones who destroyed the city of Tokyo and they are the cause for our mutation. Therefore, they shall all suffer, one by one. We shall drain their life force to sustain our own. And maybe, when we have removed all life of the Natura's on Earth, then maybe I shall consider your photosynthetic theory. But for now this is what we do to survive."

Kat felt the coldness of Jo's heart pierce through her own. It was freezing and unnatural. No human or mutant could ever survive such an ice age from within their own heart. "But Jo, this is wrong." Kat tried to appeal to her better nature but to no avail. Jo had already made her decision; Kat could see that there was no point changing her mind. She had decided long ago from the moment the sirens went off, warning people of the nuclear explosion. "Kat, I said enough!" With a stern voice that plunged straight into Kat's fears, Jo swung out with her right arm, and with the back of her hand she slapped Kat across the cheek. Flesh and bone collided causing black and blue bruising to surface on Kat's skin. Kat flinched and jerked her face and body away from Jo. She fell to the ground from the impact, her one hand clutching Nenna tightly to her side, while the other hand delicately caressed her burning cheek. "You are a monster!" Kat hissed at Jo, spit flying from her mouth landing on Jo's outstretched arm.

"I have heard enough, you shall learn to be one of us and live among us or you shall both perish in your cells. Take them away and out of my sight." Jo motioned towards the two men who were originally in the cell with Kat and Nenna when they first realised where they were. One of the men grabbed hold of Nenna and jerked her away from Kat's body. "No!" Kat screamed as tears began to flow from her pained eyes. The wetness soothed her aching cheek, but she could feel her heart breaking as she watched her little sister being dragged away forcefully. It wasn't too long before the second man had his arms around Kat's waist and was lifting her up off the ground. Kat felt the air escape her lungs as her stomach was forced in on itself by the man's strong grip. He was squeezing the air out of her. She was coughing and struggling to breathe as the man carried her under his shoulder out of the room, down the corridor towards her cell. She could hear Jo barking orders at the rest of the women and men from inside the room, instructing them to form a circle around Clarence's fading body.

Kat tried to scream out Sienna's name but was hushed by a sour taste in her mouth as the man shoved his sausage fingers into her mouth to hold her tongue. The tears continued to rush down her face as she started to gag on his fingers whilst trying to inhale some oxygen into her crying body. She was so close to passing out, the darkness had already begun to fade through into her vision and she felt her body go numb, limb by limb.

She felt her body float for a few seconds in the air before falling hard onto the cemented ground in her cell. Her head hit the surface quite hard, it sounded similar to that of a bowling ball hitting the floor before it rolled toward the pins at the end of the bowling aisle. Kat had a few minutes to spare before the darkness took over her mind. She managed to lift her bulging head a few centimeters above the ground to look around for Nenna, she couldn't see her. She called out to her sister, but she could not hear her reply. She was all alone, and her vision was fading with every second that passed by. Kat reached with her arm around to her head to hold onto the aching bruising that was pulsing from her head. Fear and shock shook her body as she felt a damp wetness meet her fingers as they brushed through her hair. She didn't want to look, she didn't have to. She knew exactly what it was. It was blood. Blood was dripping slowly from the wound she had gotten when her head collided with the concrete. She brought her hand to her face, causing the smell of iron to enter her nose. Her body was vibrating on the ground, shaking as though she had just been electrocuted. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

Her body began to shut down from the shock, from the loss of blood and her ever growing anxiety. It was because of this that she welcomed in the darkness that prodded at her sight. If she could just let her body shut down, then maybe she would be able to recharge herself and heal her body while she lay unconscious. It was the best and only option she had. So she closed her eyes and gave into the temptation of sleep, remembering the last thing she saw was her red stained fingertips. Darkness took over as Kat felt as limp as a noodle. She was finally at peace; her head lay heavy on the ground followed by the slump of her overly tired body. When she has gathered her strength and healed her spirit, she planned to rebel against the Mutationems, to take back her sister and to escape their prison. But to do that, she would first have to befriend the leader of the pack. She would have to show Jo that she was one of the Mutationems; she would have to murder a dormant Natura. And once she had gained the trust of the pack leader she would rebel and pierce Jo's cold heart with a blade that matched the darkness and coldness of her soul. She would do anything for her little sister.

# Chapter Twelve

## Zanzibar Leopard: Extinct in 1996 due to an aggressive hunting legend that involved witches.

THE battle would never be won this way. Natura would have to witness the murderous deaths of her warriors as they fought to defend and protect her life and their planet. It was time, she thought. It was time to bring this to an end. Natura turned her back to the war and began to walk away from the blood that was spilling onto her planet. Tainting her very skin in the process. She took a few steps when pain erupted from her left shoulder, just missing her beating heart. She fell to her knees as she tried to subside the pain with her thoughts. With a bullet lodged inside her collar bone, the Earth's surface gave way and left a gaping hole in the center of the battle. Soldiers and warriors fell to their deaths as their bodies were gravitated to the center of the Earth. Their screams were heard for minutes on end until the final cry was silenced as the last body found the core. Natura rose from the ground to face her attacker. He was a soldier. His face was scratched in deeply so that if you looked closely you would be able to see fragments of bone that structured his skull. Stains of blood and mud lay dormant within those deep cuts making him look as if he had just risen from the dead. He took a few crooked steps towards her, his right leg digging into the ground from a broken ankle. His hands came together to support the gun and to stabilize the shaking adrenaline that was impairing his perfectly aimed shot to her heart that continued to beat as loud as a war drum. Natura had no idea what to do. She was unprotected and held no weapon but the power of Mother Nature.

She maintained her composure and prepared for the strike of a bullet to her heart. Her eyes closed shut as her chest caught hold of her breath, holding it still from within her throat. The sound of a bullet rang through her ears but she felt no pain, she felt no metal penetrate her skin from her chest. But what she did hear was a deep tormented grunt followed by a thud that would only indicate that a body had fallen in front of her feet. Following all that she had heard, Natura opened her eyes and came face to face with Zavier who was laid on the ground clutching the upper left corner of his chest. Green emerald blood was seeping through the grip of his fingers as he attempted to soften the pain caused from the bullet. She could see in his eyes that he was in complete agony. The bullet had hit his aorta vein just above his heart causing his body to bleed from the inside out, drowning his organs with the same bodily fluid that had kept him alive for all these years. He was dying, and would be gone within a few seconds. Natura felt a sense of breaking erupt from within her body, despair and anger rushed through her veins shaking her hands and legs. She fell to the floor, caressing Zavier's hand with her own. She helped apply pressure to his chest wound, but it made no difference. He was still human, he would still perish from the trauma and he would still die. Tears made their way from her eyes as she thought about Zavier's death. He had sacrificed himself for her, he had thrown himself in front of the bullet and now he was dying for her, for the future of the Earth. Her tears would not stop as they rolled past her cheeks and onto his choking body. She felt him jerk from underneath her grip as he tried to take in any oxygen that he could.

He looked at her and his mouth fell open as if he was about to say something to her. But it was too late, Natura saw the life fade from his eyes as they turned to a lifeless grey, and his mouth went limp. His face appeared as if he was screaming in his sleep, his skin a ghostly white with a pale complexion. Zavier was dead, he was finally at rest. "He will return my dear Natura" Mother Nature pushed her words through to Niera so that she may listen and understand that this was not the end for their love. "I didn't even get the chance to tell him." Natura wiped the tears away from her eyes and caressed Zavier's face one last time. With her hands she moved her fingertips over his eyelids so that his eyes closed into what should have been a peaceful sleep. She closed his mouth and watched for a few seconds, searching for some form of life that Mother Nature had promised them. At first nothing happened. "Be patient Natura. These things take time." Natura rose from the ground and looked on, to where the soldier still stood.

His gun had fallen to his side as the fear had finally settled inside him. He had just shot the love of Mother Nature and he was about to pay for it. Natura lent over the body of a fallen soldier and pulled out a blade that pierced his lower abdomen. With a blood stained blade at hand she advanced towards the soldier with anger in her eyes. At first he appeared scared and turned his head from side to side as if to look for a way to escape his fate. But he had nowhere to run to. This sent pleasure through Natura's body. She was free to avenge her soldiers and her pride. "Stop! Natura! Do not do this!" Natura stopped in her path of murder and turned to face another soldier. She stood tall and strong in front of Natura. Filled with curiosity and confusion as to why she should not kill this man, she stared back at the soldier with her head crooked to the side. "You are my enemy." Natura hissed in her direction, spitting on the soldier's mud and blood covered boots.

She recognized this soldier; she had been one of the soldiers who had stuck a dagger deeply into the hearts of one of the lions that held the spirit of Africa. She was the one responsible for the death of Darkness. And for that she shall pay dearly, as soon as Natura destroyed the soldier who remained to stare daggers into the back of Natura's head. With a smile she began to turn to face the already injured soldier, but before she could face the fear in his eyes, a cold dagger was plunged swiftly and deeply into her chest. The blade was still warm from the hand that was still holding it. The woman had taken her shot and had caught Natura off guard. Natura's eyes met with the soldier's whose hand dug the blade further into her ribs. The woman looked pleased with herself, as if she had just saved her human race. Natura laughed a sound so deep and disturbing that the soldier removed her hand from the dagger. She took a few steps back leaving Natura to fall to her knees in between the two standing soldiers. "Human soldier, you think this dagger could kill me? You are pathetic. I am Mother Nature. I am the very source of your existence. Fools! If you kill me, you all die."

Natura's voice filled the fallen war zone as another deep laugh escaped her lips like her body was possessed by something cold and sinister. Natura reached between her breasts, her hands wrapped around the cold handle of the dagger that protruded from her chest. With a breathless grunt she pulled the dagger from her burning flesh, the blade was covered with a green glowing syrup that fell in drops staining the ground with an emerald green puddle. The blood was flowing from the gaping hole in her chest. Natura gripped the blade in her right hand as she stared mockingly at the dark hole that made a path towards her still beating heart. The blade had missed her heart by a millimetre. Her left lung however was punctured, deeply. Natura began to spit and cough up blood that spurted out of her chest from the pressure caused by her jerking choke. The sinister smile still remained on her face, blood tainted her white teeth as her lips pulled apart allowing another laugh to gurgle from her clogged up throat. Natura brought her hands together; with the dagger held tightly between the palms of her hands she raised the blade above her head. She was feeling the sorrow that was building up inside of her mind. She had lost so many warriors; they had been killed and slain on this very battlefield, and others that scattered the globe.

They all died for their Earth. For Mother Nature, for her. The pain was more threatening than the death facing her. She did not regret her actions, nor would she regret what she was about to do. Natura stuttered a few shallow breaths, as she felt a layer of cold ice cover her heart. The frost decorated her insides with small beautiful snowflakes that cracked and shattered as her heart continued to beat and her lungs kept taking in the air that she was breathing. It took a few seconds for the ice to take over her organs and to flow through her blood causing it to freeze over as if a cold winter storm had frozen over the ocean waves. The blood that oozed from her chest erupted into shards of ice and frost causing flakes of snow to fall onto her naked skin. The snowflakes began to slowly cover her once tanned brown skin. Natura watched as her arms above her head was turning a shimmering white, just like the rest of her body. She could no longer feel her legs; they had already turned into solid ice, clear and yet somewhat beautiful, as if a master craftsman had carved her body out of ice. Natura had to act quickly; her broken and cold heart was about to take over what remained of her mobile body. With a scream, so unforgettable and unrecognizable, Natura forced all the energy she had into her arms and plunged the blood and ice stained dagger into the puddle of blood in front of her. The blade plunged through the Earth's surface, breaking through the soil just as it had done to Natura's chest. The ground surrounding the dagger began to crack and scatter in random pathways away from Natura's freezing body. "May the cold frost from my broken heart freeze over the cruelty, destruction, abuse and ignorance of the humanity that plagues this Earth. Erase the carbon footprints of those who have vandalised and corrupted my body. Let no human soul be saved from my wrath, for you have all been given many chances to save this planet you call Earth. It is too late. Suffer as I have suffered for the entirety of the human race, for in ten years' time you will all be forgotten in the past. The ice age will consume you, there is no sanctuary. After the decade has passed my Natura's will nurture the resurrected Earth and treat it as if it was one of their own. You do not deserve to breathe this air that drifts from within my lungs. You do not deserve to drink the water that flows from within my veins, and you do not deserve to be part of the circle of life that is Mother Nature. Farewell humans, it has been a pleasure to remove you from my body. Do not return here. This is no longer your home."

With her final words falling through the atmosphere as comets, Natura's body completely froze over. Delicate snowflakes decorated her frozen skin. Her head was bowed forward as if in surrender towards the dagger that still struck through the Earth. Her flowing red and maroon purple hair was the last to still from the falling snow. Natura was now but a dramatic statue, a symbolic representation of the corruption, pain and irreplaceable loss of life mankind had caused on nature and the planet itself. There in the center of the battlefield her still and beautiful body stayed, to remind Natura's of the sacrifice Mother Nature had to make for the future of the planet. The ice from her body flowed through the cracks that the blade had made, like molten lava upon the Earth's surface. Snow began to fall from the sky, showering the Earth with glowing white flakes that covered the colours of summer, autumn and spring. Winter had come to the entire Earth all at once. The battlefield was soon covered in snow. The bodies of the fallen soldiers and warriors were hidden underneath a winter wonderland as if the war had never taken place or had ever existed. All that remained was Natura's statue. The snow that fell did not dare fall or bury her body. Instead the winter fell around her, creating a fortress of solitude for those who wish to remember the battle between Mother Nature and mankind.

# Chapter Thirteen

## Po'ouli: Formally declared extinct in 2004 due to Habitat Loss and disease.

### Ten Years Later...

"SIENNA! Dammit, hun we don't have time for this. Get your butt out of those trees! We need to get to the top of that mountain before nightfall or else we won't get the energy bump we need for tomorrow. Seriously Sienna, I am not kidding." Kat was standing knee deep in snow and had no time to play these silly hunting games with her little sister. Well, she wasn't so little anymore. She was what? Sixteen now. Literally a teenage girl. Kat laughed to herself, she reminded her of herself when she was sixteen. She had to grow up a lot in those ten years mind you, and she had grown up differently than Kat had. A lot differently.

Growing up in a world that had frozen over into an ice age, coming to terms that your body had actually mutated into a Mutationem due to a nuclear reaction explosion and that you can lay out in the sunshine to soak up energy like a common house plant didn't really sound like a normal childhood. But nothing has been normal, not for ten years past when Natura, a Mother Nature reincarnate declared World War III on all of mankind. Kat knew that Sienna struggled to recall what her life had been like before the war. She couldn't remember their father anymore, but that didn't seem to bother her too much. She had been so young when they had lost him. Kat was her only living relative since then. She was like her mother, her sister and her best friend. Kat would always protect and fight for her sister. She was doing it every day, like she had done for the last ten years. The fact was that they were now Mutationems and they were part of clan that was led by Jo, a malicious revenge seeking killer. Jo and the rest of the Mutationems had been going out on hunting expeditions in the snow to seek out and recover dormant Natura bodies. They would pile the bodies up in these chambers from within the house where Jo would lead them into a ritual where they would consume the energy and souls of the dormant Natura's. Kat had been interested in this one Natura that had been sharing the cell next to her while she was being held against her will till she surrendered to Jo and her life sucking ways.

Kat remembered waking up at the start of the ice age; the floor was cold and as slippery as ice. Her head had been pounding and her hair was knotted into a frozen clump of blood from the back of her skull from the fall she had taken when she was thrown into her cell. Even though she had taken an oath to live the life Jo had set out for her and the other Mutationems, she and her sister still rebelled in secret. They would sneak out at day break to catch the sunshine that erupted from the dark clouds above them onto the peaks of the snowy mountains that consumed the large buildings that once comprised of Tokyo. It had been a few days after Kat woke that she noticed that she could run through the snow for hours on end without her body getting tired or her muscles cramping. She could climb to the tops of those mountains that scattered Tokyo without beating a drop of sweat. Sienna was the same. If it wasn't for Kat calling her to come inside she would be out there in the snow exploring the world exposed in front of her.

Kat was so lost in thought that she did not even notice Sienna sneaking up from behind her. In a movement so quick and graceful Sienna pounced on Kat's back plunging both their bodies into the soft snow covered ground. Kat laughed causing Sienna to squeal with the delight she had from her playful attack. The two girls rolled onto their backs and, with their arms spread wide, they welcomed in the sunshine that shone through the trees. Kat reached out with her hand to grip a tight hold onto her sister's hand, and together they closed their eyes. Kat was the first to sing the words of the melody that would fill their body with energy and warmth. "Come to me the energy from this living soul, take hold of the blood that from within these veins flow. Quench the hunger for life that grows, and wash over my body with the power of that which only you can bestow." Sienna joined in with her chorus, so that the two of them sounded like a preaching choir. Kat sang with all her joy filled heart so that her cheeks began to pinch from the smile she had on her face. She could feel the light from the sun being absorbed by her skin. She could feel the energy bursting from within her body. It was then that Kat opened her eyes to glance at her skin. This was her favorite part of the ritual. Where her skin would glow with flakes of emerald green pigments, resembling that similar to a plant's chloroplasts. The last few days have been different than the days before. Kat and Sienna wouldn't have to climb to the top peaks of the mountains just to get a small glimpse of sunshine. No. Lately they would just have to step outside of the house to catch hold of endless sunshine breaking through the mighty trees that blocked its path. The snow had melted a lot as well. Where an endless valley of mountains once stood, only two remain. If Kat looked close enough she could find small patches of green grass emerging from the snow which used to cover the ground a few good meters. This morning, she even found a patch of wildflowers that had blossomed from the harsh winter frost. Kat hadn't have seen any of these things for about ten long years now. It was as if the ice age was finally coming to an end. As if the winter that once plagued the city of Tokyo was cured. Winter was coming to an end and Kat couldn't have been more delighted. She knew Sienna felt the same, as she couldn't even remember the last time she had seen the beauty of spring time.

They must have been laying there for an hour or so as the sun had already risen to the top of the sky, lighting up the rest of the valley that lay before them. "We have to get going Nenna; they will be wondering where we have gotten ourselves now." Kat sighed as she rose from the ground. Her cargo pants were now soaked from the snow that had melted against the heat of her body. "Kat, when are we going to leave? You know, like you said we would. I hate that place. I don't like what they do with those dormant Naturas." Kat looked at Sienna, she knew that she had promised her sister that she would take her away and they would find the Mother Nature reincarnate to warn them about the Mutationems. But she was also secretly hoping that Mother Nature would take them both in, as they have nowhere to go. The Earth has been frozen over. All that ever existed of humanity had been destroyed by the frost. Kat really didn't know what to do besides that to be honest. "Soon hun, I just have to figure out our escape route. You know how tight security is up at base camp. We have to be smart about this." Kat gave a brave smile to Sienna and gave her a hand to help her up from the ground. The two girls walked hand in hand back towards base camp. They had gotten all the energy they needed for the next few days, and Kat planned to use that energy boost to their advantage.

When Kat arrived at the house she heard a lot of commotion coming from inside the main room. "Sienna, go to your room please." Kat gave Sienna a little shove through the door. She didn't like Sienna seeing or hearing anything that Jo or her clan was doing to the dormant Natura they had taken prisoner since the start of the ice age. Kat would have thought that he would have died by now. Jo and the rest of the clan always used him as their daily energy source. But he hasn't died; he hasn't even opened his eyes or opened his mouth for that matter. Kat was as curious as to what he was going through and why he was put under some sort of dormancy spell by Mother Nature. Kat had so many questions that she just couldn't find answers to. Sienna looked at Kat as if she was pouting from the request to go to her room. "Sienna, I do not have time to argue with you, just go to your room, and if whatever is happening is important I will let you know." With quite a pissed off look Sienna flipped her ponytail over her shoulder as she turned her back to Kat and walked off. "You better..." Sienna muttered under her breath just loud enough for Kat to hear. Kat smiled a little at the corner of her mouth, Sienna was just like she was when she was sixteen.

A curious beastie. Just as Kat turned to walk through the corridor, Jo stepped out of the main room. Her face looked drained, as if all energy she had left her body. "Jo, what happened? You look terrifying." Kat had to pinch her arm to stop from cringing at the sight before her. Jo's face looked sunken and ghostly white. "The dormant Natura hasn't got a lot of energy left for us to take, and within these past weeks we have yet to find more on one of our stupid hunts. How it that a team of fucking head hunters cannot find bodies buried under the snow? Please tell me why! How is that fucking possible?" Jo looked and sounded crazy to Kat. Her hair matched the description of crazy. For the last few days Kat recalled how stressed out Jo was getting. They haven't been able to find another Dormant Natura which meant that they would soon fade into the snow themselves. "I don't know the answer." Kat muttered her reply to Jo as her face was terribly close to her own and Kat didn't feel like getting thrown in her cell again. She had a terrible reputation of being a hothead around Jo, which would more often than not have her ending up on the cold floor of her old cell. "Well, never mind. There has to be more bodies out there. We will all go on a hunt tonight. Except you and Sienna. You were both gone this morning without even a note or an explanation. Therefore, you shall be here guarding the dormant Natura and cleaning the house. Is that clear?" Jo was smiling mockingly at Kat.

She could taste the bitterness that rolled from Jo's body language. "Yeah, whatever." Kat sighed and turned on her heels to go tell her sister of what had happened and that she will not be going out tonight to join the hunt. "Yeah whatever what?" Jo's voice was harsh and demanding. "Yeah, whatever ma'am." Kat turned her head sarcastically towards Jo. "Watch your attitude young lady, or else you'll be spending the night in that fucking cell of yours." Jo hissed. Kat resisted the urge to flip her the bird as she continued to walk down the hallway. Instead she bit her tongue till the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Augh, she really hated Jo. That woman really knew how to push your buttons. It was like she had this superpower to piss off anyone, anytime and anywhere.

Kat didn't look forward to telling Sienna that they had to stay in tonight. She knew how much Sienna loved to venture out into the mysterious darkness of the night. More often than not the two of them would sneak and break away from the hunt to escape into the peacefulness of the moonlight. They would build their own campfire and Kat would tell Sienna stories about their mother and their father. Of how they fell in love in Tokyo when their mother had lost her grip on her presentation papers and their father helped her chase the papers through the city. Sienna always loved hearing the stories, even when Kat had to make up some parts of the stories that she had already forgotten. Kat walked into Sienna's room and gave a light tap on the door. Sienna had a curious expression on her face, Kat couldn't tell if she was concerned or just wanting to find out what had happened. "Sorry Nenna, it looks like we will be babysitting Clarence tonight seeing as we ventured out this morning. But before you pout, I just want to say that this seems like the perfect time for us to escape! I mean we will be alone, which means we can pack everything we can and leave as quickly as we can. We will have a good few hours before they are on their way back. What do you say Nenna? Do you feel like a life changing adventure?" Kat was standing triumphantly at the entrance of Sienna's room.

She was waiting for a few minutes to see whether or not Sienna would jump on board. At first she just kind of sat there staring at Kat, but after the adrenaline and excitement kicked in Sienna scurried from her bed, ran over to Kat and threw her arms around Kats waist. "Oh thank you! Thank you! I wouldn't want anything else! I'll start packing!!" Sienna ran off and began pulling things from underneath her bed. She was throwing jackets and shoes into an old duffle bag that Kat had managed to scavenge from their old home. It used to be dad's bag that he took when he went on business trips. He was never one for a suitcase. Kat smiled. "Okay, but keep quiet, we don't want anyone to find out." Kat left Sienna to finish her packing so that she could begin hoarding water bottles from the pantry. The day had gone by so fast; nightfall had just begun to take over the blue sky. Jo had called over the rest of the clan who were organizing their hunting gear which mostly consisted of rifles, hand guns, ropes, and daggers.

"Have a good hunt, good luck guys." Kat stuck her head around the corner of the corridor; she had both her thumbs up in the air so that they could see that she meant what she had said. Some of the members smiled back at her while the others simply ignored or waved her off with the back of their hands. "Don't you have cleaning to do Kat?" Jo smirked that idiotic smile of hers. "Sure thing, someone's got to clean up your filth." Kat ran for the kitchen after her backtalk escaped her mouth. She did not want to see Jo's face after what she had just said. She giggled anyways, cause after all it's only fun when you get a little laugh out of some fucked up situation. Kat began to clean up the dishes that piled the sink. You'd think that after these people have been mutated to only need the energy from the sun or in their case souls of Dormant Natura's that they wouldn't feel the urge to stuff their gobs with sloppy Joes. At least if they got fat, then Kat and Sienna could definitely outrun them. Kat couldn't help but laugh at the image of Jo being insanely fat and running after Sienna over the hills of Tokyo. If Jo fell and just rolled over the ground Kat would definitely stop to embrace the moment before her. Nothing better than Karma kicking some ass for you. That would be great, so great that Kat sent a secret wish towards the universe that Jo would get fat, trip over and be forever rolling the Earth on her stomach.

It was a few minutes before the front door closed behind the hunting group and the house was still and quiet. It was hard to believe that five minutes ago a hundred or so people were just in the lounge room. Kat threw the sponge she had in her hand into the sink, it hit one of the dirty dishes sending a small spec of meat onto her cheek. "Eeeew, oh fuck, what the fuck!" Kat squealed and swatted at her cheek. "Sienna, bring your shit. Let's blow this popsicle stand." Just as Kat shouted Sienna came running from the corridor, her father's old duffle bag hanging off her shoulder. "Right let's get going." Kat and Sienna began to walk towards the front door, their bags filled with all the supplies that they could need for the next few days. Kat was so excited, this was it. This was their escape. After ten long years they would finally be able to venture out and take on the world with a fierce storm of their own. Literally nothing was in their way. Or so Kat thought, for a few seconds later, just as Kat's hand reached out to turn the door knob a heartbreaking cry came from the living room. It was deep and tear wrenching. Sienna looked at Kat, her face filled with shock and fear. "What was that Kat?" Her voice shook as her eyes darted from Kat to the living room. "I don't know Nenna, just wait here. I will be back. But if I yell I want you to bolt out of that door and don't look back. Do you understand?" Kat held onto Sienna's shoulders forcing her to look at her face. "Yes..." Sienna stuttered, tears already forming in her eyes. "Good, stay until I yell."

Kat left Sienna at the door as she creeped on her toes towards the moaning that continued to come from the living room. Her heart was beating and all that went through her head and body was adrenaline and it was telling her mind to get the fuck out of there! Run bitch run! But did she listen? No. She had to find out what was making those pained sounds. She grabbed a frying pan that just so happened to sit on the small table at the entrance of the lounge room. Damn, Terrance was always leaving his fucking cooking appliances around the house, expecting her to be his maid to clean up his shit. Well fuck you Terrance. Kat gripped the frying pan with both hands as she turned her head to look into the living room. Shock took over her adrenaline causing her to drop the frying pan which fudded on the ground as it fell from her hands. She couldn't believe her eyes, in front of her there was the Dormant Natura. However, he didn't look quite dormant to her. At least not anymore. He looked pretty fucking much alive.

"Ummmm, hello?" Kat awkwardly greeted Clarence as she walked slowly over to him. "Auuugh, what the fuck is this shit! Where the fuck am I! Why the fuck does my body feel as though I've had a killer leg day at the gym! Who are you?" Clarence was clearly freaking out and Kat didn't really have any experience with hysterical dormant super beings. "Umm, you are okay now. You are in Tokyo, you probably feel like shit because these people called Mutationems have been draining your energy source for the past ten years... Oh and I am Kat. I am also a Mutationem except I practice photosynthesis, not torture and murder." Clarence simply looked at her with a blank face that Kat could only take as a "What the fuck" expression. "Look man, you are safe at the moment but when these people come back they will definitely fuck you up, so I suggest you come with me and my sister and I will fill you in along the way. We are planning to find the Mother Nature Reincarnate. You know the woman who kind of gave you powers and sent you into a ten year nap?" "Ten years you say? Fuck, how old do I look?" Clarence was clearly freaking out.

Kat stepped back to have a look at this fallen Natura. Like the first day he looked quite handsome. But somehow seeing him awake was different, somewhat more intimate. He was definitely attractive, and it just so happened that they were about now the same age seeing as she had aged for ten years and he appeared exactly the same as he did ten years ago. Kat hadn't noticed that she was biting her bottom lip, which is something that she tends to do when she finds herself distracted by the opposite sex. "Well, don't just stare tell me how I look or bring me a mirror. I feel like shit. I hope to god my muscles haven't faded." "Umm, trust me you look exactly the same as you did when we first found you. You're muscles are perfectly intact." Kat's cheeks flushed a bright red, though fortunately Clarence was too preoccupied his muscles. "Sweet as, bro. I'm Clarence by the way." He extended his hand out towards Kat as if he was attempting to shake her hand. She reached out to grab it when he turned his hand into a fist and bumped it with hers. "Pfffffffeeeewwwww!"

He made some sort of blow up explosion sound effect as he slowly took his hand away from hers. It was definitely weird. "Umm, yeah I know. I read your ID. Anyways sorry to cut this sweet introduction short but we have to leave now. We only have a few hours before they come back. Either get up and come with us or you will probably die. Your call, man." Kat was getting edgy, they should have left already. "Uh... Okay, not many options but I think I'll just go with you guys then aye." Clarence replied. Kat knelt down on the ground beside him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Together she helped him stand on his feet which were similar to jelly. "Wooah, hahahaha it's like I did a killer leg day before I died." "Wait what? You died!" Kat was so shocked that she almost dropped him. "Yeah, I did. At least I thought I did. Turns out I was just asleep. Kind of weird huh. Oh well I'm back bitches!" Clarence threw his free hand into the air in triumph. Oh shit, what had Kat gotten herself into. "Okay, hero. Let's get going. This way." Kat led Clarence towards the front door where her sister was nervously waiting.

Sienna screamed when she saw Clarence draped over Kat. "What is he doing here?" She screamed once more. "Funny story Nenna, he is coming with us. Isn't that just funny?" Kat could see that her humour wasn't making any positive impact on Sienna. "No, it's a fucking bad idea." Sienna looked at Kat as if she had gone insane. "Look Nenna, I kind of don't want to leave him here to die, so I guess he is going to have to come with us." "Fine, but he better not slow us down. You hear me potato man?" The sarcasm was strong with this young one, it made Kat smiled. "Right, adventure here we come!" Kat, Sienna and Clarence made their way out of the house, as the door closed behind them Kat stared out over the horizon towards the moonlit valley and couldn't help but smile at what was about to come their way. She was ready. She had to be.

# Chapter Fourteen

## Madeiran Large White Butterfly: Found across Europe, Africa and Asia. Extinct due to loss of habitat from construction.

WHEN Niera first opened her eyes she felt the cold. It was as though she was wearing a woolen jumper that was soaked in ice cold water for weeks on end, and the material was clinging to her skin as if seeking the warmth that once radiated from her body. She winced when she tried to pull her body in so that she could feel some sort of heat; her limbs were stiff as if they were frozen. She thought better not to move where she was. In fact, she realised that she couldn't move a muscle besides her eyes. She looked down at her body, her eyes almost rolling out of her sockets at the attempt. Her body was covered in flakes of snow and ice, it started from her hands which held a dagger that pierced the Earth and continued up to the end of her long red hair. She was an ice sculpture. She was a prisoner in her own body. Niera began to freak out, her body began to quiver and shake with the adrenaline of a panic attack. She couldn't spend the rest of her life like this, no fucking way.

The more Niera thought about her doomed fate and the suffering she would endure, the more her body shook with such ferocity that the ice around her body began to crack. At first small fragments of ice fell onto the melted snow, then as minutes passed large chunks of snowflakes rolled off of her body to rest under the sunlight that was protruding from the dark clouds above her. Niera watched as her body welcomed in the sunlight that cut through the ice surrounding her. She began to feel the warmth caress her skin, heating up her limbs and allowing her to make small yet painful movements. Niera smiled, her body was helping her escape the fate she had been dreading for the last few hours. With the happiness and relief that began to wash over her mind, the adrenaline left her system and her body ceased to shake. It was then that Niera realised that her body was still half covered in thick ice and it would take days for the sunshine to melt it off of her.

Niera's panic attack was saving her life and foolishly she had let if fade before she was truly free of her ice prison. She had to get her freak back. She needed to get her blood flowing and her heart pumping. She needed her adrenaline back, and she needed it now. Niera tried to freak out about the ice but she couldn't get her mind to believe that she was still in serious danger. She had to think of something else. So she thought about Zavier. She thought about how he died and how she didn't get the chance to tell him she was falling for him. And she could never get that chance back. Even if Mother Nature brought him back to life, where would she find him? How would she know that he is even alive? Her body slowly began to shake once more as her breath became shallow and quick. She had to keep going... Niera thought about her own death, she could still feel the stinging of the steel blade that pierced her chest. She had died. She could not believe that she actually fucking died. That set her off. However, instead of getting a panic attack, Niera shook with anger and denial. Her body filled once more with adrenaline that over powered the remaining ice that covered her body. As the last of the ice fell beside Niera's feet, the sunshine fell onto her skin, warmed up her system and relieved her of the cold and pain she felt. Niera took a few moments to recover her breath and to regain what strength and energy she had left from within her. She removed her hands from the dagger and placed them beside her bent knees. With a determined push she shifted her weight from her knees to her feet and slowly but ungracefully rose from the damp ground to stand up tall under the sun.

Niera took a step forward but stumbled as her ankles rolled from the lack of blood flow to her body. Mother Nature, are you there? Niera waited for a reply from the voice inside her head. "Natura, welcome to the age of the Natura's." Mother Nature's voice was a warm surprise that made Niera felt as though she was not as alone as she had thought. "Go forth and explore the new world, with new and open eyes. Take care of the planet and all that inhabits it. Your friends will be awakening soon and will need your guidance and leadership to make this planet their home. Help them see the beauty of a new beginning. Help them understand their new bodies, for each of them has now become their own sustainable resource." Niera stopped right there and interrupted the voice inside her head. "Our own sustainable resource, just stop there, back it up and please explain to me what you mean by that?" Niera waited patiently for Mother Nature's response. "Natura, lay on the damp ground and spread your body out so that the sunshine can reach every crevasse of your body. Remove the clothing from your body so that every surface of your skin is exposed to the warmth. And once you have exposed your naked body to the elements of the Earth, I want you to focus on the energy that the sun gifts you with. Let that energy flow from the atmosphere into your cells and your blood flow. Feel the warmth reach your stomach and fill it with warmth and sustenance. Feel the heat warm your heart and pump the blood through to the rest of your body. Natura, with the light energy from the sun you will be able to harness all the energy that you will ever need. You will never have to eat again, you will never have to hunt, grow, shop or make products to energise your body. You will be able to create it for yourself with the help of the sun and the Earth. Drink the water from the melted snow that has fallen beside you. And with the energy that you get from the Earth you will be able to give back, to help it grow into a bountiful world. But first, Natura do as what I had said. Uncover your body to the sun."

Niera did as she was told. She followed Mother Nature's command word for word. She removed the leaf like skirt from her hips and let it fall to the ground where the petals that once covered her breasts fell alongside it. Completely naked and exposed Niera sat on the damp ground where green specs of grass began to emerge from the melted snow and ever so slowly she let her back settle onto that patch of green grass. Her legs and arms followed as she spread them apart and away from her body so that she looked somewhat like a star fish beckoning in the sunshine that shone from above. With deep breaths she welcomed in the energy from the sun. At first she could only feel the warmth upon the surface of her skin. It wasn't too long before the heat protruded her skin and entered her muscles and her cells. If she closed her eyes she could track the pathway the energy was making from inside her body. She watched as it travelled in bright colours from her skin, muscles and cells towards her stomach and her heart.

The blood that circulated her body was being pumped full of energy. She felt alive, so much more than she had been when she was human. "Okay Mother Nature, I understand now what you meant by sustainable resource. I feel so alive and full. Like I could do anything. How did this happen?" Niera was filled with excitement and curiosity. She wanted nothing more than to learn about her new body. "Natura, you and the rest of my warriors lay dormant for ten years during the ice age that covered the Earth and killed off all the humans that were once killing the planet." "Ten fucking years! I have been asleep for ten fucking years! You might as well call me Sleeping Beauty or something." Niera felt utter disbelief and struggled to comprehend what she just heard.

"Yes, Natura for ten long years that is how long it took for your bodies to change and adapt to the newly altered environment in which you will be living in. Now be silent so that I may guide you further into what your body is capable of. You will have to listen closely for you will have to be the teacher to the rest of the Natura warriors. You will have to show them the way just as I have shown you." "Okay, I understand Mother Nature." Niera fell silent as Mother Natured continued. "Now Natura, rise from where your body lays and sit upon your knees." Niera did as she was told once more and impatiently rocked onto her knees, her toes digging into the wet soil and grass. "Now place one hand on top of the other, with the palm touching the knuckles of the other hand. Then slowly place the palm of the other hand onto the ground in front of you." Niera placed her hands together as Mother Nature described then she delicately caressed the soil in front of her, her palm resting on the ground.

"Now I want you to close your eyes and focus on what is present underneath the soil. If you see a seed, I want you to focus on that seed and will it to grow. Help your energy transcend from your body and into the very heart of that seed." Niera closed her eyes and willed the energy from her blood and body to flow through the soil and into the seed. At first nothing happened and Niera felt disappointment rise inside her mind. "Concentrate Natura, really concentrate." Niera pushed her mind to the edge as she focused all her attention onto the seed. In a sudden surprising moment Niera felt the Earth shutter underneath the palm of her hand. She soil beneath her hands began to crack and break apart. "If you wish not to be hit by a tree branch I suggest you move a few meters to your right." Mother Nature's warning could not have come soon enough as Niera threw her body to the side just as a tree trunk the size of a fully grown Eucalyptus tree erupted from out of the soil.

Niera watched with widening eyes as the branches of the tree spread out into the sky above her head, leaves and gum nuts began to form on the tips of the sticks that grew on the strong branches. "I did that?" Niera could not believe the huge Eucalyptus tree had grown from the will and energy of her body. She was giddy just thinking about it. "Yes you did. Now Natura, this journey you are about to go on, you have to do it alone. You have to become strong and able to lead the rest of the Natura race. I have done my part in this war; I have fought for my body, my Earth and my future. Now it is up to you to carry on my will of peace and sustainability. I have shown you what your new body can do; now you must show the rest and lead them into a life of happiness and bravery. Help them become the warriors who protect the planet from anyone or anything that threatens to disturb the peace and tranquillity that we have created here. It has been an absolute honor to be a part of your life and to see into the eyes of a human and to feel the love and passion that you feel. I understand now why you humans do what you do when you do it for the right reasons. But I will never regret my decision. What I did had to be done to save the planet. Now I must go, farewell Natura, if you should ever need me, simply return to this tree for part of me will forever be living here and I will be listening out for your call. Do not forget what you have learnt Natura, do not forget this place, do not forget me and do not forget who you are nor your purpose here. Good bye, Natura."

Without saying anything more Niera felt her mind melt into ease as if this heavy cloud had been cleared away from within her head and she could freely think for herself. She was on her own now and for some reason she was not afraid, she felt more brave and strong than ever even though she was alone. Niera walked over to the beautifully grown tree and placed her palm upon the bark of the tree trunk. She rested her forehead ever so lightly next to her hand and she sent a silent thank you to the Earth, to Mother Nature and to herself for getting her through the last decade. With her mind clear and open Niera turned away from the Eucalyptus tree, and headed East towards the rising sun, vowing that one day she will return to the mighty Eucalyptus tree to once again thank Mother Nature for all that she has done for their future. Niera walked on following the falling of the sun's rays, she knew that somewhere along her journey across the globe she would stumble upon her Natura Race, or they will find her

# Chapter Fifteen

## Tasman Starling: Last sighting was in 1923. Classed as Extinct.

ZAVIER could not recall what had happened once he slipped into that dark place of unconsciousness after that bullet hit his chest. All he remembered was staring for one final time into the eyes of the woman he adored. Natura, she had grown into such a strong woman right in from of his eyes. He remembered the tears she cried and how warm they felt as they fell from her cheeks onto his face. The drops were the last thing he had felt and it calmed him, his heart stopped pumping at irregular rhythms and his lungs stopped gasping for air. He tried so hard at that moment to tell her that he loved her, but when he opened his mouth to tell her, it was too late. He felt his soul slip away and he could not move his lips. No matter how hard he tried. He regretted that the most, out of all his missed opportunities and mistakes, he regretted not telling Natura sooner that she was the one for him.

She was the one that made him smile, the one who taught him how to be strong and how to move on from his past. She made him who he was, and now after being asleep in a distant dimension for however long he had lost her. He had no idea what had happened to her and he did not know where to begin to find her but he knew that it was what he wanted. He had never wanted anything so badly in his entire life. His body shook with the anticipation to start the search for the woman who stole his heart. Zavier rose from the ground he had been laying on, grass pulled from his clothes ripping his shirt and his pants that seemed to just fall apart effortlessly from his body. The Earth had grown around his body forming a cocoon like barrier that held him together. Zavier had to struggle hard against the dirt and tree roots that formed the cocoon that held him to the ground; the more he struggled the more his clothes just fell from his body. By the time he had fully escaped the Earth he stood naked facing a magnificent Eucalyptus tree. Something about the tree made him kneel on one knee with the palm of his hands pressed firmly onto the broken soil from his struggle.

For a few seconds his mind was surrounded by thoughts that entered and left his mind at a speed of a million miles an hour, the thoughts were eventually quieted by a strong voice that erupted from the Eucalyptus tree. "Be still warrior." Mother Nature's voice had flowed from the Eucalyptus tree and straight into Zavier's mind. "The woman you seek, she fled east towards the rising sun. You should be able to follow her tracks for she left but two days ago. With persistence you should be able to catch up with her. Go, do not dawdle. Go forth warrior." With that Mother Nature stilled and not another word was heard from the Eucalyptus tree. Zavier rose, dirt falling from his knee and his hands. He patted himself down to remove the dirt before he looked around him to find some sort of cover for his body. He did not want to run after Natura only to scare her with his nakedness. She would probably just run faster and further away from him. The thought of that happening made Zavier cringe. He fumbled around for a few minutes but could not find any cover; his clothes were degraded beyond its usability.

"Warrior, go! This is how the Natura Race lives; your bareness is the essence of your power and your survival. Your skin will glow green with chloroplasts which allows your body to harness energy from the sun, do not cover up your skin, for it is your power source. It will help you gain the strength you need to find Natura." With that Zavier felt his cheeks flush bright red as he turned away from Mother Nature and started casually jogging towards the rising sun. His jog turned into a sprint as he found half hidden footprints embedded on the ground in front of him. They were hers. He pushed his body harder and harder with every footprint he passed. At this rate he would find her within a day. He had no time to rest, he had to keep running. She was his and he wanted her more than anything in his life. So he had to try better than his best, she deserves nothing less than that. Thinking of her eyes, her lips and her flowing hair Zavier did not stop, not for water and not even to catch his breath that was flowing so quickly in and out of his lungs that he was pretty sure that he was not getting enough oxygen that his body needed. As he ran, his mind wondered. He was running and he was running naked. It must have been hours that have gone by and he had not passed another living soul. This was okay in a way because he did not want anyone to see his banana and berries.

Zavier punched his own arm for sounding so cringe worthy. Who says bananas and berries now days? What is today anyways? How long have I been dead? Zavier resulted to talking to himself and asking questions that he could not even answer. They were only making him freak out more. He didn't even remember how old he was. What was even scarier, he thought, was that he didn't know how old he was now. For all he knows he could be 50 years old, however his body told him otherwise. Zavier took small glances at his body as he ran. His arms were quite well toned and still had quite a bit of muscle in them as they bulged when he pumped his arms to the rhythm of his legs. Zavier looked further and felt his abdomen, there were muscular bumps that patterned his stomach, and he had a six pack. This was insane because when he died he knew he definitely had like two months of fat reserves clinging to his stomach. His legs were also stronger than he remembered. He felt like he could go on running like this for days on end, apart from his lungs he felt as though his muscles could never get tired of running indefinitely. It made Zavier smile, he felt invincible. He felt strong. In honest truth this was probably the most perfect that he had ever felt in his life. Laughing with delight Zavier began to leap in between his run, skipping over great distances of the ground beneath him. He had fallen into an unstoppable stride in which his determination had taken over his body.

A day had passed, and strangely enough Zavier's calls of delight were still being heard as the sun rose for another day. He had not stopped since his feet left the Eucalyptus tree behind just a day ago. He continued to run, his muscles supporting his eager mind to find Natura. It was then that he saw glowing red and purple locks just in the distance that reflected magnificent colours from the sun's rays. It was Natura. Shit. Zavier tried to stop before he reached her, but his legs did not obey; after running for a whole day his legs developed a mind of their own. Zavier ended up tripping over his feet in an attempt to stop, causing his body to be flung from where he ran into the lake just in front of where Natura was sitting. Zavier felt a hard smack on his stomach as he belly flopped into the water. The skin of his stomach burnt from the hard landing. "Oh, my Mother Nature are you okay?" Zavier heard a sweet voice breaking through the water where he had just fallen into. Fucking shit, great moves Zavier, you idiot. Not like she just saw your naked ass flying through the air into a belly flop into the lake. Idiot! Zavier thought to himself as he slowly began to emerge his head from the water.

When Zavier opened his eyes, his mouth opened at the same time and he began to gasp in the lake's water in shock as Natura was just as naked as he was. He saw everything. She looked so beautiful; she was knee deep into the lake with her hair caressing her naked curves. She looked so unbelievable and he was drowning because of her. "Zavier?" the way she said his name made his heart melt, he was choking but his heart was alive. He could not move or even mutter the words "Help me", he was literally frozen in place. "Oh shit Zavier, let me help you!" Strong arms wrapped around his waist as Natura dragged him from the lake onto the sand just where the water met the Earth. Zavier was struggling to breathe; he was fading in and out of consciousness again. For what must be the second time. If this is how he dies again it would not be the worst way to die, at least he got to see her again the second time.

This is such a strange pattern; he has got to stop dying in front of the girl he loved. "Zavier, stay with me", a sweet voice was encouraging him to stay, he wanted nothing more than that. He felt pulses on his chest, then all of a sudden a mouth covered his and he felt his lungs fill with air, with oxygen. Then he felt more pumps press onto his heart. He felt his heart begin to pump the blood back into his body, he felt his muscles react to the flowing blood and he was able to move. With a gasp of breath Zavier took the air into his lungs and he began to cough up some water from the lake that was caught in his chest. Rolling over to his side he opened his eyes and saw Natura again. Her eyes met his and the concerned look on her face turned into a relieved smile. "You're alive!" She stammered and jumped forward to hug him. Zavier could not help but wrap his arms around her waist. Her body was warm and filled his body up with heat. He smiled; he felt his cheeks begin to hurt from the smile. She was perfect. And he could not let go. She began to pull away from his embrace to look at his face. It was then that his eyes travelled from her eyes, down to her smile, her jaw line, her neck and her collar bone towards her chest and stomach.

Her body was still covered in breathtaking tattoos that seemed to have been made just for her skin. Her body looked like a canvas that was painted by the gods and goddess of the Universe. Natura made a small coughing sound that made Zavier realise that he had been staring at Natura's naked body for who knows how long. His cheeks began to heat up again and glow a bright red to accompany his embarrassment. "Are you okay?" Natura had asked him as he finally managed to compose himself. "Ah, yes, thank you for saving my life Natura. I have no idea what happened back there."

"Niera, call me Niera. That used to be my human name". Zavier smiled, "Niera, I love that name." Niera smiled and Zavier could see her trying to hide the blush that rose in her cheeks. "Niera, I have something to tell you and I will absolutely regret it if I do not tell you this before I die again. But since I first laid eyes on you I thought you were the most beautiful thing to have been on the Earth, and then the more I got to know you, the more interesting you became to me. The more I wanted to get to know the real you. The thing is Niera, you have awoken these feelings inside of me, feelings that I did not think I would have ever again. But you woke that in me, you let this strong emotion back into my heart and I can't stop it from growing and honestly, I really do not want to stop it from growing. Niera, I think I am falling in love with you." Zavier felt so proud of himself that he was able to let that all out of his system. It had been building up inside him for years probably; it depends for how long he was dead to be honest.

But now he was nervous, he found himself staring at the ground eagerly waiting for Niera's response to his proclamation of his affections for her. She was awfully quiet which made his palms sweat and his heart pound so loudly against his rib cage that he was pretty sure she could hear it. Zavier felt two soft hands caress the sides of his face as she pulled his face to meet hers. Their eyes locked in an intense gaze that left Zavier feeling as though he dove head first into the middle of the ocean. She smelt so sweet. "I think I love you too." Niera pulled his face closer to hers and he felt her lips touch his as her eyes fell closed. Zavier's eyes only widened in response to the surprise that overwhelmed his body, which only lasted a few seconds before his passion took over and his arms wrapped tightly around Niera's waist. Their kiss deepened as Zavier pulled her body against his, the heat colliding between their bodies as they lay there at the water's edge. Zavier felt breathless as he gasped for air in between their kisses, his hands began to tangle into her hair as he lifted her so that she was on top of his body. With a wicked smile, he felt Niera tug on the back of his neck making Zavier sit up. She had her legs wrapped tightly around his waist with her feet at his lower back. Together their bodies moved in sync with the flowing of the lake behind them. Fireworks began to erupt from their passion as the sparks flew in their eyes and a flame ignited inside their hearts.

Zavier kissed her lips harder until he felt her become breathless, his lips moved from hers down to her jaw line and her neck till his soft kisses landed on her collar bone. They were still moving together; Zavier felt Niera's finger tips grip tightly on the back of his neck as she clung to the love between them. Zavier could not help but smile as he watched goose bumps erupt across her skin. He was doing that, he was making her smile and making her happy and he could not have loved her any more than what he did just in that moment. He loved her. As the passion between them continued to grow, the night began to take over the sky causing the moon to shine brightly over the still water of the lake.

It must have been a few hours that passed before Zavier found his body intertwined with Niera's. Her legs were thrown delicately over his lower abdomen and her fingers were holding sleepily onto his. Her head was heavily resting on his chest as his heart beat calmly and full. He felt whole and he felt loved, he felt as though he had never known true happiness until this moment. He promised himself that he would never hurt her, he would never leave her and he would never lie to her. She was his and he was hers. He looked down to where she lay on his chest and he smiled, her face was so delicate and sweet while she slept. It gave him this overwhelming affection, and all he wanted to do was cover every inch of her in kisses. She deserved nothing less. With his free hand he traced the tattoos along her waist and her thigh, she smiled and sighed sleepily. "I promise that I will never leave you." Zavier whispered to Niera softly. "I am yours." Niera whispered back, smiling as her eyes fluttered open to look at Zavier.

Zavier laugher with a deep rumble from his chest as he rolled himself and Niera into the cold water of the lake causing Niera to shriek and laugh as she got up quickly and playfully punched Zavier in the stomach. They continued to laugh as they both rose from the water and the sand to stare briefly out into the lake where the water was still. Then the water began to shake and shiver. Sounds of water moving from beneath the surface made Zavier think something was lurking under the water. It made him anxious and for the first time in his life he felt an overwhelming sense of protection break through into his body. He crouched down in front of Niera shielding her from whatever was about to emerge from the lakes darkness. His hands clenched into fists that caused his veins to pop from his skin. He was ready for a fight. To protect his future and the woman of his life. He even felt a little rumble of a growl build up inside his chest as though he was releasing the inner animal that lay dormant inside of him. Just as the atmosphere around the lake quieted, all that Zavier could hear was the quick shallow breathing of his lungs and Niera's beating heart. It was way too quiet.

Suddenly, a head popped out of the water, his hair was dark and covered most of his face. It was not until his torso emerged and Zavier spotted gills and flickering rainbow scales that Zavier realised who he was. But it seemed that he was but a few steps behind Niera as she was already running through the water towards him "Damien!!" Niera cried out as she flung her arms around Damien's neck. He seemed startled and surprised beyond a doubt as he just stood there for a few seconds, as if he was but a statue that held onto the strong grimace that was carved into his face. Zavier watched as Damien slowly came to understand where he was and what was happening around him. "Natura!!!!" Damien laughed as he threw his strong arms around Niera "You're alive!" Niera laughed as she told Damien to call her by her human name Niera. Damien put Niera down so she stood beside him at the water. Zavier took a chance to examine Damien, he noticed the muscles on him were insanely huge and the guy looked like a war hero who had faced many battles. And just as Zavier had expected Damien was naked as well.

Zavier couldn't help but laugh at what the world had come to. All this nakedness just seemed to be okay now whereas in the old reality of the civilized world people would be shrieking and pervs would be oogling. It was a strange yet peaceful change that Zavier appreciated. Everyone could be open and be themselves. No one would be hiding anything; no one would be trying to show off what their money can buy. Everyone was on the same level, everyone had the same status. Except Niera that is. She was our leader. She was stronger and different. "Right lads, you can come out now, everything is okay." Damien yelled with his loud voice causing the water to cascade as more men and women emerged from the water, their scales glistening in the sunlight. It was a sight to behold. Zavier held his breath as he watched a group of Water warriors marched onto the land in perfect unison with Niera being carried on Damien's shoulder. Zavier admired his strength but also felt a sting of jealousy inside the pit of his stomach. He was never one for sharing and there was no way he was going to start sharing Niera with the world. She was his and his alone.

# Chapter Sixteen

## Spix's Macaw: Last seen in the wild in 2004. Cause of extinction is habitat loss and illegal trapping.

AS Niera watched her warriors crowd around her, most of who had emerged from the water of the lake, she felt a warm glow bubble up inside of her. She was feeling pride and it definitely showed on her face through her smile. Damien had been talking to Zavier for a good few minutes now, Niera was not paying any attention to the conversation until she heard Zavier saying something along the lines of "How long have you guys been there in the water?" and Damien had replied with a puzzled look, "Not that long actually, why did we miss anything saucy?" Niera watched as Zavier's cheeks turned red and a huge smile was fixed on his face. "Um, I really can't say." Zavier had managed to stammer while trying to make sure that his voice was deep enough so that it did not break with his nervousness. Damien looked at Zavier for a few seconds and then he looked at Niera. It took another few seconds for Niera to see the calculations add up inside Damien's mind. "Ah, congratulations. I am happy for the both of you." Damien sounded sincere but his eyes looked somewhat disappointed and sad. Niera could not figure out why, until Damien turned to face Zavier and with a serious face that could scare the daylights out of a grown man, he said in a stern and threatening voice "Zavier if you ever hurt this beautiful woman, I swear to all that is Mother Nature, that I will find you, I will drag your sorry ass down to the depths of the ocean and I will feed you to the Kraken and I will make sure that you are alive while she tears you apart. Are we clear?"

Zavier looked as though he stumbled a few steps back after what Damien had said. But Niera watched as he clenched his fists with rage as he took those steps closer to Damien till they were face to face. "Oh, you like her don't you, Damien? Too bad, because you know what buddy? She is mine." Zavier smiled a cocky smile that made Niera feel as though he was being a dick. Which he clearly was, Damien was just looking out for her, like true friends do. "I'm not your buddy Zavier. I am here for Niera and Mother Nature. If you want to fuck with me or either of them, you'll have to bring you're A game. I don't fight little boys." Damien stood at least a foot taller than Zavier and at least three times broader with muscles. Niera did not like where this was going. If a fight broke out someone was definitely going to get hurt and she did not want any of that shit to go down. Not after World War III and she had just found half of her warriors. She wanted everyone to get along and stay together like a family. Niera had held her hopes too high as before she could step in Zavier spoke and what he said made her choke on her words and cause her heart to sink into her stomach. "Too bad Damien, cause I already fucked her." Zavier pointed towards Niera as he smiled a wicked grin her way. Damien flew a punch that landed directly onto Zavier's jaw line. Zavier fell back and landed on his butt on the ground a few meters away from where he imposed on Damien's space. "You're an asshole you know that Zavier?" As Damien marched on towards where Zavier was picking himself up, Niera ran to stand between them.

She pushed Damien away with all her strength and with a voice that shuttered the Earth she spoke "Enough, I belong to no one, I am my own and if anything, I belong to the Earth, to Mother Nature." As the Earth stilled from the thunder that erupted from Niera's voice Zavier stood and walked up to Niera. He reached for her hand and turned her to face him. For a second Niera saw the kindness and love in his eyes that he had the night they were together at the lake. In that moment she thought that he would come to his senses, drop the testosterone that was building up inside him and apologize for objectifying her like he had. But she had thought wrong, she had been blinded by the man she though he could be. He was not that man. He could never be that man. "You Niera, you cause too much trouble. I'm sorry but I nearly died twice because of you. You're just such a handful and I just can't keep up with you and your anxieties. I drown, literally I have been drowning. I can't do this. You're just not worth it." Zavier's words cut through Niera like a knife.

Like a bullet that had just gone through her stomach and another through her chest. She had these exit wounds that left open cuts on her body. She could feel it as though someone had actually physically hurt her. "So is that it?" Niera managed to whisper under her breath as she tried so hard to control her heart that was crashing and burning inside of her chest. Her head was spinning and she felt the tears sting from the back of her eyes as she was waiting for his answer. "Yeah. That's it. Really don't have anything else to say to you. But yeah." Zavier turned to walk away from Niera, who managed to throw a few words to his back "Zavier, at least you had the guts to say it to my face." With that Niera watched as Zavier shook his head to the ground and laughed deeply as though what she said was the funniest thing that he had ever heard in his life. Zavier picked up his feet and began to run; Niera had never seen anyone run so quickly out of her life. And yet she knew she still loved him, though her heart had shattered and part of her went with him as he disappeared in the distance behind a few trees. She knew she still cared about him and always will. But what he had done was unforgiveable and it hurt like hell fire.

Niera held herself strong as she let her body fall to the ground. Damien knelt down beside her, his hand on the middle of her back letting her know that he was there for her. She appreciated that, but she did not need him. For she already felt the ice form around her heart once more, just as it had done in World War III. She felt it pierce through her blood vessels as her cold heart pumped the icy blood throughout her body. Her glowing tanned skin began to turn an icy white blue as all her blood vessels turned to ice. "You're freezing." Damien stammered as he retracted his hand from Niera's body. "Love is a fragile little flame Damien, it could burn out and your heart tends to go cold or it breaks. I refuse to break." With that Niera rose from the ground, pushing away Damien's hand as he held it out to help her up. "We are the hunters, and he is a fox. And we do not run." Niera's voice was loud and proud as she turned to face the direction in which Zavier had vanished into the night. "Want me to go drag his sorry ass back here and feed him to the Kraken?" Damien's voice was eager, perhaps too eager. "No, it's okay; if we ever cross paths again I'll make sure he feels my pain." Niera turned to the rest of the group who were still there, just silently watching and listening to the drama that had just unfolded in front of them. All of them refused to make eye contact with Niera, possibly out of respect she thought. But it didn't matter; she did not care what they thought about her or about what happened. She cared about restoring her race. She cared about finding all of her fallen soldiers who vanished in the war. "We are warriors of Mother Nature and we will find our fellow Naturas and we will restore the Earth to its former glory!" Niera's proclamation was met with cheers of agreement and excitement.

With that Niera turned away from the group and knelt down with her palms spread once more onto the ground. Her knees met the Earth as she became one with nature. Taking long deep breaths, Niera focused her energy towards the Earth. Though her heart was cold she still cared, she still loved and she still wanted the best for the people around her, the people that were lost and the Earth that survived the human race. With a sweet voice she whispered into the wind sending out a message welcoming the Natura's into the new world. "Welcome Naturas, Mother Nature's warriors into the new world. My name is Niera; I am your chosen leader. I was formally known as Natura, Mother Nature's vessel in the former world that we knew. Where humans walked the Earth. The world that you once knew is gone, I order you to awaken from your cocoons and come find me at the lake, two days walk away from the gigantic Eucalyptus tree that has birthed from the Earth in Western Australia. Find the tree and you will find the essence of Mother Nature, find Mother Nature and she will guide you to me. This is your quest; it is yours if you choose to take it. Join the Natura race and let us begin to restore the Earth. My nature warriors. We stand together and we will grow together with the planet." Niera's words were strong and hit the hearts and ears of anyone who were open to listen to the wind that travelled across the Earth.

As she continued to kneel on the ground Niera felt her heart and mind collide into an icy abyss where her only thoughts were of creating a planet where the Earth would no longer suffer, where nobody could face heartbreak of betrayal like Mother Nature had to endure. Like Niera was going through right now. It hurt, but anyone who threatened the Earth would hurt so much more. Niera was going to make sure of that. As long as she was still breathing and her heart was somewhat beating then she will not stand and watch as someone breaks the Earth. Not again, never again.

"Niera, I am going to be here for you, no matter what. I just wanted you to know that. I will stand by you when you feel like you're going to fall. I will make sure no one hurts you ever gain. You will love again, I promise." Damien had tried to place his hand on Niera's shoulder but she could sense his hesitation. "Thanks, Damien, but I've heard that all before. Too many times. And besides I don't need love. I have the planet and she has me. I don't need love right now." Niera muttered under her breath as her hair fell to shield her face from Damien. She knew he could see right through her, she knew he could feel her pain. He understood her, but she did not want his pity, she did not want him to fall into her mess. It would not be fair; she could deal with this herself. She knew she could because she had done it before. Several times and she managed to do it herself. She had always managed to pull herself through after every heartbreak that came her way. It's what made her such a good leader, she always found the comfort in her pain and made sure no one was dragged into her mess.

"Don't give up now Niera." Damien's voice was filled with concern and compassion as he stepped forward, and Niera felt his hand squeeze her shoulder firmly. "I did not say I was giving up, I am just not going to wear my heart of a sleeve again. I am not going to believe what people say so easily. I am just going to make sure that what just happened does not happen again. I am learning my lesson. Now tell everyone that we will be staying here for the next few days. We are waiting for our recruits to come home to us. Now go." Niera felt Damien's hesitation as his hand left her shoulder and he turned towards the group of water warriors who were eagerly waiting for any news of what would be happening next. They were all keen for another adventure; Niera could feel it in the atmosphere. However, one should be careful about what they wish for, as one might just get exactly that. An adventure that would not be forgotten.

# Chapter Seventeen

## Round Island Burrowing Boa: Last seen in 1975. Extinct due to the introduction of non-native species.

CLARENCE had been walking beside Kat and Nenna for the past few days and he had never felt more at home or accepted. The way that they spoke to him, the way that they acknowledged him made him feel as though he was amongst family. It made him smile and he could never stop that smile that stretched across his face. Especially when she looked at him. With those open and friendly eyes and that breathtaking smile. She always managed to catch him when he was looking at her and he would always kick himself because he could never be subtle enough to sneak in a slight glance her way. She got more and more beautiful every day that he saw her, what was worst was that she was the last thing he saw every night before he fell asleep and then she would be the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes in the morning. He had honestly never felt this way before in his life, it was as if she popped up out of the blue with her kick ass attitude and rebellious smile and pretty much had taken his heart right from under his nose.

She was magnificent, and he just did not know how he could ever tell her. She was always running off and she just always seemed to drift off into her own world. What Clarence wouldn't give to just peek into that mind of hers. Just to find out what she thought about him, if he would ever have a chance to be with her. Was he being crazy? "Clarence, why are you staring at me like that?" Kat's voice slammed into Clarence as though he was just hit by a massive gust of wind. Shit, he was staring at her again. Come on man get your shit together. You're a grown man for fucks sake and grown men do not stare gawkingly at beautiful women. Get yourself together. And say something. She is still staring at you. Come on man, you're letting your team down here. Fuck. Okay you know what, dishonour on you, dishonour on your family, dishonour on your muscles. What am I even doing right now? What is going on? She is still staring at me. "You have pretty eyes!" Clarence finally exclaimed. Kat smiled and flicked her hair away from her eyes. Damn she was so fucking pretty. "Okay come on Clarence we need to get some sunshine, my energy levels are really low. Nenna, get your ass down here we are going to hunt for sunshine!" Kat threw her head towards the trees above them where Sienna was swinging about between the tree branches like she normally does.

She was like a monkey with an attitude problem and a wicked smile, minus the tail of course. She was like Clarence's little mischievous sister who was always ready for an adventure and wherever she went trouble seemed to follow. "When was the last time you fully exposed yourself to the sunshine?" Kat asked Clarence as they began to walk out of the field towards an open plain next to a small waterfall. "Um, what excuse me? Expose myself? Hahaha... like naked? I can't remember the last time I was naked to be honest. Wait that sounds like I haven't showered. Well to be honest I haven't showered in a few days. Sorry." Clarence could not believe he had just said that to her. His cheeks felt heated and he began to blush.

Kat looked at him with a crooked frown. That was definitely not the right thing to have said to her, he was such an idiot. "Um, kind of but not really what I meant. When was the last time you renewed your energy to its fullest level?" Kat asked Clarence once more. "Well, never, I did not even know that I could do that." Kat laughed shockingly as his response. "Well then Clarence follow my lead." Kat gave him a crooked smile and a small wink before she turned away from him, walked a few more meters into the open plain where the sunshine broke through the trees. She began to take her shirt off. Clarence made a muffling sound as he turned his back to give her some privacy. "Clarence, it's okay. What have you never seen a girl in her underwear before? It is literally just like a bikini, come on!" Clarence began to blush as he turned back to face Kat. She was standing in front of him with her maroon red bra and undies. She knocked him off his feet; he stammered backwards a few steps as he tried to compose himself. She simply giggled at him.

Next came Nenna who immediately threw off her cargo pants and tank top and leaped, landing gracefully on grass next to where Kat stood, still staring at Clarence. "Well Clarence what are you waiting for?" Kat was staring at him. Clarence cleared his throat and with a husky voice said "Okay, okay you don't have to tell me twice." Kat giggled as Clarence began to lift up his shirt. In one fluid movement his shirt dropped to the ground and he was already unbuttoning his jeans when Kat coughed. Clarence looked up to see Kat looking at him with a puzzled look. "You don't have to take off all your clothes, your bare chest should be enough." Clarence shrugged at her remark and threw his pants next to his shirt. There he stood in his navy blue boxer shorts, his messy hair getting caught in the sunshine. "Okay, come lay down next to me." Kat continued to smile at Clarence until he moved from where he stood and slowly, yet quite clumsily he lay down next to her. Just a few center meters more and they would be touching. The very thought of it made his heart beat erratically.

"Clear you mind, close your eyes and concentrate on feeling the sunshine on your skin." Clarence struggled to focus at first as all his attention was on the fact that if he moved his arm just a smidge his hands would be brushing against Kats waist. But then Kat began to sing a song. Something so delicate yet powerful that came from her lips. As she sang Clarence heard Nenna join in. Their voices together echoed through the open plain of the forest. It was angelic and Clarence felt as though he was falling under a wickedly sweet spell. As their voices fell through Clarence's barriers he began to focus on the words that they sang. "Come to me the energy from this living soul, take hold of the blood that from within these veins flow. Quench the hunger for life that grows, and wash over my body with the power of that which only you can bestow." Then with a sudden gasp of air Clarence felt the sun, he felt the warmth of the energy radiating from it as the light entered his veins.

Delighted with this new found power Clarence rose from the ground and started leaping and laughing as he did so. His smile grew and grew as he began to realize how much stronger his muscles were becoming. It was at that moment of joy that Clarence heard Natura's voice as the wind blew through his face. "Natura! She's alive!" Clarence stammered as he fell to the ground with excitement and disbelief. "Natura? As in the reincarnate of Mother Nature? She's still alive? How do you know?" Kat rose from the ground with Nenna close by her side. She was eagerly waiting for Clarence's reply. "Yes, she is. And she just told me so, so we best get going in that direction!" Clarence pointed West with his finger. "Towards a lake apparently, in Western Australia. It's a good thing we already crossed the ocean or else we'd be fucked right now." Clarence seemed proud of himself for knowing which direction was the right direction. "She told you? Are you hearing voices in your head Clarence?" Kat held Nenna close in her arms as she began to step slowly away from Clarence as if he was a mad man. "I am not crazy okay; my mother did have me tested. But anyways we have this way of communicating through the Earth. It's kind of like a text but without the phone. That kind of thing." "Oh" was all that Kat said. "Right let's get going." Clarence began to chuck his clothes back on over his boxers as Kat and Nenna did the same. As soon as they were dressed they began to head West towards where Niera and the rest of the new race was waiting for them. Clarence could feel it. He was so excited. Like the first time he stepped into a gym and he had this opportunity where he could lift whatever he wanted. He was such a gym junkie back then.

### Two Days Later...

Having now walked for two days straight with minimal stop overs and toilet breaks, Clarence could see that Kat and Sienna were exhausted. Obviously their energy levels evaporated a lot quicker than his for he still felt like he could walk for another day straight. He also realised that they looked as though they needed something to eat. Clarence couldn't even remember the last time he ate and his body was at its peak in terms of health. He was a beast. He smiled at that thought. It was then that he saw a small lake surrounded by a beautiful secluded forest. It seemed like the perfect place to camp for the night. It would give everyone some much needed rest. "Hey guys, let's take up here for tonight, rest up so that we can get a head start on tomorrow's trek. I am sure that we are almost there." Clarence heard Kat give out a sigh of relief as she ran to the lake where she knelt down to splash her face with fresh water. The sun had already set and the night sky was filling with bright and shining stars. Nenna also ran ahead to explore the area. Clarence decided to start up a fire so that the girls would feel warm and safe in the night. As he piled up the firewood and began rubbing a stick between his hands he saw sparks begin to fly into the wood.

Within a few minutes, he had the flames dancing with the night sky in the background. It looked so inviting and warm. Pleased with his work he headed towards the lake, ready to take a nice bath in the fresh water. He really needed a good scrub. He was beginning to smell like week old underwear. It made Clarence cringe at the very thought. He had already thrown his shirt and pants onto the ground, when he stopped at the water's edge with only his boxers covering himself. He stopped and took a breath, just a singular breath as that's all that his lungs had space for. Directly in front of him, in the beautiful moonlight, stood a woman in the water. Her back was to him, her hair falling in soft curls towards the flowing water. Her skin shined invitingly as the moonlight reflected off her body. It was Kat, he knew it. Clarence began to turn and slowly tried to tip toe back to gather his clothes. But his toe painfully collided with a sharp rock and he fell face first into the sand bed.

"Clarence?" A soft voice came from the water. Idiot. Clarence thought to himself as he picked himself up and dusted off the dirt that had clung to his skin where he had fallen. He turned around to meet Kats gaze. She had turned in the water to face him. Her body completely exposed to him. His mouth dropped and he almost fell to his knees. She was beautiful, even more so in the moonlight and he could barely stand it. "Um, sorry Kat, I just came to have a wash down. Sorry to intrude. I apologize." Clarence was trying to sound respectful and apologetic but he only seemed to fumble on his words. "That's okay Clarence, you can join me if you want? I don't mind" Kat smiled at him and he swore he could feel his heart melt as he saw the corner of her lips lift up to meet her eyes. "Yeah, uh okay. If you insist." Clarence began to walk over to the edge of the water when he stopped to remove his boxers. He blushed quite heavily at the thought of her watching him remove what was left of his clothes. But only because he was curious as to what she thought of him.

Slowly and steadily he weaved through the water to stand but a few meters away from her. He made sure not to fall over and go head first into the water; he also did not want to scare her away. "Look Kat, I actually have a confession to make and I thought it would be best for me to make my intentions clear to you." Kat looked at his face for what must have felt like an eternity. "What is it Clarence?" She sounded genuinely curious. "Okay, well Kat I intend to protect you and your sister, there is nothing more important to me than your safety. I want to get both of you safely to the Natura race where you will both be safe and happy. Those are my only intentions. But..." Clarence was struggling to carry on with his speech, he could not even swallow he was that nervous. "But what?" Kat eagerly leaned in closer to him, her eyes wide and her smile genuine.

"But, I think I have found a love, just for me" Clarence said, not sure how she would respond to what he was about to say next. "I feel as though I have just dived right into her eyes. I feel as though I have found this woman, who is so beautiful and sweet, and she is so much stronger than anyone I have ever met. I had no idea that love even existed, or that she might have been the one that was waiting for me to come into her life. I just want to know her heart, and to kiss her slow, and to hold her gaze in my eyes. I just, I have fallen in love with her. I struggle to breathe and sometimes my heart beats so loudly that I can't even hear myself think. I love her. And I hope that maybe she loves me too. I hope that she would want to give me the chance to prove to her that what I say is true. My heart belongs to her." Clarence felt his heart beating louder and louder as he watched the smile on Kat's face disappear. "Clarence, but I look a mess... My life is a mess. I am just a big mess."

Clarence reached out to lift Kat's face to meet his eyes, he muttered something under his breath, it was a soft whisper, but Kat had heard it "Darling, you are perfect to me." Kat's smile flashed across her face as she leapt into his arms taking Clarence by surprise "I love you too dummy, I have since the day you woke from your dormant state." Kat kissed Clarence for what felt like hours. He kissed her back, passionately and full of hunger. He had longed and wished for this moment but had never thought that it could ever happen. He reached around and pulled her body to his. "Is this okay?" He managed to ask breathlessly between kisses. "Yes, Clarence." Kat had whispered in his ear before she bit his earlobe. "I want you to." And with that last request Clarence made Kat his with his fire that grew inside of him. In the water where they became one and he fell deeper in love with the woman that was pressed firmly against his body. With the moonlight that shone above them, Clarence and Kat loved the heat that grew between them, both living in a moment of love, happiness and passion. Something that does not happen every day. Something unique that once you stumble upon it, you had to take that chance. You have to try or you may just miss out on the opportunity to feel love in its truest and rawest form.

When Clarence woke he had his arms wrapped around Kat's waist. She had snuggled her head in the hollow of his neck and was sleeping peacefully. Nenna was just across from them, she had already been up for a few hours most likely and she had a big grin on her face. "You're in love aren't you?" Nenna whispered as Clarence stared at Kat. "Yes, I am." Clarence whispered back as he brushed the hair from Kat's face. She was perfect, absolutely perfect. "I am happy for you, but please take care of my sister. She has had her heart broken before. When our father died I was young and she took care of me. She always did. Even when Jo tried to hurt me she always took care of me. But no one ever took care of her. So please if you are going to do anything. Make sure that you look after her. She deserves that." Clarence smiled at Nenna and her compassionate heart. "Don't worry Nenna, I promise to take care of you and your sister. I promise with all my heart, I would die before anything was to happen to either of you." Clarence spoke with such a serious tone that Nenna nodded and took his promise to heart.

Just then Clarence and Nenna heard a commotion coming from the other side of the clearing, in the forest. As if someone was running away or towards something. He did not like that sound. It could mean danger and he did not want anything dangerous to come their way. "Nenna, stay with Kat. I am just going to go check it out. I will be back soon. I promise." With an approving nod from Nenna, Clarence moved from the clearing of the forest to be hidden amongst the tree. There in the distance he saw a naked figure sprinting across the valley. He looked familiar, the features on the man's face were tugging on Clarence's memory but he could not put a finger on the name. It was on the tip of his tongue. When the figure came closer Clarence was able to see his face clearly. It was Zavier! Zavier was also alive. He is going to have to get used to the idea that everyone that was in the war would still be alive or will be coming back to life. He needs to stop being so surprised, it was getting quite dull. Clarence stepped forward and was just about to call out to Zavier to ask where he was going when a huge crowd of people dressed in hunting gear and nests stepped into the clearing. They clearly were not Naturas, nor did they appear human as no humans would have survived that ice age or the war. Clarence backed off further into the forest to make sure that no one would see him. He wanted to suss out the situation before he stormed in to save Zavier.

"Well... well... well..., what do we have here fellas? A naked Natura on the run. Where are you off to in such a hurry big boy?" A tall and fierce looking woman who appeared to be the leader of the crowd spoke. Her question was met with husky laughter and wolf whistles. Clarence was getting ready to jump out and join Zavier in the fight when Zavier spoke. "I'm running from the Naturas, they are not my race and they never will be." Clarence felt shock ring through his body at the words that Zavier spoke. What was he talking about? He is a Natura? "A rebellious Natura then?" The woman spoke again as she walked up to Zavier. "A fine one at that." She giggled as she traced her fingers down Zavier's chest. "Well big boy, what are we to do with you then? Are we to enslave you and use you for your energy or can you provide us with any information that could lead us to the Naturas?" Zavier looked as though he smiled at the woman. "Are you offering me a deal?" Zavier had asked the woman who still had her hands on him. "Yes, yes I am, though it depends on what you can provide us with."

Zavier smiled a malicious smile as he looked at the woman and said, "I know where their base camp is and I know their weakness." The woman seemed to glow with excitement as if she finally got the big break she was after. "Well then welcome to the pack... uh. What is your name big boy?" "Zavier." "Well Zavier, that name just won't do. I prefer calling you big boy." The woman winked at him as she took his hand and lead him into the crowd. "Everyone this is big boy, he is the newest member of his pack. He is an asset and as such I expect you all to welcome him in with open arms. With his help we will capture all the Naturas." With cheers of excitement and delight the crowd moved in on Zavier and embraced him as their own.

Traitor, Clarence thought to himself. He felt the anger bubble up inside his stomach. He wanted to punch the shit out of Zavier. He wanted to wreck up his face beyond repair. Clarence clenched his hands into fists of rage as he turned to run back to Kat and Nenna. The sisters had to go now, time was of the essence. They had to warn the Natura, and they were going to have to do it without him. They would never make it in time if he did not try and stop the pack of Mutationems. He had to protect them, he promised.

"Nenna, Kat get up now!!! You have to get moving now!" Clarence was yanking Nenna and Kat by the arms and half dragging them across the clearing into the trees just ahead of them. "Wait, what's going on Clarence?" Kat was trying to talk but she was getting branches and leaves stuck in her mouth from being dragged by Clarence. "Mutationems, a pack of them. They are here and one of our own, Zavier has joined them. He is a traitor and is planning on leading them to the Natura race. I cannot allow that to happen, therefore I need both of you to get there before they do, I need you to go now." Clarence let go of their arms ad he headed back to the clearing. "Clarence! What about you? Where are you going?" Clarence saw tears running down Kat's cheeks. "You will never get there before them if I don't try to stop them. I am sorry Kat, but this is me keeping my promise. This is me getting you both to safety and protecting you." "But Clarence, I love you!" Kat was crying, her tears staining the shirt she was wearing. He could tell her heart was breaking, and his was shattering at the thought of her in pain. "I know, and I love you too. I love you enough to know that this is the only way that you will still live. Good bye Kat and Nenna. Please get there. Go! Now! Please!" with that said, Clarence ran as fast as he could across the clearing. Blocking out the screams coming from Kat as she yelled his name. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as his heart broke and fell to pieces inside his chest. He knew that he would never see her again. The last time he had gotten to seen her was when he broke her heart. He had broken her heart but it had to be done. This was the only way to save her and her sister. He had to do it. He loved her. He truly did.

Clarence had just reached the edge of the forest where he had stood a few minutes ago when he watched one of his best friends turn into a traitor. Clarence was out of breath and breathing quite heavily. He was clutching tightly on his chest to stop the aching of his heart. He had to focus; the adrenaline was pumping through his body at a crazy rate. He was ready for a fight. But he knew he could not do it alone, for if he tried then he would surely be a goner. He had no choice, however. He was the only hope that the Natura had to get a heads up about a potential Mutationem attack. Mustering up all the courage that he had in his body, Clarence sent a little prayer from under his breath to the Earth, to Mother Nature to help him be strong and brave. To help Kat and Nenna make it safely to Natura, to help him survive this fight that he was about to walk into. Taking in a deep breath Clarence stepped out of the forest and into the small clearing in front of him. He stood there for a few minutes until he heard some commotion coming from all around him. He looked up from the ground to come face to face with the woman, her pack and Zavier who was gawking with his mouth open at Clarence. He obviously was not expecting him to show up how he did. "Well, well, well another Natura run-away?" The woman sneered at Clarence as she attempted to trace his shoulder with her pointed finger. Clarence grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her body towards his where he looked at her coldly as he replied in a deep and fierce voice "I am a Natura Warrior of Chaos and Destruction and as such I have come to wreak havoc on your pathetic attempt to form an army."

The woman merely laughed in his face; spit flying from her lips and onto his cheeks. Disgusted, Clarence wiped his face with his forearm and growled ever so ferociously in her direction. She was pissing him off beyond belief. "Well fellas, if this Natura won't join us then he might as well join us for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few days. As our much-needed energy bag." With that the woman waved over to her disciples who immediately pulled out their daggers, nets and ropes. With overly eager grimaces and smiles they started to stalk up to Clarence. He had to admit, he was really outnumbered and he carried no weapon apart from the powers Mother Nature had bestowed upon him. With that thought Clarence knelt down onto the ground, with one hand on the Earth and the other one thrown to the side of his body he focused on the centre of the Earth. He focused on the heat that resides there. The burning hot lava that was bubbling at the planet's core. With a slight hooked smile Clarence willed the lava to rise.

He beckoned it to come to the surface. Within a few seconds he heard deathly screams from around him. Clarence opened his eyes and looked up, all around him people were shrieking, jumping up and down and holding their feet as though their skin was burning from the very ground that they stood on. With his free hand Clarence reached out in front of him and felt the surface of the Earth. With a quick moan of pain he retracted his hand, the skin on his finger had already begun to blister from the heat of the ground. The lava he had summoned was laying just beneath the top layer of the Earth's crust. It was heating up significantly quickly and it was causing pain and torment to all that stood upon it. All but Clarence and Zavier. Zavier who was still smiling at Clarence as though he knew something that he did not know. This irritated Clarence. "What do you want dickhead!" Clarence spat his words at Zavier who was already kneeling on the ground just a few meters in front of Clarence.

"What are you waiting for big boy, stop him or we will all suffer from severe burns!" The woman who had seemed so tough before attempted to climb the nearest tree but kept failing as the burnt skin on her feet was ripping off her body. Blood began to cover her skin which did not make it any easier; she just slipped right back down, mutilating her feet as she did so. "I got this Jo." Zavier yelled in the woman's direction. So wretched woman has a name. That's unfortunate. Clarence felt the Earth move ever so slightly from where he was knelt down on the ground. As if something was moving beneath him. He could not move however, for if he moved then the lava would return back to the center of the Earth and the Mutationems would get away and Kat and Nenna would never get the chance to reach the Natura's before the Mutationems did. He had to keep going, no matter what happened, he had to keep the lava flowing. He had to watch these people burn for the future of the Naturas and his love. Clarence felt the Earth break beneath him. At first there were a few cracks that broke through the surface just beneath his knees, but then those cracks widened, and he felt his body weight breaking the ground even more. Zavier was trying to kill him by pulling him to the center of the Earth. "Zavier! What are you doing! This isn't you man!" Clarence shouted out with desperation. However, his attempt to reach Zavier's compassion was met with nothing more than a wicked grin.

"Clarence old friend, I am doing the world a favour. I am getting rid of you." And with that Clarence felt his legs fall through the Earth's crust, a gaping hole in the ground was pulling him in, into the boiling lava just below. Clarence was about to meet his fate. But he was not ready, there was still so much he had left to do and say. He thought about Kat and Nenna, he thought about the promise he had made to them. The promise to protect them. Tears began to form behind his eyes, he could feel them burning at the back of his head as they slowly began to flow down his cheeks. "Please Zavier, don't do this." Clarence had his fingertips embedded into the soil as he tried to drag his heavy body out of the hole in the Earth. "Please." Clarence looked up to meet Zavier's eyes. They were cold and they sent chills down Clarence's spine. "It's too late for that buddy. Enjoy the afterlife man." Zavier's deep rumbling laugh was the last thing Clarence heard as the surrounding crust of the Earth began to cave in, causing Clarence to lose his grip.

Clarence fell. He fell for what seemed like an extremely long time until he eventually felt the heat of the center of the Earth surround him. Flames surrounded his entire body, burning everything it touched. Although he did not want to give the Mutationems any satisfactions from hearing his screams, the pain was unbearable. His screams resonated within the hole he disappeared into. He only prayed that Kat could not hear his, he did not want to cause her any more pain than he already had. With that thought circling his mind, Clarence attempted to silence his screams. Clarence bit his tongue till it began to bleed, filling his mouth with the taste of burning metal. This was it. This was how his life ended for the second time. But at least this time he died with love in his heart. Clarence managed to smile ever so slightly as his last thoughts revolved around the time he got to spend with Kat and Nenna. He closed his eyes, took his last breath and let the lava consume his body, heart and soul. Rest forever in peace, Clarence Walker.

# Chapter Eighteen

## Arabian Ostrich: Last seen in 1941. Officially classed as extinct.

KAT was exhausted; she had been running for hours. Her body felt like it was on fire, she was burning as her muscled pushed through their tiredness. She just wanted to rest, to sit down and breathe. She wanted to wet her face with water to remove the dried tears that stained her cheeks. The tears that she cried continuously for Clarence. The first man to touch her heart in a way that made her forgive all those who had hurt her in the past. She loved him, and she could not shake this sickening feeling that sat at the pit of her stomach, she knew that he had died. She could feel it there growing inside of her. She was going to be sick. "Nenna! Stop for a second, I'm going to be sick." Nenna stopped and turned to look at Kat who had her head between her knees and with one hand she was holding up her hair so that she did not get any vomit in her loose strands.

"Are you okay, Kat?" Nenna asked sounding very concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine Nenna, just heartbroken I guess. My nerves are kicking in and making me feel sick. Nothing I can't handle. Now come on, we have to go. I can see the river that runs into the lake just ahead. We are almost there." Kat tried to smile as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. What was wrong with her? Where did all this sickness come from? Had she eaten anything funny over the last few days? Could it be food poisoning? Kat shook her head. It must just be her anxiety and nothing more. Kat decided that was the most plausible reasoning for her feeling so shit. "Come on Nenna, we have to get there before Jo and the gang beat us to it." Kat grabbed Nenna by the arm and began to jog again. Kat could sense the hesitation in Nenna while they ran; her little sister was deeply concerned for her health. With every step they took forward Kat felt Nenna's gaze on her as if she was checking to see if she was okay. "You are going to be okay Kat, I am really sorry about what happened to Clarence. And you don't know, maybe he will come back?" Nenna smiled hopefully up at Kat while they continued to jog. Kat managed to smile as she felt a tear drop down her cheek. All she could do was nod, she could not even bare to look at Nenna for she knew that would never happen.

He was never coming back. She did not know how she knew but she just did. She knew he died protecting her and her little sister. "Kat look over there!! There's a woman with red hair! And she's naked? Is that the Natura that Clarence always talked about? I can see why he liked her so much." Nenna giggled as she blushed a little bit. Kat looked over to where Nenna had pointed, and she was right. That woman fit the description perfectly; she looked just like how Clarence had described her in his stories of their battle in World War III. "Natura! We are friends of Clarence. We come bearing news on the Mutationems! Please! You have to listen to us!" Kat ran up to Natura, her legs gave in and she collapsed. At first she tried to pick herself back up from the ground but her arms just could not bear her weight. Her vision began to blur as she tried to look over at Natura who was now running towards her. All she could see was flowing locks of red and purple hair that blew through the wind. Kat gripped onto her stomach and turned over to her side.

With one hand propping her up she was sick again. However nothing came out, she had no food inside her stomach anymore. She was just dry heaving and gagging on air. She felt Nenna's hand rubbing soothing circles on the middle of her back as she kept repeating over and over again that Kat would be okay. Kat was trying to listen to Nenna but her hearing was fading just as her vision was. Darkness began to cover her eyes as the pain inside her stomach and chest grew. "Katherine, listen to me. All will be alright. You are in good hands now. My name is Niera and I am the leader of the Naturas. I will take care of you and you will be okay. You have my word." With that said Kat let her head fall into the hands of Niera. Her hands were icy cold, yet it relieved Kat of the fiery fever that was building up inside her body. She needed this. She needed this rest. She was exhausted. Convincing herself that passing out in the hands of Mother Nature's reincarnate was the best thing for her to do at this moment; Kat let her mind drift off as her eyes closed. She felt at complete ease and for the first time since she was in the arms of Clarence she was feeling safe. She was safe again. She was ready to sleep.

When Kat opened her eyes again she was underneath a Eucalyptus tree. Someone had covered her in leaves to make sure she had stayed warm during the night. Kat stretched out her legs and arms as the sunshine broke through the branches. The sun felt amazing, and she soaked up just as much as she could from the warmth. She felt her body regain just enough strength to allow her to sit up from where she lay. When she did, surprise took over her. Someone had also taken the time to change her clothes. She was now wearing what appeared to look like flower petals, they covered her breasts and strangely enough they supported her more than any bra or man ever could. Kat was intrigued at her new outfit. She was also wondering who had put it on her. It did not really matter now though. With her free hand she touched the petals, they were soft yet they felt as though they were unbreakable. Like armor with padding. Kat stood up, making sure to support her weight on the tree beside her so that she did not fall over, for she still felt quite week. "Katherine, you're awake! Good, but please be careful. I have something important to tell you and I think you should be sitting down for this." Kat looked over at Niera who was still naked. "Um sure" Kat replied looking quite puzzled.

"Is Nenna okay?" Kat asked eagerly looking around to see if she could see her little sister anywhere. "Yes, Sienna is just fine. She is with Damien at the moment just down by the lake. They are helping the other warriors prepare for battle." Kat watched as Niera gracefully sat beside her. "Battle? What battle?" Kat was even more confused now than she had been when she woke to find herself dressed in new clothes. "Yes a battle, between the Mutationems and well us, the Naturas. We received your warning, that is, Sienna told us all about what had happened to the both of you. What happened in Tokyo after the nuclear reaction explosion, and how you were both held prisoners within a pack of Mutationems lead by a woman called Jo? Sienna mentioned how brave you were for saving Clarence from their grip and how the three of you planned to meet us here. She also informed me of the movements of a traitor, Zavier, and how he betrayed us. I am devastated to have lost Clarence; he was one of my best warriors. But he kept his promise to protect you and he has an eternal place in my heart" Niera sighed heavily, wishing for the millionth time that she could bring Clarence back. "We have no choice but to prepare for an upcoming battle. Mother Nature gave me an important mission. I am the protector of this planet and as such I shall protect it from any threats that come its way. When the planet and those who live within it are in danger, I will respond with hell fire and anger. No one comes into the planet and starts stealing the life force from the inhabitants without looking to start a fight. If it is a fight that Jo wants, then an epic battle she will get. And the outcome would not be what she expected. So my question is this my dear, are you a Natura or a Mutationem?"

Kat looked up at Niera who looked back at her, her face stern and serious, waiting for Kat to answer. "Niera, you can call me Kat and Sienna, Nenna. And I can answer for the both of us when I say that we are neither. I know that I am not a Mutationem. I am not one of those creatures. I am not like Jo. But neither was I born a Natura. Nenna and I came into this world as humans, born from our parent's love. Therefore, to answer your question, I would say that I am but a human who has gone through some unfortunate events that has led to my body changing as it has. However, I have chosen to fight alongside you. I have faith in what Clarence said and what he believed in. I believe that you are the heart of the planet and as such I vow to protect it from harm. You have my loyalty." Kat attempted to kneel in front of Niera however; the movements only made her feel sicker like she was going to throw up again. Niera covered her mouth with her hand while the free hand cupped her stomach.

"What is wrong with me?" Kat managed to say without sounding as freaked out as she was on the inside. As a child she was never okay when she got stomach aches or when she felt like she was going to be sick. She never handled it well ever. She could handle any other form of pain. But as soon as something was going on with her stomach she was useless. It was truly her kryptonite. If superman saw her now he would be shaking his head in disappointment. That is just how she was at this moment. "This might come as a surprise or a shock to you Kather- Kat. But do you recall possibly spending the night with Clarence at some stage during your journey over here?" Niera asked Kat, she had winked when she asked about whether or not Kat and Clarence had spent the night together. Kat was wondering why that had anything to do with why she was feeling so fucking ill. "Wait." Kat thought about what Niera had just said. It could not be true, that could not have happened? Could it? It could. Dammit. Apparently it could even though he like died once already. Apparently death and reincarnation does not affect your ability to reproduce. "I am pregnant, aren't I?" Kat looked over to Niera who had a glowing smile plastered on her face. She looked so happy. "Yes, yes you are and with Clarence's baby! Half Natura and half Mutationem!" Niera sounded so excited as she grasped hold of one of Kat's hands. Kat looked down at her stomach and patted it softly. "I am pregnant with Clarence's child."

Kat began to smile the more she looked down at her stomach. She still carried a part of Clarence with her, in her heart and now in her stomach. She could not believe this. She felt the warmth start to emerge from her heart and spread throughout her body. She was happy again. This was probably the best thing that could have happened to her at this stage. This was what she needed, another reason to carry on. She had her little sister to look after but now she also had a baby, a baby who was half of the man that she had fallen in love with. "Niera, you would not be able to know if it was a boy or a girl." Kat looked hopefully towards Niera who was still holding her hand. "It is a boy hun, and while I dressed you I did have a feel of your stomach and I felt something. Something strong and determined yet wild at the same time. I spoke to Mother Nature shortly after and in her words 'He will be the chosen warrior for the future of the Earth' so; I hope that answers your question Kat." With that Niera rose from where she sat and she slowly lets Kat's hand go. "Now I need you to join us by the lake shortly to discuss our plans for the upcoming battle." Kat simply nodded as she watched Niera disappear in the distance. A boy... Kat thought. She was overjoyed.

Mother Nature had said he would be the chosen one? What did that mean? Was his fate already decided? There were just so many questions that were left unanswered and she did not have the time to ask them now. But what she knew was that it was going to be a boy. And she already knew the perfect name for him. Clarence. Kat began to gently rub her belly with both hands. "I shall name you after your father. You shall be known as Clarence. I wish your father was here to see this." Kat stared at her stomach for a few minutes before she rose from the ground and began to follow the direction in which Niera had gone.

When Kat reached the lake, she saw that all the warriors that were once naked were now covered in armour. However it was no traditional armour. It was as though what they were wearing came from the Earth itself. Leaves, petals and branches covered their bodies. They looked magnificent. They looked like trees that had the power to conquer any army. The strength of nature itself. "Wow." Was all Kat could say as she walked over to where Niera stood. She had her back to Kat as she was looking out over the lake. Her long flowing hair was hiding most of her body. Kat was about to touch her shoulder when the Earth began to quiver just a slight bit causing Kat to half stumble backwards. With a gasp, Kat watched as tree roots emerged from the ground beneath Niera's feet. They began to wrap around her legs as they travelled up towards her waist. There the roots intertwined along her back forming a tight corset before the roots moved towards her chest. There they branched out to cup her breasts which were then covered by leaves that grew out of the roots themselves. More leaves and petals began to form from the roots covering most of her naked skin before sharp thorns developed by the roots that migrated down her arms and her legs. She looked as though she was a warrior that had risen from the depths of the planet itself. She looked very dangerous.

Kat had to step back out of fear of being pricked by the thorns that grew on her. Roses began to grow amongst the strands of Niera's hair. They wrapped themselves around one another forcing her hair to bunch up into a messy bun that, in itself, would never even have been considered messy as it looked as if she had her hair professionally done. At least $200 worth of professional hairstyling. Niera had waited until her hair was successfully secured before she turned to face Kat. Kat stared in awe, for she truly was the reincarnate of Mother Nature. Everything about her screamed it. As everyone else around Kat realized that Niera had put on all her armour they all formed a circle around her, and one by one every warrior knelt down with one knee on the ground and both palms placed on the ground on either side of their body. In unison they all dropped their heads forward in respect for Mother Nature. In an ungraceful attempt to follow along with the crowd, Kat knelt down as well just as her sister had done across from her. They had officially joined the Naturas and Kat was determined to prove her loyalty to Niera. "Rise my warriors; rise for we have a battle to fight. We have a planet to save and we have the chosen one to protect." Niera offered her hand to Kat who was still kneeling in front of her. Smiling with pride, Kat took Niera's hand and let her pull her up from the ground. Standing beside Niera, she placed her hands on her stomach and watched as the warriors surrounding her rose from the ground and walked over to where they stood. One by one a hand fell on Kat and Niera's shoulders. They were all connected. They were all one. Part of one another, part of the Earth and part of the future.

Kat closed her eyes, trying very hard not to cry, she was so happy. Happier than she had been in years. "Thank you." Kat managed to whisper into the silent crowd that was still surrounding her. With that, the warriors left and wandered off to the lake. Kat took that moment to find Nenna who was at the lake with Damien. As she got closer to where they stood Kat noticed that Damien's body was changing. His skin seemed to shimmer and gleam like the scales of a fish. She watched his face turn into deep concentration as if he was focusing very hard on something. "What is he doing Nenna?" Kat asked curiously. "He is changing his body into his armour for the battle." Was all that Nenna could say as she was cut off by a grumbling scream that came from Damien's mouth. He looked as though he was in pain. However, that did not last too long. For after a few minutes he stopped screaming and his body went limp. With yet another gasp of surprise Kat and Nenna watched as the scales on his skin grew thicker and wider and darker until his whole body, besides his face, was covered in dark blue glittering scales. It looked as though he was wearing a body suit made from dark blue crystal. When Damien opened his eyes Kat saw the pride he felt. She saw his face grow into a grin as he said "Well, what do you lovely ladies think? Does the colour blue suit me?" Kat laughed and Nenna giggled. "Blue is definitely your colour" Kat nodded as she touched the scales on his body. Just as she did she felt a sting on her finger; she winced and jerked her hand back. "Shit, what was that?" Kat exclaimed staring at Damien as if it was his fault. "Oh sorry, forgot to mention that my scales are very sharp and could cut though skin like a machete. So please be careful around me and the rest of the water Naturas." Sucking on the blood that was seeping from her finger Kat nodded and frowned at Damien as she walked away.

"My warriors, I need you." Kat heard Niera's voice loud and clear as though she was right inside her head. It kind of freaked her out a little bit. Kat walked towards Niera who stood in the middle of the open field just past the lake. There she saw that most of the warriors had already gathered, all of which were now fully clothed in their armor, they all looked ready to fight, and determined to win. "Right, now everyone. I have a plan, and it involves each and every one of you so I need you all to listen to me very clearly and if you dare to disobey my orders, Damien will find you, drag your asses into the middle of the ocean where you will be fed to the Kraken. Is that clear?" Niera's words were dark and threatening but Kat understood the kindness and compassion that hid underneath her harsh commands. "Yes Niera." A unison of voices shouted back at Niera, quite confidently and determined. It made Kat feel proud about where she was, who she was with and what she was doing. For the first time in her life she honestly felt like she was where she needed to be and she was doing the right thing.

"Firstly, we don't know when the attack will happen, however we need to be prepared, therefore, we will march on in the direction that Kat and Nenna came from. We will meet them halfway before they find us here. We will start tonight." Everyone was quiet as the words from Niera fell into the crowd. "Water Naturas, you will take into the lake and follow us down with the river, you will be our surprise attack. When Damien gives the signal you are required to pull down as many men and women into the depths of the river as you can. Drown them. Squeeze every last breath out of their lungs if you have to. Is that clear?" There was no hesitation from the crowd as Kat would have thought there would be. Everyone simply replied with "Yes Niera." No one questioned her on anything, There was nothing but loyalty, why wouldn't there be? After all, this woman did go to hell and back for the Earth and for them so why would they not follow her or listen to her. She was their savior.

"Animal warriors, come forth." Kat looked around but saw no warriors, and then out of the blue she watched as more than a dozen people walked out of the forest. Their camouflage was insane. Their armor made them as though they were invisible. Kat had not even known that they were there. It creeped Kat out quite a fair bit. They marched out dressed in the colours of the Earth. Their faces smeared with mud and dirt, as was the rest of their body that was not covered in armor. They looked insanely fierce and their response was additionally so. Kat covered up her ears as the group howled like wolves in response to Niera's request. "My Animal warriors you will go ahead of the group and use your natural camouflage ability to surround our enemies without them noticing you. Then upon my order you will attack and drag any Mutationems into the woods and leave them to be devoured by any animal you see fit." The Animal warriors howled once more in response before vanishing into the forest and the darkness of the rising moon. Time had passed so quickly, the sun had already set with the night sky was shining brightly above them.

Kat could hardly believe the time had flown past so quickly. "Kat and Nenna." Kat's ears perked up as she heard her name being called. "Yes Niera?" Kat asked questioningly as she walked closer to Nenna and reached down to hold her hand in hers. "I don't want either of you on the battlefield as Kat would be too weak. But she also needs someone by her side to protect her. Therefore, Nenna you are charged as Kat's protector and you will stay by her side as the both of you journey to the great Eucalyptus tree located west of here. It is a two to three day walk. There you will find Mother Nature and she will guide you through the rest of your journey. You need to protect the chosen one. Therefore, neither of you could be seen on this battlefield. Is that clear?" Niera's command was hard and heavy. Kat understood where she was coming from but she still felt disappointed that she would not be able to fight, even though she knew that she would be hopeless in her current state. "Yes Niera" Both Kat and Nenna replied in unison. "Right, now all of you get to it. I want to see you strike fear into the eyes of all that challenge us." Right after that command Kat watched as the water warriors excluding Damien dove into the lake and the river. "Damien, what are you still doing here?" Niera asked staring at Damien. "You think I was going to leave you unprotected? No such chance. You know you are more vulnerable at night. I am not moving and there are no orders that you could give that would make me move from your side." Kat watched as a smile crept up onto Niera's face. She could tell that there was a spark of some sorts that was growing between Damien and Niera. She had felt that spark before between herself and Clarence. "Stop gawking and get going you two." Niera's words snapped Kat back into reality. Neanna grabbed hold of Kat's arm and they started to walk West towards the great Eucalyptus tree. They were ready to start another adventure. With one last glance over her shoulder, Kat smiled at Niera, who smiled back as she encouraged her to walk on. And so, hand in hand the two sisters walked on, to whatever the next two days would bring into their lives. They were ready and waiting.

# Chapter Nineteen

## Barbary Lion: Last seen in 1942. Officially classed as Extinct.

AS the darkness of the sky deepened, Niera felt her warriors lose strength for the sun had set hours ago and the energy they were using to sneak up on Jo and her Mutationems was draining. She knew she had to act quickly to make sure that they had the strength to endure, and survive, the battle no matter how timid or severe the fight would be. She wanted to know that they would all make it out alive, which meant that they all required that little bit more energy. Fortunately, she knew exactly where they could get it. Niera stopped walking and began to once again take her knees to the ground. With her palms face down on the ground she focused on the energy that flowed through her veins. She could feel Damien's curious eyes linger on her body as he tried to understand what was happening but she also guessed that he knew not to interrupt her at this moment. Niera found the heated energy that flowed through her veins. She focused on that heat and she began to direct it out through her body, through her fingertips and into the soil, the heat even began to flow through the strands of her hair raising her red locks to the night sky. Her body and hair began to glow in vibrant red and green, as through the energy radiated from within her and was escaping from all around her. Niera heard a gasp escape from Damien as he fell to his knees, Niera watched as the red and green glow that covered her body began to drift into Damien's open mouth. It was as though he was breathing in her energy, as if his body was craving the power that she could give.

From all around her Niera, felt the same thing happening to all her warriors, she knew they were all absorbing her energy waves. She knew they were getting that extra kick they needed to survive the battle. It only took a few minutes until Niera felt as though most of her energy had vanished from her body for her head fell forward and she began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. As the leader of the Naturas, she had played her part. Niera felt Damien's strong arms wrap around her waist as he lifted her body from the ground. "Niera, what was that? What did you do?" Damien sounded concerned as his hands went to Niera's face, holding her gaze to his so that she could not look away when she answered him. "I gave you all just a little bit more energy for if you get attacked tonight some of you might not make it through to see the sunrise. You don't have enough energy under the night sky. This is my way of protecting you." Niera's hair was still floating above her, lighting up the night sky as if she was a human torch. "Yeah, okay, sure. But who's going to protect you now that you're weak? You're too weak to fight Niera." Niera could hear a hint of anger and frustration in Damien's voice, she knew she had upset him but she did not understand why. She did everything a leader had to do. She put her warriors first, above her own life, she was protecting them.

"No one needs to protect me. I still have the strength to fight. Trust me. I will be okay." Niera knew she was lying the second she opened her mouth and she knew that Damien thought so as well. But he did not say anything. He just looked at her with a concerned yet slightly pissed off look on his face. "I'll protect you. Do not argue. End of discussion." Niera opened her mouth to disagree and to well argue as to why that would be a stupid thing to do, but Damien simply picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and began to march on towards the direction in which Kat and Nenna had said the Mutationems were coming from. "I said end of discussion." Damien muttered under his breath as he probably heard Niera clear her throat ready to lay down an argument on his stubborn ass. "Damien, why are you so mad at me?" Niera asked, seeing as she obviously had no choice in this decision that he had made, she might as well attempt to have a little discussion with him about his moodiness.

"Not now Niera, this is not the time, nor the place. Just be quiet will you?" Niera felt as though he needed to be pushed a little further, she felt as though there was something that he was not telling her and it just made her want to know all the more. "Damien, I am Mother Nature's reincarnate, I demand that you tell me why you're so pissed off with me!" Niera felt Damien's shoulder shift as her body began to slip from his and she landed with a thud on the ground as he dropped her. "Ouch! Damien, what was that for!" Niera began to rub the side of her butt and upper thigh that had hit the ground first when she fell. "I love you!" Damien yelled throwing his hands and arms up in the air. "Is that what you wanted to hear, I love you Niera." Damien's anger began to dissipate as he began to realize what he had just said. "So you threw me on the ground! What the fuck Damien!" Niera felt as though her butt had bruised from the impact. "Niera, did you even hear what I just said? I just told you I love you and you're yelling at me because you fell on your butt?" Niera turned to look at Damien. "Yes, Damien I heard you, loud and clear, you yelled it at me! But you also threw me on my ass and it hurt!" Niera began to yell at Damien who looked so confused and embarrassed at the same time.

"Okay, look I'm sorry for throwing you down on the ground Niera, just you were pushing me, and I got angry. I am sorry." Damien extended a hand down to where Niera still sat on the ground. Niera took hold of his hand and gripped him tightly as he pulled her from the ground and onto her feet. "That's okay Damien, I forgive you." Niera patted off the dirt that was still stuck on her exposed skin, she was paying no attention to Damien who was still staring at her, obviously waiting for her to react to his proclamation of love. "So are we not going to talk about what just happened?" Damien asked shrugging his shoulders as a sign of hopeless disbelief. Niera stared at Damien, his face had turned soft and his eyes big and desperate, he was waiting and dying on the inside just to hear what she had to say. Truth be told she did not really know what to say, she did not even know how she felt anymore. She had been so busy distracting herself with preparing for the battle and keeping her warriors safe.

She had no idea that he had developed these feelings for her. It had definitely come as a surprise. Since what happened between her and Zavier she really was not in touch with her emotions, or at least not any emotions apart from sadness, despair and anger. She really could not remember the feeling of love. That feeling of breathlessness and nervousness when you looked at the person who had stolen your heart so unexpectedly. The excitement and goose bumps you got when you were close to that person. She really could not remember those feelings, so she knew she did not have them now. And she really did not know if she would ever get them again. When he left, he stole her heart. And she was fighting to get it back. The strange thing was everyone that looked at her now would see her smiling, would see her laughing and pursuing her dreams with this kind of fiery determination to make it out okay. But what they did not see was the girl on the inside who would wake up with every sunrise and begin to fight an internal battle with herself. Where she would fight with the memories of her past that continued to haunt her. She would fight back at the thoughts that came from the nightmares that continued to wake her in the middle of the night. She would find herself looking for anything, just anything to do to keep her mind distracted so that she would not think of him. So that she would not think about the emptiness she felt when he walked out of her life.

He had broken her heart and every day she was picking up those pieces and trying to hold herself together. Those were the things that everyone around her could not see and she would make sure that they would never see it. Damien was still staring at her. She did not know what to say. She did not want to hurt him. But how do you tell someone you care about them, but you are not whole on the inside. That you could not give them your heart because you really don't even know where it is right now? Niera swallowed the air that was building up in her mouth. She had been holding her breath for who knows how long while she tried to figures out what to say to him. "Damien, look. This is really difficult to explain to you because I care a lot about you and you make me smile, you really do. And though I appreciate your honesty and your sincerity, I really cannot give you my heart or my love. I have not been the same since Zavier, and most of the time I struggle to even know who I am anymore. I would not want to drag you into my mess. I really can't bring you into the war that is going on inside of me every day. You deserve a lot more than that, and right now I just can't give any of that to you. Even if I wanted to, I really could not. I am really sorry, and I hope that we can still be okay." Niera watched as his face dropped just a little bit, she knew he was disappointed, she knew that what he really wanted was for her to reciprocate his love.

But she didn't love him. She did not even know what love was anymore so how could she love him? "Niera, I understand, and I know what you're going through. And I know that you're scared of love because of what he did to you. And one day you'll get over him and I will still be here by your side. I will be whatever you need. A friend, a shoulder to cry on. I will be here no matter what. Because I love you. And if you don't love me like I love you then that is okay, maybe things will change in the future, maybe not. All I know is that I have never felt this strongly about anyone before in my life and I will never hurt you. I will stay by your side, whether there is hail, rain, snow or sunshine." Niera smiled at Damien, he really was a good guy, and she wished that she could make him happy, but it was not the right time. If they had met before, then maybe, but right now it was not the right time. Damien smiled back at her, his eyes looked happier somehow and she was thankful for that. She did not want him to hurt after what she said; she just hoped he understood. If only she could let him into her mind and body then he could have felt the chaos that resided there. Then he would understand completely. But they really do not have time for that. Time had already been taken from them in this moment and they needed to walk on, towards the Mutationems that were marching towards them.

It was then that Niera and Damien heard an ear piercing scream coming from the dark forest in front of them. Niera lifted her head into the sky so that she could hear more clearly in an attempt to figure out what was going on. More screams were coming from the forest. "The battle had begun." Damien swore under his breath as he took a protective stance in front of Niera. "Damien, go, I need you to go give the signal for the Water warriors to attack. I need you to do this as I would not make it there on time and I would only slow you down if you tried to carry me." Niera saw the hesitation in Damien's eyes as she instructed him to leave. "But Niera..." Damien's voice almost broke as he said her name. "Damien, go. I will see you again, I promise." With one final glance at Niera, Damien leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead. "Do not break that promise." Damien whispered under his breath before he turned and sprinted towards the river that flowed into the lake. Within a few seconds his body disappeared into the darkness. Niera was alone. She began to walk on towards the forest in front of her. More screams erupted as flames of fire began to light up the trees. Someone was setting the battle on fire. As though it was an attempt to block off any exists that could be someone's salvation from death.

The flames flickered in Niera's eyes, it drove adrenaline through her body, making the temptation to run far too great for her to resist. Niera began to run. She pumped her legs forward, her feet breaking the ground with every stride that she took. Niera reached the entrance of the forest. There was only one path of sand that was open from the flames. It was a clear path. It was dark and silent. Niera knew better than to walk into that. She knew it would be a trap. She could sense it. Her stomach was going crazy, making her feel like being sick. Something was definitely wrong with this path. As Niera stepped through the path, she knew it was the only way to get to the other side, into the clearing where she could hear the screams of her warriors. She could feel the blood that seeped from their bodies stain the Earth. She felt their pain. She knew she had to make it to the end of the path. Niera took it step by step, keeping very quiet so that she could hear anything that was coming her way. She was about halfway through the path; she could see the brightness of the flames that licked at the forest floor in the clearing. She could see the silhouettes of warriors fighting with Mutationems. She could smell the rusty iron smell of blood, and she could taste its bitter saltiness on her tongue. She had almost made it to the end of the path, when she was startled by a voice.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A deep yet familiar voice came from the darkness beside her. She knew that voice all too well. It sent shivers down her spine and made her stomach fall into a ball of flame. Her throat went dry and her eyes began to sting with tears of rage that had bubbled up inside her. "Zavier." Niera managed to whisper; she could feel her body shaking from her nerves, as her confidence disappeared. "How is it going darling?" His wicked voice took Niera by surprise as she felt his breath on her naked neck. Niera turned on her heels to come face to face with Zavier who was dressed in metallic armor. His face looked older somehow, and his smile had turned into a dark grin. Niera felt her heart drop and her hands began to shake. "What's the matter darling? Something wrong?" Zavier was taunting her and her silence. "You broke my heart Zavier!" Niera screamed, surprising herself at how much power she still had left in her voice. "I know, I don't regret it though." Zavier laughed. Niera felt the pain she felt the very day he left her. How it that he still managed to hurt her so? Why was it that she still cared for him after he had broken her heart so many times? Niera lowered herself into a crouch and lifted a blade carved from seashells from the band that held it tightly to her thigh. Lifting her head from her warrior stance she managed to grimace at Zavier and she held his gaze before she said "You stole my heart, and I'm about to carve it out of your chest." That took Zavier by surprise as he stumbled a few steps back from Niera and her words. That reaction only fueled Niera's anger. Niera pounced forward and sliced with her dagger, meeting the flesh from Zavier's upper thigh. She heard him grunt as he reached down to hold the wound that Niera had just bestowed upon him. "Oh, I am sorry did that hurt?" Niera let out a cruel laugh as she prepared herself for another attack. Zavier simply stared at her with sheer determination as he pulled out a dagger of his own. It was a sharp blade made out of stainless steel, the blade was jagged and it looked as though it could cause severe damage if it broke through skin.

"Oh darling, you'll have to try harder to hurt me. You look cute though with your little dagger." Zavier threw a smile Niera's way. She spat at his face as she smile back lifting her dagger and pointing it directly at his heart. "Bring it asshole." She said back with confidence. Zavier leapt forward taking Niera by surprise. She managed to dodge him but the dagger caught hold of her waist. It pierced though the skin. Niera felt the cold blade tear through a muscle. The pain was unbearable. Zavier pulled the blade from Niera's waist. "Oh did that hurt darling?" Zavier laughed this time, his face so close to Niera's that she could see the coldness in his eyes. While Niera was disorientated from the attack, Zavier managed to pin her body against a tree. "I've died by a blade before, or have you forgotten Zavier?" Niera spat once more in his face attempting to distract him so that she could get out of his grip after he had stabbed her. "You know, you're quite cute when you're trying to kill me." Zavier smiled as he brought his face closer to Niera's. She began to shake her head from side to side and lifted her legs to kick him. But he had already leaned in and shifted his body weight onto hers. With his free hand he dropped the dagger and grabbed her jaw. He forced Niera to look at him. "I miss you actually." Zavier whispered before he leaned in further and began to kiss Niera. Niera felt the rage build up inside her. No one has the right to kiss her or touch her without her permission. Especially not him. She was not his, she will never be his.

Niera bit down hard on his bottom lip. She felt him wince and attempt to pull back. It only made Niera bite down harder. She could taste his blood. She felt it flow into her mouth. She knew she had caused him pain in that moment. He jerked back from Niera and the tree, falling butt first onto the ground. His hands flew immediately to his mouth where emerald blood covered his entire jaw and neck. "You bitch! You bit off my bottom lip!" Zavier's words did not come out properly as he struggled to pronounce the words but Niera knew what he was trying to say. Niera walked up to Zavier, picking up his dagger and hers as she did so. She knelt down in front of where he sat, still attempting to stop the blood from pouring out of his mouth. Niera smiled, her lips stained green, and with little effort she spat once more and this time instead of saliva landing on his face, his entire bottom lip, flesh and blood splattered out of her mouth and hit him right on the forehead. "I hope that was good for you baby, it definitely satisfied me." Niera laughed as she rose from where she knelt in front of Zavier. She walked on, leaving Zavier behind. She figured it was best to let him suffer than to kill him off straight away. She wanted him to feel the pain she had felt when he broke her down. She could not help but smile knowing that he would now have speech difficulties, which meant that no one would be able to understand him clearly. Niera knew this would piss him off to the point where he would fall into complete silence.

Finally, Niera entered the clearing. She saw that her warriors were still in mid battle. Many were clinging on the backs of Mutationems in attempts to choke or strangle them to death. There were some of her people laying on the field, their bodies drenched with blood, though she could not figure out if it was their blood or someone else's. Most of them were still fortunately breathing. She watched their chests rise and fall with every breath they took. She knew they would be alright. Niera found herself looking for someone in particular. She was searching the battlefield for Damien. But she could not see him. Her heart sank. She promised him that he would see her again. Niera marched through the battlefield, cutting down any Mutationem that threatened to stop her. She was vicious and fierce and had no time to deal with nonsense. With two daggers, one in either hand she began to cut through the crowds towards the centre where she though Damien would be. She needed to be alongside him. To fight by his side. To show her warriors that she was here fighting with them, fighting for them. "Damien!" Niera cried out, feeling her voice breaking from the dryness of her throat. When was the last time she had water? She wondered. "Niera?!" A whimpered voice came from in front of her.

Niera pushed through the crowd who had now stopped fighting. Niera reached the center of the battlefield and instantly fell to her knees. Damien, all of her Water warriors and most of her Animal warriors were tied up with ropes around their necks. A woman with a wicked grin stood behind them. In her hands, that were covered with dark red blood, she held a dagger similar to the one Zavier had which Niera now held tightly in her right hand. "Well, is this supposed to be the reincarnate of Mother Nature?" The woman pointed the tip of her dagger towards Niera who sneered at her remark. The woman began to laugh a chesty laugh. "Aw, is she not adorable fellas?" The woman's statement was met with cheers and wolf whistles from the men and women crowded behind her. "Now, Natura is it?" The woman walked around the warriors that she had tied up and imprisoned and stopped in front of Niera. "It's Niera actually." Niera corrected the woman. "And I am assuming you are the leader of the Mutationems? Jo is it?" Niera stepped forward meeting Jo's gaze. "You can call me whatever you want cutie, after all it would not matter after tonight." Jo lifted her blade to Niera's cheek and with the slightest bit of pressure she slid the blade down the side of Niera's face causing a small cut to form on her cheek. Jo took a few steps back pulling her blade with her. "What a shame, you had such a pretty face." Niera lifter her hand to her face and with the back of her hand she wiped the blood from the cut. "What do you want Jo?" Niera demanded, lifting her own daggers into a position where she could pounce onto Jo at any second she deemed necessary. "I have come with a proposition for you. Niera. As you can see, more than half of your warriors have been tied up with a noose secured to their necks, the other half are staining the ground with green blood, and well the odd few remaining, that are still fighting. Well, they'll fall down too. As you can tell, night time was the perfect time for us to attack I think. You can thank your lover Zavier for that." Jo was twirling her dagger between her hands and the air.

"He is not my lover." Niera spat back at Jo. Her anger was rising very quickly, her temperament had flown out of the window; she was not here to discuss her love life. "That's not what I hear sweetie." Jo gleamed as if she knew it was a touchy subject for Niera. "Either tell me what you want, or you can fuck right off, over there." Niera commanded pointing her dagger towards the cliff just over the horizon. "Alright Niera, hakuna your tattas will ya." Jo was getting irritated with Niera's snide remarks; she was obviously not used to getting back chat. "Niera, what I want is for you to hand yourself in to us. I want you to willingly join us as our prisoner. We will let everyone else here go free if you decide to join us now." Niera thought about Jo's proposition. "And if I refuse?" Niera asked, although she already knew the answer to her own question. She just wanted to hear Jo say it.

"If you refuse, the Natura race as you know it will die before your eyes. You shall be made to watch as every single one of them take their last breath." It was then that Niera felt empty and used, as if she had just run out of anything she still had left inside her. She was a little broken and confused. But she was not ready to give up on her race. Not now, not tonight, not ever. "Fine, untie them now and let them walk West and I will join you." Niera found it hard to say those words as she felt like she was breaking all over again. She felt tears wetting her face washing off the blood that still stained her lips from the encounter she had with Zavier. "Niera! No don't do this! I would rather die!" Niera looked over to Damien who was breaking into tears. His whole body was shaking with such ferocity that Niera thought he would pass out from his own body overheating. "Please don't do this. Please." His voice had broken with his tears; Niera could only make out the faintest words that he was saying. Hearing him beg like that destroyed all hope that she had for herself. This was going to be it. Giving her life for theirs. A second time. All over again. But who knows, maybe this was not the end "I have to do this Damien, you might not understand now but someday you will." Niera turned away from Damien as she began to walk towards Jo. "Now follow your end of the deal and cut them free." Niera stood but a few meters away from the Mutationems who were smiling eagerly at her, their hands reaching out ready to grab her.

Jo nodded as she looked over to her men who nodded back at her and began to cut the ropes free. It was at that moment that Niera walked to face Jo for the second time that night, but instead of facing her as an enemy Niera fell to her knees with her head fallen as a prisoner. She felt Jo's gaze on her as she took the noose that hung around Damien and tied it around Niera's neck. With a sharp tug, Jo had pulled Niera up with the rope. Niera rose from the ground, with her head still bent to the ground she let her tears flow. She heard Damien struggle amongst his men who tried to hold him back and drag him to the river, West, and away from Niera. She heard him cry her name; she heard his voice crack and disappears as he lost his voice from calling out to her. Her warriors had fallen. The half that was on the ground were barely moving, their chests scarcely rising. "Take care of them!" Niera managed to send off her last command to her warriors. "Please." She whispered as her hair fell down to cover her face. In a soft and heartbroken unison that tore Niera to shreds, she heard her warriors rely "Yes Natura." Niera almost fell to her knees. But she carried on; as the rope tugged and rubbed roughly around the skin of her neck she let Jo lead the way out of the clearing towards the forest. They were heading north.

Then, just as all hope was lost and Niera had given up, the atmosphere changed. Niera felt warmth, she felt power and she felt life mixed amongst death. Niera had felt that before, she remembered that feeling. It was coming from someone she knew, someone she admired and respected. A warrior unlike any other. Niera felt a smile grow onto her face as a thundering roar silenced the battlefield. Niera turned on her heels to look up from the ground and towards the centre of the clearing. Another roar hit the sky. It was impossibly fearsome. So much so that Niera could feel the Mutationems cower from around her. For there in the centre of the battlefield that was tainted with a mixture of dark red and emerald green blood and lifeless bodies stood a woman. She took on a warrior pose, her hands dug into the soil, her knees slightly bent with her feet breaking the ground from beneath her. She was crouched like a natural predator. Her hair was flowing in loose curls around her face. But she was also not alone, for on either side of her stood two male lions. One whose fur was as black as the ash that now covered the forest floor and the other as white as a ghost.

The lions released another pounding roar in unison that shook the Earth where Niera stood. A couple of Mutationems fell back in fear. Niera could not help but laugh in delight. This was surely a lovely surprise and she could not have come any sooner. "Who is that?" Jo demanded jerking on Niera's noose. Niera looked up and grinned at Jo. "Your worst nightmare." Shocked, Jo raised her hand and slapped Niera across the face. "Give me a name dammit." Niera wiped the blood from her mouth that was flowing from the cut Jo had made earlier; the slap had reopened the small graze. Niera ignored Jo's pissed off face and instead stared at the two lions and the woman. Niera felt her name on the tip of her tongue and let it roll out of her mouth and onto her lips. "Her name is Rose."

# Chapter Twenty

## Crescent Nailtail Wallaby: Last seen in 1956. Officially classed as Extinct.

IT had been nearly two days that Kat and Nenna had been walking west towards the great Eucalyptus tree as Niera had instructed. Kat was hoping that they survived the battle; she had hoped that they all survived even though she had no way of knowing what had happened or what was happening. "Are we there yet?" this had been the tenth time that Nenna had asked that question, just today. Yes Kat kept count. "Almost I think. There seems to be a valley just above this hill, I am pretty sure the tree would be there. Niera would not have led us astray so just be patient please." Kat had been so tired over the last two days. Her stomach had been growing significantly given that she has only been pregnant for a few days. Four if she counted right. Yet her stomach looked as though she was at least four months pregnant. She was getting more worried with every hour that ticked by. Was something wrong? Kat was biting on her bottom lip quite hard, so hard in fact that she pierced through the skin. Even though she could taste the blood she was not fazed, nor did she flinch. She had too many other things on her mind that required her attention, like did the Natura's survive? Is her baby meant to be growing this quickly? Was her baby growing or was her stomach just about to explode from an overload of gas? These questions all circulated in her mind.

"Kat look!!! Over there! That's the tree right?" Nenna was jumping up and down as she was pointing towards a magnificently large Eucalyptus tree that grew just over the hill near a little waterfall. Kat smile, "Yes, yes Nenna I believe that this is the tree!" Kat began to run alongside Nenna as they both struggled to get up the hill. Kat stopped a few meters away from the tree when she reached the top. She let the beauty of the tree wash over her, she felt so insignificant compared to this tree. It was taller than any building she had ever seen in Tokyo. Its branches draped over the sky as if it was the thing that was holding up the sky. Kat moved closer to the tree. She fell to her knees in front of it, the skin of her legs brushing against the roots that pierced through the ground of the Earth. With one hand on her swollen stomach and the other on the bark of the tree, Kat leaned in and rested her forehead next to her hand on the base of the tree. "Please Mother Nature, can you hear me." Kat could hear only the sound of her beating heart as she waited for a sign that Mother Nature was here with her, her sister and her unborn child.

"Yes child, I am here." A soothing and motherly voice entered Kats mind. It took her by so much surprise that she almost fell back from the tree. "Do not be afraid my child. You have come here for answers, have you not?" The voice came again, it was warm and inviting. Kat leaned back against the tree as green leaves began to fall around her. "Yes, I have come for answers and I am pretty sure that you know my questions." Kat smiled as she answered Mother Nature. "My child, I will tell you what I know and it would be up to you to follow and believe me or not. It is all up to you. If you are willing to listen, then I am willing to talk." Kat simply nodded, assuming that Mother Nature would take that as a yes. Even though she was a tree, Kat was pretty sure she had a way of seeing into the world.

"Then I shall begin. You, my child, have been chosen by nature to carry a child. Not just an ordinary child. He will be born from the womb of a Mutationem, but he was also made from the seed of a Natura. A Natura of Chaos and Destruction. As such he shall be born with invincible powers. He will find that he would not need the sun to regain his powers, he would have the strength to tear down cities within a single day, and he would have the power to lead an army without any hesitation from his warriors. He would be able to take the energy from his enemies and he would never age following his 21st birthday. He will remain immortal upon that day, invincible and indestructible. Before his 21st, however, he would remain mortal. He could die just as easily as you. Additionally, there is a price that comes with the powers that he would develop over the years. If he chooses selfishness over selflessness he will become the God of Chaos and Destruction. The Earth would suffer at his hands. The world would burn and everything that lives within it. He could be the Earth's saviour or he could be its very own undoing. This child would be more powerful than anyone who has existed on this planet. Therefore, he is to be kept safe until he is old enough to take care of himself. Although it all depends whether or not you are willing to take that risk, to watch your own son grow up and possibly becoming the man who brings this Earth to an end, or the one who saves it from threats like the Mutationems. You must decide before his 21st birthday, to let him live or to let him die. You have 1 year and 6 months after his birth to decide as his body develops quicker than any Mutationem or Natura. He will be 20 by that time. Then after his 21st he will cease to age or grow. He will remain immortal and you would not be able to kill him. Do you understand Katherine? You are already one month pregnant Katherine. You have eight weeks till his birth. I suggest you and your sister seek shelter in the mountains across the country. There you will be able to take care of your son Clarence without the fear of being discovered and in danger from any Mutationem. It is important that they do not get their hands on your child. For all would be lost if they do. Do you understand Katherine?" Kat sat there, her head still on the base of the tree, her hands rubbing southing circles on her stomach. This was all too much. "Katherine, do you understand?" Mother Nature's voice came again, more persistent this time.

"Um, yes Mother Nature, I understand." Kat nodded as she spoke, trying to reassure herself that she did understand what she had said. To be honest she did understand however, what she understood only confused her more on other things. "Then you must go now. Go to the mountains, you do not have much time. Be haste!" Kat sent her thanks to Mother Nature before she rose from the ground using her hand on the tree to balance her body as she slowly stepped over the roots of the tree. To her surprise Nenna was standing in front of her, her mouth hanging half open and her eyed wide as though she had just seen true magic within this world. "Are you okay Nenna?" Kat asked reaching for Nenna's hand. "I think the right question to ask here is whether or not you are okay Kat?" Nenna replied to Kat as she clutched onto her hand with her own. "Um, I think so. I am not too sure. I think I am still in shock after hearing all that. So, I honestly do not know how I am, but I know that right now we need to head for the mountains. We need to find a place that we can call home." Kat smiled at Nenna who seemed to be lost in thought. "So my nephew, he could be like a super hero or a super villain right?" Kat looked at Nenna quite puzzled, she had a point though.

"I guess in a way that makes sense yes" Kat was deep in thought; she had a massive choice ahead of her. "But how will we know which one he is going to be Kat?" Nenna was asking all the right questions, unfortunately for her though; Kat really did not have the right answers. "I don't know Nenna. I guess we will just look at how he treats people and the Earth. You can tell a lot about a person from the way they treat themselves, from how they treat others and from how they treat the environment. It will just be a waiting game really." Kat thought that answer would satisfy all of Nenna's questions. But she thought wrong. "Would you kill him if you saw he was turning bad?" Nenna asked, slowly this time, in almost a whisper as if she did not want to be heard. Kat thought about it. That was an odd question that she really was not prepared for. Would she kill her own son? She did not know. Would she protect him from those who want to hurt him? Yes, yes she would. But she did not think she could kill him. For all she knew, she already loved him and she had only been pregnant for four days.

"I don't know Nenna. Look can we just drop these questions and just walk for now. I am tired and my mind is already filled with questions. I just want to walk. Is that okay?" Kat looked over to Nenna; she nodded and did not say another word. Together, still holding hands Kat and Nenna walked off, away from the tree, south towards the mountains in search of a new home. A place to live. A place safe from anyone who could harm them or her son. A place where she could keep her son from the world. A secret for only her and her sister. Kat held onto her belly with her free hand. Soothing the tiny heart that beat within. She was not prepared for this, she was not ready to be a mother this soon, nor was she ready to face what her son would become in the next two years. She would just have to wait and see what happens, let nature take over and watch from a distance. After all what else was she supposed to do? Life unfortunately can't be planned. Kat smiled though, for she looked forward to the adventure ahead. She looked forward to raising a family of her own. She longed for a family and now with her sister by her side, she was going to have that. They were going to take care of Clarence and he was going to grow into the man that would have made his father proud. Kat shed a tear at the thought of Clarence never knowing his father. Never knowing the man that he was. Every time Kat thought about him, she was reminded of love. She knew that her love for him will always guide her through the darkness. He was always there.

# Epilogue

ROSE stood, her fingers embedded into the soil on which she held her ground. With Ghost and Darkness beside her she threw her head back and growled fiercely. She had reached the battlefield just in time. For she saw that Niera had been captured, with a noose hung loosely around her neck. Rose could not even remember how she had gotten here, where she was right now. She remembered dying and she recalled dreaming for a very, very long time. But she never woke, not once. It felt like an eternity of just sleeping and dreaming about her past life. The last thing she remembered was waking up to Ghost and Darkness licking her face with their rough tongues. Their toxic meat breath helped to get Rose back onto her feet, quite swiftly. Rose had heard the call of Natura, without hesitation she had begun to run. She ran with the two lions right at her heels. She heard them growl with anticipation. It was as though they knew they were heading into another fight. They enjoyed the kill. And so did Rose. After World War III and her sudden death, Rose had gotten a taste for death. She enjoyed the thought of killing something that was taking the lives of innocent animals.

Rose was crouching down, taking on the pose of a lioness warrior, ready to pounce on her defenceless prey. She felt a growl vibrate inside her chest. With her head drawn back, she let a roar escaped, parting her lips. Her battle cry was met with two more, Ghost and Darkness had belted out their own roars that would have put any normal male lion to shame. Rose felt the battlefield quieten, it was as though the Earth had stopped spinning and was now standing still. Waiting and watching to see what Rose would do next. Everyone around her stood motionless. Even the injured Natura's on the ground used their last breath to turn and look at where she was. All eyes on her. She felt her heart beat loudly like the drums that would be heard from Viking ships going into battle. For a few seconds, fear crossed her mind and she felt her heart sink. But then she caught Niera's eyes. Niera who was in the hands of the Mutationems. Her eyes looked fierce yet frightened at the same time. As though she was trying to tell Rose that she will not be taken in by the Mutationems without a fight. As though she would rather die than become their own personal energy bank. Rose held the eye contact she had with Niera and she nodded, as though she was telling Niera that she understood. Niera smiled at Rose, a pleading smile that caused more blood to pump through Rose's body. The adrenaline was taking over, she needed to do this. She needed to run or she will break.

With a small rumble coming from her chest, Rose sent the two lions into the battlefield. They left her side and began to stalk the group of Mutationems. Ghost had stopped just beside the group on the left-hand side. He crouched on his forelegs, opened his jaw and let out a fearsome growl that made the closest Mutationems fall back on his feet. Darkness had done the same on the right-hand side of the group. His roar caused the group to huddle closer together. The Mutationems driven by fear took out their weapons and began jabbing at the air in front of them in hopes of deterring the two male lions that stood, watching over them. It was Rose's turn to fall in line now. Rising from the ground, she let the dirt fall from between her fingers and toes. She walked ever so slowly towards the woman who held the noose tied around Niera's neck. She felt a smile widen across her cheeks, the excitement of the potential kill shown plainly on her face. She let a few growls slip from her chest, taking pleasure in the woman's fear that was slowly creeping up on her, just as Rose was doing to her.

Rose was close enough that she could smell the salty blood that was coming from the woman's cuts. Rose got closer, ever so slowly till they stood face to face. "You smell like shit" Rose spoke for the very first time in what felt like years. Her voice was harsh and heavy. It took her by surprise for a few seconds. "Well you look like shit." The woman managed to mutter as she tried to avoid Rose's eyes. Rose grimaced as her hand rose to wipe some of the blood that stained the woman's forehead. "I am the kind of shit that nightmares are made of" Rose laughed deeply causing her chest to rise and fall dramatically. "Well then, shall we stop chatting and do this." The woman's voice grew more confident as Rose watched her pull out a dagger from the back of her pants pocket. Rose gleamed ever more. A prey with the eagerness to fight back. This will be interesting.

"Just you and me, in the center of the battlefield. Just the two of us and only one can leave this land. If I win, you will die and your Mutationems will have the choice to join us or follow the same fate as yourself." Rose took a few steps back as she watched the woman think over her proposition. "You make a daring challenge, but it would be rude not to accept. Therefore, I am in." The woman smiled more as she handed the rope of the noose that still hung around Niera's neck to Zavier. He took it with haste and grinned with delight as though he was a child who was just given a chocolate ice cream cone. He tugged harshly on the rope causing Niera to fall to the ground. Rose growled at Zavier taking him by surprise. Rose walked towards the center of the battlefield and waited for the woman to follow. As she walked over the group of Mutationems followed causing the remaining Natura's to do the same. In a few minutes a circle of two races formed around Rose and the woman as though they had formed a cage. The woman pulled out another dagger that had razor-like cuts within the blade. That would defiantly tear apart the Rose's muscles. Better stay clear of that one, she thought to herself.

Rose knelt down and exposed her teeth. She roared. She was a predator and as such she will fight like one. She will fight like a lioness. With only her teeth and her hands as her weapons, she was ready for the fight. "Let's do this!" Rose commanded as she began to sprint towards the woman who stood with her two daggers pointed directly at Rose. The crowd cheered as the two lions roared. The echoes of their battle cries filled the night sky with eager anticipation. Both races hoped their saviours would win the battle. Both hoped that their warriors would come out alive. Both held their breath as they watched two races collide with the heated passion of the kill. Two races entered the kill circle, and only one will leave.

TO BE CONTINUED.

## The sequel, following from the first novel, Mother Nature Reincarnated.

I was twenty years old when I met the woman that I would call my own. On the summer day that I proposed, I made a ring of roses, and she said yes, but my mother. She said no. She did not approve of our love. So she and I, we went on the run. We did not care about the difference in our race, nor did we care about the war that was falling upon the Earth. She was a Natura, an Animal Warrior. She was Rose Taylor and I was a Natura, a Mutationem, I was the chosen one. I was Clarence Walker. I met her when she was fighting for her life; she was fierce and fought bravely with her lions by her side. Never had I seen such beauty before, the moment that I saw her. I planned to marry the woman that I loved, and I hoped that she would take my name and that we would become one. Rose was my red flower, she had thorns that could pierce through any heart, and she had struck mine. I fell hard into those eyes of hers. She stole my heart. She will be mine.

"You know Rose, I adore you."

I had found love on the battlefield.

# Prologue

"Push Kat! Push!! Please just one more PUSH! You are almost there! You can do it! Please." Nenna was holding onto Kat's hand as Kat was on her back inside their cave. Kat had her legs propped up on either side of her hips. Her baby was coming. Clarence was coming. Mother Nature was right. For eight weeks had passed and Kat's stomach only grew. Until now, she was giving birth. Nenna remembered when the contractions started; it was about three hours ago. Kat went into labor after her water broke when they were outside in the sunshine letting the energy from the sun flow into our bodies. It came as a surprise.

Nenna had never seen Kat smile the way she did when she realized that her baby was about to be born. However, that smile had faded and been replaced with painful screams as she was gripped Nenna's hand too tightly, cutting off all the circulation she had left in that hand. "Ouch Kat, that hurts." Nenna snatched her hand out from under Kat's grip. "You think that hurts! Try giving birth!" Kat was obviously going through intense pain so Nenna thought it was best not to argue with her right now. "Just push Kat! I can already see his head so don't stop now." Nenna had one hand between Kats legs, gently caressing the head of the baby that was already halfway out of his mother's womb. Her other hand sat on top of Kats stomach, sending small waves of energy into her body so that she could push harder to free her baby from her stomach. Nenna could feel the muscles in Kats stomach push as the baby's body began to emerge from Kat's stomach. "Almost there Kat!!! Just a bit more. One more push should do it."

Once the baby's head and shoulders came out it was easy for Nenna to help pull out the rest of his body. The baby started crying as soon as his body was freed. Nenna immediately wrapped up his small and pink body in a blanket she had woven out of soft leaves. Nenna leaned over to Kat who was attempting to prop herself up against the cave wall. "Can I see my baby" Kat whimpered almost out of breath. Nenna smiled as she handed over Clarence to Kat. "He is a boy right?" Kat asked. Nenna had forgotten to inform her. "Yes, he is a boy. You finally have your Clarence." Kat's smile grew as she cradled the small baby against her chest. He immediately stopped crying and ever so slowly Kat and Nenna watched as he fluttered open his eyes. Nenna was shocked; his eyes were the creamiest brown that she had ever seen. They were beautiful. He was beautiful. No doubt would he grow up into a handsome fella. No doubt about that. "Oh Clarence! My baby boy! You're finally here!" Kat began to cry as she was smiling. Nenna could not help but laugh at the happy moment in front of her. It was about time that there was joy and happiness in their lives. After everything Kat had endured, she knew that her sister needed this. This was her reward for being such an amazing older sister and protector. Amidst the happiness, a thought dwelled inside Nenna's mind. It was a dark thought; a warning that had stuck with her since the day Kat spoke to Mother Nature about her unborn baby, Clarence. The warning that Kat's son might grow up to destroy the planet or to save it. Nenna knew that in the next year or so this baby would be fully grown and matured. In no time would he be 21. Nenna knew from the moment that Kat latched eyes on him that she would never find the strength within her to kill her own son. No matter how evil he may become.

The more Nenna thought about it, the more she decided that it would be her duty to kill him if she noticed that he was becoming a threat to the planet. It would be her burden and her responsibility to bear. For her sister would never lay a hand on him, and she would hate herself if she killed her only son. Nenna knew that it would be up to her to kill him before his 21st if he turned sour. It broke her heart just a little bit to think that it might be something that she would have to do. It would break her sister's heart even more and it would tear their relationship apart if she knew what Nenna was planning on doing. But if it comes to it then she would not have a choice. If it was him or the Earth. Then it would have to be him. That is what the prophecy foretold. For the meantime Nenna smiled, she was there to take care of her sister until she recovers fully from the birth.

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# About the Author

My name is Robyn Louise Taylor, born in South Africa in 1996, I moved to Australia with my family when I was just 8 years old. After moving and going to school, I decided to study Conservation Wildlife Biology and to pursue a career in the environmental field. After completing my studies I decided to take a break and pursue my other passions. This included creative writing and illustration. I have had a passion for artistic things since my parents put a paintbrush in my hand, so it was definitely a pathway that I wanted to explore further.

"There is no limit to creativity and imagination, the only limit is defined by how hard you work and how much you believe in yourself."

# Connect with Robyn:

Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/RobynTaylorAuthor/

Website:

<https://robyntaylor96rt.wixsite.com/creativeside>

Instagram:

<https://www.instagram.com/robyntaylorartist/>

# Copyright Statement

This is an IndieMosh book

brought to you by MoshPit Publishing  
an imprint of Mosher's Business Support Pty Ltd

PO Box 147  
Hazelbrook NSW 2779

indiemosh.com.au

Copyright © Robyn L. Taylor 2018

The moral right of the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australia: <http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/>

**Title:**  
Mother Nature Reincarnated

**Author:**  
Taylor, Robyn L. (1996-)

**Subjects:  
** 1. Young Adult Fiction / General  
2. Young Adult Fiction / Nature & the Natural World / Environment

**ISBNs:**  
978-1-925814-00-2 (ebook - epub)  
978-1-925814-01-9 (ebook - mobi)

This story is entirely a work of fiction. No character in this story is taken from real life. Any resemblance to any person or persons living or dead is accidental and unintentional. The author, their agents and publishers cannot be held responsible for any claim otherwise and take no responsibility for any such coincidence.

Cover design and creation by Robyn L. Taylor at <https://robyntaylor96rt.wixsite.com/creativeside>

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