When Pandas Fly

Chapter 1 - Autumn Ley and Hunter Fox

"So let me get this straight. You want me to go out there to find you something to eat?" Hunter asked, fuming just at the thought of it. There was no way he was going out there in the freezing cold, no way he was going to risk his life to possibly die as an ice cube. No.

"Yep," Autumn replied, her mouth shuddering as she tried to get at least a little bit of oxygen in the freezing cold. It was hard for Hunter and Autumn to sustain on the frozen tundra, on Antarctica; a continent of ice, casually resting atop a section of glistening ocean. Half of the coldblooded animals had adapted into warm blooded creatures here because it was so bitterly frozen. All that could be seen was a vast desert of snow and ice.

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After months of cracking and rotting, humans finally figured out that Antarctica wasn't falling apart like the rest of the small planet, and they began to plop themselves in the middle of the dang continent. So many people tried to go live there, I was honestly worried that it might sink! Wars broke out over who "owned" the territory, and there was global chaos.

See, this is why humans can never be left to their own devices. Something big happens, no one knows what to do, and like half the population dies. I swear, they can find a thousand different ways to make my job harder. I work for an organization called the GPA, or Giant Panda Association. Here at the GPA, we supervise all human existence to make sure that they don't do anything stupid, but obviously, it doesn't always seem like we succeed.

I just got this new button thingy that allows me to write things by talking. (That's how I'm narrating this story. I bought it from Pandazon, and it only cost $29.99 with free shipping!) I think I should become a narrator when I retire; I mean, I'm doing a pretty good job of it now, right? Anyways, I think you'll enjoy Hunter and Autumn's story. Such brave, dumb kids they are.

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"How about no? How about you go and risk your life and get shot down by whatever's out there!" Hunter snapped. He was in a terrible mood, and probably would be forever, mostly 'cause he hadn't eaten any quality food in three years. Less importantly, his fingers were dying, his hair falling out, and skin turning blue. His once strongly built, tanned figure was now skinny and pale.

Hunter had angular features with sharp cheekbones and a sharp jawline. His permanently disheveled black hair fell across his forehead and stood up in a few places at the back. If he saw the state of his own hair now, it's almost certain that he would've cried.

Autumn wasn't in such great shape either. Her lips were white, and so were her ears and the rest of her shaking body. Her auburn hair was turning grey, her skin wet and pruney. She had soft features and unusually purple eyes. There were hundreds of small freckles dotting her nose and cheeks, making her unique irises stand out even more.

"Fine, if you want to have a handful of acid snow for dinner, then be my guest," Autumn replied, turning her back to him. Suddenly she spun on her heel, facing him once again. "You know how hard I've worked Hunter?" she whispered, coming closer to him, so close her breath mingled with his. "This whole past week I've been doing nothing but working. And you, you, have been doing nothing but sitting on that flat little butt of yours! So do not even tell me that you can't walk like ten minutes and go get us some food, 'kay?" Autumn was crying silently, wiping at her wet face.

"Flat butt?" Hunter questioned, his answer being Autumn's withering glare. He sighed and looked up at her. "I'm sorry." he whispered. His thoughts drifted back to a time where he and Autumn were more concerned about what game they would play, rather than getting worried about the ground below them crumbling and falling apart.

When Hunter was young, his dad was always there to tell him that things would get better. But it never did. Often times it seemed to get worse. They struggled financially, and were practically homeless. But, his dad was there for him always, and so was Autumn.

They met in the first grade, when Autumn was the 'new girl'. As soon as she entered the school, Hunter found it safer to be her ally rather than her enemy. With her black combat boots, she could probably knock the daylights out of anyone that messed with her. Autumn's life was just as bad as Hunter's, though.

Her parents were always fighting, filled with enough rage to kill the other, but they refused to get divorced. They were too religious to do so, and constantly worried about the possible scorn they would face if they did. But Autumn and Hunter always found a way back to each other. Although Hunter was a year older, they were best buds from the start. You would never see Hunter without Autumn, just as you would never see tacos without beans. It's just unethical.

Hunter peered at Autumn. At her violet eyes that seemed too out of this world to be true. At her wild, untamed hair, and at her ragged lumberjack-style clothing.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered.

He looked at her again, and it was a strong, brave young woman who gazed back. But slowly she bristled, and all the held up emotions inside of her came tumbling out.

"NO, IT'S NOT! It's not okay, alright?! I've been living out here for three years! I should've gone to school, should've become something in life! Except that didn't happen, Hunter! I'm only fourteen and I shouldn't be forced to live out here, with nothing but some cloth and endless ice! I shouldn't be forced to live on a planet that is rotting from the inside out! Okay, Hunter? I know it's not okay, and that's what gets me up in the morning. Because we need to make it okay, until we get up in the morning because we want to know what happens next in our lives. So, instead of telling me it's okay and sorry, 'cause its not, do something about it."

Hunter looked at her, through that layer of emptiness that had veiled over her ever since the incident. He saw a person that was truly scared and needed to be comforted in a way that he couldn't provide. Instead, he sighed and turned around, starting to get ready to leave. 

Autumn smiled.