Fantasy
Silence and Repetition
I couldn’t believe how stupid I had been. I had one job, to find something useful, food, clothing, clean water, but all I had found was a stupid, old, golden heart shaped locket that wouldn’t even open. I wasn’t even sure why it was still clutched in my hand, like a rosary, while I shuffled my way back home before the darkness set in and all the world would be quiet and black, save for the moon and sparsely lit candles. Our home was tucked away in a small field surround by sage brush and pine trees, an old ranger cabin in the middle of nowhere. As I approached my home I could see dark grey billowing smoke at a distance that seemed too close for comfort, someone had let their fire get out of control. I shoved the locket into my pocket before opening the door to home.
By Sara Goodsell5 years ago in Fiction
Hope enduring
I can hear the footsteps penetrating through my eardrums. The echo of snapping twigs that feel as loud as a symbol crashing. I am unsure whether each beat of my heart is louder. I can feel it pounding in my ribcage, trying to break out. I heard a louder snap. It could have been a branch? Did a piece of clothing get snagged? I want to look, peer around the large oak tree that looks as old as the world itself. Maybe I can catch a glimpse of who it is. Just a quick one.
By Janine S White5 years ago in Fiction
Holmesburg
"Hey, You dropped this!" Mick yelled out, running toward Persephone with a tiny heart-shaped locket dangling from his hand. "Oh my God!!! I would have never made it back through these walls without my Pop with me.", Persephone said with the biggest smile beaming from her face. Since the day she had broken into the old prison, once she realized what was happening, she swore that the only reason they were all still alive was because of that little locket. Her two boys had given it to her on the first Christmas after she had lost her father. It meant the world to her and she felt it gave her some sort of protection since the day the world seemed to flip upside down. After all, at a time like this, you have to believe in something or you'll never make it.
By Sharon Smith5 years ago in Fiction
Blight
I've always hated it here. The idea that there was once a lush, beautiful world, now resulted into barren wasteland. Humanity huddled together in domes, like ants hiding from the sun in the desert. My Grandmother told of a time before the domes, before the collapse of mankind. When you were free to travel, free to see what this planet had to offer. Now we all play some part to hold on to Humanity. The Order tells us all our places in these domes, and like ants we follow and obey. Maybe because we trust them or maybe because we fear what happens when we don't. The fear of being exiled into the wasteland, us in the lower levels call it "The Blight," because it seems like a place forsaken by God. God, funny The Order says we are his chosen people, and he saved us. Honestly I never felt that way, even before the factories took my parents' life in what The Order called "an accident." Something never sat right with me on that statement, would it have been an accident if it was The Order who lost their loved ones. My Grandmother took me in, and told me the tales of her childhood before her parents decided to head into The Blight and spread the word of Nirvana. Nirvana a land where there were trees, waterfalls, animals by the flocks, and stars in the sky. To me it always sounded like a fairy tale until The Order sent people to take my grandmother away for telling the people of the lower level of Nirvana and exiled her. I've haven't seen her since. She didn't fight back, she just smiled and said, "My life has been long and beautiful, for you to fear the truth is a mistake that the world will forgive one day. All I can say is Azo my love, do not seek vengeance, they know not what they do, seek love and forgiveness." Those were her last words as she was drugged out of our home. This was 1 month ago give or take, the nights run together, I've lost track. The sky over these lands are always filled with smoke and smog, it's hard to tell the difference between day and night. Nana said Nirvana is still there waiting for us and gave me her heart shaped locket. She said if anything happened to her it would be the key to our home. Home, that word makes me sick, sick of trying to find peace in this life. Those words still echo in my dreams, "Seek love and Forgiveness." Why would she say that, they took her from me? Why should I forgive them for taking away my home? Why should I care what happens to this cesspool? Those words echo every time I'm upset. July 11th, 2115. I woke today to the same sounds of the machines we in the lower level are told to maintain. I haven't been to work since they took her, the people here blame her teachings for the harsher work. Everyone, but Niko, she's been my friend since birth. She lost her parents in the accident too, so she stayed with us and truly believed in Nirvana. My Grandmother loved her too and told me never to leave her side and I quote, "In life the divine put a person on earth for all of us and our souls were destined to be one." Look I don't know about that but I swore before they took my Grandmother I'd protect Niko with my last breath. That's my oath and I will keep it if it's the last thing I do on this forsaken planet. Since my grandmother was taken I couldn't shake the feeling The Order was trying to cover something up. They hide behind masks and only speak through enforced laws and public announcements, so why would they go out of their way for my Grandmother. I can't shake the idea that she was onto something. So today I'm gonna tell Niko that I want to investigate and find out what is truly going on in this corrupt place. Why are they so afraid of people knowing of Nirvana if it's just a story? "Hey Niko, can we talk?" I called her from her room down the hall. I had been practicing what I was gonna say all night. Niko came to my room dressed in some of my old clothes, even though I've told her 100 times to stay out of my closet. "What Azo? Do you know how early it is?" Niko questions as she tries to wake up. I tell her, "I've been thinking of Nana's stories, and I remember Ma and Pa telling me how she wasn't from this dome." Niko interrupts, "Well yeah but there's 12 other domes in this sector, The Order called us the 13 Stars of Bethlehem, so she could have come from one of the others." It was a pet peeve of mine to be interrupted while I was in the middle of a thought, and Niko knew that so she laughed as she interrupted me. I said, " Niko, I need you to pay attention and be quiet for 2 minutes so I can explain myself, ok?" She agreed and I continued, "Niko she wasn't born in Babylon, this nation of the last of humanity. She always told us of Nirvana and would describe it the same way she described where she was born. What if it is a real place?" Niko stood in shock as she said, " This is surprising coming from you, I never thought you believed her stories, especially when she spoke of Nirvana." This time all I could say was, "I didn't, until they took her for preaching about it, and then she gave me this locket and told me it was a key to our home." Niko took the locket from me and tried to open it. "Niko I tried but it looks like it needs some sort of liquid to activate it prior to opening it but I tried everything I could get my hands on but no luck." I told her. Niko noticed numbers carved into the back of the locket. She asked, "Hey what are these numbers, they say 27.8297°, 99.7008° and it looks like an N and E." I never noticed until now, let's just say my vision wasn't the best. "Niko, good eye but I'm not really sure but this locket is crazy old so maybe we can find something in the rubble of Nana's room." I say as I grab her hand and we go to search Nana boxes. We searched for hours and couldn't find where the numbers were from. Niko said, "Hey Azo I'm getting hungry and I know you want to search but they took everything but this book about Asia? Whatever that means." Well I didn't know what to do then I remembered that the only person my Nana could truly talk to about the old world was Old Man Eek, he was the owner of the Food and Niknak store up the street from our housing unit. "Hey Niko I think I have an idea to fix both of our issues, let's go visit Old Man Eek." Niko smiled and we headed out to his shop. We ran because we didn't want The Order's Enforcers to question us about where we were heading and why we were heading there. We arrived and knew that he'd be in his office this time of the day so we snuck in through the side door down the alley. By the time we got to his office he was waiting. I asked, "Mr. Eek, how did you know we were coming?" He laughed and said, "Oh young ones, we old people know the will of the youth and I felt you needed me… Haha, just kidding kids, I have cameras all over my building!" Old Man Eek was a peculiar but wise man and Nana trusted him like a brother. "So what can I do for my two favorite kids?" he asked, Niko immediately asked for cereal, while I wanted to prioritize the numbers. "We'll Niko hun you are more than welcome to a bowl of cereal but Azo those numbers should not be said too loudly." Mr. Eek urged. Niko ran to the kitchen and I sat at Mr. Eek's desk. "Now Azo I know you miss your Nana but going around talking about stuff from the Old world is dangerous and you know the Enforcers already have a mark on you from your Nana's preachings." he starts to explain. "Well that's why I wanted to find out what's so bad about some stories being told to us on the lower level, and what does this locket have to do with Nirvana." I ask. Old Man Eek looked at me in confusion and asked, "What locket? Be honest, where did you hear those numbers?" I immediately gave him the locket and showed him the numbers. He looked at it, quietly, for 2 to 3 minutes, then he went into his desk and pulled out a weird gizmo. "Hey, Mr. Eek, what's that thing?" I asked, and just blew off the dust, then started to press the numbered buttons on the device. "Look Azo, these are longitude and latitude numbers. They are directions to a small Asian city that was foretold to be the gateway to a place of life and nature. I believe this is the coordinates to Nirvana. I'm gonna print out a map to it, but you must promise to tell no one. You must leave into The Blight and find this place. Your Grandmother said that the water from the springs could cure The Blight and save the world," Old Man Eek said with a serious look on his face. "Woah, are you telling me those stories were true?" I questioned in disbelief. Honestly that's when everything started making sense, but why would The Order be against that? "Look legend tells that only someone with the blood of some from Nirvana can access and collect from the springs. I believe she gave this locket to you because she knows you can cure this land." Old Man Eek said. "I have 1 question, why would The Order be so against saving the world then?" I ask, he replied, "Young Azo, they don't expand and try to fix things because it's all about control. when you have all of humanity under your thumb, freedom undermines your power." I wasn't confused, I think I always knew they weren't for the betterment of us all, they only cared about themselves, it felt like a sense of vindication. I told him, "Honestly I knew something wasn't right here, I knew they were against us when they took Nana, and it was her will to save this place, I'll do it. Even if it's just to spite those bastards at the top." Niko came back in with a mouth full of cereal and asked, "So where to next Azo?" So care free, it was almost adorable. All of a sudden we hear the announcement siren so we look out the window. An alert sounded for all Enforcers to find me and exile me like Nana. Niko dropped her cereal onto the table and grabbed my hand. She looked at me and said, "We will be together here or in The Blight, no matter what." "Mr. Eek I am sorry to bring this to your home but I need that paper. Also can we have 2 of those nutrient travel bags you have." I asked, he smiled, gave us 2 bags, and he said, "You 2 will save the world, so you can have whatever you can carry. Once you 2 are set, take the cellar door in the back room." I couldn't thank him enough but we ran to The Blight with hope of a better future.
By Azrael Magnus5 years ago in Fiction
Doomsday They Say
She was always fond of the stars. I could tell by the way she would glance up at the night sky every time she would slip out of the car, or merely step out on the bar’s balcony for a cigarette. She’d stand there in silence, ignoring the chatter of the music, dark eyes gleaming with amusement; pondering the universe, the galaxies. Meandering in her own Lilliputian world of what ifs; and so, she would come back to reality with a visage of sadness, a diminutive frown of regret, as if she wished to be somewhere else, somewhere beyond the stars. She didn’t belong here.. and neither did I.
By Kendra J. Anthony5 years ago in Fiction
Story of the Sovereign
Maggie Goodsong reached a hand off the side of her bed as the sound of Blue Whispers echoed through her room. The sound originated from two blue birds singing on her window sill, chests puffed out as they performed a well-practiced routine which, upon finishing, received praise from Maggie who had just finished putting her outfit together. As Maggie approached the window sill, both birds took flight, hovering a meter from the window expectantly.
By Brett Hart5 years ago in Fiction
The Kir Files
Chapter 1: ***Third Person*** The first day of school is always filled with chaos, from the freshman panicking over how to find their classes and making friends, to the lively upperclassmen comparing their schedules and talking about their summers. Magdalia Academy is no different than other schools on the first day....well except for this year that is.
By Kayanna Hansen5 years ago in Fiction
