Two Worlds Apart

Three generations after American society has fallen, anarchy has taken over the country. Many cities throughout the country have been destroyed from years of riots and bombings. Schools and libraries cease to exist, therefore the only education offered is from people's own personal book collections and daily lessons taught by the older generations.

Our story begins around midday, when the sun would beam down over the dry-rotted farm land that is now nothing more than a grave yard of decomposing vegetables and unrecognizable critters.

A middle-aged failed farmer named Red, would once again, hammer back up the planks on his fence. He did this everyday after the local Dirt Squad, a group of rebels causing havoc, would knock down as they pass through the settlement on loud malfunctioning dirt bikes.

He wiped the sweat away from his forehead while gazing out over the horizon wondering if the rumors were true of a prehistoric, but sophisticated society that still exists. Only Blue, the local storyteller claims he journeyed the 48 hour or 2-cycle walk there and back. He claimed the town was named Newville. and would go on to explain to the other settlers how their structures were made of bricks and their clothing looked similar to the pictures from a 19th century novel.

Red wasn't about to take a chance in risking his life to find out. He wasn't the man he once was since he was nearing the age of both hands opening and closing five times.

One evening, while laying down, the loud ruckus of drunken laughter and wood breaking soared through his open window. Red jumped out of bed and grabbed his spear he hung on the wall. He had enough and was ready to confront the Dirt Squad. He rushes outside and yells loudly for them to get off his land. The leader of the squad, bearing a rusted pistol, calmly approaches him. "You really wanna try us old man?" laughs the leader followed by laughter from the rest of the group. He pulls out his pistol, aims it at Red's forehead and pulls the trigger. Fortunately the pistol is jammed and without hesitation, Red stabs the leader in the gut with the spear, penetrating all the way through until the blade is sticking out his back. The leader screams and falls to the ground in the fetal position. He eventually bleeds out and dies. The rest of the squad wasn't sure what to do, but as soon as Red pulls back out his spear, they all raise their hands to surrender. He shakenly looks down at the fresh corpse, bends down to grabbed the pistol. He counts the bullets and looks to see what else he can find. He notices something shiny laying next to body. He picks it up and examines it. It's a heart shaped locket that has "Newville" inscribed on the back.

"You killed our leader," says one of the rebels, "We under your command now! What do ya want us to do?" Red calmly stands back up and looks back out over the horizon towards the setting sun, He takes a deep breath, "I need a ride."

The next morning, Red wakes up to the first beam of light shining through his window. He wakes up the rest of the squad who set up camp throughout his living room. Before they leave, one of the men help him repair the pistol.

They ride into the center of the settlement. A group of settlers standby in surprise to see Red as part of the group. Blue works his way through the crowd and approaches them.

"What ya doin wit the Dirt Squad, Red?" asks Blue.

"You remember the way to Newville?" he asks in reply.

Blue nods his head and mutters yes.

Red continues, "I need you to come with us."

The journey begins... Off to a bad start. Two of the dirt bikes refuse to start. As to not lose daylight repairing the engine or even harder finding fuel, Red appoints the two riders to stay behind and protect the settlement. Unfortunately losing manpower for their trip could make it difficult for the Dirt Squad in case of running into trouble along the way. Red, however, still felt a new sense of confidence after his victory last night and is more than determined in making it there.

They ride until Midday. By this point, most of the dusty wasteland they're used to is turning more green by the mile. Red signals the riders to pull over. "There has to be a water source nearby," he yells to the convoy. He sends a newly appointed scout to search within the trees. After some time has passed, he sends another in to investigate. Halfway through the woods, the second scout is greeted by feet dangling from above. He looks up and sees the first scout hung from a rope wrapped around his neck. The second scout rushes back to the squad. Before he makes it, an arrow flies from the woods and shoots through his chest. A band of men called Bludluvas surrounds Red and the rest of the squad. "What is your purpose for traveling through here?" asks the leader.

"Lookin for water," replies Red, "but now we're lookin for the man who killed my scouts."

"That man was me," says the leader with a menacing smile. He notions to the rest of the Bludluvas gang, "Kill them all!"

Red quickly pulls out the pistol and shoots at the leader. He misses the first shot, but kills him instantly with the 2nd. The rest of the squad, who was lucky enough to have firepower, were able to take out nearly the rest of the Bludluvas within a moment. With only a few men left, they surrender and Red gives them the ultimatum to join or die. One of the men refuse and Red spears him through the heart. The two remaining men join the squad and show them where the nearest water is. The squad is amaze at the sight of a lake. They all jump in like kids playing in an ancient schoolyard.

As soon as the sun starts moving towards the western hemisphere, the entire squad mounts their bikes and continue riding until nightfall. Blue is the only one who knows how to build a fire and shows the others how to cook rabbit.

While everyone is asleep, Red is in the middle of his shift to keep watch. He hears rustling in the distance and sees a figure moving between the trees. He walks towards it and aims the pistol. He loses sight of the figure who rushes up beside him and pushes him to the ground. They wrestle for a moment until he flips them over and realizes he's pinned down a young woman.

"What you doin out here?" he whispers to her trying to not wake the others.

"I'm from Newville," she replies with a British accent. He unmounts her and helps her up.

"Your voice sounds different," he says.

"Well you can thank our bloody King Cabbage who's from Lun-down, London, Lawn-done? I don' bloody know!"

"We're headin to Newville. Why did you leave there?"

"It's a warzone. The Bearclaws have taken over."

He looks her over and notices the dress she is wearing matches Blues description of the attire.

"How many men do they have?" he asks.

"By the looks of your gang, you're outnumbered."

"Wouldn't hurt to try."

"You want to get yourself killed? Go on ahead."

He smirks and looks up at the sky. He then looks back at her face analyzing her features as the moonlight reveals her beauty. "What's your name? I'm Red."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Potato."

"Stay with us tonight and in the morning, check out what we have against them and then make your decision."

The next morning, Red lines all his men up. Every one of their weapons is laid out in front on the ground.

"You don' have a chance," says Potato, "The Bearclaws have seized our cannon."

"What's a cannon?" asks Red.

"You'll find out. Although, if you maneuver just right, you can ''void the blast. The only other weapon they have that fires like yours is called a muskrat."

"It's called a Musket," says Blue as to correct her.

She charges towards him, "I know you!" she yells, "You're the bloke who stole my Carrot!"

He backs up and hides behind one of the other men. Red and the rest of the squad begin laughing. She grabs Blue by the shirt and yanks him towards her, digging through his pockets. "Where is it?" she continues. "Where's my bloody Carrot?"

"I had to pay a debt," he cowardly cries while covering his face with his hands to avoid being hit.

"That's enough!" shouts Red, "We'll find it later! We need to leave now!"

"I'm not done with you," she says to Blue while Red pulls her away.

The squad uses the rest of their extra fuel rations to fill the tanks of their bikes. Potato hops on the back of Red's bike.

"I never been on one of these," she says.

"Wrap your arms around me and hold on."

They continue on towards Newville. By the early evening, they only have a few miles left to go. There's a huge black cloud of smoke rising up from the town.

"We may be entering into rubble." Potato points out. They enter city limits and stop just a quarter mile from the town. The squad lines their bikes up in a straight line formation, parallel to the town. Red looks in amazement at the rows of three and four story buildings, and then pans over to the buildings that have been destroyed and are currently in flames.

"Where is this cannon?" he asks.

"It's in the fort to the right," replies Potato.

Red waves to the rest of the squad to charge left at full speed. The cannon fires an misses them. The squad gets about fifty yards from the town, before Potato panics. "I just remembered, they have a second cannon!"

The cannon to the left fires, blowing up half of the squad. The blast knocks Red and Potato off their bike. The other half of the squad reaches the town. Several men are shot with arrows while the remaining are firing their guns and advancing through the streets. Red stands up, with barely a scratch on him and runs towards the town, shooting Bearclaw soldiers left and right. Right before he reaches the first building, he is shot in his side by the blast from the musket. He falls to the ground coughing up blood. The soldier approaches him and stabs him in the throat. He dies instantly. Potato stays back and lays on her stomach hiding behind the dirt bike. She looks over and sees the heart-shaped locket on the ground. She picks it up and pushes down the knob at the top to open it up, revealing a miniature painting of a young man. "There's my handsome Carrot!" she cries, "I miss you so much!" She wraps the chain around her neck and takes off running in the opposite direction as far away from Newville as she can. She doesn't look back. "If it's the last thing I do, I will search this entire planet to find my bloody Carrot! We will start a Newerville together!"