war of memories

Doomsday. That’s what the government pushed for it to be. The world turning against everyone, climate changes turning into a bigger problem, polluting the once memorising sky’s.

It never was a thing to be worried about, but since the world leaders wanted a ‘change’ it made Mother Nature despise human population.

It almost came in stages. deep in the earths core it became humid, boiling almost, causing volcanic eruptions throughout the world. Thats what caused distant island city’s to perish.

The second stage, everyone was hit with a shock, the air became almost impossible to breath, feeling as though someone was constricting air from your lungs, slowly drowning you in a not so surprising death.

And the third stage. Mother Nature forced us to flee to the sky, leaving our once beautiful earth behind, causing the rest of us to live in one big colonie.

We call it, the varient.

And so that leaves us with today, two hundred years after the devastation, supplies are running low, the ship is veering closer to oncoming asteriods and our leader Adrian is undecided on what to do.

Running my hands through my hair, I glance up to Atlas James, our captain for the exhibition to earth, Adrian sends down groups every six months to gather food and information on the earths condition.

But all we know now is theres living bodies on the ground, none of us have come close enough to get a good look at the being, those who have, don’t come back up.

“Listen up soldiers! We’re doing the same run as always, a full day on the ground, and as all ways, the twenty fourth hour is home time people!” Atlas’s voice booms throughout the four corners.

His eyes glance to me, a slight smile tugging on the corner of his lips, sending a small nod my way.

Turning to the oxygen mask behind me, I strap it on, securing the contraption to my suit, taking deep breathes I begin following behind the other soldiers, making their way to the drop ship.

This is my second time to earth, I’ve always felt I’ve had to do more, explore more, like it was my destiny or a distant memory, for myself to travel to earth.

Before I know it, we’re strapped in, an empty seat beside me, I close my eyes, in an attempt to calm my nerves, being the only girl an all comes with it’s faults.

“Murphy, Axel, and Ryder, your with me” atlas states, slumping in the seat beside me, my eyes shoot to his, feeling a sense of relief almost.

“Since when does the captian take interest in the back” I snicker, resting my head back.

Rolling his eyes, he shakes his head, “since I took interest in a gal looking as if she’s trying to escape the varient”

Escape?

I guess it was a bit like that, escaping the world of forgotten knowledge, and people trying to forget the day of destruction, but me .. I just want people to remember, it’s apart of us, and it’s never going to disappear.

A shrieking alarm wails as the drop ship disconnects from the varient, the drop never gets easier.

My hand clenches the arm rest beside me, but to my suprise, atlas’s hand clenches back.

“Hold my hand. Your going to be fine.”

And after a few minutes, the ship collides with the ground, everyone silent as to hear the green sound alarm go off to know that it’s safe.

As if on que the alarm wails, the sound of buckles unbuckling fills the air, standing from my seat, my group follows atlas out, our guns in hand ready for any kind of unwanted company.

“Group A! head to the north coast! Group B to the broken hills and My group, with me!” Atlas’s voice calls out to everyone.

We all get a move on, keeping our steps light and breathing slow, lucky enough to have enough oxygen to last us twenty four hours.

“What’s your story murphy?” Atlas asks dropping to walk beside me, I look over confused.

He smiles, “ I wanna know your story, why did you join the jury”

My mind wonders to all corners of my head, I look back to him, “I wanted more sense of adventure, I just felt as though I needed more, like theres something out here for me”

He nods, while earning a smirk from axel but it soon fades watching as he frantically looks around, stopping dead in his tracks he turns towards us, “where’s axel?” He asks.

We all glance around, confused on where our fellow troop would of went, he was here a second ago, and now he’s not.

“Maybe he’s taking a bathroom break?” I suggest feeling confident but also knowing that might not be the case.

But that’s until we hear a high pitched scream coming from the woods beside the rubble of the broken city.

“Split up, we’ll cover more ground that way, you have your talkies on you?” Atlas whispers, but the concern holding strong in his tone.

Me and Ryder nod parting ways but before I could March off, atlas grabs my arm turning me towards him, “be careful okay?”

And with that I begin tracking into the damp deep forest, gun raised ready for the unknown.

Treading lightly, I hold my weapon close, scanning the trees for anything suspicious, scanning the ground beneath me I stop looking to something glicening in the distance.

I start making my way towards the object, Glancing down I notice, a heart shaped locket.

Picking up the pendant my head starts spinning from the touch of the nearly rusted jewellery , a distant vision, memory, spiraling around my mind like a bucking bull.

The vision holds steady, almost like my surroundings is regenerating by the second, theres a town, people, animals, it’s like Mother Nature didn’t banish us, it was the way it used to be.

my legs carry me around the weird phenomenon, or whatever it is, there’s sheep, cows and a girl, someone who’s oddly familiar looking to me.

The mysterious girl begins walking towards my direction but that’s until I notice, the girl is me.

Eyes widening by the second, I grow confused, is this a memory, am I dead?

But I watch her eyes grow wide, a look of horror plastered across her face, she screams and then everything disappears.

“Murphy!”

A agonising yell echoes through the dense trees and rubble, I look around frantically beginning to notice the many skeletons that layed resting in the meadows, it makes me curious at to what happened to them.

I shake the thought before sprinting and weaving in and out through the trees before hearing another cry for help.

Stopping for a moment, I notice atlas wounded on the ground, his oxygen mask to the side, grasping for any sort of air, and upon my glance I notice three purple skinned humans standing three feet in front of the wounded man.

Gripping my gun I run, racing to save my fellow captain, I drop down beside him, snatching his mask up but noticing the defined crack through the middle of it.

“You there! Stand!” the creature yells.

I feel the tears start to push onto the brim of my eyes, my hands trembling as I push to my feet.

The creatures pause, watching as one whispers to the other, the tall one in front nods.

“Take off your mask .. human”

His eyes hold a heavy gaze, a look I can’t say no to, feeling as though he could pierce me with his spear at any given moment.

“Please.. not her” atlas mumbles beside me. His hand moves towards my ankle as if to tell me to run.

my eyes wonder down to him “I’m not going to leave you.”

I raise my hand to my mask, taking a deep breath before ripping it from my suit, throwing it to the ground I look up to them, the purple men smirking but coming to a sudden shock.

“She’s the one.” he shouts, his mouth now hanging open with awe.

realising now, while taking small breathes, I can breath the toxic air, the air that once killed half of the earths population.

I feel the tears drop from my eyes, I look to atlas still holding on to his last few breaths, his eyes shut closed, I drop grabbing my oxygen mask and attaching it to his suit.

“Come on atlas.. please wake up!” I yell, hitting the core of his chest.

And with that he gasps for air as the oxygen starts swimming to his lungs, his eyes widen watching as he lifts his hands to my cheeks.

“You can breath the air?” he whispers, but sounding more as a relief.

I can breathe the air?

“Human please stand and accompany us this way” the creature shouts to me.

His arm extends towards mine, motioning to smoke in the distance, my eyes wonder back down to atlas.

“Your friend can not come with us. Say your goodbyes” another shouts.

Atlas’s eyes fill with plea for me not to go with the unknown aliens, I sigh, knowing if I don’t go, they could potentially hurt him more.

“I-l’ll be okay, just please go back to the drop ship, I’ll find a way out of this” I whisper giving a reassuring smile, Before walking off towards the purple skinned people.

Why can I breath the air?