Merry Christmas!
Of course, because of various
circumstances and poor timing of particular events, we’re putting off Christmas
until Thursday.
Trust me, we can use the extra
time.
All that aside, I thought I’d
continue the ‘end of the world’ theme and give you more of my post-apocalyptic
story.
Enjoy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Promised Land: (Part 2) The Outsider
Eden grasped her throat as she
wheezed and stared at the soldiers with big, fearful blue eyes. One of the
soldiers shouted something, but his gas mask muffled whatever it was he said.
Eden tried screaming, but her throat burned too much. When she didn’t answer,
the soldier raised his rifle and the others followed suit. Eden fell to her
knees in fear, trying desperately to say something. Anything. In a split
second, she heard three gunshots and the man in front of her crumpled to the
ground. The other soldiers started looking around frantically and shooting at something
in the air. Eden saw a flash of silver as she was jerked to her feet. Something
grabbed hold of her wrist and she was forced to run just to keep from falling.
Rata-tata-tat. Tap, tap, tap. Rata-tata-tat. Tap, tap, tap. Eden looked back to
watch the soldiers fall to the ground one by one. The force pulling her along
slowed and suddenly let go. Eden found herself on the ground staring at an
overcast sky. The clouds were a
sickly green color, with the sun fighting to shine through. A dark shape with
red eyes appeared in her view just as her vision darkened. Eden felt something
cover her nose and mouth before she passed out.
~*~*~*~
When Eden came to, she opened her
eyes and stared at a greenish-red overcast sky. She sat up and looked straight
ahead. Eden was sitting in a grassy field, but the grass was brown and dead,
just like the sight across the tattered road ahead of her. The site looked as
though it used to be a college campus at some point in time. With murky
comprehension, Eden realized she was staring at her own beloved school. The
buildings she often went to class in were falling apart. Whatever walls were
still standing were filled with gaping holes. The red and brown bricks were now
black and grey. Rubble filled the sidewalks. All the flowers were gone. The
trees were splintered and dead. The overcast sky above the campus had a deep
red tint to them as the sun faded in the distance. Tears came to Eden’s eyes as
she took in the scene. It was as if someone had dropped a bomb on her life while
she slept… Or on her school. Or perhaps the apocalypse happened in her sleep.
Or maybe time sped up and sent her into a horrible future. Or maybe she was in
an alternate world altogether. Eden’s mind raced with these possibilities as
she continually failed to grasp why her life was in shambles before her.
Eden covered her mouth and inhaled
a shaky breath.
A snap from behind caused Eden to
jump and turn around. A fire was roaring behind her. Sitting on either side of
the fire were two young men. The scene was a mirrored painting. On the right
side of the fire sat a boy with silver hair, clad in grey and white. On the
left side sat a boy with black hair, clad in green and black. Maybe it was the
way the fading sunlight struck them. Maybe it was how well the two mirrored
each other. Either way, Eden felt she was looking at the personified dichotomy
of good and evil. Light and dark.
Eden was so enthralled in the
scene that she did not stop to see the smaller details. She never noticed the
large camo backpack or the black, oblong case sitting beside Silver (as she
subconsciously named him)... Or the small bag sitting in Black’s lap… Or the
guns at his feet.
Black looked up from the fire and stared.
To Eden’s horror, his irises turned deep red. She involuntarily shrank back and
was wondering whether or not to make a run for the hills when he spoke.
“You don’t have to be afraid.” His
voice was calm and steady, with a trace of annoyance. “We’re not going to hurt
you. If anything, we just saved your life.” His eyes stopped glowing and turned
to a dark color as he stared back at the fire. Eden realized now his
light-haired companion was staring at her.
Silver offered a wide grin and friendly
wave. She half raised her hand in response, still wondering whether or not
reality had abandoned her. Silver motioned for her to come over and sit with
them. A chill ran up Eden’s spine as the wind picked up. Weighing her options, the
warmth of a roaring fire seemed worth whatever risk was involved.
“If it is a dream,” she thought,
“I might as well go along with it.”
Assuming her best bet was not to
join the dark side, she sat by Silver. Eden raised her shaky hands to the fire
and looked from one guy to the other. Being closer to the light of the fire,
Eden realized that the two males looked younger than she at first guessed. 15?
16? Probably somewhere between 15 and 17, she decided.
Sniffling a little, Eden asked,
“Who are you? Where am I?” The last question was asked in hopes that she didn’t
really wake up in the same world she fell asleep in.
“You’re in Freedom. Or what’s left
of it,” Black answered. He glanced at the debris and drank from a steaming
metallic mug.
“Freedom?” Eden echoed, as she
struggled to remember ever hearing of such a place. “What happened here? Where
is everybody? And you still haven’t told me who you are yet!”
Black lowered his mug. “You give
us your name, missy, and I’ll decide if you get ours.” Seeing Eden’s offended
expression, he added, “Hey, you were in the one surrounded by soldiers.” He
took another swig of his hot drink.
Eden folded her arms in
aggravation. “My name is Eden. Eden Teknia. I’m from Tennessee. I go to school
here. At least, I did before I woke up this morning”
“Nice story,” Black muttered as he
stood up and handed the mug to Silver. “Where are you really from?”
“I just told you!” Eden’s anger
vanished into fear as Black’s eyes turned red again. He stared at her for a
minute before they turned back. He sat down as if nothing happened and prodded
the fire with a stick. His thick dark eyebrows pressed together in thought. “You…
you really don’t know, do you?”
