Chapter One: Struggle

Chapter One: Struggle

 

Journal entry # 1 Saturday, July 5^th, 2014

 

Hello. My name is Erik Copper. It has been a while since I kept one of these, but in light of recent events, I feel now would be a good time to do so. After all, this could be an important piece of history one day. If this world exists long enough for this to BE a history that is…

                You’re probably wondering what I am rambling about. Well, it’s hard for me to say. I can feel the stress build up right now as I think about it. Whoever is reading this, please, learn from what I am about to say. Many people are dead, and it’s a miracle I am still alive. Though, on second thought, it’d probably be better if I did die. Read carefully, and try to prevent this from happening in the future we might have.

                It was two years ago near the end of summer break. I was outside playing backyard baseball, when the radio we were listening to cut out. We went over to check it, when it started playing a new bulletin. Apparently, some Russian missiles had been launched and had landed several miles out from where we were. Luckily, they hadn’t exploded like they were supposed to, so they just crashed into a field. The reporter urged everyone to get inside, as there was no telling if more were on the way. My friends and I thought the dud missiles were just the Russians trying to scare us. We went inside and laughed about how it would probably be fine. We couldn’t have been more wrong…

                My friends and I had been inside for about two hours when the power went out. I grabbed a flashlight and put it in the middle of the room. It wasn’t enough light to do anything, so we just sat in silence for about an hour. There were no windows in the room we were in, so we couldn’t tell what we going on outside. I could have sworn I heard marching though. I passed it off as my imagination.

                About thirty minutes later, the power came back on. My friends and I turned on the television and flipped it to the news. When it finally switched channels the anchor looked frightened. Her brow was sweaty, and she had her lips pursed tightly. She shifted her gaze from side to side as the studio in the background was in a panic. When she finally spoke, it came out hoarse and choked. She spoke about more missiles that had been spotted. These ones did explode, and the reason for the temporary power outage was along with the missiles came an EMP. These things snuff out all electricity in a matter of seconds.

                When she was finished, she said something weird. She asked someone to the left if she could go now. All that was heard next was a crash as the camera fell to the floor. It was now facing the entrance to the mews room, where several armed Russian Solider stood. They said something we couldn’t understand, and opened fire. The last thing on the broadcast was a scream. The camera went black after that.

                My friends and I sat in silence wondering what had just happened. We didn’t have much time to think, because we heard an explosion and the impact shook the house. The third world war had begun…

                I could go on, but it hurts me to even think about it. You see, there are only so many people left. I am one of them. My friends from that day are either gone, or somewhere I can’t find them. Please, if anyone is reading this, just don’t let it happen again. Don’t let this effort be in vain.

                I put the pencil down and sigh. Recalling the details of that day has caused a mess of stress. I look around me from where I sit at the street corner. Everything is in turmoil as far as I can see. Everything is a barren, broken wasteland of despair, where the only comfort is the knowledge that you have survived. Still, that’s more of a curse then a blessing.

                I take the small journal and stuff it into my pocket. Hopefully, I will write more about what has been happening when I have the time. If I don’t, well, then hopefully what I already wrote will work.

                I stand up and start to walk to the right, when I hear a voice call my name. I groan as I recognize the feminine tone of it, and I turn around with a forced smile.

                Kristina Smith, the girl who is too happy for her own good.

                “Hey Erik! Um…I have something to say I think you might like,” she says hitting her palm with her fist.

                “Now is not the time to be asking me out Kristina, I have things I need to do, and in case you haven’t noticed, the world is pretty much gone. Honestly, I don’t see how you can be so happy in a time like this,” I say with an annoyed tone. Her eyes narrow at me.

                “That’s not what I wanted to say…I have some info about something that could help us restore the world,” she retorts. Suddenly, I rush over closer to her, a bright twinkle in my eye.

                “Yes? What is it? You know something? Tell me! I have to know!” The words were rushing from my mouth faster than I thought possible. She takes a step back, with a weird look on her face. She was taken by surprise at my sudden interest.

                “Uh…Okay! Just calm down, this is something that might be a little hard to explain. You know the ruins a couple miles outside of town? Well, a couple of guys were digging around, and they found a hidden passage way. They saw a faint glow coming from the end of the tunnel, but freaked out and decided not to go in. Now, being the genius that I truly am, I did a little research. These ruins were left by an ancient tribe of people where were interested in the art of magic and above all, time. It is said that they found a way to control time, and imbued that power into a stone relic. No one has been able to find it though, and it was thought to be a myth. I have a feeling that the glow the boys saw could be the stone. It could be what we are looking for!” She said excitedly. By now, my expression of joy was turning into one of disgust.

                “…Kristina, you had my hopes up,” I said turning to leave again. “If you expect me to believe some story like that, you are sadly mistaken. Time travel, what were you thinking?”

                I start walking when I feel something grab my sleeve. I turn around, getting ready to yell at Kristina to leave me alone already, when I stop cold. It wasn’t Kristina. Unless she can morph into a tall man with dark brown hair and cold, lifeless brown eyes, it definitely isn’t her…

                “W-Who are y-you?” I ask timidly. The man stands there, holding my arm and glaring down at me intensely. I can feel myself shaking. Suddenly he raises he free hand in the air, preparing to strike me. I clench my eyes shut and brace myself, and when my arm that he was holding falls limp, I open my eye a little to see Kristina standing there with a worried expression on her face.

                “Are you okay? You started freaking out and were talking to air,” she says feeling my face. “You don’t seem sick…Anyway, are you sure you don’t want to come to the ruins?” I stare blankly at her. Did she not see him? He was right there…How could she not have?

I try to regain my composure and when I do, I reply, “I don’t know. The whole story seems a little strange. I suppose we could check it out, but I really think it’s just a waste of time.”

Her expression brightens. “Let’s go then!” She shouts. I am suddenly being dragged along to the ruins. As I am being tugged, I think back to the guy I saw before. He seemed familiar…Like I had met him before. I wonder who he was.

We reach the ruins after several hours of walking. It wasn’t a pleasant walk, as Kristina kept babbling about how much she liked spending time with me. The whole time I kept trying to come up with way of understanding how she can be so oblivious to the disasters around her.

“Well…Here we are! There’s the passage way,” she says pointing to an opening in the ground. I stare into the darkness if it. It looks like an endless abyss, but from what I gathered from dropping a nearby rock in it, it is about six feet deep.  I carefully let myself down, and drop from the ledge. The boys were right, there is a strange glow at the end of the tunnel, and it seems to be the only source of light. I can hear Kristina call to me from above. “You go get that thing, I’ll stay here. Someone has to be here. If both of us die, no one will know!” she says. As I let that comforting thought sink in, I walk a little further into the darkness. My foot hits something, and I hear a small click. The top of the tunnel starts to shake and I look back to see a slab of rock sliding over the place where I came in.

“S**t!” I say as I begin to run back. I try to get a foothold on the wall to climb back out, but it is no use. There’s nothing to grab onto. The rock has already completely covered the entrance. I hear a muffled voice that sounds like Kristina cry out, “Hold on Erik! I’ll get help!” I shout back to her, but there isn’t any response. She probably already went to get someone. I guess the only thing left to do is go towards the glow…

I walk for a bit, being careful of where I step. This place has already proven to have traps, and on top of that, it’s dark. Not the most ideal combination. When I make it to the end, I am flooded with a blue light. I look around. The chamber is huge, and right in the middle is a stone. I slowly step towards it, as if drawn by the sapphire hue it emits. I lay my finger on it, and everything seems to go dark. I feel the rush of wind, and the room turns white. I begin to feel dizzy as all colors rush around me. Suddenly, I fall. Darkness engulfs me once again.

What…is happening? I ask myself. I struggle to stay conscious, but I can’t.

This would be one trip I would remember for all of time. Literally.

Reviews

[Jennifer Pennington]

You are a magnificent writer, keep up the good work.

[Aussie]

Wow.Your vocabulary is impressive,it makes every scene and little detail quite colorful.I really enjoyed the premise of this story,as well.

Great attention to detail,very descriptive wording,and very good imagery.Wonderful job :)