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I come to the edge of a lake and stop to catch my breath. The sky above me is clean and blue, never touched by pollution. A few wispy clouds are scattered across it and move slowly through the air. In the distance, the snow-capped mountains extend for miles, the great spine of the earth extending towards the heavens. I smell the cool, crisp, clean mountain air as I move my gaze downwards, over the descending tail of the mountains and across the divide between them and the lake. White rocks, small and large, line one side, with patches of hardy green grass happily occupying the space that remains. A slight ridge rises as the rocks stop across the middle of my view, and rises on my right until it blocks the sun and shields the snow along its base from the warmth. Finally, I stare at the lake itself. It is a mirror, smooth as glass; the blue of the sky reflects beautifully across its nearly flawless and in disturbed surface. I want to stay here forever, to look at the land, to forget about my problems.
Unfortunately, they aren't keen on being abandoned.
A boom tears through the serenity, louder than anything I've heard in years. I turn to see a fireball blossoming in the air south of where I stand.
Right above where my home is built.
They've found me.
When I was born in the year 2034, the world was divided, enormously overpopulated, and experiencing the shortages of natural resources that were the result of years of fast consumption. The global economy was all but collapsed, with corporations failing along with the governments. It was a time of hopelessness and panic.
Then came the Company.
Planetacorp, a corporation no one had ever heard of, surfaced quietly in the midst of the turmoil. As big name conglomerates floundered, Planetacorp stepped in and bought them out one by one until it owned virtually every mass-producing source of goods and services across the globe. They began restructuring economies and governments alike, and the once-hopeless people gladly accepted their "savior" as a kind and helpful body.
All that changed very quickly. Quiet though they had been in their taking of power, the Company (as many call it) owned and controlled most of the world. Once their infiltration was complete, the benevolence turned to iron-fisted control. Police forces and militaries became one and the same, and both were owned by Planetacorp. These "civil servants" were brutal and enforced all regulations in ways that people did not forget. The people, who had once followed the company willingly, were forced to comply with new rules, a new system of life, a new world. By 2050, Planetacorp ran almost everything. People were afraid, and in that, the Company had all the power it needed.
Mostly. Some ran.
Pockets of democracy survived the Fall, as it came to be known, but lived in constant fear of being overrun. Those who ran from the company were mostly caught and killed, and the few who made it out fled to areas that people had yet to disturb; there were very, very few. Hiding was difficult, but some made it out. If you stayed, you lived in fear and were controlled in all your life. If you fled, you faced death and isolation. Many people chose to stay, and many that chose to leave died.
I ran.
It's now 2053, and I haven't died.
Yet.
Unfortunately, they aren't keen on being abandoned.
A boom tears through the serenity, louder than anything I've heard in years. I turn to see a fireball blossoming in the air south of where I stand.
Right above where my home is built.
They've found me.
***
When I was born in the year 2034, the world was divided, enormously overpopulated, and experiencing the shortages of natural resources that were the result of years of fast consumption. The global economy was all but collapsed, with corporations failing along with the governments. It was a time of hopelessness and panic.
Then came the Company.
Planetacorp, a corporation no one had ever heard of, surfaced quietly in the midst of the turmoil. As big name conglomerates floundered, Planetacorp stepped in and bought them out one by one until it owned virtually every mass-producing source of goods and services across the globe. They began restructuring economies and governments alike, and the once-hopeless people gladly accepted their "savior" as a kind and helpful body.
All that changed very quickly. Quiet though they had been in their taking of power, the Company (as many call it) owned and controlled most of the world. Once their infiltration was complete, the benevolence turned to iron-fisted control. Police forces and militaries became one and the same, and both were owned by Planetacorp. These "civil servants" were brutal and enforced all regulations in ways that people did not forget. The people, who had once followed the company willingly, were forced to comply with new rules, a new system of life, a new world. By 2050, Planetacorp ran almost everything. People were afraid, and in that, the Company had all the power it needed.
Mostly. Some ran.
Pockets of democracy survived the Fall, as it came to be known, but lived in constant fear of being overrun. Those who ran from the company were mostly caught and killed, and the few who made it out fled to areas that people had yet to disturb; there were very, very few. Hiding was difficult, but some made it out. If you stayed, you lived in fear and were controlled in all your life. If you fled, you faced death and isolation. Many people chose to stay, and many that chose to leave died.
I ran.
It's now 2053, and I haven't died.
Yet.
***
For a few seconds, I just stand and stare at the place where my home burns. Then, my instincts kick in; I take off at a brisk pace in the other direction. I know I can’t go back. I can’t risk being caught; everything I’ve run from is so close to capturing me that I can’t take it.
So, naturally, I turn around and head back to my house. I’m known for my rational choices.
I jog through the patchy woods that grow farther down the rise where the lake sits undisturbed, taking care to stay as covered as I can. I know they’re looking for me; every bit of logic I possess screams at me not to go back… But I have to see. Curiosity is a powerful thing. The trip back takes a little over five minutes, which disappoints me. I keep in good shape and it’s only about a mile in distance, but I justify the slower time as “conserving energy”. As I near the edge of the cleared area where I lived for the past three years, I see that the damage, though expected, is severe. I don’t know what they blew in there, but half of the house is simply gone, while the other half burns. I notice some of my belongings on the lawn; they had searched for it. Out of caution, I carry my mother’s formula with me at all times, and it seems that has saved it from being found.
I slow my pace and take cover behind one of the thicker trees and watch as a tall man dressed in impeccable white slowly crosses the clearing while bringing something to his face. It’s a megaphone; I hear his amplified voice echoing through the mountains.
“LUCAS HARAWAY! WE KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE!”
The voice was loud, deep, and harsh; this man made no effort to pretend he was friendly.
“YOU HAVE WHAT WE NEED, LUKE. WE HAVE WHAT YOU WANT. WE’RE WILLING TO MAKE A TRADE.”
Who… No. Impossible.
“You may be doubting my honesty. I didn’t expect you to believe me fully. But I swear this to you; if you don’t turn over that recipe, you will never see your family again.”
I decide that I can’t think about it right now. I can’t trust this man, and I surely can’t expose myself. I give in to the advice of my sane mind; I turn away and run and run and run. As I leave, I hear the man in white say one thing more:
***
For a few seconds, I just stand and stare at the place where my home burns. Then, my instincts kick in; I take off at a brisk pace in the other direction. I know I can’t go back. I can’t risk being caught; everything I’ve run from is so close to capturing me that I can’t take it.
So, naturally, I turn around and head back to my house. I’m known for my rational choices.
I jog through the patchy woods that grow farther down the rise where the lake sits undisturbed, taking care to stay as covered as I can. I know they’re looking for me; every bit of logic I possess screams at me not to go back… But I have to see. Curiosity is a powerful thing. The trip back takes a little over five minutes, which disappoints me. I keep in good shape and it’s only about a mile in distance, but I justify the slower time as “conserving energy”. As I near the edge of the cleared area where I lived for the past three years, I see that the damage, though expected, is severe. I don’t know what they blew in there, but half of the house is simply gone, while the other half burns. I notice some of my belongings on the lawn; they had searched for it. Out of caution, I carry my mother’s formula with me at all times, and it seems that has saved it from being found.
I slow my pace and take cover behind one of the thicker trees and watch as a tall man dressed in impeccable white slowly crosses the clearing while bringing something to his face. It’s a megaphone; I hear his amplified voice echoing through the mountains.
“LUCAS HARAWAY! WE KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE!”
The voice was loud, deep, and harsh; this man made no effort to pretend he was friendly.
“YOU HAVE WHAT WE NEED, LUKE. WE HAVE WHAT YOU WANT. WE’RE WILLING TO MAKE A TRADE.”
I pause midturn, as I was already preparing to leave. This was interesting. Certainly, I have what they need; my mom’s recipe was the only thing developed so far that could save their big kahuna, the boss who ran Planetacorp. What, though, could they offer me that I could want from them?
“They’re alive, Luke.”
Who… No. Impossible.
“You may be doubting my honesty. I didn’t expect you to believe me fully. But I swear this to you; if you don’t turn over that recipe, you will never see your family again.”
"They’re dead," I think to myself. "You watched them die." But did I? Could they have survived?
I decide that I can’t think about it right now. I can’t trust this man, and I surely can’t expose myself. I give in to the advice of my sane mind; I turn away and run and run and run. As I leave, I hear the man in white say one thing more:
“YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER! WE WILL FIND YOU, HARAWAY, AND IF YOU DON’T COME WILLINGLY, WE REALLY WILL KILL THEM THIS TIME.”
***
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Update #2 : by NauticalPhasmid 05/22/2014 5:21:04 pmMay 22nd, 2014
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The writing is great as well. Very descriptive and keeps the reader pulled in! Diamond and a sub for you!