Prologue
Desmond walked through the forsaken wood of twisted trees sick with disease. An eerie silence was the only thing to accompany him.
A poisonous ocean breeze found its way to Desmond's nostrils, and he coughed. Whatever had happened to this place, it was unstable and unfit for human life.
Their was a sudden snap of a twig behind Desmond. He whirled around only to stare at the sickly gray trees that surrounded him on all sides. Another snap, but Desmond saw nothing. From somewhere, Desmond could hear the sound of raspy, sharp intakes of foul air, but from where he did not now.
All he knew was he was being stalked, and after spending more time than he in this inhospitable place, he knew that whatever was couldn't be good.
Or human...
Chapter 1Goodbye Blue Sky
There was a hiss and a rush of hot air. Desmond rubbed his eyes open and looked around for the first time. He was inside a large container with a hatch that was opening. A disembodied computer voice told him it was unsafe to leave the tank, but he exited anyway. A fierce curiosity burned within him.
The dank interior of a dark ware house was the only thing greeting him. Among the many rows of pods, not one of them were occupied. For the first time he felt what it was like to be truly alone.
He walked passed the rows of pods and approached a large steel door. Opening it required a three digit code. Desmond didn't know what it was. Instinctively he looked down at the back of his hand and saw the number "911," branded onto it. Desmond typed the number into the key pad, and, to his amazement, it worked. "Warning! Air quality poor, environment inhospitable. Leave at own risk." The great metal door slid slowly open to reveal a bright light.
Desmond shielded his eyes while they adjusted. He didn't know what he should expect, but something didn't seem right. The air was difficult to breath, the sky an orange color and the landscape was a barren wasteland. In the distance he saw a forest of dead trees, their leaves gone and their trunks twisted and knotted. He didn't like this place.
He headed towards the forest, thinking it to be the only logical thing to do. As he neared it, he saw the true ugliness of these sick trees. Things weren't right here. There were no noises, only silence. Not even his foot steps made much noise as he walked along the cracked earth and into the dead forest.
As Desmond went deeper into the forest, he grew more lonely and afraid. The trees looked like they were closing in on him and would soon devour him with their gnarled and twisted branches. His pace quickened to a fast walk, and soon he was running through the trees as fast as he could.
Suddenly, he burst out into a wide clearing. He was standing near the edge of a cliff over looking an ocean. A poisonous sea breeze filled his nostrils and Desmond coughed and wretched. This place, whatever it was, was unfit for human life. He regretted having left the blissful safety of his pod.
From the cliff, Desmond could say the ruins of a great city. Desmond's only guess was that a massive explosion had destroyed it, but that there might be survivors within it. He decided to head for the city, back through the woods.
Desmond was walking once again into the heart of those twisted trees when he heard a sudden snap of a twig somewhere. Desmond whirled around, but there was nothing. Another snap, but Desmond saw nothing. From somewhere, Desmond could hear the sound of raspy, sharp intakes of foul air, but from where he did not now.
All he knew was he was being stalked, and after spending more time than he in this inhospitable place, he knew that whatever was couldn't be good, or human for that matter.
It was neither good nor human, as Desmond was about to find out.
There was a sudden and deafening roar, and from a midst of trees a four legged beast emerged with bounding strides. It lunged at Desmond, but he dodged its razor claws that had been extended to grab him and looked as though they could cut him in two. He wasted no time and ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the forest. He could hear the raspy breaths and knew the monster was in close pursuit. He dodged around the trees, trying to confuse the monster, but it followed him tirelessly. Desmond could hear the panting of his own breath and knew he could not run much further. The monster continued to gain on him.
Suddenly, a much larger creature charged through a group of trees and grabbed the pursuing monster in its jaws. Desmond did not see either of them clearly, for he kept running until he was safely away from the horrors of the forest. Only when he was several hundred feet away did he look back and hear the shrieks of pain as the large monster began to devour the monster that had come so close to making Desmond another meal.
Desmond walked on, exhausted from the exertion, but knew the air was to poor to stop and rest. His cough grew worse, and it was extremely difficult to breath now. But the ruins were close, and he was determined to reach them. He knew there must be answers there.
It was dark when he reached the ruins. He could make out a wall that had been erected around the city now turned to ash, and the remnants of buildings were black and burned. One great building stood in the distance, a huge building, now only a ruin amongst many.
Desmond could find no place to rest, so he walked. He slumped against a pole half his height, trying to catch the remainder of his breath. There was a sudden beep, and a holographic screen appeared projected from the pole. Desmond stood up and looked at it. The screen was flickering, no doubt damaged, but it was reasonably clear. A disembodied voice within the pole said "Networking Terminal 1. Please select the user you would like to view." A list of people with pictures next to them appeared. Desmond randomly selected a man named John Clayborne, and another screen appeared. "Please select the time of the recording you would like to view," the voice said. A list of dates came up, most of them a part of Jon Clayborne's life, his childhood, everything. The most recent one was from 2018. Desmond selected it. "Recording accessed," the voice said.
Desmond didn't realize at first, but he was going back to a time where the world lived without fear, without war, without global warming. Where all his questions would be answered. Where the truth would be revealed.
But sometimes, it's the truth that hits us the hardest...
To be continued...