• Rising Dark


    Heart beats. That was all she could hear pounding in her ears as she and her pet rat ran out of sight from the men. The men were hooded, black, and mysterious. A whisping bullet flew by her head and hit the sand. Long Island was the last place for free people. The world had turned in on it’s self and become a place of darkness. She looked around at the clouded sky, the broken road, and half a dumpster. They hid in a nearby dumpster for two hours.

    When Drea peaked out of the trash box she could smell it: dead, rotting flesh. It was a smell she was accustomed to. She missed the smell of grass and pine, but that was all gone now. Only grey sky and broken buildings remained. She spotted a girl and her baby sister trapped in an abandoned building. Unsure if they were human, she waited. As soon as the girl stopped struggling, Drea quickly ran over and freed her.

    The girl whispered a breathless thank you to Drea. Drea nodded. They freed her sister, but it was too late: her sister had been crushed by the building's wreckage. Then a sudden blast shook the island, buildings started to crumble, glass broke and sand swirled. The girl started to scream as a jagged piece of glass stabbed her in the arm. Drea and the girl quickly ran for cover under an old bus shelter, blood trailing them.

    Drea and the rat helped remove the piece of glass from her arm as she wailed in agony. It took a few tries, but they removed it and then Drea got ripped a piece of curtain from a nearby abandoned building to stop the bleeding. The girl sat curiously as the girl pondered the blue curtain on her arm. Then realizing the rat was gone, Drea started looking for him. After a few minutes, the girl spoke.

    “I’m Lexis. You are?”

    Drea stood up and wrote letters in the sand.

    “D”

    “R”

    “E”

    “A”

    “Drea...” Lexi repeated.

    Drea smiled and nodded again.

    They sat down and watched people wandering aimlessly out of their hiding places. There were screams of pain and loss. Then one by one, the people started gathering together for a meeting at the center on the island.

    “People of the free land! Too long has been our suffering!” A large man on a box spoke.

    The crowd cheered surprisingly loudly for a group of only around four hundred. “Our loss has been too great this time, this is where the attacks come to a halt!” the mayor said strongly. The crowd released another cheer.

    A mysterious man appeared in a bright red cloak and took the microphone.

    “And what do you plan to do? Poke them with your pitch forks?” he said with an accent.


    The crowd fell silent. Nobody knew how to attack, The fighters had all passed away and the others were weak mindless fools, only caring for them selves. They were all sitting ducks, and they knew it. Weaponless and heartless.

    Drea watched the red cloaked man intensively.

    He spoke again.

    “Me and my workers have been creating weapons and plans to end this war and release the free people of the island! You will follow me to victory and we will win together!”

    No one had ever offered to help others before! This could betheir chance of redemption and victory over their enemies! A wave of joy and excitement spread over the crowd. Everyone let out a roar, louder than any before.


    They all started bowing to him. Even Lexis got on her knees, but not Drea. She stood and stared at the man. She just wasn’t sure that this red man was the answer to their troubles. As she continued to stare, he shot her a glance with his shiny eyes then he walked towards his factory. She felt a cold edge in her soul, what was it? They all followed him: men, women, and children. Drea and Lexis hurried along with curiosity and high hopes and dreams of the victory he spoke about.



    They entered a large warehouse with the numbers 666 above the door way. Drea stopped in shock. Every weapon, grenade and dagger was labeled 666. Lexis quickly grabbed a shot gun and ammunition with out hesitation. “Come on Drea! Pick a good one for the battle!” Lexis said with complete enthusiasm!


    Drea wandered through the factory until she found the machines making the weapons and the workers operating them. Then she spotted it. A smaller dagger cast aside with no numbers on it. She snatched it and hurried to find Lexis.

    The hooded man spoke again. “Tonight we camp at the border, tomorrow, victory!”

    For the first time, Lexis cheered and asked Drea, “Why don’t you cheer?”


    Drea opened her mouth and pointed in. Then a tear rolled down her face.

    “Mute...” Lexis’ voice trailed off.
    And Drea nodded once again.


    They all started to walk, dragging tattered bags and old suitcases. The children rode on hay wagons and the adults walked. Drea and Lexis walked, with no family to care for them, they were on their own. The misadventure had just begun.

    It was a long walk to the canyon and then around it to the border. Drea seemed so focused on the red man. Lexis just walked and wondered why Drea was so focused. She wanted to ask but all that Drea could make were breathless chirps and hopeless hand signals. The road they traveled was nothing but broken pavement and twisted side rails.

    Drea pondered everything. She could remember cars and big buildings and the smell of the ocean. She wanted it back so badly but after that night, it was all gone. None cared about the past anymore. They had all forgotten, and Lexis was probably born in this horrible time. She wouldn’t understand. Everyone bought in to the newest things and the coolest stuff, wasting themselves away for thousands of years on careless things. That all ended two years before her birth.



    “Drea!” Lexis shouted, snapping her back into the present.



    “What do you think freedom will be like, and what’s with the funny numbers on the weapons?” Lexis asked carelessly.



    Drea pointed at the numbers and gestured being hung. Lexis just stared in disbelief.



    “You seriously think he’ll hang us?!?! You’re insane! Look at what he’s done for us!”

    Drea had already wandered back into thought before Lexis finished speaking.


    The land was torn with bomb debris and rusty tanks. The people had to watch where they stepped or they would land on sharp shards of metal. The group hadn’t reached half way yet and the sun was setting. They lost their spirit and started to groan.



    They camped at the half way point at midnight. All cheer was lost. The clouds were moving faster now, revealing stars. They lit up the broken world and revealed it’s flaws and how the planet had lost it’s green. The moon broke through at last. Lexis embraced Drea as if to say thank you.



    Then Drea overheard that the red cloaked man was starting to recruit hunters to look for rats as food. Drea instantly looked more concerned. Where was her companion? She had forgotten about him. Drea searched here and there, weaseling out of a barrel was her rat. She ran and picked him up. The man approached her and asked, “Is this filth yours?”



    Drea tried to responded by nodding and even smiling. He grabbed the rat anyway and stabbed a knife through it’s back. Then, he left. Drea burst into tears. The only friend she had been able to keep was gone. A bitter hate grew in her soul for the evil man leading them to a “Victory”. What garbage. Lexis comforted Drea, even though she had no idea what happened. Drea cried herself into a deep and dreamless sleep beside Lexis. Then it was all sun.



    Morning. A grey cloud quickly blocked it from her vision. She looked around. The people were packing up, and Lexis was missing. Shocked, Drea searched, no pink shirt anywhere! She was gone! Drea felt a wave of emotion fall over her. She continued to walk with the crowd.



    Now that she was alone she could daydream continually and wander off to her own perfect world where love was powerful and surrounding. Her family and friends were alive and she was called a different name. She went to school and goofed off on the weekends. She was never hungry or tired. She could write stories and stare at the blue sky. Back when the sky was actually blue. Then she lost everything, even her voice. While Lexis was obviously about ten years younger than Drea, she seemed more mature for her age. Maybe it was the chemicals and medication in their water like drugs, vaccines, and clone growth hormones.



    Then an unexpected thing happened. A whistle echoed and a small dark object flung toward them.



    “Bomb!” the red man shouted in alarm.



    The people ran in terror, quickening their pace. All running, all needing something, Drea wished she could do something. Then it sunk in. Where is Lexis? Is she okay, or even alive? That was the least of her worries now, her priority was to run.



    She ran and ran until the bomb hit the ground, sending a wave of dust and metal soaring her way. Drea kept running until she felt a sharp pain in her head and fell to the ground.



    When she woke up in the middle of the night, she was all alone. Left behind. She thought of the direction they were walking and lopsidedly ran until she spotted a little crowd of, things. She couldn’t tell if they were birds or people but whatever they were, she ran even faster through the rest of the night. She drew nearer to the crowd, she collapsed out of hunger.



    She felt like a background, unnoticed and alone in darkness. She opened her eyes. Drea then saw it a girl with a brown coat covering her pink shirt walking beside an elderly woman. Her heart skipped a beat! Lexis! Then they reached the canyon.



    Lexis had spotted her and put her on an empty hay wagon. Drea smiled like never before. Breathing in and breathing out never felt so good. She wanted to ask so many things but as usual, nothing came out. So she continued to smile. For a moment, a surrounding love filled her empty heart. “Someone cares!” She thought silently. Then the moment was stolen by the sound of gun fire. War.



    She grabbed her knife and followed Lexis into battle. Their opponents were only clones grown in factories. This is why everyone didn’t hesitate to kill them. Drea turned and stabbed one and turned again and killed another. Lexis shot wildly as a swarm of clones came out of the factory. Then she realized it. Hope was gone. She kept fighting, She had to. Her people were dieing. It wasn’t just about herself. They were going down today, and there wasn’t anything she could do but fight till the end. Blood and body parts flew everywhere.



    “We can’t win,” Drea kept thinking. There were too many clones, and too many talentless fighters. She grabbed Lexis and made hanging gestures. She pointed out the clones were killing more people than the people were killing the hooded clones. Then in shock, they ran as bullets and bombs flew. She was then pushed by the man. The red hooded man grabbed a long blade and forced it down. A surging pain filled her back, and she let out her first and last scream.



    Lexis quickly hurried away but it was too late for Drea. She had pushed Lexis out of the way and killed herself in the process. Lexis was moved to tears, not only because of her loss, but because of the love and courage Drea had shown to save her. She had never felt this before. She couldn’t stay, she had to leave.



    Then the man walked on to a wooden box, and took out a remote. He pushed a button and the weapons burst into flames, killing the people who held them. People screamed and wailed in pain as they were engulfed in flames.



    Lexis quickly dropped her weapon and looked at Drea’s knife. It hadn’t lit on fire! She ran to Drea’s body, quickly took the knife, and ran up to the man. She let out a shout as she stabbed him. He had no reaction. He pulled down his hood and took off his gloves. He wasn’t a man. A hard cold metal hand grabbed Lexis’ neck. She picked up the knife again and stabbed his sensor that read 666. He released her just in time for her to scamper away, just to be shot in the chest by a clone. In that moment, the last human heartbeat had stopped.



    “Victory!”the clones shouted in a harmonic monotone.



    That day, men were pushed into the background and forgotten forever as their world was eaten by flames and destruction. It was the revelation.


    The end.

    ~Poke emo