“Where am I?.... What the heck is this place?” Said Jack.
He was walking in a pitch-black area, not knowing where he was going. He waved his hands around, trying to reach something. But nothing came into his reach.
“Damn! This is creepy!” said Jack.
Suddenly he heard a growl from his left.
“Who’s there?!!” yelled Jack
He waited for a sound or a response, but all he got was an eerie silence. Then, from behind him, he heard another growl. He looked around, staring at nothing. A sense of dread began to fill him. He began to make his way through the darkness. He continued to flail his arms around, unable to see anything, desperately trying to feel his way out of this place.
Suddenly he felt something wet on the ground. He extended his hand to touch the liquid. When Jack smelled it, it gave off a scent that made his skin crawl. A bright red light illuminated the area, and Jack noticed blood on the ground, which covered everything he could see like a large lake. Sweat poured from Jack's brow as he looked around him, only to see a sea of red.
And then Jack saw it, two glowing red shapes in the dark behind him. The Face of the monster that killed his parents came into view in the red light.
“No… Not you!” said Jack in a quivering tone.
He looked down to see the beast's paws on his parents' bodies. He looked into their lifeless eyes, which stared back at him. He suddenly lost his voice, and the most intense fear paralyzed him. Jack turned to face the monster, which gave a menacing growl as it approached him. It pounced on Jack with an almighty roar as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
He found himself in a dimly lit room, illuminated by lights coming from outside. As he looked around the room, Jack was sweating profusely and exhaling heavily. Jack jumped a little when he heard a cool female voice from his left side.
“Good morning Jack. It is now 5:45 am.”
‘Ughh. Yeah, Thanks, Linda. Stupid Nightmare…” moaned Jack half awake. He scratched his long, bushy hair as he threw over his sheets. He exited his room and approached the wash basin outside his door. He saw his reflection in the mirror in front of him as he turned on the light. His unkempt caramel-colored hair had grown to the base of his neck. He had stubby facial hair and his eyes were tired. He now had a partially defined jawline, and his Adam's apple was visible.
Jack finished grooming himself and entered the attached living room and kitchen. He saw a plate of eggs and bacon placed on the table near the kitchen aisle and proceeded to eat it. As he did so, he took the newspaper, which was also placed on the table, and unfolded it. The date read as 17th July 2034. He read through the main headline as he ate.
Citizens of the outskirts protest as rations become scarce: allegations are leveled against wealthier citizens of the main city for hoarding rations.
Thousands of residents living on the city's outskirts in prefabricated homes took to the streets in protest after their rations supply had gone down for a few days. These protesters were mostly made up of people who worked odd jobs like mechanics and sanitation workers. They were previously employed in internet and phone services, as well as tourism groups. Former space scientists and astronomers also took part in the protest. With the onset of the current crisis, these individuals have been forced to seek alternative employment to feed their families and themselves.
“We don’t get paid much, but the government told us that we would be compensated with free food and rations until this crisis got over. But these days we are getting as much food and rations as much as we are getting paid.” Complained a man who works in city sanitation. “I am barely able to make ends meet. Before this crisis, I was able to feed my family three times a day. But now, I’m struggling to get enough food for even two meals a day! We ask for rations and they say there’s not enough for all of us??!! Why the heck do you make promises you can’t keep?!!” said an angry restaurant waiter. “When will this crisis be over? This is the thirtieth time this has happened in the last eight years. How long are we supposed to live through this?!” asked a desperate car wash employee
“Good point there, buddy.” Sighed Jack as he read the comment.
The front door suddenly opened, and a girl with reddish brown hair tied into a ponytail entered the house. Unlike Jack, she radiated maturity and energy. Her eyes were a brilliant brown, and her smooth jawline enhanced her beauty. She wiped her brow with a towel from a nearby chair.
“Morning Jack.” Said the girl.
“Good morning Amy. You finished your jog a little early today. What’s up?” Asked Jack.
“Well, today’s the career advice Meet you big dumbo. I got my slot first thing in the morning, or did you forget all about it?” asked Amelia as she served herself some breakfast and sat down at the table.
“Oh yeah! The stupid career advice meet. It's going to be a gloomy session. What plans do you have for the future? Your Teachers have told me that you are skilled at handling and repairing electronic devices. Perhaps you could get a bachelor's degree in electronics and then work in R&D. There's a lot of it going on since the crisis began.” Said Jack.
“Mmm.” Replied Amelia unenthusiastically, while eating her bacon.
“You could apply to Rockhurst University. Of course, it isn’t what it used to be. But you can still get in with a little help from Uncle Frank. I’ll ask him later.” Said Jack.
Suddenly, Amelia banged her hands on the table and stood up.
“Jack would you stop that?!! You’re acting like you’re my father or something, but you’re not.” Replied Amelia furiously.
“What? What did I say?” asked Jack in a puzzled tone.
“I said stop deciding stuff for me, ok? I’ll decide what I wanna do got it!” said Amelia firmly.
“I was just suggesti—” Said Jack as he was interrupted by Amelia.
“That sounded more like you deciding my future Jack! And what about you? You finished school, but you’re still sitting on your butt at home doing nothing. Why don’t you try to find something to do.”
“I am! I looked for some high-paying jobs. Because of the current situation, they’re accepting any able-bodied hands in any job regardless of their education. But I need a job that pays us enough and helps me repay Uncle Frank.” Said Jack.
“All I've seen you do is go over to the cliff and stare out at the city for hours. A load of good that does!” replied Amelia bitterly.
“THAT’S ENOUGH AMELIA!” yelled Jack as he stood up.
There was a moment of tense silence before Jack spoke again.
“All I did was suggest you a path. I wasn’t rejecting your options or forcing mine onto you, so why are you lashing out like this?”
Instead of replying, Amelia looked away and stayed silent.
“I know I have asked this a hundred times, but you’ve become more hostile ever since Mom and Dad died. What gives?” asked Jack concernedly.
But Amy remained silent. Jack sighed and gestured Amelia toward her seat.
“You should finish your breakfast. The bus will be here any moment now.” Said Jack with a calmer tone.
Amelia obeyed and silently ate her breakfast. She then got up and went inside. Jack picked up their plates and washed them while in deep thought. At half past seven, the bus horn sounded and Amy came out of her room and headed towards the bus top in front of their house. Jack accompanied her to the bus as the other kids in the locality gathered there.
“You’ll be there at eight-thirty, right?” said Amy.
“Yeah.” Replied Jack as the bus left the street.
Jack went back inside to get ready. At about ten past eight, Jack boarded a second bus bound for the city. Jack contemplated for the majority of his 15-minute journey. ‘What should I do from now on? Amy is right. I've been sitting on my butt. Nothing seems to click. Maybe I could ask Uncle Frank's help. Maybe he'll give me a job. I'll have to ask him later.’
Jack got off in front of a 6-storey building, which looked more like a coaching center than a school. He entered it and headed to the top floor and seated himself outside of a room numbered six hundred and twelve. With eight minutes left before the meeting started, Jack closed his eyes and relaxed.
Soon, he found himself floating through the sky on a cloud. He was admiring the ground from above as he traveled over the world, eating grapes growing from out of the cloud he was sitting on. Suddenly he was plummeting down to the ground at high speed. He screamed at the top of his lungs, and then he felt himself splashing into the water a few seconds later. However, he neither floated nor sank to the bottom. Instead, he landed on solid ground, surrounded by pitch blackness. He couldn’t see anything for even a few centimeters.
“What is this place?” He asked himself.
He flailed his arms around to reach for something. But nothing came to his reach. Suddenly he heard a growl behind him. He turned around to see two glowing red shapes in the darkness.
Stolen novel; please report.
“HOLY CRAP!!!” exclaimed Jack as he made a run for it.
He didn't know where he was going, but the idea of something approaching him from behind motivated him to keep running. The sensation of walking on liquid hit him at that point. Jack slipped over the liquid and fell. He was now covered in some of the liquid, which smelled like blood. Red lights flooded the area once again, illuminating an enormous pool of blood on which the terrifying face of the monster who killed his parents stood. He observed his parents lying underneath it's feet with their entrails spilling and lifeless expressions on their faces. Pure, unadulterated fear had him gasping for air and paralyzed. He raised his head and he saw the beast mere inches away, staring at him with its evil red eyes. The monster opened its mouth wide and bit off his head in a flash as Jack woke up with a start.
“Whoa!! Jack!! You ok?!!” asked Amelia, who was seated next to him.
Jack took a moment to calm down as he drank some water that Amelia offered him.
“Nothing. I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Said Jack.
“Is it another nightmare?” asked Amelia.
“It’s nothing. Just leave it.” said Jack with a mildly frustrated tone.
Just then, the door opened and a bespectacled lady looked out.
“Amelia Foster. Please come in.” said the lady.
Jack and Amelia entered the room and saw the principal, who was a man in his fifties, also seated in the room. They took their seat as gestured by the lady.
“Ok Amelia, you have excellent grades under your belt. You have excelled in almost everything here. You have a good rapport with the teachers and I’m most pleased to have had you as my student.” Said the lady with a wide smile.
“Thank you, Mrs. Rodriguez.” Said Amelia.
“What do you think Jack? What do you feel about her future? Do you have any suggestions for her?” asked the lady
“I actually gave her one. I told her that she could take electronics as her major at Rockhurst. But she didn’t seem to like it.” Said Jack.
Amelia gave him a scorning glance at this statement.
“Why yes! I’m sure you would do well if you took Electronics and communications as your major. But of course, we will hear your plans if you don’t want this path.” Said the Lady.
“Actually, I don’t plan on doing any majors right now. I wanna join the special division army forces.” Said Amelia with a serious look
This answer shocked the other three occupants of the room, most of all Jack.
“What?!!!” exclaimed Jack.
“You’re Talking about the ‘Outlanders’ division. Am I right?” Said the principal
“Yes sir.” Replied Amelia.
“Are you insane?!” Asked Jack.
“I have been planning on doing this ever since middle school. That’s why I participated in all of the sports events held till now. I wanted to increase my physique and my stamina. In fact, I’m gonna join them as soon as my final exams are over.” Said Amelia.
“What the heck you never told me!” said Jack.
“Well, well. Almost everyone these days is enrolling for that. The pay is supposedly high and you will be granted special honors if you perform admirably. But at the same time, a lot of people are dying in that line of work. Are you sure young lady?” Asked the principal.
“Yes sir. I am.” Said Amy with a confident tone.
“But you aren’t eighteen until this fall and They don’t recruit people under seventeen. How are you going to apply now?” asked the lady.
“I have a contact who can help me with that Ma’am.” Replied Amelia.
“Ok. I wish you the best of luck, Amelia.” Said the lady.
“But—” said Jack as he was interrupted.
“I get your concern, Jack. It is a dangerous job and you are worried about your sister’s safety. But you have to realize, she isn’t a child. If she has decided to go join the army, let her. You can’t deny her the right to choose.” Said the principal.
“yeah but—” said Jack before he was interrupted again.
“Amelia I’ll ask again. You are absolutely sure about this right?” asked the principal.
“No. I’m not ok with this one bit. I am not letting you go and get yourself killed. No way.” Proclaimed Jack in an angry tone.
“You aren’t my parent and I’m not a child, Jack. You don’t have any hold over me. Got it?” replied Amelia rebelliously.
“You never told me about this to begin with! I didn’t promise Mom and Dad that I would let you throw away your life. I’m not letting you go and that’s final!” said Jack angrily.
“I won’t die ok. There’s no way that I am gonna die! And I didn’t tell you this precisely because you would never let me join the army” replied Amelia.
“Both of you, please calm down.” Said the bespectacled lady. But her pleas fell on deaf ears.
“Have you forgotten what happened to Mom and Dad? Do you wanna end up a corpse, like they did?” said Jack.
“DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MOM AND DAD LIKE THEY WERE TRASH, YOU BIG COWARD.” Yelled Amelia.
Amelia pushed her chair away and stormed out of the room. Jack felt helpless as he took to his seat again. The principal then spoke.
“Please, take a seat and calm down Jack.” Said the principal
Jack obeyed and sat down.
“Like I said, Jack. I implore you not to impede her choices. I understand your worries. But you have to face the fact that she isn’t some child you can put restrictions on. Think about it carefully, please. You may go now.” Said the principal.
Hearing this only seemed to anger Jack more, as he left the room frustrated. He looked around for Amelia, but could not find her. He left the building and looked around for her. But it seemed she had already left. Assumed she might have left for home, Jack called for a taxi. When Jack reached home, he found Amelia doing push-ups in the space separating the neighboring house. Amelia spotted Jack and got up.
“Look who’s home.” Said Amelia sarcastically.
“Don’t give me that attitude! I’m the only one trying to keep you from getting shish kabob’ed out there.” said Jack with an angry tone.
With a frustrated sigh, Amelia answered with a calm tone.
“Look. My dream was always to join the army, even before this all happened. I looked up to Mom and Dad. They were trying to change things for the better, and I wanna do the same. I know you promised them you would keep me safe, but that doesn’t give you the right to confine me. I’m joining the army, whether you like it or not ok.”
“Have you ever wondered how many people have died in that division? What you’re doing is suicide, Amelia.” Said Jack with a highly frustrated tone.
“I’m tired of living here. I want things to go back to how it was, and I feel like I would be more at peace if I did something myself to make that happen. So there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me Jack” said Amelia.
“You idiot, haven’t you figured out why I’m insisting on you reconsidering your option? It’s not just about the promise I made. You’re the only family I have left Amy. I can’t lose you too.” Said Jack with tears in his eyes.
Amelia looked at Jack with a sad look as Jack wiped his tears.
“I guess I never told you what I see in my nightmares. Since our parents died, I've experienced the same nightmare every day. I see that monster standing over Mom and Dad's bodies as they lie in a pool of blood. I'm terrified of that monster. However, the dead expression in their eyes scares me more. Amy, I don't want to have nightmares with you in them.” said Jack in a quivering tone, his face down and his long hair hiding the unbearable sadness on his face.
For a few moments, none of them spoke. Then, Amelia broke the silence.
“I’m sorry Jack. But I don’t want to stay here anymore. I just can’t take it” said Amy in a soft tone as she walked past Jack into the house.
Jack was completely defeated. He was at a loss for how else to convince Amelia to change her course. Jack walked towards the cliff behind the housing area, which overlooked the city, hopeless and helpless. He took eight minutes to climb the cliff. He sat by the cliff's edge, dreading what might happen if Amelia once she went to the surface. The more he considered Amelia's choice, The more images of her dreadfully wounded body he saw. He felt scared, and helpless as he was not able to think of a solution.
Then Jack felt a hand on his shoulders. He looked around and saw Billy. He had a more mature look to his face along with his jet-black hair, as he looked at Jack’s face through his half-frame spectacles. He was wearing a red T-shirt and dark blue shorts.
“Hey Jack, you all right?” asked Billy.
“Billy, what’re you doing here?” asked Jack.
“Well, I came up here on your recommendation of course. Actually, I’ve been coming up here for some time. The view’s really good. What about you? you don’t look good. What happened? Asked Billy.
Jack hesitated to tell Billy. But with a small hope that Billy would have answers to his problem, Jack told him what had happened that morning. after he finished, Billy remained silent in thought before talking.
“Well, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Amelia is one heck of a stubborn girl. If she didn’t listen to you, then I don’t know anyone else who can convince her.” Said Billy.
“Please help me. I don’t want her to end up dead. Can you think of a way I can stop her?” asked Jack.
Billy again assumed silence as he tried to think of something.
“I got nothing that could work man.” Said Billy.
Jack gave a defeated sigh, but Billy interrupted him.
“But sometimes, you have to surrender to the current, rather than trying to change its flow.”
“What’re you talking about?” asked Jack.
“Oh come on, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve seen you stand up for Amelia more times than I count. You were always there for her when she was bullied, or when some dog chased her. You always stayed by her side when she went to play outside. So much so that even Amelia was irritated by it. You were always fearless when it came to protecting Amelia. What’s stopping you now?” asked Billy.
“What?” asked Jack with a perplexed tone.
“I’m suggesting that you should do what you’ve always done Jack. Be her overprotective and irritating brother. I’ll let you have some time to think.” Said Billy, as he left.
After thinking about what Billy said for about an hour, Jack felt like he finally realized what he had to do. He smiled as he left the cliff and walked toward home.
Two weeks later, Amelia wrote her final exams and left before graduation. She had made all the preparations for joining the army beforehand. Although she found it odd that Jack didn’t attempt to stop her after their last discussion, she didn’t mind. She assumed Jack didn’t talk to her because he was angry. The day before recruitment started, Amelia went and got her hair shortened, as she considered how her hair might get in the way of her duties. The next day she went to the recruitment office located in the north side of the city. She found a long line waiting for the recruitment process and much to Amelia’s dismay, she was last in line. It took a good two hours before she went into the office. She found herself in front of two recruiters, a man and a woman, both of whom seemed to be in their thirties.
“Amelia Foster, is it? Welcome to the ‘Outlanders’ Army special division, tasked with saving all of humanity from the invading monsters. Do you have the necessary documents and paperwork in order?” asked the female recruitment officer.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Replied Amelia with confidence.
“All right, you will have to write the AFQT held on the eighth of this month. You will have a waiting period of at least a month before you get your acceptance, after which you will be able to join the ‘outlanders’. Of course, you will need a high enough score to join the ‘outlanders’. We only take the best.” Said the female recruiter.
“Yes ma’am. I understand.” Said Amelia.
“Good.” Said the female recruiter before turning to her partner.” She’s the last one right?”
“No, there is one last person who was on the recruitment list. I wonder where he is.” Said the male recruiter.
Just then a voice came from behind.
“Sorry, I’m late. Got stuck in traffic.”
Amelia turned around and gasped in shock. A charming young man was standing at the door. He had caramel-colored, well-combed hair. His eyes radiated energy and they were the same shade of brown as Amelia's. He had a partially defined jawline and a smooth-shaven face. He approached the hiring desk and gave the man working there his paperwork
“Jack Foster, is it?” asked the male recruiter.
“Yes, sir.” Said Jack with a wide smile.
Amelia was completely speechless throughout the entire explanation of the recruitment process to Jack by the male recruiter. She never expected to run into Jack at the recruitment office, much less apply for the same division as Amelia. Amelia and Jack left the workplace after the male recruiter was done.
“I like your new look, Amy. You look like Mom.” Said Jack with a wide smile.
“What the heck Jack? I didn’t expect you to be applying for the army.” Asked Amelia.
“Well, I realized I can’t stop you from joining. But that didn’t mean that I was gonna let you do it alone. So I decided to surprise you.” Said Jack with a wide smile.
Amelia was still dumbstruck as Jack continued.
“You were right Amy. I was a coward. I was scared of that monster. But Billy helped me realize what I had to do. So you better be prepared. ‘Cause I’m gonna be the really irritating and overprotective brother you always knew.” Said Jack with a smile that radiated energy. Amelia laughed at this as they both walked home.