writing While I was offline...

[Nightfall 3,950]

So, while I was off and had no internet, I added to the first story, Lost Hope: A Tale of Revolution, and started writing A New Mind (Sunrise).

Please, let me know what you think. Honest and harsh criticism are encourage.

 

 

 

 

Lost Hope: A Tale of Revolution

 

 

 

 

 

I sit alone against the wall. The alley is dark and the rain is cold. The thin sweater and baggy pants don't help. My wings barely shield anything.

One word describes this: miserable. And all these high class people in the skyscrapers around me will never feel my pain. They should. Everyone should, just to show them how lucky they are.

I stand up and almost collapse. The scraps from the trash aren't filling. The hour of sleep isn't refreshing. One can only sleep during the day as he or she hides. But the noise...

I walk into the open, empty street. Everyone is enjoying themselves indoors. They have fun, I scavenge, usually finding nothing.

"Hey!" A guard. Sweet. "You! Stop!" I stop and face him. "Wait... You're-" He chokes to death, falling into a puddle in the middle of the street. I haven't moved. Because I'm Solara.

 

 

Down I go. Level 5. I mean, Level 1 is the best, most high-class level out there, but there’s nowhere to hide. The lower levels progressively get worse, yes, but Level 5 is the best level to hide in and still barely get by.

When the elevator finally stops, I walk out alone. No one else from Level 1 ever wants to go to Level 5. “And,” I think to myself. “They would be right not to ever head down this way.” Because I look up and can’t see the highway network of Level 4. The smog blocks it out, leaving just a gray glow from above. The alley the elevator is in is empty. I step out of the alley. A bit too fast.

“Watch it!” Yup. Crowded. And the buildings look like they haven’t been maintained in years. “Stop staring and move!” I move. There is a buzz of activity everywhere. I must have entered the market place. I move off and try to locate something. Anything. I just need to get out and find a home. And that other Magisi…

I turn briskly and walk the other direction. When I look back, I see him following me. His wings, his bag, hovering by his side. There is no other human species that can do that. Only four of us existed once… then someone named Nightfall died in a flying “accident.” But this one looks like how he was described as. And he keeps following me. I turn left into an alley way and break into a run. I just gotta get out of here alive. He is still following. And the next right I make is a dead end. Great. I turn around to find him here. “Solara.” Everyone knows my name. “Solara, listen.” I don’t want to, but there’s nothing else to do. “Hey, I know how you feel. Running from the government and all.” I doubt he knows how I feel. “Come back to my place. I’ve got a friend named Shadowblast who can help.” I’m trapped by a feeling… he is a Magisi. He turns and walks back to the market place. I can only follow. My mind screams at my legs to stop, but they move anyway. Into a rundown building, up some rickety stairs, down a dank, dark hallway. We reach an old door. He opens the door, and I find a room that is cleaner than I expected. The table looks nice, and the appliances are in somewhat good shape. A Flyer comes out of a room. “Who’s this?”

“Solara,” the Magisi replies.

“How’d she get here?”

“Dunno. I was just about to ask. Have a seat, Solara.”

I just stare at him. Blankly. Wondering who he is, why he is doing this, what he wants. My mind races. I say what is on my mind. “Who are you?”

“Well, as I said, the Flyer is Shadowblast, and…”

“Not him. You. Who are you?” He hesitates.

“Me… well, I’m… I’m Nightfall.”

 

 

My heart races. Nightfall. The “dead” Magisi. Right in front of me, as alive as I am. Rumors had been spreading of Nightfall returning, or at least a look-alike, trying to raise a revolution against the government.

“Are they true? Are the rumors true?” I gotta know.

“Rumors?” Nightfall laughs. “Which rumors? There are plenty going around. The government falling apart, you dead-”

“You know which rumors, Nightfall. The ones about you returning to revolt.”

Nightfall sighed. “Yeah, I know about them. For the most part, they are true. But I’m not quite sure about the revolt part yet. I’m just in hiding from the government.”

“Everyone knows that. Eventually, they will find you and make sure you are dead.”

The Flyer stepped forward. He looked good, I admit know. “Look, Solara. We’ve realized that. And so we’ve been a part of a plan. We-”

“How do we know she’s not some governmental spy?”

Shadowblast came closer to me. He looked at me, cocked his head a bit, then walked behind me. I sensed something was about to happen to me. All lights in the building went out for a brief second. When they turned on, I was across the room.

“I don’t like being touched against my will.”

Shadowblast looked at Nightfall and nodded. Nightfall sighed. “Go on. Tell her.”

“We figure- well, Nightfall, me, and some friends- can get into the castle and break the princesses out. But we need a distraction in the form of a party. The nearest party takes place a week from now. We’re waiting…”

“Ah. Who are these friends?” I want to help, but don’t want to ask right now.

“You want to meet them? It’d be easier if you met them instead of us explaining them to you.”

“Fine.” Shadowblast walks out of the room, and I stand up. “We going somewhere?”

“Shadowblast is going to call them now. They’re coming here. Meanwhile, you want coffee or something?” Nightfall seems to be really nice… maybe a bit too nice. I look him up and down quickly.

“Sure.” Nightfall walks out of the room, and I sit back down. I finally take notice of my surroundings. It’s a rundown apartment with very poor furniture. The couch sags deep under my weight, despite the fact that I’m really light. The other two chairs are worn out, and the carpet looks threadbare. There are a couple of curtains, but they don’t block much of anything. There are a couple of more rooms, but I’m guessing that they are bedrooms, and entering them would then be invasion of privacy. There is no paint on the walls, and the ceiling looks a bit stained. There is an old TV on a box. Before I can take note of anything else, Shadowblast and Nightfall walk into the room together. Nightfall gives me my coffee. Black, like the night. I take a sip. It’s not the best coffee, but it’s a drink that I need. The room is silent as we drink our beverages. Until a knock on the door.

“I got it.” Shadowblast walks out of the room, only to return with another Flyer and a Sorcerer.

“Solara, meet Silverstorm and Shefira.” Shadowblast points to the Flyer and the Sorcerer, respectively. I nod hello.

“So, Shadow… what’s with the call? Is it about the plan and-” Shefira tilts her head slightly in my direction.

“Yes.” Nightfall answers this one. “Yes, it is. She wants to know what this plan is... maybe she can help us.”

“And how can she help?” Silverstorm. His voice. Deep, comforting, yet inquisitive.

“Anyway you want me to.”

“Look, Solara.” Nightfall turns and faces me. “The plan, as we told you, involves the capture of the princesses. I would like to ask- have you ever seen the inside of the castle before?”

I hesitate. I have, but should I just give it away. Thinking about how the government has treated me recently… “Yeah.”

An awkward pause, followed by a question from Shefira. “Can you give us any details?”

I wait a moment. Four pairs of eyes watch me like a hawk. “I can… if a deal can be made.”

“And what deal is that?” Silverstorm asks.

“I get revenge on the government.”

 

 

 

 

The spaces indicate where I stopped writing and will continue later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New Mind (Sunrise)

 

 

 

 

 

Room key, wallet, car keys, side bag, coffee… all check. Jack walked out of the room as the door closed behind him. Down the hall to the elevators, like almost every day. But today, he was treating himself to a spot of what was once called “driving.” Cars on wheels. Nearly extinct in the normal world, these vehicles were once everywhere. Flying around in hovercars was the new “thing,” though. Jack walked into the elevator. He was one of the lucky civilians who still had a wheeled vehicle. A Lamborghini Aventador… or something like that. Black. Shiny. In pristine condition, even two hundred years after it came out. Hard to believe it was already 2212 A.D. Anway, Jack had to get to work quickly. Thankfully, the once extremely used roads are now rarely used. Speed limits were raised on the roads themselves after the hovercar became mass produced. As Jack stepped out of the elevator, his car is one of the only ones still in the underground garage. Stepping into it feels like stepping into the past. As Jack turned the machine on and revved, he felt satisfied. In the old currency, it would be tens of millions of dollars. But he had gotten it cheap. $5.1 million in the old currency. Soon enough, he was on the road. Looking up, traffic in the sky was still pretty bad for 8 AM. They were going, what, 60 mph? But down below, where he was, Jack could cruise at 150 mph. Legally. Within minutes, he had reached his office. It was a short drive in his wheeled car. He parked it among all the hovercars that were pulling into the garage. People stopping, admiring the machine, then moving on slowly.

I walk into the building. The elevators are all really fast, so getting to floor 15 takes a couple of seconds.

“Ay, Jack.” I hear this getting almost everywhere. I’m not big in the company if you’re searching by rank, but I’m known throughout it because I’m the only one who has a wheeled car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will want extra characters later, so if a few of you want to, PM me with a name and small bio on a character you want to be in the story. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, if you did.