It's a new year and time for some new stories on my blog. I've been funneling most of my creative inspiration into working on my book. However, I did make time to write a short story. Also, if you have any ideas you would like me to try my hand at, just comment below and let me know :) I'm always looking for inspiration!
This story is on a positive note and draws focus to the possibility of hope and new beginnings. I'm not too fond of this piece, but I hope you can enjoy it anyway! Short enough to read in one sitting.
It
happened in the year 2100, right when the League of Nations celebrated 25 years
of peace. They never saw it coming. But with the push of a button the
world as we knew it went up in the smoke of nuclear destruction. Even the most
powerful Nations collapsed. No one survived. No one, that is, but those of us
who escaped into the Haven before the bombs went off.
Two hundred and seventy three
people all huddled in an underground city, knowing that they were the last of humanity.
The Builders ensured that the Haven could support life for hundreds and even
thousands of years—and it did. We survived here, you see, for many generations,
each clinging onto life until the radiation faded and the Surface could once
again sustain life.
The Growers preserved over five
thousand species of plants and twice as many animals, birds, and even insects. Everything
gathered and preserved to ensure the continuation of humanity.
We are the ninety-fourth generation of Survivors, and today is the
Great Day of Testing.
Is the Surface ready for our
return?
Liva
closed her journal and turned at the sound of the chiming bell. It’s time. All the Survivors would
gather in the Square to witness the Testing. She knotted her mess of curly hair
at the nape of her neck and pulled on her shoes.
Pulse
racing, she joined the throng of people moving toward the Square. She looked up
at the bright day-lights that shone over the entirety of the Haven. I wonder what sunlight would be like.
The descriptions in the records penned by the first Survivors filled her with
wonder. Tales of open fields of green as far as the eye could see, of a cool
breeze playing through her hair, and the warm touch of sunlight on her skin
thrilled her senses. Such a foreign and strange world the Surface must’ve been—she
hungered to see and experience it.
She entered
the Square, packed shoulder to shoulder with every living Survivor, just as the
President lifted the Tester—a small tree encased within a glass bulb—which
would be sent to the Surface. Silence filled the Square as the plant placed and sealed in the lift. Then it went
rocketing toward the surface where it would rest for twenty-four hours.
The
day passed in the silence of anticipation. Liva caught herself checking the
time, wondering about the tiny plant resting alone on long-forsaken Surface. On
the following morning, the people of the Haven gathered to witness the result
of the test. A muffled thud sounded as the lift
reversed and the Tester returned into the depths of the Haven. In
silence, the president retrieved the bulb and raised it to where the crowd
could see.
A
gasp resounded through the Square. The tiny tree’s leaves were green and
healthy—and the words at the base of the Tester glowed SAFE.
“Lift
the shield,” the President ordered in a voice of awe.
The
Haven shook with a great rumble as the cover protecting the Dome slowly rolled
back. A burst of dust filled the square, momentarily blurring Liva’s vision.
Then a bright golden glow streamed through the dancing particles of dust. Liva
lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the warm, blinding light.
“Sunlight!” the whisper of amazement from all around her,
“its sunlight!”
She
lifted her hands toward the light, laughing and crying with joy. The
Surface ready for their return.
© Copyright Charity K, 2014
