Futures Ruined

The sun’s warmth nestled itself against my cheek just before it’s light made me see red instead of the endless darkness of my sleep tight eyes. I winced just a little, turning away from the beaming rays and pulled my handwoven blanket over my head. Like a thorn to the back of my mind I remembered that today was the day. We would travel to the underworld and dig for the treasures of the past.

I hopped up with the quickness of a hare, rushing to put my clothes on as fast as possible. Sliding my shirt on, arms and head at the same time. With a floof my hair popped through the smooth cloth and I shuffled into my pants. Walking and putting pants on is harder than it looks, but I had to risk it, the excitement was too much. Mission successful, I slipped my foot coverings on and rushed down the stairs.With loud thumps booming through the house I heard my Mother yell.

“Charolette, slow down! You don’t want to get hurt on your big day.” I could smell the eggs she was already cooking on the pan over the fire grate.

“Mom,You know I’m light on my feet. It’s practically the reason they’re bringing me!” I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear. I turned the corner to the scent of fresh kale and onions being sauteed alongside the eggs.

“Eat quick and don’t forget to grab some of the fresh linens to scrub your teeth. We got a new salt mixture from Mr. Cole yesterday.” She said while bringing a steaming plate over to the oak kitchen table. I picked up my wooden spoon and stuffed my face with lightning momentum and precision, not even waiting for the food to cool. I could feel it burning as it went down the back of my throat, but I didn’t care. I finished, hopping up, and pushed the plate forward toward the center of the table before completing my morning routine.

“Oh yeah!? Leave me to run down to the stream and wash your plate huh?” she asked.

“Sorry Mom, I love you!” I replied, disappearing into the washroom.

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Gear strapped to my back I continued my mad dash to the dig site as fast as my short legs would carry me, each leap kicking up dirt behind me as I trotted along. Soon I could see the fallen structure, partially buried in the earth. You could see the decay around the base where the temple had crumbled. The United Americans must have been an amazing culture to build such huge places to worship and sleep. I could see the rest of the crew standing in front of the gaping entrance that led into the underworld. One of them saw me and called out.

“Hey Letty, we were starting to wonder if the young prodigy was going to make it or not!” he yelled.

“Good morning Marius! Are we ready to leap into the darkness for buried treasure!?” I asked him, brimming with energy. Marius’ kind eyes were accentuated with laugh lines carved by time. You could tell he had seen so much and even through the loss of his family to the Dwellers he found ways to laugh and teach us so much. He was the rock for our archeological team. Without him we wouldn’t have been able to learn so much about the old world.

“Go ahead and get behind Kaden, your group will be headed to Sector Six today. We’re putting everyone in pairs to ensure safety from the Dwellers. We haven’t seen or recorded any in this part of the Underworld, but we should still exercise caution.“ I tried to conceal my excitement as he said it. Sector Six was one of the least explored areas in the tunnel system. So much treasure to find!

“Yes!” I exclaimed, unable to keep my elation in any longer, Marius let a smile creep out from behind his dirty beard and waved me on to get in line. I hopped over to the spot behind Kaden kicking up a small cloud of debris as I hopped up and down in anticipation. He was tall in stature and could seem intimidating at times, but we had known each other as long as I could remember.

“Nice to see you too. Let’s get going so you can burn off some of that energy.” We broke off from the group at the entrance and traveled deeper inside. The fallen structures were so grand, but it was always interesting to see their uniformity. Every room was structured the same way with some sort of metal tubing connecting them to a central system. The hollow metal cylinders were now reddish brown and crumbling from oxidation. What kind of tools did they have to fabricate such intricate craftsmanship? Out of metal no less. The melting point for this material is very high, so crafting usable objects out of it can’t have been easy.

Finally we arrived at the break in the earth where the old structure broke through into the Underworld. This subterranean network was also somewhat manufactured by the United Americans, we aren’t quite sure what these tunnels were used for but there are fascinating places to be seen, some of which are almost pristine and haven’t been touched by the elements since before the Withering. I couldn’t stop thinking about finding someplace like that, a whole new world of information.

The light from the entrance was fading and the darkness was creeping in. Kaden lit his torch with the crack of flint.

“Okay, unexplored wonders here we come.” He said looking back at me. The smile had worn off of my face and although I was still enamored at the thoughts of discovery in the back of my mind I was still afraid of the unknown.

Before too long everything started to look unfamiliar. Parallel metal rails were the only thing we had to guide us. The fire bounced along the empty walls like spirits of a forgotten world staring back at us.

“I see an opening up ahead, I think we’re almost there!” I called out. My voice echoed back, startling me for a moment. The cavernous space opened up to a square room with dilapidated booths on either side and stairs leading to our destination. “Come on, let’s go!” I exclaimed, my energy overflowing with excitement once again.

“Slow down!” Kaden said in a harsh whisper as my footsteps clopped on the hard dust covered ground.

I emerged to what looked like a gathering hub and place of worship by the United Americans. Strange signs and small cave-like structures were dug into the walls and that’s where I saw it…

“Kaden, we found one!” The golden arches of fable. People would go there to eat food. One of the artifacts in the museum back home is a paper from one of these establishments. It says that they had over 40,000 locations around the world. “We have to go inside! Hurry up we’re going to need your torch.”

“Coming!” he responded, following hurriedly after me. The clear protective pane was shattered all over the ground so we were able to easily get inside.The torch caught a glint of light from a surface in the back. As I walked back I began to notice a familiar shape, a human shape. It was a skeleton, short hair clinging to it’s dried bones. There were fractures on the left side of it’s skull. Quite possibly the cause of death. Clutched in its arms was a journal and a golden locket in the shape of a heart. “This must be what was catching the light.” Kaden said, reaching down and sliding it out from the dead person’s grip.

“It looks like a journal.” I said, stealing it from him. I opened its cover and was pleasantly surprised how nimble the paper was. I began to flip through the pages staring at the beautifully written letters on the page until I couldn’t stop reading.

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June 27th, 2023

I bought it today, she has no idea. I’m so nervous. I know we’ve been together for five years, but will she want to take this next step? She is the most wonderful thing in my life and I don’t think I could live without her. What if she says no? Where do we go from there? Stay strong Corey, stay, stay strong.

She said yes! I can’t even explain how happy I am and how much of a relief it is that its over. No parachuteless base jumping for this guy! Now we start preparations. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. The love of my life and my best friend. I truly can’t imagine a world without her.

June 27th, 2024

This is it. Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce, that’s what Landon says, but I am going to do everything I can to make her the happiest woman in the world. She got me a gift last night, but says I can’t see it until we’re off at our hotel in Scotland. You can do this Corey, let’s go!

July 12th, 2024

We’re back, Madeleine and I had the most amazing time.It is definitely an experience I don’t think we’ll ever forget. We got to meet some of her distant cousins that she never knew she had. What a fun surprise. I never thought we’d get a homemade meal while we were over there. We met so many amazing people.

April 3rd, 2025

The world seems to be growing stranger by the day. There are more and more reports of some sort of biological weapon exploding in different parts of the world. Some areas are in complete radio blackout. It’s terrifying not knowing what’s going on. I thought we were past the worst of it after 2020. Madeleine and I are safe for now.

April 7th, 2025

The explosions rang out like thunder all over the city. There were so many people killed instantly in the initial attacks. We are safe for now. I’ve boarded up the windows and we have enough food and water in the house to last us awhile. I’m glad I stocked up when these rumors first started.

April 9th, 2025

I think Madeleine is sick. She’s sweating a lot, she won’t eat, and she won’t drink. She doesn’t seem to have a temperature.

April 11th, 2025

It’s getting worse, she won’t even get out of bed now. Her cheeks are sunken in, I can see her ribs, and I swear her skin is turning gray. There are sounds at night. I have even heard things crawling on the house. It’s like they’re trying to get inside.

April 12th, 2025

It’s not just sickness. She is changing. Her eyes have become whiter, the sockets larger. What is happening!? I’ve seen some of them now. Whatever they are roaming around outside, I think they used to be people.

She attacked me! It’s like she didn’t even recognize me anymore. I was only trying to protect myself. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I only grabbed the knife because I was afraid. I cracked my head on the dresser when we fell. There was so much blood and I feel so dizzy. I need to get out of here--

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The once pristine handwriting turned into mad scribbling and ended in a smear of blood. I could feel the tears streaming down my face uncontrollably. I closed the journal and opened the locket, there was a picture on both sides. One of a man and one of a woman. This was them. It had to be. They were beautiful. One of my tears splashed against the chain. Startled by the thought of damaging these treasures I put both items into my backpack. We finished our rounds and headed back up to the surface with one of the most important discoveries ever.