The Scattered

The weight from the plastic sea pulled against Ember’s legs as she struggled to run. Sweat poured down her dirt-crusted face as she gasped for air, choking down panic and searching for a way out. The Scattered were coming, and she had nowhere to hide.

Ember’s life was filled with isolation. Like many, her parents died from The Tide, an illness most adults contracted from prolonged exposure to microplastics in their bodies. Ember’s parents passed when she was just ten years old. Now, twenty-three, emptiness had become second nature.

She lived at a research center for a couple of years after her mother and father’s death and was cared for by a colleague that was a family friend. His son was just a couple of years older than her, and while they lived in a chaotic world, she found comfort in his friendship. When the Scattered took over the facility, the man managed to sneak her out, but he and his son were captured. No one survives the brutality of the Scattered.

“Girl! Girl!” a voice screamed from a distance.

Ember looked around, but all she saw was the Scattered closing in on her.

“Girl! Hold on! I’m almost there!” the voice screamed, getting louder with each word.

A jarring uproar thundered in her ears as her body was thrust into the air and onto the back of an ATV.

“The Sc...att...ered!”, Ember stuttered trying to remember how to speak.

“Hold on, ok!” the voice yelled as the ATV accelerated and flew off a crumbly dirt hill and into a cave hidden by plastic debris, garbage, and forgotten relics. The man turned off his ATV, moved a relic in front of the entrance, and stood back near Ember. The cave went silent.

“Gale, did you see where they went?” one of the scattered yelled to their leader.

“This is what my wife gets for being kind to that boy. Come one, they’re probably already gone.” Gale shouted as he motioned his men back to the plastic sea.

After a few minutes passed, Ember climbed off the ATV and backed away slowly from the man who just saved her life. This world doesn’t know kindness, and she assumed he wanted something from her in exchange for her life.

“How do..o you kn..now the Scat...scat..scattered?” she stuttered. Her language skills slowly started coming back.

“I’m Alev. What’s your name?” the man asked.

“How do..o you kn..now the Scattered? she demanded. “Is this..is a tr...trick?”

“No, no! Nothing like that. I can explain. I escaped from the Scattered a couple of years ago.” he explained.

“No one es...escapes the Scattered. Who ar..are you? She questioned, backing up against the cold, wet wall of the cave.

“I’m Alev. I was captured from Research Base 3 and enslaved by the Scattered.”

“Alev?...from Research Base 3,” Ember said, looking at the ground. “It can’t be...you died.”

“Died? Who are you?” Alev said, confused.

“I waited, I waited for three days. How can this...I don’t believe it…” Ember muttered under her breath, fixated on a rock on the ground laying next to the ATV.

“Ember? It can’t be! You’re alive!” Alev rushed over to Ember and held her.

It had been so long since Ember had been in the presence of another person. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been touched. Ember pushed Alev off of her.

“I’m sorry. I just...I’ve been looking for you. I thought...I thought maybe you had died or been captured by the Scattered.” Alev explained as he slowly backed away.

“I’m sorry. I just haven’t seen anyone other than the Scattered in a very long time.” Ember said, holding herself and looking at the ground.

“It’s ok. I understand I won’t touch you again without your permission. I’m sorry.” Alev said as he slowly backed away.

“Hey, how about we get something to eat, and you can clean up if you want. Follow me. I have so much I want to ask you.” He said as he pulled out a flashlight from the ATV and walked down a dark path of the cave.

“Ember hesitated but followed Alev.” At this point, what option do I have, she thought to herself.

The cave was dark and beautiful from what Ember could see with the bit of light from Alev’s flashlight. Long stalactites dripped water into small canisters on the ground. Purple amethyst glistened, catching Ember’s dark brown eyes with every shimmer. After walking for a few minutes, they reached an old wooden door.

“I think this must have been an old mine at some point. I stumbled upon it about a year and a half ago and have been hiding out here ever since. I haven’t explored it all yet. If, for some reason, the Scattered find this place grab a flashlight, run down the path to the right, and take the first left. It leads back to the plastic sea but in a location that the Scattered don’t really travel too much. It’ll be your best bet at getting away.” Alev said as he pointed to the path.

“Ok,” Ember said as she shook her head in agreement.

Alev opened the door and hit a large button on the wall, lighting up the room. “The bed I found at an old hospital. The sink at an abandoned mall and these lights are what are called Christmas lights. They are low energy, so I can run them for a long time. The ancients used to hang them up to celebrate some person they worshipped.” Alev said, pointing to objects around his tiny home.

“Wasteful.” Ember exhaled under her breath.

“Well, that’s kind of why the world is quite literally a mess. Here.” Alev said as he handed Ember some berries.

Ember took the berries and ate them as if this was the first time she had eaten in days. “Thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten anything other than mice and bugs.”

“Well, I have plenty of food to share, so no mice and bugs from now on.” Alev handed Ember the bowl of berries. “How are you alive? I’ve been looking for you for so long.” He questioned.

“I hid for three days in the old abandoned bunker, but after you and your dad didn’t show, I decided to move on. I didn’t want to wait too long and get captured. I thought...I assume you both were killed.” Ember said as she began to cry. "I'm sorry!"

“Hey, it’s ok. It’s good that you left. You couldn’t do anything for us. And you survived, and that’s what’s important. Can I hold your hand?” Alev asked.

Ember nodded yes.

Alev gently grabbed her hand. “If only my dad could see you. You know, he thought of you as a daughter. He would be happy that you survived.”

“What happened to you guys?” Ember questioned. “All I remember is being pushed through a window and waiting at the bunker.”

“Dad went back to get something that was important, and I followed even though he told me not to. We were caught by the Scattered. I was given to Gale’s wife as a slave, and my dad was taken to the field to work.”

“What happened to him?” Ember looked confused.

“He worked for a year or so and contracted The Tide. He died shortly after.”

Ember walked over to Alev and embraced him. He pulled her close. Ember felt strange being touched so intimately. Intrusive but welcomed. Unfamiliar but reminiscent. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling or reason for her boldness. She was scared of him, but the urge to be close to him was growing. His body smelled of seat and earth, and she breathed him in deeply.

“Once a week, I used to sneak him food when I picked up my mistress’s things from the market. And every week, he faded a little more.”

“How did you escape?” Ember questioned.

“Every year, Gale gives his wife one wish that he has to grant no matter what. It’s a sacred part of the Scattered culture, bonding the partnership between the tribes. She took a liking to me and gave me her wish. The Scattered can’t touch me. I asked for freedom among all the Scattered tribes. If they hurt me, then the tribal agreements will fall apart. I’ve been back a couple of times when things have gotten bad, and I needed things. His wife, Dara, gives me what I need for a price, and I occasionally scavenge things for the tribes in exchange for food and batteries. What about you?” Alev said as he walked over to a chair in the corner.

Ember sat on the floor and looked up at Alev. “I headed West and made it all the way to the real ocean. It wasn’t like the stories your dad read to us. It was black and filled with relics. So I headed back here because I didn’t know where to go.”

“Did you see anyone?” Alev asked curiously.

Ember responded quietly, “No, just the Scattered.”

Alev moved next to Ember and grabbed her hands, “It’s ok. I’m here now. We’ve found each other.”

Ember smiled at the serendipitous encounter of finding her old friend. “Before my mother died, she said I should find the heart of the earth and that a trusted friend would lead me there. When you guys didn’t show up, I thought I should look for this place, but I didn’t know where to go, so I kept walking. When I reached the ocean, I thought maybe I missed it, so I walked back hoping I would see something I missed the first time.”

“Ember, my dad told me the same thing,” Alev said as he stared into Ember’s eyes. “The day he died, I went and saw him. He gave me a journal and said to find you. That you held the key to finding the heart of the earth and that we should go together to be safe from The Tide.”

Ember looked at Alev, confused.

“Did your mom or dad leave you anything?” Alev asked eagerly.

Ember put her hand on her chest. “Only this.” She took a golden heart-shaped locket from under her shirt and let it shine in her hands.

“That’s the key! Ember, do you know what this means?” Alev said excitedly. “You have the key, and I have the map. We can escape The Tide and the Scattered.”

“What do you mean? What even is the heart of the earth?” Ember asked, confused.

“It’s the last remaining research center. Ground zero for the defense against The Tide.” Alev responded.

“But Ember, I...I traded the map to Dara for her wish. She didn't give it to me without a price. It was all I had worth of value, and the Scattered want to find it just as much as we do. They need it. I’m not sure why but it’s important to them.” Alev looked at the ground, ashamed. Ember remained quiet.

Alev put his head in his dirty hands, “If we want to find the heart of the earth, we have to steal the map from the Scattered.”

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Want to know what happens next? 100 hearts for part 2.

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