To give you an idea of what this story is like, I composed a little summary for you all:
How would you live in a nuclear wasteland that used to be your beloved earth? Can four mere teenagers endure the emotional strain of searching for other survivors, with the struggle of survival lying heavy across their backs? Can they cope with the fears of radiation poisoning, not to mention the dreadful idea that they just might be the very last humans on the face of the Earth?
This is my very first Fic posted on any website. I've written pieces of other stories but this is the first time I've submitted anything to a board like this. So, yeah. Reviews are extremely, extremely wanted and appreciated. I'm not sure about the title yet either. So, any suggestions or anything would be really nice. Oh, and this might not make much sense this first chapter because it's really the prologue, showing just how everything came to be of sorts, and the next chapter will introduce the next two characters (the president isn't one of the main characters, nor is the president's advisor, regardless of them having a whole scene to themselves)...and will kindof jump to the actual tragedy and conflict of sorts.. flashbacks will be provided to explain everything of course....hehe. So. Here is the first chapter....hope you like. It's rather short....but it is the prologue.
Humanity Reborn
Prologue
by erirose
Rating: PG for the first chapter, for some swearing. For the rest of the chapters I'm not sure yet. (granted, I haven't even written them yet. The ideas are all up here. *points to head*)
Prologue
"...Oh...dear...." Showing an uncharacteristicly large amount of uncertainty, the newscaster read off a freshly printed news bulletin, "...just in, Congress has just approved the President's decision to declare nuclear war upon Reh. We expect to have more details within the hour, so please stay tuned on channel..."
A muted wail resounded through the small, cramped room and the sound of many heads hitting desks in despair echoed throughout as the teacher reached up shakily to press the red 'off' button on the tv.
"Well...I do believe...that we're at war, people. Not much to it, really. We should get back to our schedule as normal."
A soft derisive snort could be heard in the back of the room, shortly followed by a wry voice.
"Dammit! Have you all gone entirely senseless with shock? This is NUCLEAR warfare. ONE good-sized bomb and this whole friggin' country could be blown to microscopic proportions! And we're just going to SIT HERE and...and...what, prepare to....die? Horribly, no less, either by instantaneous boiling blood and brain matter," A few people winced at the vivid description painted by the boy with unkempt brown hair, but he continued, quite unaffected. "or possibly slowly and rather painfully, from radiation poisoning!"
The frantic whispers already apparent in the room rose to a hazy din as the boy known by his friends as Alleio concluded his speech.
But another, rather loud, student's voice entered the vocal fray.
"Dude, there isn't much we can do but complain, now is there? Gods, we're only in highschool! Besides...maybe there won't be need for actual nuclear bombs..it's just Reh!"
"Don't be such a freakin' idealist, Rog. This is the twenty-first century and, my god, it's Bartoli at the head of the country here. I mean, do you remember reading about the War On Terror back in '01? With that George W. Bush guy? That whole fiasco was simply becuase of a few thousand people dying. And the umm.."Weapons of Mass Destruction" which they claimed to have. This isn't going to be much different. Just much more deadly, and much more stupid."
"Just...well...um..." The student called Rog seemed to shrink in size and volume and backed down, realizing this wasn't a fight he was going to win.
At this choice interval, the teacher found his voice once again and called for order.
"Okay, people, chill out. I think we should, for the time being, take our minds off of current events and focus on the past. Now, who can tell me who the founder of Buddhism was?"
*****
Meanwhile, in the Oval Office, a graying man with a slightly cherubish nose and ice blue eyes beneath bushtail eyebrows rubbed the bridge of his nose disgruntledly.
One of the President's many advisors spoke up. "Mr. President. Are you sure it is...wise.... if I may put it that way.... to bring the country into such imminent danger?"
"I don't see any other way, Maston. They have terrorized us repeatedly, refused our offer of treaty, and now threaten to pummel us with their 'weapons of mass destruction'. "
"With all due respect, sir, you say it hesitantly. A possible reason why?"
"More or less, it's a bluff. A bluff I'm not so sure will work, but at this moment it is, quite simply, the only choice we have. Be that as it may, we won't fire nuclear weapons unless absolute need occurs."
"Need such as....?"
"Such as if they fire upon us with the atom-splitting bombs they claim to have. If they do not have their so-called weapons of mass destruction, they will obviously not be a threat, and the war declaration will be receded and a treaty be made."
"Sir, war declarations cannot be so easily taken back, and you said, Reh is not exactly welcome to treaties and other some such. And do take into mind the fact they might actually HAVE said weapons of destruction, and then what will happen?"
"This is more than likely going to be a minor repeat of what happened back in '01. You remember, of course. The War on Terror? With Bush? Yes. No weapons were found. But, in case Reh really does have weapons, and they choose to fire upon us, then we will fire right back at them. Our missiles have range enough to reach them."
Maston sighed.
"Sir, this is mostly your decision, and while I must respect that, I will leave you with a thought...such actions may rip the world in two....quite literally."
As the heavy oak door of the office closed with a thump of finality the President let his stern, blank facade slip and dropped his head into his hands.
"I know that," he whispered, the sound slightly muffled by his large, calloused hands, "but the choice is made and there was nothing else to do.."
*****
"Mom! Home!"
"Oh, Mariame, did you hear the news???"
The 5' 4", hazel-eyed girl with curly auburn locks standing in the doorway looked up to see her mother sitting at the table nervously fidgeting with a lace doily. She was mildly shocked to see the brown eyes filled with tears. No expression showed on the girl's face as she dumped her packful of books on the floor, shortly to be followed by a stained blue coat.
'Jeez...everyone's making such a damned big deal out of this warfare thing...it's happened before, and it's not like the stupid Rehis have any dumb weapons of mass destruction anyway...the only thing that will happen is that we'll end up dead with our brains boiled, and that's if Bartoli is stupid enough to send the first bomb.'
"Mom? Yeah, I heard the news."
'Heard it? They had it going live in every freakin' classroom, for god's sake..everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off...talk about maddening...'
"So. What's gonna happen now? Is Bartoli gonna bomb Reh into submission or what?" she remarked nonchalently, snapping open a can of Cherry Coke and sipping it.
Her mother shook her head sadly at the small grip on reality her daughter had. This was serious, more serious than anyone could ever imagine...if Bartoli even thought there was the slightest chance that that damned country had the weapons it claimed, and he threatened them... then America as we know it would be dead in a second, either from Reh's bombs, 'Which do exist..', she thought fervently, or from some other country with the resources to wipe us off the face of the earth, had they only to choose to defend Reh...
She shook her head, clearing the disturbing thoughts from her mind. In desperate need of distraction, she turned back to her daughter, who was now ripping open a bag of fudge dipped animal crackers, she spoke.
"Do you want to go to that one shop I told you about? The one with all the gemstones?"
The girl's slightly pointed ears that ran in her family seemed to perk up a bit with that statement, and taking a last sip of her Coke and shoving a third cookie into her mouth, she jumped up from her perch and ran out the door.
*****
---ahh. Yeah. it still kinda sucks and is rather really short and i have a LOT of details to work out---but for now this is just a trial prologue. i'll post the second chapter soon as i get it written. which hopefully won't take more than a week. i wrote this in one night, when inspiration struck. hopefully i can continue this one. review, please!---
Humanity Reborn
Moderator: Melville's Best Friend
