#dystopien

[marshmallow-xphile]

Terminator skull :-)

[anachromancy]

On the prowl.

[jlpat82]

Not Out Home

Prologue/Chapter 1

A hundred years ago the human race did the unspeakable, bombs were dropped. Most of the population wasn't prepared for it and millions died as a result. The entire top side of the planet was laid to waste, the land is barren. Constant blowing of hot radioactive winds whip up dust and sand, changing the landscape year by year with large sand dunes. Storms are a constant reminder that our ancestors messed up, these storms drop acidic rain on the soil contaminating it further. Everything that society had known, had become accustomed to was gone in the blink of an eye. Life as they knew it, gone.

You're probably wondering how I know all of this. A small sect of the government foresaw the dropping of the bombs and acted accordingly. They built large complexes made of reinforced materials, not only to withstand the blast but also the inevitable fallout. Small buildings out cropped amongst the wasteland of a landscape. Connect by tunnels underground, and tubes above ground. These tubes are serviced every four years by volunteers, as the blowing sand weakens the tubes reinforced plexiglass. Last year was the last fix year.

I was born in one of these complexes seventy years after the bombs stopped. Growing up in school we learned what life used to be like, what the trees looked like. We learned about the animals that inhabited our planet, what day to day activities those before us did. What I'd give to have been alive during that time. To feel a fresh breeze on my face, to put my feet in a stream.

Everything is recycled, the air that is pushed through our ventilation system is recycled, as is our water. It's collected, purified, and rebottled. And don't get me started on the food.

Why does any of this matter you ask? Well, as a dreamer of times gone by I take the long route wherever I go. I walk through the plexi tubes, staring out imagining what it would be like to take a step out there.

When I saw human foot prints on the outside of the tube and large hand prints on the side I was a little more then startled. We have been told time and time again how toxic the air is outside the walls of our compound. Nothing is said to be able survive out there without the proper suits, even then four hours tops.

Chapter 1

I watched as the sands swirled in and around the steps, slowly covering them. They were definitely human, and large at that. Whoever had made them must have been heavy as the prints themselves were deep. I raised my hand to compare the handprint to mine. My hand was dwarfed by the size and I am no small woman.

I stepped back, dumbfounded, here was someone's feet and hand prints but I saw nothing leading to them or away. It was like they had materialized and vanished back into thin air. I surveyed the tan landscape before me, nothing out of place. Slowly I turned and continued my short walk to work

I work at store the sells the staples of life, preprocessed dinners in four flavors. These bricks came in chicken, beef, pork, and what's that. It's something you just can't quite put you're finger on. Some people say it taste like lamb, others say fish, hence the reason I call it what I do. None of us alive today have tasted true lamb or fish, then again we have never tasted beef, pork, or chicken either.

We also sell bottled water, and a lot of it. Our store also sells clothing, all identical. The same black pants and a polo that comes in four colors, dusty grey, dull blue, dark sand, and white.

When I say our life is boring that is no understatement.

"Julianne, you're late!" Elise, my coworker and best friend stumbled through her whispered words. "You're like never late."

"I was walking the tubes." I caught sight of my boss out of the corner of my eye, so I quickly shut myself up.

"Julianne!" He bellowed, waddling over on short stubby legs. His hair combed over his balding crown. When I said our food was crap I wasn't referring to everyone, just us in lower class. "This is the only warning I'll give, don't not be late again or I'll have them reassign you to the factories."

Elise and I watched as he grabbed a box off the table to our left. He tucked it under his short arm, resting it against one of his rolls. He turned and toddled back to the front of the store favoring his right foot.

"One day I hope he chokes on a sandwich." Elise hissed, crossing her arms.

"Most likely a stroke or a heart attack." I replied, walking into the stockroom. When I said earlier about the whole bricks coming in four flavors that only goes for lower class, like Elise and I. Fat cats like my boss, Robert, are considered upper class. They have a wider variety of foods to chose from.

He was from a wealthy back ground. His grandparents were some kind of oil tycoons before the bombs dropped and they paid a pretty penny to get in the complex. Which pretty much cemented him into a life of luxury. He can go places only other upper class can go. Places I could only dream of.

"Yeah, but choking on a sandwich would not only be far more entertaining but a fitting death as well. Anyway back to your tube story." We loaded a dolly full of boxes with the same dull clothes we were wearing.

"Right, the tube. It's was weird, I saw handprints on the side and foot prints on the ground. But there wasn't any leading to or away from the spot. Like they were dropped there and sucked back into whatever black hole they came from."

"And?" She asked excitedly, I met her eyes. I've been known to make up stories of the could of, would of, should of beens.

"I'm serious, this isn't a story." Fictional books have all been banned. The elites are worried that it'll implant ideas in the lower class that it's safe outside. Thus leading them to opening the compound doors. Not going to lie, I may or may not have a few illegal copies.

"You know as well as I do nothing survives out in that wasteland." She sighed, folding some shirts as she put them on the table.

"But what if something could? It would mean everything everyone knows is wrong."

"Would it be awesome? Certainly, cause no more Pudgy McPudgerson ruling over our lives but it's just not possible. The air is radioactive, so it can't breathe. The water is toxic, so it can't drink and nothing grows out there so no food." She shook her head, blonde hair whipped about. "The outside cannot sustain any kind of life."

"But what if they're wrong? What if they just think the air is still bad?"

"Jules, you go topside, you've seen the Geiger meter."

"Yes, I know and the numbers have never changed. What if it was damaged by the sands, and it's been broken this whole time?" I replied in a hushed tone as someone passed behind us.

"I'm sure they have someone who does maintenance on it, just like the tubes."

"I've been walking the tubes since I was ten. I've seen the crews six times fixing them and not once have I seen anybody doing work on the meter." Grabbing her by the shoulders, I looked her dead in the eye. "Something or someone was out there."

"Okay, fine, I'll humor you. So someone was out there. Where did they go? You said you saw no other prints. So where did they go?" Dang it, she had a point. I let her go, letting out a deep sigh. I felt my shoulders sag. "I don't mean to be mean, but, think about this logically?"

"You're right. It must have been a figment of my imagination." I dropped it, I knew I couldn't make a good point, at least not logically.

The rest of the day was spent stocking shelves and me trying to wrap my brain around the prints. Maybe I had been seeing things earlier or could the wind have displaced the sands to resemble foot prints. That wouldn't account for the handprints on the glass though. The last fix was just over a year ago, surely those would of been washed off in the rain. Then again could the gloves from the protective suits even make hand prints.

I was still deep in thought as I reached my locker. Absentmindedly I retrieved my jacket from it's depths.

"Earth to Jules." Elise waved her hand in front of my face.

"Huh? Sorry, I was thinking."

"Are you taking the tunnels home?" She enquired grabbing her purse.

"Not tonight, I'm going to take the tube back."

"Is that even safe?" Her brows knitted together as her voice raised a notched. There have been rumors of criminal activity that happens in the tubes at night. I have never seen it personally, nor have I ever met anyone who has been attacked either. Normally I don't take them at night, there aren't any lights in them so when the moon is gone or a storm rolls in it's pitch black.

"I'll be fine. Anyway, I'm running low on fare." I responded, shutting my locker. We walked to the front of the store together, Elise shook her head.

"I can spot you, I really don't like the idea of walking them at night." She paused, I turned to my friend, her face was etched with worry.

"Really, I'll be fine."

"Fine, since I can't get you to change your mind, will you at least call me when the home? Just so I won't stay up half the night worrying."

"Okay, mom." I teased, I pushed the door handle to the tube entrance as we parted ways.

I stepped out into the darkness, I inhaled a deep breath. Calmly I started my journey home, my foot steps echoing off the walls. I could hear the faint whisper of the sands as they whipped across the plexiglass. The path before me barely illuminated by the small sliver of moonlight that peaked around the edge of the clouds that were slowly rolling in.

I pulled my pepper spray from my pocket, yet another illegal item that I had acquired. The things you can get your hands on when you know the right people. I had only recently started carrying it after Robert had made a pass at me. He didn't like my response to his advances.

Slowly the tube began to darken completely. It didn't take long before I was surrounded by the inky blackness of the night. I took a slow breath trying to still my heart rate.

There is something about walking in the darkness that preys on your subconscious. Makes you aware of stuff that isn't really there. You see and hear things that aren't real , it's almost like it's hardwired into our DNA. Pareidolia, that's the name for it. Seeing a face in the curtains or hearing a phone ring while the shower is running.

I thought I saw something out of there as I continued walking through the tube. Whatever it was it was a good distance out, it might have been the silhouette of person I really couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, it seemed to be keeping pace with me.

I stopped, my heart slowly accelerating, as I took step to the tube wall. I pressed my face to the cool glass and wrapped my hands around my temples. Nothing just a dark void of nothingness was on the other side.

I had to have been seeing things. If it was out there, it had stopped moving and was no longer visible. I heard a plink on the ceiling of the tube, quickly succeeded by other. I couldn't see, but I knew it had started to rain. I dropped my arms to side and sighed.

I continued my walk home, my fingers gracing the cold glass for guidance. I listened to the song of the rain as it cascaded down from the heavens. Wondering if the droplets were cold or warm. A green bolt danced lazily across the sky. In that flash, I stopped dead in my tracks. The silhouette was still out there, parallel with me, I saw it just out of the corner of my eye.

Thunder rolled, as my heart leapt in my throat threatening jump from my body. My hand tremble against the wall, I knew I saw it. My mind was not playing tricks on me, something was out there. Another green flashed etched itself through the clouds, he was closer this time. He was watching me.

I took a deep breath as the air crackled with a loud rumble. I braced myself, willing myself not tremble as I again stepped up to the tube wall. I placed my shaking hands on the wall completely as I turned.

The sky lit up again, and he was standing before me on the opposite side of the glass. His dark brown hair hung just short of his massive shoulders, stringy from the rain. Mahogany eyes bore down upon me with curiosity. The thunder reverberated through the tube before the lighting had stopped.

It is at this point I wish I could say I stood transfixed, and excitedly watched the watcher watching me. Alas, I did what any normal, healthy person would do. I stumbled back screaming, losing my footing in the process and landed on my rear.

In hindsight, this was not the smartest thing I have ever done. Remember earlier how I said I could hear my own footsteps as I walked? Well, if you have stuck your head in a enclosed glass box and screamed you would know that that amplifies the sound.

Needless to say, my ears were ringing as I sprang to my feet and rushed down the hall. It was disorienting, running in complete darkness with a lazy green strobe light going off. I tripped a couple of time, my heart hammering hard in my chest, attempting to break free. Too scared to turn around to see if he was still there, I ran full speed down the enclosed corridor.

I didn't realize how far down the tube I was, but when my face greeted the door I figured out I must of been half through by the time I saw him. In retrospect, I'm really surprised I didn't knock myself out.

I threw the door open to my building and sprinted up the four flights of stairs. I pulled my keys from my pocket as I reached my apartment, the key shook in my trembling fingers. Finally I was able to get it in the lock. I turned the knob, threw open my door and slammed it behind me. I turned the thumb lock, re-locking the door behind me.

My lungs burned with that raw feeling as I sucked in air. My chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. I have no idea why I ran for my life, it's not like he could get in the building. All doors to the outside were locked and secured, there was no way in.

"What the heck Julianne?" My sister, Sasha, came bounding around from the kitchen to the living room.

"There was," I took a deep breath, locking eyes with confused woman. "Someone out there."

"Uh, yeah, that's what happens when you go to work. There's lost of someones." She smirked, leaning against the wall.

"No, outside." I rushed the window looking down, lighting lit up the sky but the ground was to far away to make anything out.

"Yeah, as I said there are people outside as rule." She jested, watching me in amusement.

"No, I mean outside outside. Not out side our place." I almost shriek, point out the window. "Out there!"

"What?" She rushed over the window, peering out. She turned and looked me, her eyes narrowed as her brows scrunched up. "I don't see anything, I think you hit you head to hard."

"No, I saw him first, then I hit my head."

"Oh, so now it's him?" She grinned, folding one arm over the other.

"Look, I saw foot prints this morning, on the outside of the tube." I stressed the second half of that statement before she could make another joke out of it. "And now I've seen him. How is this possible?"

"It's not, are you sure you saw someone? It's really dark out there." Her face was puzzled at my indignation, I didn't blame her. What I was saying didn't make any sense.

"I saw him when the lighting was going off, not just once or twice but three times. And one of those times he was as close me as you are." I looked back out the window, trying to wrap my mind around the whole ordeal. The phone rang somewhere behind me as I scoured the ground.

"Hey Elise." I heard Sasha in the kitchen. "She's home. And going on about some guy she saw outside the tube.'

'I know, I know. I'm still trying to calm her down right now. She's shaken up pretty good at the moment." I glanced over my shoulder at my sister, sighing heavily. I gave up and wandered back to my bedroom. Trying to explain this to either of them wasn't going to work.

I laid down on my bed, staring up at the white ceiling. His face flashed through my mind. He seem just a surprised to see me as I was of him. I know one thing, I was going to walk the tubes tomorrow to find him again, even if the meant all day

Permanent tag-

@kitkatkl @devilbat

[bookobsessionsgalore]

"Heroism wasn't about what you could do, it was about what you did. It was about who you saved when they needed saving."

-Marissa Meyer, Renegades

[gegendensatz]

Gäbe es ein Fundament und Gründe für Vertrauen zwischen den Menschen, wäre niemals ein Staat entstanden.

Karin Boye: Kollocain. Btb 2018, S.143.

[spellyourguts]

Neu einsortiertes Bücherregal 😊 Das sind meine drei Lieblingsregalbretter (von oben nach unten):

High Fantasy, Dystopien+Sci-fi und (fast nur) Urban Fantasy

[bookklempt]

“I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

[kvndnlworld]

Humanidad...

Qué dificil es en la actualidad que alguien sepa el concepto de sér humano. Confundimos con facilidad o desconocemos(Porque me incluyo) lo que nos hace únicos, coherentes y excepcionales como seres vivos.

La creatividad, la individualidad, la independencia y vivir experiencias son conceptos que se han malversado con el tiempo incluso, para muchos... conceptos vacíos y básicos. En un mundo dónde cada vez todo es más automatizado y enfocado en la tecnología, debería surgir tambien, como nuevas ramas de ciencias tecnologicas e informaticas surgen a diario para facilitarnos nuestra vida, una cienca mejorada de la rama de HUMANIDAD. Esta a medída que vaya avanzando, la otra siga a la par.

Nos volvemos cada vez más mecanicos, más dependientes y menos autodidactas. Damos por hecho que el internet lo sabe todo, que aunque sea el mejor medio de almacenamiento, distribucion y creacion informacion, no implica que sea el unico. Hay algo que la tecnologia, aunque nos ayude, sume en dichas áreas, nos quita poco a poco... La sensibilidad, la creatividad, las sensaciones y la esencia de lo humano.

Hoy en día los chicos ya no juegan en el parque, juegan con sus consolas; cambiando completamente por un entorno de realidad virtual.

Hoy en dia las redes sociales, aunque útiles, nos hacen menos sociales.

Hoy en dia la creatividad está en tipear lo que queremos, como lo queremos y dejar que el resultado de la busqueda sea nuestro resultado final.

No le decimos a la persona que nos gusta si nos vemos bien, esperamos que presione "ME GUSTA" a nuestra foto, nuestra publicación.

Ya no leemos un libro, buscamos el mismo contenido en un EBOOK, un audiolibro, para facilitarnos el no entender el contenido...

"Las emociones se vuelven escasas, cada vez somos más mecanicos. No dejemos que las nuevos mares de tecnologias nos vuelvan mas deserticos como seres emocionales"

Kevin E.

Ilustraciones de Asaf Hanuka