Drowning in Air

Drowning in Air- A Revelation

500 years ago, Mother World, also known as Earth, was stripped completely of its resources, the atmosphere collapsed, and the planet became nothing more than a dead and barren husk which forced us to evacuate all life that Earth has abandoned. When the first starships landed here, they immediately started making settlements and villages. Soon after, villages became towns, and towns became one new Utopia only known as Tovak-Xell. Over time, however. Something changed.

"The city of the damned, the lost, The Impure. That's what the Tovak called them, but to the rest of them, it was The City of Zool. 90 years of dust, sandstorms, and heat of the dual suns burdened this land, and yet, they found a way to survive. The All-Mother Spring in this harsh world became our lifeline. It was once told that the land was filled with plants, animals, and free-flowing water, but what seemed to come out of nowhere, the war began. Fire, ash, cannon fire, and screams of pain filled the air. The Tovak started this war for one thing and one thing only, control. My brother Jon and I were old 17 and 16 when the war began. Our Mother and father were both a part of the war, my mother was a nurse, and my father was a soldier for the resistance.

Before they left to join the fight, mother kissed our foreheads before placing us in the crawlspace and told her closest friend Mysana to watch us along with her daughter Kisa. Unsure of what was happening we all just sat there waiting for them to return. Little did we know the war would change our lives in an instant. From the crawl space from our home, I watched in shock as my mother was shot in her back. I looked into her tear-filled eyes as I watched the light faded away from them. A figure walked over to our mother, saw me, and smirked as he stood over her to finish his job. Sayonara kiddo was the last thing I heard before cries for her and my father scream from my throat, but I received only silence in return. That day forward Jon and I swore to find our father and get vengeance for our mother. Ten years passed from that horrific day. In that time, the tribe of Zool scattered into clans and then into massive districts. Mysana started our training. Combat, weapon repair, stealing, espionage, crafting, and interrogation. All were crucial for our survival.

The air is stagnant. The sand is coarse under their worn, tattered boots. their eyes were dry, from the harsh conditions their bodies were being forced to endure. The dunes were swaying and shifting with the howling winds. Their home, friends, and families were hundreds, if not thousands of miles away. A large sand storm forced them into a massive labyrinthian-like cave system known by many as The Crystal Coves. Along the walls and ceiling, crystals of all sizes and shapes glowed as the dim moonlight loomed through the gems. As they waited for the storm to pass, water and food began running scarce and their sanity wasn't far behind. Questions constantly berate his mind. How did I get us into this? Why were we entrusted with this task? Why now?

"How much longer do we have?" A small mousey voice echoes from within the bowels of the crystalline moonlit corridor.

 "A few days at best." a motherly voice replied.

 "Oh god, we're going to die in here!" echoes through the dim cavern.

 "Match, calm yourself." A powerful voice bellows from the other side of the cave. All was quiet and still, as footsteps can be heard approaching pinged loudly off the cave walls, echoing in the ears of the small group of travelers. A man in a tattered white shirt, weathered chrome goggles affixed to the top of his head, and aged black boots paced his way from the other side of the cave with his trench coat dusting away his footprints behind him with each step.

"We're only two days out from the rendezvous point. Brooks will be there at sun-down. Now everyone just, get some rest. We move at dawn." The small group attempted to rest but found it hard to sleep in the damp, cold cave. Worries and questions swirled in their minds about what they would find when they arrived in a few days. The cave rustled with the tossing and turning of the restless travelers as the walls of the cave threw back the sounds of moans and whimpers.