Civilization Beyond the Stars - discontinued

10

A/N Pls ignore any typos, or grammatical errors as i had written some part of it a long time ago and some today. 

Vote, Comment, Follow.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From the floor to length window on one side of the stairs, I saw night. The streetlamps suddenly switched off, so did the floodlights. No light was shining through windows of apartments. A dog barked in a distance. I continued on my way up letting my eyes adjust to the dark first. Standing on the top, leaning against the railing, I watched as lights went off everywhere one after another. A blackout. Beyond the vast expense of flourishing fields, the lights on the construction ground finally went off enveloping the whole area in darkness. Wind whistled from between the crops making an eerie swishing sound. The leaves of the crop turned by the wind looked like huge dark waves travelling across the land. There was no moon in the sky neither was it cloudy. Just a few wisps of clouds floating around in the night sky. A cool breeze flowed past, making the heat radiating from the scorched ground bearable. As I looked up to the cloudless sky, my breath hitched in my throat. The sky was glittering with innumerable stars. Never had I seen so many of them at once and certainly not in the heart of a prospering city. It was a wonderful coincidence that the blackout occurred at the exact moment when I came to the roof.

The stars were right here yet far away, as if taunting me of what lay beyond them. Of which, I had only caught a glimpse. But that glimpse promised more in the future. I longed to reach the stars and fly among them. The desire strengthened by the fact that now I knew it was possible. The spots of twinkling light in the dark night sky, as if whispering and taunting me of how I was stuck here. With a mere desire to reach to their level.

Alas! Good things don't last. As the society generator sputtered to work, the neighborhood returned to life. Even though the people were still asleep, lampposts along the road blinked on. Once again adamant on casting eerie shadows everywhere. Now, as I looked up, I noticed that many stars had faded behind the glare of lights. The ones that remained could have easily been counted on my fingers. I was a witness to light pollution. Expanding population, rapid urbanization. Gut feeling said, we would suffer, and humans had not a single clue on how much. The fate decided was far worse than our worst and most horrifying imagination. Global warming, pollution was not even a trailer to what lurked in the future. Humanity was headed into a trap.

With that none too cheerful thought, I turned to return before someone found out.

Again.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I attentively followed the movement of the soccer ball with my eyes, jumping on my toes with arms spread out in standard goalkeeper position. Body attentive with adrenalin buzzing, sharpening my senses. The striker expertly dribbled the ball, performing a perfect rainbow over the last defender as he glanced around the goal plotting a perfect finish. Another striker broke through the ranks of the last line of defenders waving at his teammate to pass. Not a professional player that one. If the first striker passed, it would be a foul as no passes beyond the last defender are allowed. But he knew better than to let a stupid mistake steal his hard-won chance at glory. Eyeing the free end of the goal, Aryan kicked the ball a little further in preparation of the final shoot as he came closer to the inner-d. Barely ten feet away. The defenders chased uselessly behind him in a vain attempt to wrench the ball away from aryan. My body tensed, preparing to dive as I ran over the possible trajectories of the ball and their respective responses in my head. As soon as he proceeded to take the final shot I noticed where he glanced realizing with dread that I couldn't possibly dive that far. He wanted to aim at the top corner on the opposite pole. It was impossible for me to stop this goal unless...

Praying for luck, I timed my jump right at the ball instead of a dive in its path. Closing my eyes, I braced for the impact of the ground, Aryan's foot and hopefully, the ball too. The ball slammed into my chest bouncing off before I literally hugged it as I slammed onto the ground with his foot connecting with my jaw somewhere in the action. I came back to my senses immediately locating the bearings of the ball thankful that it was still clutched tightly in my arms. Next, I checked myself over for any damages gingerly inspecting the right side of my jaw. Picking up my glasses from the ground, I proceeded over to the side with the rest of the players as the game came to an end. Many congratulated me for the save, asking if I was all right. Even Aryan came, departing with the same challenge he had issued since we were kids coming to play soccer. Our bond was strong, and friendship ran deep. We had first met on this very field, two lone kids carefree enough to come and play during exams. Though I was considerably better in studies, he head-on rivalled me in sports. Be it soccer or swimming.

As we parted ways, I pulled off my goalkeeping gloves, flexing and massaging the joints of my sweaty hands. Suddenly, Ken's image replaced that of the path in front of me. Cursing as I stumbled on my feet, I replied to Ken's bright "hey!" with a hastily mumbled "hi!" adjusting the glasses so I could clearly see in front of me.

"Hope you're doing well, Daniel. Just wanted to inform you that I'll send someone to pick you up today at around the same time as last time. Be ready in casual and comfortable clothes because I suppose you'll be doing some running around today." he said while ruffling around his desk in search of some papers with a frown on his face.

"so, will it be the council meeting or the academy?" I tried to say nonchalantly, resisting the desire to hop in excitement for the rest of the way till my apartment building.

Replying, "Both." He abruptly cut off the call. As for me, I pumped my fist in the air before continuing on my way with a smile I just couldn't wipe off my face.

But there was still a problem to be solved before I could relax and daydream about my time there. The problem that posed itself in the form of my suspicious family. I wracked my brain for solutions acutely aware of my time running out.

Finding a possible solution, I decided to take a detour and make a stop before going home. So, I went the other way, fishing my pockets for money.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N Where do you think Daniel is stopping? What will he do with the money? Will his parents discover him sneaking out? 

Give it a thought.