We are delighted to share the latest story by Theo, whose last story is also published in the Student Showcase section of the blog. Theo worked on this with Michael over several months before editing and revising it himself. It’s called Quantum Time...
(Please note that the unsual font used for Chapter 12 is deliberate and was Theo’s idea at a particularly significant turning point in the story…)
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Chapter 1: Lift Off
The engine rattled as the overhead speakers boomed with the instructions. Zipping on the seatbelt,my crew and I sat facing up into the sky.
THREE!
TWO!
ONE!
LIFT OFF!
The machine exploded with sounds so loud that no one could imagine. As we reached up to 8000 m/s the rockets returned back to the space station while our shuttle dashed off towards the never ending abyss. The heat from the sun radiated through the highly reinforced windows, bouncing off the metals on board. When we pierced right through the Earth’s atmosphere, gravity started to fail its job.
I flicked multiple switches and buttons; I signaled the team on Earth that we were ready for the next phase of the mission. Pushing the lever, I felt the gigantic amount of G forces exerted on me. Zooming around the planet, we reached 10000 m/s, then 100000 m/s, after 1000000 m/s. Pretty soon, we hit 299 792 458 m/s, the speed of light.
We were in the zone of no radio. Our radio waves would be distorted and extended by years due to the velocity we were moving at. Planets that orbited the sun began to fly past us until they were nothing but a ring of light to us. The lights on the surface of the Earth commenced to dance and morphed into different alien-like patterns.
Chapter 2: The Landing
As the aircraft tipped downwards, we slowed down enough to see Earth centuries after our time. Watching the altitude drop as we got closer and closer to the ground, we found out there was no place to land but a dense green forest full of hazardous spikey trees that would penetrate the shuttle. Although I was excited for the discovery of the future, I had a sickly feeling of the journey home.
The lustrous lime leaves swayed as the powerful wind sang its strident song across the biodiverse soil; the glaring sun shone its morning radiance. Swirling on the seabed, the ocean chimed to the wind’s song as it danced to the rhythm. Creatures rose to the morning sky, which yawned as it changed into its blue clothes, howled to wake its friends and family for a meal that was mainly full of greens and fungi.
My team searched for a flat piece of ground, trembling at the thought of a crash landing. A bead of sweat rolled down my face as I frantically searched through the 3D map of the space rock. I swiveled towards the window. Glaring at the ground beneath us, I suddenly realised there was no way of landing at such velocity. A plan, a thought, appeared in my head. I told my crew of my ridiculous idea that could potentially save us from our graves.
We aimed for the water. If we approached it from the absolute exact angle we could have a slight chance of survival. We prayed for luck as we prepared for touch down. Gliding just above the water, the plane was soon skimming the liquid, alarms screaming.
Then it all went black…
Chapter 3: The End…?
I woke up unlike most of my crew. Warm fresh blood trickled down my arm like a river of crimson liquid ruby, and also precious. I choked from the bleeding in my bent and crooked nose, the metallic smell filling my lungs. Tears welled up in my eyes as a sense of dread slowly crawled into me from my loss. I bellowed desperately for survivors, and so far I had only found three.
Hope drained from me as time flew by, as the sun’s chariot rode across the sky. The fragments of the broken machine sat in flames, burnt to a crisp like my friends who now will lifelessly traverse through the broad ocean. Their souls haunted me as I remembered the warnings, the screams and the argument on board, but I didn’t listen. I sobbed and cried on the beach, surrounded by guilt that circled me as I knelt there, regretting the choices I made. Fire licked the ground as we mourned for our fellow friends who didn’t make it out alive. I shook my head and told my people to explore the new world.
We trudged through the ankle-deep mud, trying to gain momentum against the gel-like muck. Waving and pushing away branch after branch, leaf after leaf, we reached a flat piece of ground at the tip of a cliff; we found a city, a megalopolis, with a tower like a beacon as its signs radiated light that danced around the architecture. Vehicles glided and hovered above the metallic ground where little dots of people wandered about the maze of complicated roads and alleyways. The translucent dome that covered the metropolis was generated by towers ,which were connected by a dull,grey and battle-scarred wall, with a floating purple orb which flickered violent violet electricity.
Chapter 4: The Entrance
We marched down towards the bustling city, shocked by the massive amounts of noise, and I spotted two guards patrolling on the hot waste land. Approaching the person in the helmet, we saw through the glass: they had big black eyes that covered their ant-like face, tiny yellow beaks that were scratched and damaged, and a pair of antennae which curled like a whirlpool. The figure twisted and glared at us, shouting in a weird tongue. Soon after, dozens of them trotted towards us, guns primed for action. One with six stripes on his arm commanded them to arrest us; pretty soon we were on a hovercraft, driving to the tower.
We entered the tower: they wandered around the massive mechanical cylinder which was tall enough to scrape the sky, many on hoverboards which emitted purple light; there was a library filled with tablets that projected images of stories and non-fiction books along the walls of the tower. We stepped into a floating escalator and rose into the sky.
As we reached the second floor, I noticed there were only guards inside the chamber and someone sat on a throne dressed grandly. The ground shook as it spoke. I trembled under my breath as the figure rose from the massive seat. It commanded in their language and put on a translator so we could understand.
Chapter 5: The Emperor
“You wretched creatures,” it said with a screeching voice. “Why are you here? You should not be dwelling outside, you low level beings,” growling as it rose from the throne. “Didn’t we pass a law saying that disgusting humans like you should not be outside the colony?”
‘‘What are you talking about – ” said my friend but was interrupted by the guard who sliced his head clean off, leaving his corpse on the ground still twitching.
“Do NOT argue with me,” it snapped furiously at us with a frown that seemed to stretch forever. “To the prison chamber, NOW.”
One down three to go.
Regret. Rage. Revenge.
Chapter 6: Prison
I woke up from a nightmare and I observed my surroundings: a foul stale stench drifted around the room, a veil of ombre covered the cells, sewage pumped out of the bathroom. The area looked more foul than the drainage system of London. A guard whispered and put down bowls of sludge for the three of us in our cells. The food looked more like vibrant engine grease than edible objects as I retched at the sight of it. After we ate the slime, we were called to another room.
In this other chamber was a mine full of luminescent minerals; everyone was excavating for their lives, hoping they wouldn’t get executed.
Chapter 7: Escape
We sprinted.
Away.
From the.
Prison and.
I am.
Running.
Out of.
Breath.
Chapter 8: Freedom
Flashback…
From the mines we managed to steal a pickaxe and a spoon. We dug into the wall as my friend drugged a guard with sleeping powder. Chunks of rock flew on to the concrete ground as we desperately broke down the wall. Bit by bit, we removed the loose material from the wall and advanced up the tunnel.
Alarms screamed. Footsteps roared across the chambers. The sound of panic and marching came closer and closer as prisoners scrambled into the hole. When we reached outside of the jail, we saw guards with loaded guns, firing at the crowd. We sprinted but eventually one of our friends took a bullet and collapsed to the floor. We could only watch as our friend fell, grief clutching our guts, as we ran to safety.
He was dead. We sat mourning in the forest, not knowing what to do next.
One down two to go.
Freedom always has a cost.
Chapter 9: Hope beyond the horizon
I led the gang of prisoners and moved eastwards. We trekked into the forever stretching horizon, without aim or direction. Twigs snapped and cracked as our boots crushed them. We moved onwards for miles and miles – still no discovery of the city. We trudged up a muddy hill, legs aching, and saw a familiar shape. A tower stood out against every structure near it; it was a metallic spire that reached into the sky with a little pole-like extension at the top with miniscule hovering objects that covered the building in bright lights as a field of energy surrounding it.
People grunted and grumbled with hatred as they saw the megatropolis . Everyone was dedicated to storm the mega city, so we began to make weapons.
I became the leader of our tiny tribe as I led them to liberty. I shouted orders to bring long branches for each one of us and to sharpen them so they could be used to kill. Afterwards we used the leftover wood to start a campfire for warmth but we were still missing one thing, food. While we wandered around the forest, we saw that there were deer that roamed the area. I commanded the men to not kill the deer straight away as it could lead us to the local water source. We were armed and ready but worn out after the work so we decided to have a good night’s sleep.
Chapter 10: Invasion
We marched down to the citadel. Footsteps sounded like thunder and our voices sounded like an engine. Charging with ambition we quickly took down the guards and broke through the front doors. Waiting behind the entrance were large vehicles armed with cannons and soldiers with lasers and guns. We watched the big robots with guns move in as time seemed to stop, frozen in fear. But very soon we were thawed by our goal, to free our fellow friends still locked up in the prison.
Dozens fell, dozens shot, dozens captured, dozens dead. Even though we lost many, they lost more. Some started to drive the tanks as our group armed each other with the weaponry of the aliens. We advanced towards the tower. The light on the top floor glared menacingly towards us as we rampaged through the broad streets.
We ploughed through the crowd, running over the heaps of bodies. Aircraft began to appear from the sky; they flew and twisted away from the ammunition from the tanks.
Danger. Damage. Debris.
Who is dead next?
Chapter 11: Conquer
We went up the elevator to the top floor. Four of us left. The doors opened as it revealed the Emperor. Today I will banish him and his kind like how he banished me.
The men formed a barrier around me as we slowly approached the creature. It roared and screamed commands but nothing could stop us from getting closer to it. Inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, we crept in front of the throne.I thought of the outcome, imagining the gore lying lifeless on the ground.
Slash.
I.Did.It.
Soldiers circled around us. Danger. We sprinted for the exit. Damage. The ceiling collapsed behind us. Debris.
C̴̨͔͔͗̃̂̇̇̂̆͘ḧ̶̢̡̙̹͔̫͙̩͎̬͚͉̓͂̽̎͛̒̑̈͂̾a̴̛̙̫̞̙̖̱̰̣̖͗̈́̃̈́̓̓̿̔͊̌̈́͠͝p̴̨̧̣̰̜̗͓̻͔̙͖̠̞̈̀͛͐̅͆͒̔͆̒̈́͒͜ͅt̴̺̪̳̪͎͉̻͆è̵̫͎̯́r̴͍̪͍̻̩͉̼͈͒̏̄̀̌̀͗͋ ̵̗͉̩̺̪͉͍̠̬͇̗̺̗͖̽1̸̞̝͎͇̠̻̱͇̖̥̗̫͊̊̈̒̐̿̀̄̾͋͝2̵̛̠̿̅̂̏͂͗͂
I woke up.
My eyes drifted to the ceiling. Low and curved. I was in a tube. The machine opened up and I saw another alien staring at me.
“General, are you alright?” she spoke in a harsh and rough voice.
General? Who was this general? Who was she talking to?
“General, if you forgot, you volunteered to go into the simulation to lure the humans out of their dens so we could capture them once and for all,” she replied.
Could she mindread?
“General, I can read your mind due to my earpiece,” she uttered.
I looked at my hand, three purple fingers wriggled at my will. I then shot out of my cradle-like structure. “Did I – did I kill The Emperor?”
“General, we had the prisoner that you selected who was going to be executed as The Emperor,” she answered, “and the results are that the news had spread to other countries which attracted many humans to our city. Since the news went worldwide millions of humans are now walking into our country. At this rate, everyone in this operation will be awarded a knighthood.”
Suddenly, a wave of emotions, feelings and thoughts flooded me: memories of the battles I won, family and friends I had, my house, my childhood, the day I became a soldier. Realisation washed upon me as I remembered everything.
Chapter 13: Light
Hope.
She stood there by the spaceship, not knowing what to do. She walked away from the shore to the patches of the ground where buried corpses lay. Marching to the forest she saw something new, a bustling megatropolis with a strange purple tower in the middle.
