This is an idea that was originally proposed by Alex Quinby. Essentially, someone will start a story (it could be fairly open-ended or it could be detailed and precise) and then leave it to be continued by someone else, who adds onto what has already been written. Someone else will then add onto the previous contributions, continuing from where the previous person left off. Then someone else will add onto that, and someone else will add onto that as well...so we get a long chain of passages that all string together as one story. There is no limit on the amount that you can post. It can be as long or short as you would like. The story can go anywhere, feel free to add on random or crazy plot twists or anything you would like. This is just for fun.
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Alright, here goes nothing...
Just a little setting and background info.
It was a beautiful day. The sky was a gloomy gray; the clouds were letting a relatively large amount of light pass through their dense, polluted masses, and Nero could actually see across the bay and explore with his silver-blue eyes the distorted buildings lining the murky ocean water.
In fact, the day was gorgeous—or at least, gorgeous relative to the dismal complexion the world had taken after the Obsidianclad destroyed half of the United States with technology that no one had ever imagined was possible to harness.
No one was sure how The Cataclysm, as people came to call it, happened. Or why the infamous organization had destroyed what they did. But the Cataclysm resulted in the deaths of over a hundred million Americans due to what the world’s most renowned physicists called a “miniature black-hole on Earth”. The Obsidianclad had literally sucked a diameter of over 500 miles of countryside and cityscape into a single, extremely dense ball of mass. What remained of the Central US was nothing but a gaping hole, now filled with a mixture of hardened lava from the Earth’s mantle, filthy rainwater, and The Rock, the massive twenty-mile-diameter ball of tightly-packed matter that made up what was once the agricultural hub of the United States.
But the question remained, why did they do it? There was no warning, no threat, not a simple clue that such an extreme act of terrorism would take place. In fact, the world had been in a relative state of peace and prosperity, until one day, in the middle of summer, about two years before this day, the Cataclysm occurred.
It was so sudden.
It was completely unexpected.
And after it happened, the world ignited into a spiraling free-fall, fear wracking the minds of humans across the globe. Ecosystems were permanently damaged, species were made extinct, maps had to be redrawn. Even Earth’s orbit itself had slightly altered, and as a result the planet lay a small but noticeable distance further from the Sun. The Earth was colder, and in terms of history, humans faced the darkest epoch they had ever seen. Nothing could compare to the terror felt by the billions inhabiting their new godforsaken world.
“It’s downright depressing,” came a voice behind from behind Nero. “You probably shouldn’t stare. I hear looking too hard at the Rock can make you blind.”
Nero scowled, turning to face his companion. “Quiet!” he snapped. “Are you trying to give us away? What if somebody followed us?”... See More
The older man, Oster, shook his head. “Doubt it. You’d have to be crazy to chase a lizard this size so close to the Drowned City.”
Nero nodded. “Crazy,” he said, “or starving. I’m not here for the bells and whistles, Scavenger. Just the meat.”
The younger man returned to his binoculars. Then he added: “Of course, you can keep anything that I can’t roast on a spit.”
In truth, Nero would’ve liked to keep the horns, or even some of the teeth for himself, but that wasn't the deal he made. One of the lucky few in the camp who still retained an intact sense of smell made Oster unmatched in tracking down the Big Lizards, creatures that (supposedly) exuded an unbelievably foul stench. Unlike most of the people in Adam’s Point, Oster Thompson always had a steady stream of work, not to mention frequent meals.
“Call me Scavenger if you want,” Oster said, gingerly kneeling down beside the hunter. “But once you get a look at this monster, you’ll know that the people in camp are gonna be singing our praises. When we bring it back.” He indicated the wooden crossbow at Nero’s hip. “That is, if you can actually bring it down with that slingshot of your—“ Nero silenced him with his forefinger.
“Will you shut up?” Nero put down the binoculars and grinned at Oster, a finger at his lips. “I just heard something…”
It was well known that Big Lizards spooked easily. It was what made them so elusive, and why they dwelled so far away from the relative hubbub of Adam’s Point. If frightened, it was almost certain that the reptile would retreat back to its tunnels. Both Nero and Oster knew, that if that happened, they might never find the creature again.
So the two men listened in silent anticipation, neither willing to risk a breath.
The wind howled. Then nothing. A distant crack of thunder, seven miles away. Then nothing. A full minute went by. Finally, a dull whooping echoed through the canyon.
Oster leapt to his feet, beaming. “What did I tell yo–“ Nero’s fist interrupted the thought.
“Words fail me.” Nero grumbled under his breath as he shoved the older man aside. He reached carefully for his ammunition quiver, containing three forks, and a single, twisted bolt. He considered the forks for a moment. It was his last proper bolt. But, if Oster’s claims were right there was no need to be conservative. He knew he would have one shot, and the cutlery wasn’t going to cut it.
Clicking the rusty projectile in place, Nero crawled over to the edge of the cliff on his stomach, wincing with pain as the jagged rocks dug against his chest. He peeked over the ledge.
His caution had been rewarded. (Will Alvarez)
Maia sat in the darkness. Her tent was completely blocked off from the sun; she liked it better that way. It made her feel alone, separate from humanity, or what was left of it. It also gave her space to think.
Nero had been gone for a long time. Maia stared into the nothingness that had enveloped the tent... He had left before day break, searching for lizards. Big Lizards that stayed by the Rock were the only source of steady food that anyone in the camp had.... See More
Maia swore loudly into the darkness, half hoping someone would answer her, comfort her, tell her it was going to be alright... ever since The Cataclysm, C-Day as Maia liked to call it, nothing had been alright. And now Nero had gone out with a Scavenger to find food.
"Yeah," Maia whispered to herself, smiling, "food. Good luck with that one, shithead." She stood up, wiped away the tears on her face, and walked outside.
She walked through the camp, looking around at faces that she had knew well. Too well, for these were the only people who she knew at all anymore. Nero had left her behind too many times, not trusting her to hunt. He said she talked too much. He said she scared away the lizards.
"What's wrong, honney?" Teresa walked up next to Maia. Teresa, a slightly overweight woman in her late 40's, had lost everything in The Cataclysm. Everyone had. But Teresa always looked on the bright side of situations, a trait that most people now looked at as a luxury. "Something on your mind?"
Maia threw back her long brown hair. As if Teresa didn't know that Nero had chosen to go out to the Rock. "Nero," Maia answered in a more than bitter tone. "Nero left without telling me. Again."
Teresa chuckled to herself. "You know that boy is never going to be tamed. Not by you, not by The Cataclysm. I guess," she laughed again, "he just woke up hungry!"
Maia stopped "So did I," she whispered. Teresa didn't hear that last comment; she had walked on toward the camp fire. Maia didn't follow. She turned back towards her tent. She liked the darkness more, anyway. More fitting for her mood, for the day. For the world.
Curled into a ball, arms wrapped around her legs, Maia continued her somber rumination as she waited, worried, and hoped for Nero’s return. Everyone at the camp knew that they were best friends; after all, the two had both lived at the Adam’s Point encampment for over half a year. Many, in fact, thought Nero and Maia were siblings because of how comfortable they were around each other. In a way, they were siblings. The day Nero first arrived at the encampment, Maia had been immediately drawn to him, not only because they were the same age, nineteen, but because they both shared the same traumatizing stories. Yes, everyone had lost something to the Cataclysm, but to Nero and Maia… it had rendered them orphans. They had both been away from their respective home states on C-Day, and as a result they both lost all of the family they had.
Maia had been packing on that hot summer day, cleaning up her dorm room, getting ready for her 1pm flight back to Denver, Colorado, when she heard the news. She had been listening to the radio when a breaking news announcement interrupted the station: Everything within a 250 mile radius of Paxton, Nebraska had been engulfed by an enormous… explosion of some sort. Except there were no signs of an explosion. Everything reaching from Casper, Wyoming to Pierre, South Dakota to Lincoln, Nebraska to Pueblo, Colorado had been compressed into a gigantic ball of mass. Everything living within the area had been killed—no, not killed. Completely obliterated. Maia’s home resided in Boulder, as did all her close friends and family members. But on that devastating day, they were all taken away from her.... See More
It was disgusting to think about it, actually; every living creature within the implosion had been compacted and condensed—everything that defined their existences was demolished as masses and masses of plants, animals, terrain, elements, and buildings were forcefully crushed together, creating a single lifeless unit: The Rock.
That was two years ago. It was surprising how quickly the US fell apart after the Cataclysm; no one knew who to trust or who to turn to, and as a result, commerce halted, jobs diminished, and political power was severely compromised. It wasn’t until six months later when a group referring to itself as the Obsidianclad took the blame for C-Day. But by then, it didn’t matter. The Cataclysm had already made its mark on history, and it was by then impossible to reverse the downfall of the country. Everyone now lived “every man for himself.”
Maia felt a special connection to Nero due to their shared histories, and she also found he was becoming something close to her raison d’être. He was one of her only good friends in this wretched nation, and now he was gone, throwing his life on the line by hunting giant lizards. What an idiot! Did he think of no one but himself? What about her? What about the community here at Adam’s Point? Every loss was like a miniature apocalypse; the proud Americans hated being placed in such a helpless state of being, and every death was a horrific reminder of their embarrassingly weak position. If Nero, being one of the most energetic, athletic, and capable of the encampment’s population, died, fear and angst would shiver through the bodies of Adam’s Point. Taking such ridiculous risks as hunting Lizards near the crater of the Cataclysm—especially after dark—were suicidal. No one wanted to lose Nero, and definitely not to an action so stupid!... See More
Meanwhile, death was the last thing on the minds of Oster.
*of Oster and Nero.
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