I'm entering :p
I'm doing Another Place, Another Time. It so really re-sparked my muse. So far it's...erm...sorta depressing in my opinion XD
*Evil laugh*
Done! Anyway, the beginning isn't that depressing as I thought :3
Another Time, Another Place
"What is freedom?"
The teacher stopped cold in her tracks, her spectacles nearly falling off. She cleared her throat, found herself still unable to speak, coughed loudly, and faced the boy who boldly asked the question. "Freedom? Well, you could say that it is a lack of restrictions, independence, free will. Does that answer your question, Roger?"
Roger hesitated before quietly answering, "Yes, Missus."
Missus visibly relaxed and returned her attention to the blackboard. "Now, returning to our history lesson. Matthias, our emperor, was born in 1709 D.W..." Her voice droned on as she got into the same rhythm that every teacher drone went into.
Roger tried his best to pay attention to the lecture, yet his mind was unsatisfied by the answer Missus gave him. He felt a new feeling swell in him...what was it? It made him feel all tensed up, eager to get out of the classroom as soon as possible. "Impatient." Roger muttered the word under his breath. "Annoyed at waiting, unwilling to wait." Even that didn't describe the emotion that was stirring his thoughts. Time seemed to tick by slowly as the teacher went on and on. He lightly tapped his fingers across his smooth, metallic desk, trying to get that feeling out of him. At last, when it seemed like forever, the bell rung. All the students promptly exited the room in a single file line, chatting briefly to each other before heading to their classes. Roger lagged behind, dispirited by the confusing sensation whirling inside him.
---
The Earth had been plagued by a nuclear war not long ago, bringing mankind almost to complete destruction. It was called the Great War, the only war that had almost brought the planet to its death. In the end, the great general Matthias and his army wiped out all other resistance and declared a new empire. Order was restored to the world. There was a problem though: resources were extremely scarce. Therefore, Matthias commanded that all humans who did not meet the requirements will be terminated. There was no room for mercy. There was defiantly no room for weaklings. Every person had to be perfectly uniformed, fit for their station.
Nobody has questioned this new form of governing. Who cared as long as they had peace? From then on, all nuclear weapons were banned. No war could be started. Those who did so...died.
---
Roger threw the stone as hard as he could, trying to vent out his emotions in that tiny pebble. It landed into the misty waters below, rippling its calm surface. The thin boy stood on the cliff, teetering dangerously close to the edge. He didn't seem to think about that. Instead, Roger closed his eyes and felt the cooling sea breeze wash over him. The waters of the planet have been recently cleaned of all pollution, mostly from the efforts of the environmentalists. Freedom. What was it anyway? Could the emperor give it out? He opened his eyes and saw, with surprise, that he wasn't on a sea worn cliff anymore. He was standing waist-deep in chilly water, strangely feeling rather...warm. Ahead of him, the mist still hung, but he could still make out the outlines of mountains. In the distance was, as Roger noted uneasily, the City. How did he get here? Why was he here? Roger clutched his head. Was he going mad? If so...then he could be...
He pushed the thought out of his mind. Roger stumbled out of the sea and promptly tripped over railroad tracks. He bit back a cry of pain as a sharp stone embedded itself into his arm. Gingerly, Roger pulled it out, wincing as the salt water slapped against the wound.
A bell rung in the distance. The sound of wheels grating the rusty tracks filled the air. He jumped back, just as a strange vehicle rolled up.
It seemed like a half go-cart, a half boat. It was worn and dusty, despite that it must have been at least sprinkled with a bit of water. Four other kids were in the vehicle, their eyes tired, but clear as the sky on a summer's day.
Roger and the others silently stared at each other, an unvoiced conversation going on. One of the boys suddenly motioned for Roger to come in. Roger hesitated. Time seemed to stand still. Nothing existed anymore. The only noise was the quiet rustling of wind and the rumble of thunder from afar. At last, Roger shook his head and stepped back.
The boy opened his mouth as though he was going to say something. The others, though, simply seemed saddened by Roger's decision. With some strange power, the vehicle began to move once more, sluggishly at first, but soon picked up speed and sped out of sight. Roger's world literally exploded.
---
"Roger, wake up."
Roger reawakened to the sight of his mother bending over him, a slight crease in her forehead. The familiar scents of his house anchored him to reality, calming his senses. "Mother?"
"What were you doing on that cliff?" She gently pushed back his hair. "They found you sleeping there."
Roger flushed. "I was...studying the ocean." It was a simple lie. Still, it made him uneasy, uncomfortable. Since childhood, he had been told to never lie. To lie was like...a crime, if you could call it that.
"Is that so? Well, rest for now. I'll cook something for you. Dinner shall be ready in almost no time."
"Thanks, Mother."
---
Freedom. The question still haunted his mind, day and night. Every day he would go to that cliff and experience the same vision. And every time he would refuse the invitation that the boy gave him.
Roger did not dare ask his teachers or parents. He didn't even tell his friends, seeing that they would not understand. As the days dragged by, the world that had used to seem so comfortable to him became a sort of prison. For the first time in his life, he realized the monotony of his schedule. Roger soon became restless, uneasy. What was this? Was this what they called freedom? What was really freedom?
The cliff. It was his refuge and prison at the same time. Roger had no idea what they wanted from him, where they wanted him to go. Something bond him to go there, to experience the same vision over and over again.
---
The ocean. The tracks. The boy.
Roger was here again, seeing the boy motion for him to come in. There was something different though. The sky, normally so clear, was covered with clouds, lightning rolling in their dark masses. The water was whipping up into a fury, soaking everything. There was something entirely different though. It changed everything. The boy broke the sacred silence and spoke.
"Come." The boy's dusty eyes were pleading, begging. His hand trembled as he held it out, ignoring the howling winds that were battering the tiny vehicle. "Please. Come."
Roger blinked away the salty water that was pelting his eyes. He now realized that he sorely wanted to get on, to ride away to that strange land, away from the City. Something held him back though. Roger was about to step back when the boy spoke again.
"Come, please! Come to freedom. Away. Away." The boy softly chanted.
It was all clear to Roger right then. If there was an answer, he'd find it there. He'd find it in the place far away. With a last look at the City in the distance, Roger climbed into the vehicle. Almost instantly, the storm seemed to calm, ruffling the sail with a gentle breeze. The boy smiled as the other children echoed his expression.
As they sailed off to the distant land away, Roger felt as though some heavy weight on his soul had fallen off. He looked at the others around him and let out a joyous whoop that resounded through the watery land.
He had found freedom.
Way back when I was in 4th grade, it's the one I did, too. XD
