Hi everyone! Still setting up the 'blog shop' over her...Between connecting this site to social media and SEO/Google etc, etc..., but getting there one step at at time. I appreciate your patience!!
In the meantime, thought I'd post this short story for your reading pleasure! This piece is my first published, and was fun to write. Different for me, being more sci-fi than usual.
Breaking the Chain is a combination of my love for the mystic world, campfires, self-discovery, the outdoors, and a touch of romance :)
The contest had a 3,000 word limit, which was tough for me. Quite a bit was cut out! I had ideas on how this story could become a full length novel, with many twists and turns. I was also racing against time to meet the deadline, and was submitted pretty much at the midnight hour. I would still change some of the story, and found a few errors after submission. Aren't we all our own worst critic? Lol! This was an awesome and encouraging win, and I'm still very grateful for it, as well as, for the supportive friends and family who listened to me read it after the hard-copy was available. (Some not by choice: I trapped my family at our Christmas Day dinner and read Breaking the Chain to them, when it was my turn to share what I was thankful for the past year :)
Below I've included one of my favorite 'accidental' pictures. I took this Labor Day weekend 2019 in Manistique, Michigan, off the shore of Lake Michigan, about 2 months before the story was written. I can clearly see a little fire person with arms and legs. Can you?
Perfect cover for Breaking the Chain :)
Enjoy the read, and please email me at: WrittenByAlgae@gmail.com, or Comment below how you liked it!
With Gratitude,
Algae
Breaking the Chain
I am consciousness, and my last human name was Lucas Forester. I’m no longer physical, and can’t waste energy explaining that. The last date that I can recall is August 5th, 2022. But I’ve got to hurry. This isn’t a matter of time, but rather, if I will have enough light. It’s about to get dark for the third time. I’ll start from the linear beginning, as humans would, and the only way I know how to tell it.
Someone or something launched the code. The combustion was instantaneous. Every human being that held a cell phone, computer, smart watch, was in front of a screen, or within 100 meters of a cell phone tower, was transformed. It was the final moment of the Internet. No pink mist, as you might first assume, when you think of humans detonating.
It was magnificent. If the media were still in existence, somehow it would have been hash-tagged as the most beautiful finishing of the human race. People everywhere exploded into a vibrant, sparkling, dust cloud instantly and simultaneously. Each blasted into their own unique color. A symphony of all shades that ever existed. A millisecond pause later, the flecks of glitter began separating in a freeze-frame slow motion. They drifted about and away from their original dust cloud, where once stood a human being.
Finally, as if unfrozen and released, the sparkling specs began to drift in all directions, carried away from the Earth’s surface. I know, because I saw it happen. I, too, was transformed. I now understand we weren’t dust, but light.
My memory of ‘The Beginning of the End’, as I call it, was like a magic trick gone wrong. I was standing next to my mountain bike, fixing the chain, then glanced at the text notification on my watch, and POOF! I blasted apart and into millions of dark green particles. I was reduced to one sparkle of emerald light, and saw the rest of my ‘body cloud’ dispersing about me. It was painless, and shockingly familiar. Warm and peaceful. A body buzz without a body. It reminded me of the time I took Vicodin for a tooth extraction. I was unafraid. In fact, I felt at home as I was. As if I was ‘back’, but the totality of back to what, I didn’t yet know. It all happened so fast.
My vision, hearing, and consciousness were functioning, but I had no control of my movement. Something was pulling me farther and farther away from my green cloud-cluster. Soon all that remained where I had been was my bike, laying on the grass. The chain, still broken.
I began floating upwards near the roof of my apartment; about 40 feet from the ground. That’s when I saw the others. Like a bolt of lighting, a deposit of understanding infused my new, yet familiar, reality. As far as I could see, all people had been transformed, and were different spectrum’s of light sparkles. Tiny, twinkling, ghosts meandering into an unknown dimension. It was indescribable. The majesty of color; the clusters of glowing dots rising up from the Earth’s surface. The form we now took was light energy.
And then I saw her.
In the distance, a golden white beam shot up from the Earth toward the sky. A flushing geyser that would never drain again, from the hole in which it came? No, a comet traveling in the wrong direction.
She had to be a she. I could feel it was of female energy. A wildfire, warrior spirit, softened by an ember glow at her fiery bodice. The fireworks twinkling at her tail resembled children clamoring at their mother’s hem.
A magnetic sensation was pulling me towards her, yet I felt suspended in a world away. The involuntary desire took complete control of me. I wanted more than anything to join with her. An impossible star to wish on. It was then I discovered I had the sensation of heartache. My heart-brain burned for her. She stayed true to her course and, too soon, melted from my view and into the blue sky above.
My heart sank but was soon replaced by disbelief. Because I hadn’t felt any movement, I was surprised at the great distance I’d covered. The best way I can describe it would be ‘motionless travel’. I had been magnetized to her! Where I then hovered was several more meters in altitude, and much farther southeast from my home. I scanned below, located my apartment, and in a blink, was retracted back to my bike.
For what seemed to be most of the afternoon, I remained buoyant near my apartment roof. The concentrated color bombs had disbanded and were long gone, leaving lone, glowing orbs, like myself. I made observations about them in hopes of gaining more understanding. They had a variance in brightness. I saw highlights and low lights, and the brightest seemed to maneuver faster with calculated navigation. The low lights were haphazard, and conveyed confusion. I wondered how bright I was. As the evening sky turned from blue to an ashy gray, most of us simply bobbed or dipped about in place.
Dusk was approaching fast. We became an optical illusion as the sunlight faded because we appeared brighter than we had been, during the daylight hours. Darkness commenced further, and the only difference between us and the stars in the sky was our array of color.
When I became bored of watching the others, I gazed in the direction of where my comet had disappeared. I wished for her to return. I thought about what her fire would feel like up close.
Nightfall blended the gaps in the low sky. When it was pitch black, my first reincarnation happened. The first, that I am aware of.
In an instant, as fast and unpredictable as the initial combustion, I was transformed into a flame. It took me by surprise and my first thought was I’d passed over into Hell. But no, I was luminous energy within the framework of a roaring fire. With the same perceptive ability I had as a minuscule slice of light, lingering near my apartment, I could only be present in observation.
Stacked logs burned with obedience, and red hot whips snapped above me. Micro-bursts exploded in all directions. Fire-breathing tornado’s sucked up and shredded the fueling oxygen. Below me, powdery ash pooled then collapsed under the weight of added burnt droppings. I had no sense of smell in this space and time, but was reminiscent of smoky campfires from my youth. Every element of the pyre was alive, and I was a part of it. A magnificent thrill. I felt more powerful than ever in my human life.
Beyond the confines of the flames, people of an earlier time sat cross-legged around the bonfire. They looked solemn, kind, and focused on something very important. Tears streamed between deep creases on the face of an aged woman. Her eyes were sullen and peaceful, but from inside the fire I could sense her pain. The empathy I felt for her was overwhelming. I felt a wretch in my heart for her loss. I had no such emotions for anyone, ever, in my past life as Lucas. It was an odd new ability.
Hymnal chants began rising up from outside of the circle, and echos of a tribal drum thumped as would a time-keeping metronome. A second drum strengthened the beat of the first, and a wind instrument brought the chorale its harmonic melody.
Two young men stood up from the circle, bowed, ceased their chanting, and turned away into the darkness of the night. The aperture was filled when a slender woman walked in-step with the drum beat and sat down in their place. She cradled a large stick in which a linen cloth was wrapped tight around the tip. She closed her eyes, bowed, and appeared to be praying. She then looked at me. Modest tears glossed over her eyes. I wanted to hold her. My heart swelled for her. The emotion that took hold of me, more than the power of the fire, was love. I loved her but didn’t know why.
The woman shifted and moved from a seated position to kneeling, and closer to the rocks that lined the fire. I knew she couldn’t see me, but I wanted her to know I was there. She closed her eyes to shield them from the blinding heat. From me.
With the unlit torch still at her side, she leaned over, taking her bow all the way to the ground this time. Sleek, jet-black hair cascaded onto the earth, revealing a singular snow-white streak. An unfurled halo.
Daylight broke, and as the first rays of sunlight came in contact with my reserved spot in the atmosphere, and I was back to hovering above my apartment. The other multi-colored lights were bobbing about as well. Nothing had changed, except a few less of the highlights were present, or so it seemed. And I remembered every detail about my journey to the fire pit. I wasn’t sure which dream I was waking up from now.
I scanned the city, and hadn’t seen any signs of human life. I began thinking about my life as Lucas when the sun passed over me around noon. I’ve been working so hard and for what? For this? I was an investment banker, and extremely good at it. Young and attractive, I was a clique bachelor who couldn’t be tied down by any woman. When I wasn’t making money, I would take off on a remote bike ride. But even that had been taking a back seat. Until today, or was it yesterday?
The hours of the day were shorter, in this static state of being. What should have been nine hours felt like three. I became aware of this as the sun swept over and behind me in a matter of thirty, or so, minutes.
Just before dark, I amused myself by contemplating which of the glowing green lights were former human bodies, and which ones were actual fireflies. While scanning the sky for my comet, I started thinking about the torch the tribal woman had been carrying.
Complete darkness struck abruptly and I was teleported again, just like the night before. But in this dimension, dusk was moments from fading into a black night. The faint silhouette of a glacier, or mountain range, could be seen across a widespread tundra. The sensation of heat and power returned; I was inside a fire again. Yellow tornado’s swirled at the top, while blue and white flames managed the oxygen intake. A strong wind pushed and pulled this way and that. It wasn’t calm. No wood, ashes, or instruments.
Up, down, up, down. I was being carried. I’m in the torch flame! Is she holding the torch? Is it her?! My hyper-empathetic ability was back, and from this person, greed and evil was imminent. It wasn’t who I’d hoped for. An over-sized male figure advanced with conviction through a fresh layer of icy snow, as I heard sharp crunching under each foot fall.
The man’s marching halted at an inflatable, metallic-colored enclosure. The door flaps were being unzipped from the inside, and then whipped open from a strong gust of wind. A petite woman emerged in haste. She moved surprisingly quickly in her thick parka that cocooned all but her face, and most of her body. The man pushed the torch into her gloved hands without a word, barreled past her, and ducked inside the stockade. Male voices held loud conversation following his arrival.
The woman held the torch out with two hands, narrowed her eyes, and looked at me through slivered pupils. I could feel her fear. She was terrified about something much bigger than her own mortal fate. With a shove, she thrust the torch to the ground. Heat sizzled and broke through the crusty snow, but not all was extinguished. The wind momentarily calmed, and the woman removed her gloves to take out a candle from her pocket. She slid the wick into the center of what remained burning on the ground. I stayed with her and ignited the it, leaving the torch behind me. Cupping the lit candle, she then placed it inside a small lantern, and rushed back inside the enclosure. She avoided the conversing men, and stayed close to the sturdy walls until reaching a cluttered table in a dark corner. The woman cleared a space, and pulled a white note card out of her pocket. Her hands were shaking and I could sense her heart racing. With her back to the men, she held the card up in front of my flame. It was sloppy, but I could read it:
It’s January 4th, 2044
The chain will break! Don’t fix it! This is the kill code!!
$..@www.><><><EWIC&$!!@$www..
Next, I watched her feed the note card into the candle light. My flame flared up, destroying it. Hungry to help, I consumed the code but not fast enough for her. I could see her hands still shaking through the glass. Curled ash fluttered within the smoky lantern walls, and the last bits of the note card finally came to rest on the old wax, at the base of the lantern.
She was finally at ease when the evidence was nonexistent. I could feel her calm, and I was glad to have helped her. She pulled her parka hood back, revealing frizzy, light brown hair, with one white streak. I was dumbfounded but couldn’t stay on that, as she bent over the table, now face to face with me and mouthed, ‘thank you.’
She pursed her lips, and blew the candle out.
August 4th, 2022
Lucas Forrester was fed up with work. He needed a break. No, he needed to quit. The investment banking job was lucrative, but he had more than enough money now. He believed he was ready to pursue what he’d always dreamed of: owning a canoe outfitter in the Boundary Waters. The best he could do for now, was to pack up and get the hell out of the city. He made a camping reservation in the Upper Peninsula, and prepared for the six hour drive.
Lucas was angry and impatient. He flung his bike onto the vehicle rack with force, and heard a metallic fracture.
“Damn it!” He’d suspected the chain already to be damaged, and was certain now. Should I fix this now? Forget it, I need to leave. I’ll deal with this up there. If I stay, I’ll be stuck here. A surprising and strong wind gust blew, causing Lucas to take a step back. That settles that. I’m out of here. Securing his bike to the rack, retracting the roof of his jeep, finally Lucas was on his way.
When Lake Michigan replaced the agricultural fields of Wisconsin, he pulled over and yanked his phone from the charger cord. He took a long look at it. More messages than he could count were flooding in. He didn’t scroll through them, he knew who they were from. Work, always work. Lucas got out from his Jeep, and walked towards the shore.
“Thank you for giving me the lessons I needed to arrive here. I needed the work to afford this choice, and for that I am thankful. I can’t be a part of it anymore. Raping the Earth for profit is what this business has become. I’m out.” Lucas pitched his phone into the lake. He removed his smart watch as well, and threw it even farther. Disgusted at what he knew those two devices had created, he was relieved to be rid of them. He could only be free if he were offline. He resumed driving in peace.
Lucas checked in at the campground and started on a hike before unpacking his Jeep completely. He pitched his tent at his usual spot, and built a fire. He laid down on his bed roll under the luminescent stars. He was dozing off when he felt the vibration beneath him. A shock wave? Earthquake? He shot up into a sitting position and looked around. Nothing. Then, overhead,was the most beautiful ball of light. A comet! The sky lit up and it looked as if she were headed right for him, but she continued on her path and disappeared beyond the tall trees. Lucas laid back down and smiled. His heart was full with gratitude for the sight. He was ready to love life again, and the beauty of natural surprises. He just hoped his new life would be long lasting, and outlive the planet being destroyed by man.
Something stirred in the woods. Lucas propped himself up onto his elbows and scanned his surroundings. He decided to move into his tent for the night. He fell asleep thinking about the comet, and not work, for the first time in years.
Waking up with the sunrise was Lucas’ favorite part of camping. He rekindled the fire, and reignited what was left of charred logs from the night before. He brewed decadent coffee, heated a cast iron skillet over the fire, and thought about his business plan.
A noise rustled on the trail. Lucas stood up and locked eyes with a slender woman. She wore white jeans and vest, and had shiny golden hair with one snow white streak tucked behind her ear. His heart swelled. Not because of her beauty, but of the light-travel dreams he’d been having for the past three years. Was she real? The woman blushed and smiled and said, “We wouldn’t be here without you.”
She walked to Lucas, and stopped at the inviting flames. “I like your fire,” she whispered, while pulling the ends of her bleach-white streak. Without hesitation, Lucas went to her, and finally held her in his arms.
Comentarios