Sean Chidebelu's
Frostbite
To Ms. Lovette,
Mrs. Pettus, Uncle Frank, My Father, Mother
and Mrs. Riley
This is the fruit of my labor.
Halve 1:
Survivors of the future
01
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."-Albert Einstein
Year five thousand, I know what you're thinking. Sorry to burst your bubble but the future isn't what you
think. I am writing this from a bunker in the cold south. We lost most of our tech because at one point their value skyrocketed. Most sold their stuff for cash. Little did they know that the next year, money would become useless. Some were able to flee to Mars with space X. While the rest, who couldn't afford it, stayed on earth.
A tsunami came and ran through the equator, destroying all buildings in the tropical zone. Countries huddled together and scrambled. One half of the world has taken Antarctica, while the rest took the now frozen China.
There are still animals, thank God. Not all hope is lost. We still have reserved herbs and a brick oven built. We chip ice caps and melt them to turn them into water. We put it in a large bucket and pour it for the rest. Some of us throw up after drinking it, but at least it adds 2 more days to our lifespan. Some of us have gone mad. Some, discouraged. But if we have any hope of returning to the tropic and modern areas, we have to do it together.
02
"The only thing a person can ever really do is keep moving forward. Take that big leap forward without hesitation, without once looking back. Simply forget the past and forge toward the future."― Alyson Noel,
I wasn't prepared for the night before my birthday, But it changed my view of my life,and my father. I had to watch as my father threw everything and anything into the blaze that was the furnace that the other people dubbed "The Devil's Tongue." He did this because our furnace was growing weak. I watched as our books, undersized jackets, and our furniture burned and crumpled into the fire. This helped remind me that we weren't here for fun, we were here to survive. My tears fell and vanished into the snow on the ground. My memories of the times before the great flood. I wish I had put out an idea that was creating an ark. But as more tears left my face, the more of my future hopes disappeared into the earth. I could tell it was hard on the men as well. I saw even the toughest shielding their eyes from the sight. But it could probably just be the flying sparks. I keep dreaming of fleeing this winter to the equator and sunbathing in hot water, But again, This is reality, Not a Lucid dream. One we were out of anything that would burn, My dad turned to me with a saddened expression. I put my hood over my eyes to hide my tears.
I wish life was different.
03
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."-Abraham Lincoln
I turned fifteen today so that means I have to start chipping ice for the rest. I stood in line with the other adults to get my pick. A man in a yellow puffer jacket handed out iron picks to every male over the age of 14. After he gave them their picks, he also gave them a lantern that had enough wax for two hours. I turned my head to the mining site. It was a wall of jagged ice. It was shaped like a tidal wave and curved at the top. Once the men got their picks, they searched for a bulge in the ice and began to hit it sparingly with their picks. I felt a quick tap on my shoulder and turned back to the man in yellow.
