The Disappearances

Part 1

Background

Over one million years ago, the great country of Tai fell. After the nuclear bomb came, it caused devastation throughout all the lands. Thousands of cities fell, and more than half a billion people suffered. What once was the powerhouse of the world, was now ashes broken apart into six regions: Ithaca, Valdron, Elinlya, Zhenya, Mela, and Sychos. For a time, the regions were at peace. Until the people of Nebeus, Ithaca decided to leave. That was when the problems started.

Nebeus was considered the heart of the new world. Everything that came in or out went through Nebeus, and Nebeus was the biggest city consisting of over 500,000 citizens and growing. When they decided to start their government by themselves, unexplained disappearances arose. 1 to 3 disappeared, 5 to 8 disappeared, 10 to 12 disappeared, then the number skyrocketed to 150 and over. 500,000 dropped to 350,934 in two years. Now, there are 210,249.

Present

"Can you please tell me the story, Callista?" Luna, Callista's granddaughter, asked, sitting on the floor and staring up at Callista.

"I already told you the story three times, Luna," Callista said, shutting her book. She looked down to see the child staring at her: waiting.

"Fine, it all started one million years ago in the country of Tai-"

"Not there," Luna wined. "Start at the part about you, please?" Luna asked again.

Callista sighed and looked into the girl's eyes before beginning, "It all starts in a city called

Nebeus..."

75 Years Before

In the city of Nebeus, there is a 14-year-old girl that everyone adores: Callista. Callista's personality shines and brightens anybody having a rough day, and her manners are superior to anyone in the city. And nobody can deny how graceful and polite she is to everyone around her.

Everybody always says, "She's the light that will never go out no matter how dark, empty, or cold it gets." Personality wasn't the only thing that made her amazing. She was also beautiful. She has smooth beige skin with cool undertones. Her curly auburn hair is constantly a tangled mess, but it always looks effortlessly beautiful. Callista stood at 5'6 making her one of the tallest girls in the city, and she has a perfect square body structure. The most captivating feature was her eyes. They are a luminescent red-amber color. When the sun is high in the atmosphere, the red in her eyes brightens, and her eyes look like fire as they glisten in the light.

But take away the beauty, and you will find a girl full of curiosity and with curiosity, there is also determination. Callista always wanted the answers to everything, and she made sure she got the answers. That meant she would steal, break into others' houses, ask personal questions, and meddle in everyone's space. If the answer wasn't good enough, then she would follow them until she got the answer she wanted. One time she almost got herself killed for following someone into a knife-making factory, and she pushed it aside stating, "I didn't even get hurt." Despite all of this, she continued to remain one of the most appreciated people throughout Nebeus, and Nebeus treated her the same way.

Present

"I don't care about her personality and looks," Luna said. "Can't you skip to the best part?"

"You don't care about my appearance?" Callista asked playfully. "You just broke my dear old heart!" Callista said, trying and failing to stifle a laugh.

"I think you were beautiful back then, and you're still beautiful now, but I want to hear the exciting parts."

"Where do you want to start?"