The New World

Chapter 1: Novi

I hear laughter, something I haven't heard in a while. My brother Thomas and I are running in the meadow of the old world, we frolic and play as if we were puppies.

"Again! Again! Try and catch me Marie!" Thomas says between laughter.

"I'm coming to get you!" I yell.

Then something happened, The meadow burst into flames right before my eyes. I see Thomas's big brown eyes fill up with tears.

***

I wake up with a jolt and look over to the bed next to me. Thomas was still there lying sound asleep. We are still in our little gloomy house in the middle of the new world, Novi. One part of that dream I wish would come true, I wish we were still in the old world, but after the Great Crisis that isn't possible anymore. That world is gone, wiped away with the ashes.

Not a lot of us survived the Great Crisis, you would think that because we did get too close to the sun none of us survived, but we drifted away before the group we have now could die. My parents didn't survive, so now we live with my grandmother Mama Maggie. She has always been good to us, until Papa Paul went insane because of the government and ran away. She lost all her happiness and treats us as if we were slaves now.

So, Thomas is all I have, when he gets old enough we will leave this place to find a better life, if he doesn't die or go insane by that time. he is only 8 now, but once he turns 13 we can run away from horrible Mama Maggie and the union that we have called Novi.

I lay in bed for a couple of hours thinking about the wonderful life we had that ended when Thomas was 3 and I was 10, it has been 5 years and I still am not used to this dump. I have nothing else to think about so I sneak out of bed to go for a walk.

I walk down the gravel road while looking at all the gray buildings. I can remember when this world was colorful and full of life, but again that was the old world, this is Novi. I start to go into a light jog and then a sprint. Running always helps me keep my mind off the terrible things. I keep running for what I think is a half hour until I run into my friend Jose. We both fall in the gravel.

"Woah watch where you're go... oh hey Mar!"Jose says smiling.

"Sorry Jo, just going for a little run, ya know, so I can relive the old world and not this one." I say with a fake smile.

I don't know how Jo feels so joyful, it's really hard to do that in Novi. Suddenly the grin fades away and she becomes serious.

"I just remembered, tomorrows my birthday, I'm going to be turning 16," Jose said her blue eyes widening, she looked a lot paler than usual.

"Training." I said my eyes widening too.

I knew Jose could handle it fine, but my birthday is right after her's. I can't just leave Thomas alone with Mama Maggie. Than it hit me, Mama Maggie is probably making Thomas do all my chores right now! I have to get back home.

"Jose I'm sure you'll be fine, but I have to get home, Mama Maggie's gonna kill me!" I say as I run back towards the direction of my house.

When I open the door I see Thomas sitting on the floor scrubbing the life out of it, while Mama is on her butt yelling at him because he missed a spot.

"Sorry Tommy, I went for a run, I should have woke you up and took you with me," I whisper. "here give me that rag, any I did wanna wake you but..."

"Over there Thomas you brat... and where were YOU young lady!" Maggie says turning her head in my direction.

I stand up and say, "Sorry ma'am, just out for a run before work, I just lost track of..."