Rise

Chapter One: Screams in the Night

The tall grass swayed in a light breeze that blew across the plain, providing some relief in the sweltering afternoon heat. Matthew Harris was thankful for the refreshing, albeit brief, moments of cool air carressing him. It was welcome out in his family's fields because the farmwork was hard and hot weather never helped. He figured he would have gotten used to the heat after all the years working the farm but it had never happened. Attributing his inability to adapt to the heat to the nearly depeleted ozone layer in the atmosphere, Matthew just sucked it up, knowing there was no alternative to the work that kept his family alive. Ever since his father had disappeared during the wild times after the Great War there had been even more pressure on him to keep his mother and sister fed and comfortable. Years ago, back when Matthew was still a little boy his father had made him promise him that he would always look out for his mother and sister. You'll be the man in the house one day son. It'll be your responsibility then. Never forget that. He was not about to let his father down. 

Dragging his hoe through the rough earth Matthew travelled up and down the field, preparing it for the seeds he would be planting next. He had always been amazed that anything could still be grown in ground that had been wracked by countless bombs, many of which carried nuclear warheads. His father had something to do with it, that much he knew. Snooping around in the basement of their home when he was younger had provided him with valuable knowledge, and a good ass-kicking. Despite the brusies, it had been worth it, for he had learned that his father was some sort of scientist. Amatuer or professional he was not sure but nonetheless the basement had been set up like a lab, with tubes and chemicals everywhere. It had finally made sense why strange men would always go into the basement when they came to visit. Matthew had been close to discovering whatever it was his father had been doing but then he disappeared, along with all of his equipment. His mother said he was dead and nothing more. Whenever he tried to ask anything about him she would deflect it and say Let dead men lie. He refused to believe that. There had never been a body, no letters, nothing. He had vanished almost into thin air, taking with anything that could have been used to trace him. 

He's out there, somewhere, Matt thought, squinting his eyes as he gazed out along the horizon. The black line separating the sky and the earth stretched out for miles in all directions, perfectly flat and unwavering. He just stared out for a while, trying to imagine where his father could have gone. He wished he could go out and search for him, find him and tell him he forgave him. Forgave him for leaving his family to fend for themselves. Forgave him for being secretive about his work. Forgave him . . . for everything. Just come home dad. 

"Matt? Matt . . . are you still out there?" called a soft voice from Matt's back. He was only standing within a quarter mile from the house but  Margaret, his mother, still couldn't see him. Her eyesight was slowly diminishing, whittling away at the clarity of her vision. At this point she could only see a few feet in front of her, which was manageable. Even though she could no longer work the fields, leaving more work for Matthew and his sister Rose, she was still able to cook and sew, still making her a valuable component of the family. Even if she was blind she would refuse to lay down and let herself wither away. She would find something to do, she wouldn't know how to function otherwise.

"Yeah Ma, I'm here!" Matt shouted back, making sure she heard him. He could swear she was going deaf but she would deny it every time. Her pride was too strong to admit that.

"Are you done with the field yet? It's gonna get dark soon!" her voice was wraught with worry, suggesting she had been allowed some free time to think, letting her mind roam, creating dangers in the big bad world that they lived in.

"No, not yet but there will still be light for at least three hours, plenty of time for me to finish," Matt called back, sharing none of his mother's fears.