What lies above us

Chapter one: The last normal day

Chapter 1: The last normal day

Sizzling was the first thing his five senses picked up, sizzling from downstairs. The beckoning smell of bacon drifted through the floorboards, causing the reaction of movement . A large, fluffy, comforter was thrown off of a bed and onto the messy floor of the dim room. Dax was 16. He was quite a messy person. His room was a mess along with his closet. A mirror sat on one of the two desks in his room, he glared into it. Glaring back was Dax Anders. Dax was of quite a tall height, six foot on the spot. His shaggy brown hair drooped over his forest green eyes. He slouched and guided himself towards the stairs leading to the ground floor of his family's shabby abode. The scent of bacon was joined by the smell of toast as the ground floor neared.

It was, as suspected by Dax, a normal breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast and to complete it all, a big jug of apple juice. Dax chuckled as he looked into the kitchen to find his mother, a stiff looking woman with kind eyes, fussing over his father, a short man with a playful tone in his voice, who just nodded and agreed with her begrudgingly. Some people say a happy wife is a happy life. This man clearly followed this philosophy.

"You need to speak to your damn son about cleaning that room of his," she growled sternly towards Dax's father!

Dax scoffs as he enters the room. "Mum, you know you could just talk to me about that."

His mother gave an over exaggerated gasp and then glared at him yelling, "Clean your room!"

Dax chuckles at this and shares a glance with with his father, pulling a chair out. The food was laid out in front of him, sitting on the plaid tablecloth, were several plates with different food item displayed.

"It's not that bad. I could easily make it three times as worse with no effort," he said.

His mother shut up at that, grumbling as she started another pot of coffee. The lady drank more coffee than was healthy; it didn't even wake her up anymore, she just enjoyed the bitter taste of the black beverage. The breakfast was normal for Saturday mornings, not just for the Anders, but for most of the people in the small town. People were happy with their lives.

It was an illusion. People tried to act normal. In all reality, right outside the small town was a cold steel wall that rose into the sky. It was a daunting sight, it was so large in fact no one could see beyond it. There was one gate with guards. Even they didn't know how to open the gate. There was no view of the outside from the inside. No way in, No way out. They never had and never will have food shortages in the town. There were never diseases in the town. Even then,the need for doctors did not go away. It's human nature to get hurt. Of course, humans being humans get hurt. Most people were content.

The brisk morning air hit Dax as he wandered outside the small home in which his family stayed, he was at the age where he could work a job on Main Street. It was the main street of the town, as the name suggests. The street was small, and only had a few shops for people to preoccupy themselves with. There was a small movie theater, two restaurants, two cafes and a few other miscellaneous shops scattered around. At the end of the street was the gate and to the east where the farms were situated. This town had the name of Forest-Ford, an odd name indeed considering that there were no forest inside the wall, unless you counted the wood farm to the south.

Dax's pace increased when he reached the top of the street. There was really only 3 districts: the main shopping center, the farms, and the housing. As Dax briskly walked down the street, avoiding all human contact, he turned into a café. As Dax opened the Cafe door, the small bells attached to it jingled, signaling someone had entered. The job was good and he enjoyed the warm atmosphere of the Cafe. He enjoyed working here.

"Oi!" he heard, getting punched in the arm. It was a hard punch, yet friendly. "You're late!" He looks up to see his good friend, who got him this job, smiling at him.

Dax returned a sheepish smile.

"Sorry Grey. I woke up late".

Grey was his real name, he was 5' 5" with piercing grey eyes and brown hair that resembled a poodle that had gone through an automatic car wash. That is also called a dead poodle. His hair looked that bad.

"No excuses!"

An apron was thrown at Dax. He immediately slips it on, the grin still on his face, and hurdles the counter, landing on the other side successfully.

"Dax! Every day, what have I said about jumping over the counter? Clean it!"
It had been a slow day at the Cafe. Not many people seemed to need coffee that Saturday morning, or maybe they just made some at home. It didn't really matter to Dax. He got to kick back, figuratively not literally due to Grey's strict rules, and relax himself. Right after work, Grey and Dax started the walk towards the housing district. Grey, who was chattering alongside him as they walked, finally noticed Dax's lack of attention. Snapping from Grey brought Dax back to reality,

"Dax. DAX!" Grey yelled towards him, "You ok there buddy?"

"Hmm? Yea I'm fine"

"You seem either upset, or you're just in thought; with you, I can't really tell."

"In thought - I guess."

Dax almost ran into a light pole, his foot banging into it causing the metal pole to echo the 'Thwack' from his foot.

"You don't seem fine. I've known you for what...", he paused and counted on his fingers, "8 years? You can trust me." Grey gently squeezed Dax's shoulder.

Dax sighed. "I don't really know Grey. I'm just... tired i guess"

Grey squints. "Why?"

Dax shuffles his feet. "Well..."

"Dax...." Grey glares at him.

"Do I have to.....? You know.... tell you?"

"Yes, yes you have to"

"Damn, I haven't slept for at least twenty-eight hours"

"twenty-ei... Dax!" Grey shouts

"There happy I said something!"

"Hmm? Sure... just try to sleep more ok?"

A groan came from the earth below them, followed by a deep grumbling. The earth started to shake violently, Windows shattered, pieces of road crumbled and all hell broke loose. Dust fell from the sky, which also seemed to be shaking. With no warning, an earsplitting POP echoed and the lights in the town went dark. A loud groaning echoed around the town and the sky above them went completely black. No sun, no light. Absolute darkness.