The Utopia Factory

Chapter 1

I live in the city of Possiblis, known for its absolute perfection. Every day the sun rises and shines with a warm glow all the way until sunset, the most beautiful sunset you could imagine, with different shades of purple, orange, and pink splattered across the sky. But the best time of the day is starlight. The stars shine so brightly and the moon is so luminous. It is magical. All-day the birds would chirp, the wind would blow, the flowers would bloom, but you could always hear the steady hum of the factory. At the edge of Possiblis, is the castle on the top of a mountain where the Queen lives with her two daughters, Avonlea and Cyrene and son Wynter. Just behind that mountain is a factory that produces the perfection that we live in. Without it, Possiblis would fall into a state of destruction.

Today was a day like no other, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the stream was flowing, the factory was humming, and I was picking Peonies from the field with my best friend, Zenovia.

"Rhonwen! Come on! Let's go swimming! We already have enough flowers to make crowns for both of us."

"Ok..", I grumbled, trying to sound unenthusiastic. "Race you!" I started sprinting to the stream, taking off my shirt to reveal my blue swimsuit as I ran. I looked behind me and saw Zenovia catching up. I ran faster. Zenovia still caught up to me. We both jumped into the stream at the very same time, shorts still on.

We played all day in the stream, splashing, swimming, and going underwater. It seemed that no matter how much we splashed we could still hear the hum of the factory, even when we were underwater. Now that I think of it, I could always hear the hum. I guess I just got used to the noise because it is always there.

"Let's have a breath-holding contest!", Zenovia exclaimed, jumping up and down in the stream. I was good at breath-holding contests.

"Ok!" I replied. "Ready? 3...2...1..." I took a final look at the landscape, the field of flowers, the mountain, the castle, the birds, the trees, and plunged under the water. I clutched a big rock under the water to keep me from floating to the surface. This was one thing that I knew I could win. I started to wait, listening to the hum. It seemed to be getting quieter. It is probably just my imagination. I might be hearing things. But no. It was surely getting quieter. I opened my eyes underwater. Zenovia was still underwater, but I could tell that she was going to take a breath soon. I closed my eyes again and continued to listen to the hum. Until I couldn't anymore. It had stopped. I opened my eyes again. Zenovia was above water. Around her, the water started to change color. Not by much, but just getting slightly more brown and mucky than the crystal blue it was before. I looked down and saw a fish's skin eating up its insides and then disintegrating until the fish had turned into a pile of bones at the bottom of the stream. I felt something crawling onto my hand. I turned to see what it was. Algae and seaweed were growing onto the previously clean rock out of nowhere. The way it was crawling and gripping on to my skin was almost humanlike. Finally, my breath caught up to me. I had no air. I tried to break my hand free but I couldn't. The seaweed was too strong. I tugged and tugged, my lungs about to explode, until I thought of an idea. I grabbed one of the bones from the fish and used the sharp end to stab the seaweed and loosen its grip. It cut the seaweed in half and I was free. I jumped up so that my mouth was above the surface of the water. My first breath was a mix of a gasp of surprise and lack of air. The field of flowers was wilting before my eyes, the mountain and the castle had turned dark, the birds stopped chirping, the trees were bare, the sky was gray and rainy. It had never rained before in Possiblis. But, the most noticeable change was the hum of the factory. It was completely gone. Without it, Possiblis would fall into a state of destruction. This was it. This was the destruction we had all been warned about. Possiblis was dying.

"Zenovia! We need to leave! Now!" I screamed. I grabbed her wrist and started sprinting into the never-ending abyss of destruction. Running down the path of inevitable sorrow, suffering, and death.