Eon

Chapter 1

He drifted across the concrete of the future, past the lights with their long necks whose tips illuminated the darkness of night. He went past streets where cars raced and danced, the people inside, their windows shielding themselves from the torrent of flame and death outside. He crawled across bars and grocery stores and was offered no helping hand for he was beyond damned. He knew it would have been easier to give in, to die, but his stubbornness held him at bay, stopping the feeding knife and its insatiable hunger.

Another night, another dim past unveiled, another disgusting truth shown. He remembered little for the drugs were strong and attached themselves like parasites that clung to the victim and never stopped eating for it was in their nature. Life passed in a series of images and clips. People he once knew revealed themselves from time to time. He did not call them by name, instead merely laughing at their own helplessness.

He found himself in some unknown place. Fear came to him. The lights were not bright and the peoples were hooded and cloaked, looking at the haggard kid with half-glances that were so evil it made the kid weak. Then, like the smoke of the cities of Earth, a man came, with a frayed cap and a worn suit. The man was of the money-clad, those who saw people as commodities. He approached the kid, waving slowly. The kid could not comprehend the man's intentions for he was beyond lost.

"Kid!" the man with the frayed cap said. "Boy, do I have an opportunity for you! Do you want to be rich? Do you want to do something worthwhile? Then come with me! Unless you'd rather stay here." He smiled a sickly smile. "You look like you have a lot going for yourself, kid."

The kid stared at the man. He was trapped, submerged in the evils of life, and this man knew it. The kid was one of the lost. It was not hard to decipher it.

"What's the job?" the kid asked in his dream-state.

"One of the oldest jobs in history! Expansionism! We put you on a ship, you go up, then you come back down. To Eon! All under the watchful eyes of the United States Government. Come on, kid. I'm giving you a great opportunity here."

The world spun fast, past the brink, a point of no return. The kid swayed to the side. He managed to mutter something, but his voice was under a cloud of white noise and the man with the frayed cap did not hear it. But it was good enough. The man motioned for the kid to follow.

"Alright, kid. Just follow me, and stay close. No gain losing you to a random mugger."

They went down long sidewalks below street lights dancing in a multitude of colors, reflecting off cars speeding past in fury. The people themselves were a variety of different shades and shapes, the democratization of the world now complete. They shouted to one another in rage or in passion and as the night increased these noises only mounted.

As they went on the kid noticed larger shadows. A helicopter sped across from above. Men with assault rifles and dogs emerged. They had come to a military quarter, a climax of the technological and political that would someday set the world on fire.

They came upon a gathering. Men moved all around dressed like the kid, with faded clothes and faded eyes. The kid's mind had become clearer, the drugs finally filtering through. He turned to the man with wide and frantic eyes.

"Where are we?" the kid asked.

The man smiled again. "This is where you'll be screened. Don't worry about it. They'll ask you a few question. Your name, where you're from. You don't have to tell them too much, if you catch my meaning."

The kid looked back to the city. It sat there, a dark stain on the horizon, tall buildings blocking out even the moonlight. He thought of leaving then, of returning to his life under the lights, but that path only led to oblivion and despite all his shortcomings the kid knew this truth for he had carved it onto his wrists.