For those of you who have read my story Here and Now, this is a much better version of that. I started writing that story when I was a sophomore in high school and my writing skills were appalling. I'm now a sophomore in college and I can honestly say that my writing skills are more developed.
If you were someone who read that story before, then you should know most of what I had is going to change except for the very basic concept and some story line. Also, David's name is now Dylan
I can honestly say I am going to finish this one because I have the whole thing outlined, 37 pages worth. I will try and post as often as a chapter every 7 days on Thursday at around 4:00.
I know a lot of people look for their favorite people from the movie and I will use them all, but read everything, not just the parts with your favorite character or it won't make sense.
If you're someone who likes a tear jerker this first chapter is perfect for you but I don't start with the Treasure Planet cannon until the next chapter.
Disclaimer: Everything from the original Treasure Planet movie belongs to Disney.
Chapter 1: The Pain of a Brother's Love
Ominous and crumbling, like everything in this once vast city, the skyscrapers stood as a terrible reminder of just how bad the situation had become. These once great buildings use to stand firm and tall, like a symbol of power and strength. Now they are vacant and crumbling to the earth in which they originally came from. Earth was a beautiful place and then man came along and began stripping the surface for its recourses. I guess Mother Nature had enough and decided she was going to take back what the people took from her: everything. It's almost poetic justice. This is not what actually happened, but it is a good way of putting it because, as eroded as the buildings look, it is almost as if the earth is trying to swallow it all up again.
"War zone" is the best way to describe this rather massive ghost town. The air is dry and being scorched by the sun to nearly 110°F (43°C) Dust is thick in the air. It covers the sidewalks and streets like snow in the winter, though this city rarely sees snow. There are no tire tracks in the dust because there is rarely moving vehicles, and when there is they are covered back up in a matter minuets. Only the wind keeps there from being feet deep layers.
Thousands of people left a long time ago for the outer reaches if the galaxy and left their cars behind because they couldn't take them. Sadly, they cannot be used anymore because they're centuries old.
The saddest part of the city is a simple sign sitting at the city limits, bent and rusted. It only lasted as long as it did due to the dry air. It shakes and wobbles in the wind desperately trying with all of its strength to stay standing to greet the very few people who see it.
Alex wished he could just sit down for a moment, but he knew better than that. They had to keep moving until they were home because they weren't safe outside. They had found food, which was hard to come by, and like them, everyone else was looking for some too. He knew that if someone older spotted them with food there was a good chance they would try and take it. He and his brother were only kids, nine and five years old, not even in the double digits yet and could easily be taken advantage of. It was the most difficult thing Alex ever had to do, and that was taking care of his younger brother Jake and he had been doing it for two years now. Sometimes, at night, after he tucked him in and sang to him until he was asleep, he would go into the next room, curl up under the blanket and cry himself to sleep while wondering what he did to deserve this life he was living.
"Alex, I'm tired and my feet hurt, can we sit down and eat our food now?"
Before he could answer his stomach growled. He gave a weary sigh and looked down at his brother who was holding his hand and sucking his thumb.
"You need to stop that. You're not a baby anymore," he said trying to side step the question.
"Can we please eat now?" he wasn't going to get around the question.
"No, it's not safe." He tugged on Jake's hand and began to walk faster. He looked down when Jake said nothing to see tears welling up in his eyes. Sometimes he had to stop and remember living like this was just as hard and scary for his brother as it was for him. He hated seeing him upset so he gave in and drug him to an ally so they could sit down and eat in the shadows.
When they were done what little food they had Alex grabbed Jakes hand and stared walking again. They were two blocks from their home when Alex noticed people in black uniforms watching them from a distance. He looked behind them and seen that there were more coming up behind them and fast. All of the dust on the ground had dampened the sound of any footsteps so he had not heard them before. Panic set in and his feet seemed to act on their own accord. He ran as fast as he could, dragging the five year old with him. Now the people in black were running after them. Fifty feet. He had to make it. Forty feet. It was his job to protect his brother. Thirty feet. What do these people want? Twenty feet. He can't cry now. Ten feet. He was going to make it. The last thing he saw was his brother crying and he knew he had failed.
When he came to, he was in a strange place. He was on a cot and his brother was next to him, still unconscious.
"Jake, wake up." All he got was a groan.
"Jake, come on buddy, time to wake up."
"No, it's too early."
"It's not early, these bad people took us remember?"
He shot up and yelped. He looked around at the strange place before grabbing onto his brother tightly and looked up at Alex with scared eyes.
"What's going to happen to us?"
"I don't know," he said. Alex tried to calm him down by running his hand through his hair and humming softly like he remembered his mother doing for him when he was scared. Thinking about his mother often made him sad but more than anything, it made him angry. He tried not to think about it but sometimes he couldn't help it.
Suddenly, the door opened and a man in strange cloths came in the room. His cloths were nice but they looked like something the good guys in his pirate picture book would wear. The cloths only distracted his for three seconds before he remembered where he was and what had happened.
"What do you want?" he asked while standing up to hide his brother behind him.
"Relax boy, I'm not going to hurt your brother. My name is William Castington" He didn't move.
"What do you want?"
"Living life trying to raise a child when you're no more than a child yourself is a terrible way to live. I'm here to offer you a better one." Alex didn't trust the man. Even though dressed like a good guy, he certainly didn't sound like one.
"Why?" he asked cautiously.
"Because I simply want to make this world a better place. A child going hungry is a terrible thing. If you stay you will get fed three times a day and will have a nice place to sleep. You won't have to worry about you and your brother's safety every second of the day."
It sounded like the best thing he had ever heard. But, if there was one thing he had learned in the last two years it was that you had to trust your instincts or you could end up dead. Right now his instincts were saying run, this person is not trying to help you.
"Can I have time to think about it?"
"Certainly, although I don't see why you need to think about it." He turned and swiftly left the room.
"Did you hear that Alex, he said we'd get to eat three times a day!"
"We need to get out of here."
"What, why!"
"I know it sounds like a good thing but I think he's lying to us. I don't trust him."
Jake really didn't want his brother to be right. He'd love to eat three times a day and not feel so scared all the time. He wanted his brother to not be sad too. He knew that his brother was almost never wrong and even if he was he was only trying to keep them safe so he didn't say anything.
"Come on. We're getting out of here and going home."
"How are we gonna find our home."
"We just will. We have to," he spoke quietly.
They snuck softly out the door and quickly made their way down the hall. They made it around two corners when they heard people running after them.
"Their coming, we have to run faster!" Alex was terrified but he tried his best to hide it from the frightened five year old to his left. As he went around another corner he ran into someone causing both boys to go sprawl to the floor.
"Well, look what we have here. Two little lost boys. Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to run in the hallways." The stranger grabbed both boys the hair causing Jake to yell in pain.
"Stop, you're hurting him," yelled Alex.
"Oh, am I?" the man laughed and gripped Jakes hair even tighter. Jake was crying now.
"Please, stop," Alex cried in anguish. "Please, let him go!"
"Seamus!"
The man dropped them quickly.
"Sorry sir, they were trying to get away."
Castington gave a short nod in Seamus' direction.
"Bring them back to the room, and tie them to chairs this time."
Seamus grabbed the back of their necks and led them through the building and back to a room across from the one where they woke up. He sat them down into metal chairs and tied their arms to the arms of the chair so they couldn't get away. Then he gagged them with duct tape and left them there for nearly 24 hours in the dark.
The next day someone opened the door and turned on the light. After not having light nearly a day it now hurt their eyes, like looking directly at the noon summertime sun.
When their eyes came back into focus they seen it was Castington who had come through the door way.
"Boys, I'm rather disappointed in you, trying to run away from me like that. I offer you a better life and you throw my kindness back in my face. I would blame your rudeness on your parents but you don't have any, do you? You will both, of course, be severely punished for what you have done."
Alex's eye grew wide with panic.
"Every child must to learn their lesson when they do something wrong. I might lessen the punishment if you reconsider my offer," he said as he pulled the duct tape off of Alex's mouth.
"Please, don't hurt my brother. He was only doing what I told him to do. It wasn't his idea. Please, don't hurt him."
"But I must. He did something wrong."
"No he didn't. He listened to me; he is supposed to do that."
Castington considered him for a few moments before speaking. "Very well, I will not harm your brother, if that means you will stay of your own free will." It was more of a question than a statement.
"Good. Seamus, show young Jacob the toy room."
He untied him lead him out of the room. Castington watched them leave and then looked back to see the panic in the older boys eyes.
"Don't worry, I will take good care of him and raise him. You are going to suffer a far worse fate. You will never see him again and six months from now you won't remember his name. One year from now you will have forgotten him altogether. With that he left the boy tied to the chair to cry and realize he failed as an older brother and protector.
Four years later:
He stood outside of the city looking at the bent and rusted sign at the city limits. He was now the same age as his brother when he had lost Alex. For four years he watched from the outside in as they tortured his brother until there was nothing left of his mind. He silently vowed to avenge his brother.
"Cornelius Jacobson Castington. We do not have time to stop. We must be on time or the ship will leave without us."
"Coming Uncle William," said Jake in the British accent that felt strange coming out of his mouth and that he was forced to use. He took one last look at the decrepit sign before taking his 'Uncle's' hand and disappearing into thin air.
The saddest part of the city is a simple sign sitting at the city limits, bent and rusted. It shakes and wobbles in the wind desperately trying with all of its strength to stay standing to greet the very few people who see it: 'Welcome to Los Angeles.' It stands there a clear symbol of tragedy. But Jake saw something else; he saw it as a reason to hope.
