The Surface, as the general majority of earth was now known as, was a very dangerous, volatile land. Volcanoes erupted and molten lava was constantly melting and cooling, hurricanes and floods were frequent as Earth had reverted to a stage of its primordial past, where it was not considered an inhabitable place. There were places between the crusts of the earth where survivors had made their residencies, places safe for the time being, and others that lived by navigating through the molten and the pressure – they were called the Boats of Larvae, boats that were designed for survivors to be able to live in the sweltering heats without being fried to death, and go into the dry ice colds without freezing to death, could withstand heavy amounts of natural pressure and still allow what was aboard to breathe. Man and animal no longer thrived as they had in days past. While some had made preparations for World's End, only fewer still lived past the fire and brimstone, as the world exploded with a wrath unprecedented in the history of mankind. With the eruption of Yellowstone Park in America, the earthquakes that split California off into sea, and the giant capsizing floods that washed over the islands smothered the Japan Isles; smaller volcanoes, floods, ground-splitting earthquakes, hurricanes seemed to spur up quickly around the world, and the storms became violent. Many people were lost during The First Destruction, the time when Earth became destructive globally, and within days of another, killing off many in pure surprise of the ferocity and not being able to get away in time, not that they would live long if they managed to escape if they stayed in the open. Without proper food and proper protection from earth's changing landscape and weather and from the ash and thermal radiation, the boiling days and the bitter icy nights, the Surface was an inhospitable and unforgiving place that would cause one to die a most painful death very quickly.
Survivors were most likely found in the center of a tectonic plate, where it was generally safer from the elements of the violent nature of Earth. Few had managed to resist the natural disasters that took out a good portion of the world. There might be maybe a million people on all of Earth. That was the optimistic estimation. To the very young, it sounded like a lot of people, but the grownups knew. If they were that lucky, then the world had less than one percent of their olden population. Long distant communication was all but wiped out. Within the rugged mountains was one of those community of survivors.
Prior to the eruption of Yellowstone Park, a large group of laborers had dug deep into the side of the dead mountain range, to build a survivor camp inside where people now lived. After some renovations, they could create and procreate their own plants, their oxygen, and animals bred without the need of sunlight. The mountain range provided shelter and a steady stream of water that had to be regulated lest a survivor become sick from the toxins, ash and giardia the water would contain. A particular layer of the mountain was made to act as a window, without letting in any of the outside pollution or potential magma inside. It was not made of glass, and it appeared clearer than glass ever was. Outside the sky was black at night, the stars and moon not visible in the sky, and it grew to a dull gray during what classified as day, a thick layer of volcanic ash blocking out any of the sun's rays from getting past.
The F-J Survivor Camp, as they came to call themselves, had a specialized group that surfaced, when conditions allowed for it. Surfacing was considered very dangerous, as due to the high levels of ash, thermal radiation and toxicity in the air, not to mention the chance of getting injured since they were in the volatile, yet dead, mountain range, if anything went wrong, there was a very good chance you were dead. Kurogane, Tachibana, Sakura and Kendappa were four members of their group that specialized in doing these surface operations– a job that had to be done manually and precisely as one miscalculation could mean the end of their survivor camp. They had help from within their encampment, as everyone contributed to the good of their survival. One way, or another.
It had been years since the world had seen the blue sky; some days, it pained the adults that most of the children could not recall a sky that was not gray or black or made of white cement and cold stone. The teenagers remembered but buried the memories away. The blue was not coming back, like a favorite blanket that is lost between the transition of baby and child, so too went the blue of the sky, and with it, the innocence of the world.
Fai would soon be the newest addition to Kurogane's team, and as the leader of their surfacing group amongst the survivors, Kurogane would be put in charge of making sure Fai was up to par. Unlike the current count of one hundred ninety six residents of the F-J Survivor Camp, Fai would be the only one found alive while they were on a Surfacing mission.
(Don't get caught. You cannot afford to let anyone else know the truth.)
The words echoed inside his mind, as he made his escape. He didn't know where precisely he was going, and he didn't care. With the world in its current state of turmoil, it really didn't matter.
(Somewhere safe must get to somewhere safe. Have to get away.)
Thoughts raced as he did, blurring in a haze as he made his way across the lands with his hover scooter. He'd lost his vehicle transport, a carbon graphene device that was good for driving and providing modest shelter from the ashen skies. The last set of natural explosions had sent most everything flying; he managed to hold on to his most important cargo, but the main vehicle was lost, so he took what he could carry and used the scooter instead. As he reached the mountainous terrain, with his bags of gear strapped tightly to him, he made for the higher hills.
(Somewhere safe, somewhere dead, anywhere but here, as long as it survives, must get away from there. Can't get caught. Must find a safe place to hide.)
