The Wick

CHAPTER ONE

Big Dreams

It all started with a dream. But then again, doesn't it always?

When I was really young, I dreamed of going to space. A few years later, I longed to be a great athletic champion. And soon after that, an actress, artist, and so on. Do you see the pattern? I've always wanted to be famous, and will happily go to great lengths to get there.

The world is a big place. I've heard from my friend Rolph that before the Epitaph came with all their horrible monsters and made the world a wasteland, there used to be billions and billions of people on earth. Before the technologic age from 2100 to 2200, mother Earth was a very populated place. But then in 2103, the epitaph came through a giant pit in the sky(called a slip space rift) and landed on Earth. Then, we, the people, attacked. The aliens were great fighters, but the soldiers we sent in were too great for them. The humans defeated them and conquered the giant space cruiser on April 3, 2103, 17 days after it landed. The alien's defeat led to the formation of the human government CANDLe. This corrupt government has ruled the earth since.

Anyway, humanity took the ship but accidentally released the creatures on board. People today call that ship "the Ark" since it carried two of each of the Epitaph' s strange creatures, like hook -claws, long hook like one eyed creatures that borrow underground, or poison-stings, bee-like insects with a poisonous stinger that inflict an infectious virus. After the epitaph landed, humanity began to make great advances in technology thanks to the aliens.

For example, in the year 2127, Richard Dinger created the first hologram. It wasn't a very useful invention, but it marked the beginning of a new era. Though the technologic age began 27 years prior, the world took its first great leap with the hologram. From there, many new inventions sprung. Next was the hover board, in cyro pods, and soon, AI. For those that are not technologically understanding, AI is short for artificial intelligence. This was the ultimate of an invention of its time. It allowed so much more to be done with so little.

AI allowed robots, and robots allowed slaves, friends, workers, without a single ounce of human sweat. Robots evolved over time, starting out clunky and big, then becoming thinner and compact. Soon, robots became more of helpers than anything else. Nowadays, since metal is scarce, robots are only used by higher-ranked officials. Robots were now small orb-like floating devices, capable of over 1000 functions.

These years of the technologic age were supposedly some of the greatest. By the year 2250, CANDLe's government became an empire. The Epitaph fell under this as well, and became worth as much as the rest of humanity. The leader of CANDLe, Darwin Flicker, declared unjust laws and led to much uproar. A time of rebellion began, and a group of humans began a rebellion. For about 15 years, they waged war until finally, CANDLe took back order and not only that, tightened and perfected the government. CANDLe began to take from the Epitaph's technology and soon gained enough power to create a stronghold, called The Wax.

The Wax was like a giant metal fortress extending out into the sky. The Wax was created from the ruins of the Ark, and used technology created by aliens that turned over to candle. One of the many technologies was the core, a compound that only its makers knew what it was made of. The core was almost 2000° under zero Fahrenheit and supposedly had enough power to maintain the entire fortress. The Wax still exists to this day, somewhere in Europe.

CANDLe's headquaters' core runs on a very rare substance called the Eternal Flame. It is said to only exist in it in organisms that carry great energy or life force. The Flame is found all over the planet, and it is the job of the Wick to carry that flame to The Wax in a special lighter-like holder. Sometimes it is a short journey; most times it is a long and grueling one. Due to the amount of terrors that await the Wick, not many people take the job. The Wax's core is only needed to be fueled once a year, at the same time as the last.

This is where I, Meera Flame, come in. The only people to have ever survived as the Wick, were men and there were only a few at best. An Eternal Flame was recently found near my hometown Pivot, California. I'm going to take the job and become the first 14-year-old and GIRL to escort the flame to the wax. And so, this is where my story begins. With my crazy, sawed out dream.

*****

Flash forward to the day before my departure. I awake gradually and groggily. The light filtering through the shades seemed to threaten my last day of blissful sleep before a long walk began. Today I would meet my traveling companion, a robot, candle class, that would help me to escort the eternal flame. My crowded room seems to reach out every shelf, with every knickknack piled high and low. Airplanes, collectibles, spaceships, books, movies, pens of every sort in every shape, bits of paper stacked from here to there and everywhere. My bed sitting in the middle of the mess, my cupboards full of clothes surround it. A body length mirror in the corner, a present for my mom. And on my bedside table, pictures. Memories.

I stand up, stretch, and look at myself in the mirror. There is the normal 14-year-old me, to the world, just one of the many people on the earth. Hopefully, tomorrow that'll change. My ginger red hair is all tangled up in a knot to the top of my head, and my tall lean figure is slouched, in an ordinary post-apocalyptic teenage way. My sea blue eyes counteract against my fiery red hair, which I get from my mom. My 4-year-old brother, Toph, knocks on the door and speaks innocently,calling me by the only way he can pronounce my name.

"Me-Wah?" He asks. "Aw Woo Up Wet?"

I shake my head quickly to make a mess of hair I have less frizzy. "Yep, Toph. I'll be right out." I lean over to my cupboard of clothes and pull out a presentable T-shirt and jeans. I quickly change to head downstairs.

Toph awaits me at the bottom of the crooked stairs. He's the only one in my family to have sandy blond hair and green eyes and we consider him a special for that. He does get sick a lot, but the clinic has no explanation for it. He lives each day to the fullest in case he may not live to see the next. I follow him to the musky hallway down to the rickety kitchen. My auburn haired mother awaits us, and the smell of pancakes fills my nose.

"Good morning, Mom." I say and sit down at the second-hand wayward table. "Food smells delish."

"Thanks honey." She says, and leans over to kiss me on the forehead, frying pan in hand. And no, we don't use the really advanced food processors that instantly slam ingredients together to make a meal, we don't have enough money for that kind of stuff. She serves me a pancake while Toph waddles in.

"Mommy!" he wails, and runs to hug our mother. She kisses him on top of his head as well, and serves up a pancake for him while he pulls himself up onto his chair. Toph is a lot taller than other toddlers, giving him certain advantages to his life.

"Are you all packed, Meera, for tomorrow?" My mom inquires.

"I'm pretty sure." I reply, mouth full with buttermilk pancakes dripping with maple syrup. "Just one or two last minute checks and changes and I'll be---" I am interrupted by the syrup suddenly belching in my face.

"Mee-Wah can't go!" Toph cries, and squirts me again with the maple syrup. I gasp, in surprise and the syrup bottle quickly flies into my hands. I gasp again, this time in shock, at the mysterious happening. Toph cries, "Mee-Wah, don't go!!!!" and begins to sob. I climb out of my seat toward him, but instead he bolts upstairs. SWUP. The sound of a newspaper coming down a delivery port echoes through the chilling silence and my mom rushes off to it.

I sigh and walk over to the sink and try to wash out the syrup stain all over my shirt. In the end, it doesn't completely come out, but I figure, close enough. I then grab Toph's plate, and walk back through the hall to the stairs. I see my mom's figure looking at the paper, her hand to her mouth in shock. I'm almost about to go talk to her when I hear Toph's young innocent cries upstairs. I turn to the stairs and ascend.

So far, this day was going well.

NEXT WEEK: CHAPTER 2: CONSERVATIONALIST