I decided to rewrite this, because I've been reading a lot of dystopic
fiction recently and it struck me that this story could be a great deal
better. I'm a lot happier with it now, and I hope that you, my readers, are
too.
Thanks to "editor-sama" for his help. You're the best.
BLOOD SUN
HIKARU'S JOURNAL: ENTRY ONE: THE DEADLANDS
-Odaiba, 2037-
Today, Motomiya Yusuke and I went on an expedition into the Deadlands.
It was all his idea, of course. Yusuke's never been able to get that the walls around our district are there for a reason. Twelve feet of solid concrete and steel, topped with razor wire and glass, they're the only thing standing between us and the darkness. They're enough by themselves to keep out most of the undead, but there are guards armed with crossbows patrolling the perimeter at all times to take care of anything that might slip past them. Even if we could afford guns and bullets, they wouldn't be much good against the kind of enemies we're facing.
Yusuke feels trapped by all of that. He says that we're worse than prisoners, because we built our own cell and pretend that living in it keeps us safe. He thinks that we should form an army and drive the undead out of the Deadlands. It's a good thing that he's only fifteen and his opinions don't count at the district gatherings, because that sort of thinking would get all of us killed. There are so many of them and so few of us. We would be overwhelmed within minutes, no matter what sort of weapons we had or how hard we fought.
Anyway, I wasn't surprised when he suggested yesterday that we take a trip into the Deadlands. I had been expecting it for a long time and had decided to go along with him. I knew I wouldn't be able to talk him out of it and thought that, if I went along with him, I just might be able to keep him from killing himself. Yusuke doesn't always think things through before acting. If he saw a vamp, he'd probably try to get a closer look or dust it himself. He needs someone to be his better judgment and I guess that job falls to me as his best friend. That, and everyone always says I have more street-smarts than a kid should. I always reply that it's the only way to survive in this hellhole.
We set out just after midday when the undead would be sure to be lying dormant. No-one knows exactly where they go during the day, or else we would be able to attack them while they were helpless. At the beginning of the occupation, the district sent out patrols to try and locate them, but none of them returned from their sorties into the Deadlands and we gave up on looking for them after a while. We couldn't afford to lose any more men or women. Still, I knew that that they would not come after us and that was enough for me.
We got past the gate guards by pretending to be bike messengers delivering medicine to a neighbouring district. The guards were suspicious when they saw how young we were, but they had to let us through after inspecting our IDs and finding nothing wrong with them. They weren't real, of course. Yusuke had "borrowed" his dad's one for long enough for me to scan it and make some alterations. It wouldn't have passed a computer check, but those were a luxury that only the richer districts could afford. Glorified slum as it was, Odaiba could barely support its guards, let alone a proper security system.
Outside the walls, the city still looked like a battleground even after thirteen years. Most of the buildings had been reduced to rubble. Concrete and brick littered the ground and twisted girders thrust upwards towards the sky. The few that remained intact were burnt out shells with blackened walls and empty windows. The streets were equally ruined. Chunks of asphalt had been thrown up in the fighting and weeds now sprouted through the cracks. A few of them were flowering, brilliant patches of white and yellow among all the devastation.
"Shit," Yusuke breathed, "This is something else."
"Can we go back now?" I hoped that the sight of the outside world would have shocked him back to his senses, "We'll tell the guards I sprained my ankle or something."
"You kidding, Hikaru?" he climbed off his bicycle and propped it up against a chunk of concrete, "This is meant to be an expedition. I want to look around some more."
I got off my own bicycle, "Fine, but we can't stay long. It's winter and you know how early the sun sets."
"Uh huh," Yusuke said in that vague, distracted way of his that meant he hadn't heard a word I said. He started walking towards one of the burnt-out buildings, picking his way around chunks of tarmac and ducking under girders. Annoyed, I ran after him. God only knew who or what could be hiding inside it. I had heard rumours about gangs in the Deadlands, hunting vampires by night for the thrill of it. I didn't believe they were true – I was pretty sure nothing human could survive outside the walls – but I didn't want to gamble my life on it.
"Yusuke!" I called, "Yusuke! Come back!"
He ignored me and disappeared into the doorway. Even though I knew it was stupid, I had no choice but to follow him. I couldn't stand around and do nothing, while my best friend got himself get killed. The inside of the building was as ruined as the outside. The heat of the flames had caused the paint to bubble up and peel off the walls, giving them a strangely diseased look. It did not help that they were as black with soot as the outside walls had been. Some of the ceiling tiles were missing and wiring dangled down in front of me like the intestines of some gutted animal. Dust lay thick on the concrete floor, and I could see footprints leading into one of the apartments. I knew from the footprints that Yusuke must have gone that way.
"Yusuke!" I called again, "I don't think this is safe! We should get out of here!"
"Come here, Hikaru," he yelled back, "You've got to see this."
Muttering to myself about the stupidity of boys, I went through into what evidently had once been a lounge. It had fared no better than the rest of the apartment building. All that remained of its furnishings was the metal skeleton of a lounge suite and a burnt-out television. The rest was charred wood and ashes. I shivered, thinking of the people who once must have lived in it. Had they been killed when Vandemon invaded Tokyo or had they been among the lucky few who had escaped to safety through the subways? I knew I would never be able to find out, but the identity of the unknown family haunted me nevertheless.
"Look at this," Yusuke said. He was standing in the middle of the room, a shiny object dangling from his hand and swaying in front of him. I went to take a closer look and frowned in puzzlement. It looked like a pendant, made from metal and glass, into which a strange symbol had been carved. It was almost like a sun, two concentric circles with rays flaring out from the larger one. I had never seen anything like it before.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's some sort of jewelry," Yusuke squinted at it, "Do you think it's worth anything, Hikaru? It looks really cheap and tacky."
"Ask my mom. She's the fashion expert, not me," I made a face at him.
My mom's the best seamstress in the district and it's a never-ending source of disappointment to her that I never wear any of the pretty dresses that she makes me. They stay in my cupboard until I outgrow them and she's forced to give them to charity. I guess she hopes that being a tomboy is something I'll outgrow in time, but I doubt that'll ever happen. I'm almost fifteen now and I still refuse to turn myself into some dressed-up, boy- crazy doll like my two older sisters. I've got too much self-respect for that.
"Okay," he pocketed it, "I'll ask Aunt Sora when we get back."
"Why don't we go ask her now?" I suggested hopefully.
"I just want to explore one more apartment and then we'll go home," Yusuke promised, turning puppy-dog eyes on me. It was a cheap trick, because I could never resist him when he gave me that look and he knew it. However, if I'd known what was going to happen, I would have tried a lot harder. . . .
-to be continued-
Thanks to "editor-sama" for his help. You're the best.
BLOOD SUN
HIKARU'S JOURNAL: ENTRY ONE: THE DEADLANDS
-Odaiba, 2037-
Today, Motomiya Yusuke and I went on an expedition into the Deadlands.
It was all his idea, of course. Yusuke's never been able to get that the walls around our district are there for a reason. Twelve feet of solid concrete and steel, topped with razor wire and glass, they're the only thing standing between us and the darkness. They're enough by themselves to keep out most of the undead, but there are guards armed with crossbows patrolling the perimeter at all times to take care of anything that might slip past them. Even if we could afford guns and bullets, they wouldn't be much good against the kind of enemies we're facing.
Yusuke feels trapped by all of that. He says that we're worse than prisoners, because we built our own cell and pretend that living in it keeps us safe. He thinks that we should form an army and drive the undead out of the Deadlands. It's a good thing that he's only fifteen and his opinions don't count at the district gatherings, because that sort of thinking would get all of us killed. There are so many of them and so few of us. We would be overwhelmed within minutes, no matter what sort of weapons we had or how hard we fought.
Anyway, I wasn't surprised when he suggested yesterday that we take a trip into the Deadlands. I had been expecting it for a long time and had decided to go along with him. I knew I wouldn't be able to talk him out of it and thought that, if I went along with him, I just might be able to keep him from killing himself. Yusuke doesn't always think things through before acting. If he saw a vamp, he'd probably try to get a closer look or dust it himself. He needs someone to be his better judgment and I guess that job falls to me as his best friend. That, and everyone always says I have more street-smarts than a kid should. I always reply that it's the only way to survive in this hellhole.
We set out just after midday when the undead would be sure to be lying dormant. No-one knows exactly where they go during the day, or else we would be able to attack them while they were helpless. At the beginning of the occupation, the district sent out patrols to try and locate them, but none of them returned from their sorties into the Deadlands and we gave up on looking for them after a while. We couldn't afford to lose any more men or women. Still, I knew that that they would not come after us and that was enough for me.
We got past the gate guards by pretending to be bike messengers delivering medicine to a neighbouring district. The guards were suspicious when they saw how young we were, but they had to let us through after inspecting our IDs and finding nothing wrong with them. They weren't real, of course. Yusuke had "borrowed" his dad's one for long enough for me to scan it and make some alterations. It wouldn't have passed a computer check, but those were a luxury that only the richer districts could afford. Glorified slum as it was, Odaiba could barely support its guards, let alone a proper security system.
Outside the walls, the city still looked like a battleground even after thirteen years. Most of the buildings had been reduced to rubble. Concrete and brick littered the ground and twisted girders thrust upwards towards the sky. The few that remained intact were burnt out shells with blackened walls and empty windows. The streets were equally ruined. Chunks of asphalt had been thrown up in the fighting and weeds now sprouted through the cracks. A few of them were flowering, brilliant patches of white and yellow among all the devastation.
"Shit," Yusuke breathed, "This is something else."
"Can we go back now?" I hoped that the sight of the outside world would have shocked him back to his senses, "We'll tell the guards I sprained my ankle or something."
"You kidding, Hikaru?" he climbed off his bicycle and propped it up against a chunk of concrete, "This is meant to be an expedition. I want to look around some more."
I got off my own bicycle, "Fine, but we can't stay long. It's winter and you know how early the sun sets."
"Uh huh," Yusuke said in that vague, distracted way of his that meant he hadn't heard a word I said. He started walking towards one of the burnt-out buildings, picking his way around chunks of tarmac and ducking under girders. Annoyed, I ran after him. God only knew who or what could be hiding inside it. I had heard rumours about gangs in the Deadlands, hunting vampires by night for the thrill of it. I didn't believe they were true – I was pretty sure nothing human could survive outside the walls – but I didn't want to gamble my life on it.
"Yusuke!" I called, "Yusuke! Come back!"
He ignored me and disappeared into the doorway. Even though I knew it was stupid, I had no choice but to follow him. I couldn't stand around and do nothing, while my best friend got himself get killed. The inside of the building was as ruined as the outside. The heat of the flames had caused the paint to bubble up and peel off the walls, giving them a strangely diseased look. It did not help that they were as black with soot as the outside walls had been. Some of the ceiling tiles were missing and wiring dangled down in front of me like the intestines of some gutted animal. Dust lay thick on the concrete floor, and I could see footprints leading into one of the apartments. I knew from the footprints that Yusuke must have gone that way.
"Yusuke!" I called again, "I don't think this is safe! We should get out of here!"
"Come here, Hikaru," he yelled back, "You've got to see this."
Muttering to myself about the stupidity of boys, I went through into what evidently had once been a lounge. It had fared no better than the rest of the apartment building. All that remained of its furnishings was the metal skeleton of a lounge suite and a burnt-out television. The rest was charred wood and ashes. I shivered, thinking of the people who once must have lived in it. Had they been killed when Vandemon invaded Tokyo or had they been among the lucky few who had escaped to safety through the subways? I knew I would never be able to find out, but the identity of the unknown family haunted me nevertheless.
"Look at this," Yusuke said. He was standing in the middle of the room, a shiny object dangling from his hand and swaying in front of him. I went to take a closer look and frowned in puzzlement. It looked like a pendant, made from metal and glass, into which a strange symbol had been carved. It was almost like a sun, two concentric circles with rays flaring out from the larger one. I had never seen anything like it before.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's some sort of jewelry," Yusuke squinted at it, "Do you think it's worth anything, Hikaru? It looks really cheap and tacky."
"Ask my mom. She's the fashion expert, not me," I made a face at him.
My mom's the best seamstress in the district and it's a never-ending source of disappointment to her that I never wear any of the pretty dresses that she makes me. They stay in my cupboard until I outgrow them and she's forced to give them to charity. I guess she hopes that being a tomboy is something I'll outgrow in time, but I doubt that'll ever happen. I'm almost fifteen now and I still refuse to turn myself into some dressed-up, boy- crazy doll like my two older sisters. I've got too much self-respect for that.
"Okay," he pocketed it, "I'll ask Aunt Sora when we get back."
"Why don't we go ask her now?" I suggested hopefully.
"I just want to explore one more apartment and then we'll go home," Yusuke promised, turning puppy-dog eyes on me. It was a cheap trick, because I could never resist him when he gave me that look and he knew it. However, if I'd known what was going to happen, I would have tried a lot harder. . . .
-to be continued-