Hey everyone!
As some of you know, I write comics and am working on a novel. Recently, I took a break from working on the novel to finish the script I was working on, move to a new home and start up this blog. Well, after a month or so, I dove back in.
After some thought, I decided I wanted to share the first few chapters of the novel. Please note, what I am sharing has not been edited yet. Grammatical errors, typos and other formatting errors may be found in the preview. the content is subject to change prior to the release of the final version.
Over the next few weeks I will post the prologue to chapter three. Feel free to read, comment and share the post.However, no part of this document may be copied, altered or reproduced in whole or in part, digitally or in print, without my written permission.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy!
-Kyle
PS: Stay tuned until the final post for something awesome.
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Unbound: The Awakening
By: Kyle Stephens
“A hero shall rise from the ashes of despair.”
Prologue
The year is 2554 and science fiction was wrong, humanity cannot venture far beyond our world and its atmosphere. The stars are, and always will be, a distant thought. Resources are limited. Humanity is forced to dig deeper and deeper into our own ruined planet to find what we need to survive.
One company leads the charge towards Earth's center – the Gaia Corporation. They are the leading corporate entity on this rock we call home. Long after the governments fell, Gaia stayed strong. They have a hand in all walks of life. Even the local police, if you want to call them that, are staffed and managed by Gaia corp. Their home office resides in Olympia City. A sprawling utopia that sits on the very spot where the once fable Mount Olympus stood – where the gods watched over man. That mountain, like many others, has been mined until it collapsed in on itself. Every year more of the Earth's landscape is reduced to nothing more than holes in the ground, barely a trace of used to be. Only the poorest or most desperate become deep earth miners.
The residents of Olympia city are split. The famous, wealthy and privileged live in the upper tier of the city. Their way of life is protected by the great wall. The wall separates glamour from the slums below – where most of the population resides. Disease, famine and crime are considered normal. Life there is tough, but their will to survive is ironclad.
***
“Please tell me he'll be ok” said Liam, head in his hands.
“I'm sorry, but there is nothing more we can do.” the doctor replied.
“There has to be something, anything. Some drug, surgery or-or procedure we can look into.” Liam said as he looked back at the doctor. He appeared as though he hasn't slept in days. His dark blue-black hair and goatee are disheveled, bags hung under his eyes.
“Your medical allotment has run out. Gaia has denied any further treatment. Your son’s lungs have not shown any signs of recovery. I am sorry to say, but you should start making arrangements.”
The doctor places his hand on Liam's shoulder which hung defeated. The gesture which was meant to comfort and sooth, made Liam feel even more alone. It had been barely a year since he lost his wife to pneumonia. Gaia Corp employees were only given a certain amount of time they could use to visit hospitals or doctors. More serious issues cost more time, which equaled less treatment. Sometimes families had to choose between their own children.
Minutes turned to hours as Liam sat with his son. It was just before dawn when the beeping of the monitor became one unending sound. No one came to try and resuscitate the boy; the sound was just remotely silenced from the nearby nurses’ station.
It was then that Liam finally wept.
Part One: Descent
Chapter One
Six months later
“Liam,” Avery yelled from the kitchen. “Get up.”
“Avery, shut it” Liam replied, barely awake.
Liam lay among bottles of various alcohols. His mind still swimming from the previous night’s binge. He needed to calm his nerves before today's expedition.
“Come on, get up.” Avery yelled back, “We're already runnin' late.”
The young girl, barely eighteen, was already up and dressed. Her long red hair pulled back and braided. Atop her head were her not-so-standard issue purple goggles. Avery was in the kitchen, food sizzling in the pan. She had been up for a while already. She was nervous for today mission; but unlike Liam she wasn't old enough to force herself to sleep with alcohol.
Liam's stomach grumbled from a mix of hunger and nausea. Whiskey always made Liam feel like a king at night, but left him in the garbage by morning. He sat up trying to quell the rage inside him and the explosions in his head.
“U-ugh. When did I go to bed?” Liam grumbled, rubbing his temples.
“When you passed out and I put you there.”
“Thanks...” Liam replied. He sat on his bed for a few long minutes. His eyes wandered to the handmade stuffed bear on the floor. It normally stayed on his bed, close to his pillow. That was where his son kept it on his bed when he would sleep. Liam reached down and put it back in its spot. The movement made his head spin, but he had to get ready.
Liam stood up and got dressed. He grabbed his normal work attire and made sure his mining gauntlet was calibrated. Liam's employer, The Gaia Corporation, issued one to every deep earth miner. It allowed them to sync with their communications array, tools and drills. If something were to ever go missing, they knew where to start their search.
As Liam strode into the kitchen he threw on his favorite jacket. By now the long brown coat was well worn. His job ripped and tore at the coat but he still he kept it. It was one of the last things his wife gave him before she died. He also grabbed his eye protection and hung them around his neck. He didn't use them much, piloting the machines and all, but he was required to have them.
Liam grabbed a plate of food and sat with Avery. Silence was all they needed. In the years they have known each other; they have learned they didn't always need to talk. Avery, like Liam, lost her family. Now the two were all they had left. Their age difference - Liam in his early thirties - let them to form a special bond. They are more than friends and co-workers they were now family. To Liam, Avery was now like his little sister.
“You ready?” Avery finally said after finishing her food.
“I dunno." Liam replied. "Today could be my last”
“You'll be fine. You got me watching over ya.”
“Like I said, today could be my last.” Liam said, a small grin forming on his face.
They quickly cleaned up and headed to the door. Liam's nerves were now taking the place of the hangover. His stomach started to twist as they left. What was coming could change everything for him, for everyone, or it could be the last time he saw the light of day.
Their house was not too far from the mine owned by Gaia Corp. Everything in this part of town was covered in a fine later of rock dust. But the closer they were to work, the faster they could get back and forth. That means more hours and in turn more money. Not that Gaia Corp. paid their employees well.
***
They arrived at the main gate of mining complex and were greeted with the long line waiting to scan in.
"Crap." Liam muttered, knowing it was his fault for being late.
The building was the largest in the lower city. Nearby housing complexes were dwarfed in comparison. Smoke billowed from stacks that added to the building's height. Soot and dust always fell from the sky like snow; it never managed to reach past the wall though. Almost nothing from down here made it inside of the border. Every entrance elevator scaling the sixty story wall was guarded. People have tried to sneak in, they usually found themselves in a detention cell or worse. Repeated attempts came with more sever consequences.
As the two neared the entrance, the familiar glow of the body scanners lit the main hall. Signs adorned the walls on either side of them. Nearly every inch of the passage had something to say. Everything from warning signs to company propaganda could be seen. The most common of which was the company logo; an inverted triangle with a hand holding the Earth. It could also be seen on every employee uniform and piece of machinery.
Liam lifted his goggles; also company issued, and prepared to be scanned in for work. He could hear the computer registering the people in front of him. Each employee was given an alphanumeric code at birth. That dictated what you did and where you went from there on out. Each scan only took a moment. The works in front of him stepped in, were bathed in light and went on their way.
A minute later and it was Liam's turn. The scanner beeped and recorded his arrival. M948, check in complete. Liam was barely out of the scanner when Avery stepped in. C575, check in complete.
"So, are you ready for this?" Avery said as she put her own goggles back atop her head. This time, even under the sarcasm, Liam knew she was serious.
"Honestly, I dunno. We've never drilled this far." Liam replied. “There are a lot of variables to account for.”
"Yeah, but with you piloting and me watching from here, you'll be back in no time."
Liam just half smiled at Avery. He wished he had her confidence. She had no idea how he felt, she wasn't the one who might not come back. Avery was a communications specialist. That meant she stayed seated in mission control, watching safely from above.
It was a long fifteen minute walk to mission control. Nearing the entrance, Avery stopped for a few moments as though she was going to say something to try and bolster his spirits. Instead she put on a forced smile.
"I'll be watching." Avery said, turning towards the door.
"I know." Replied Liam, "Thanks."
Avery then turned and left. The hall seemed a lot emptied without her there. A few moments passed as Liam collected his thoughts.
I got this.
Finally he spun on his heel and made towards the launch hanger. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check back next week for Chapter 2!
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