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Future Dome

A light trickle of rain slowly fell from the cloud-filled night sky. The rain fell gently onto the floor of the forest, forming small puddles everywhere. Slowly, the rain, grew fiercer, and fell faster. The thin trees swayed, like dandelions in the wind. And as the blinding flash of lightning raced across the sky, I awoke.

The first thing I saw was the red moon, shining through the thick clouds. Its warmth spread through me, but then I thought, the moon wasn't red… was it? I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness sweep over me, the intensity knocking me from my feet. The sounds of the forest swirled around me, just like the questions brewing in my head. 'Where am I? Why is the moon red? How did I get here?

I kneeled on the ground, the cold rain falling from my back. I brushed my wet hair from my forehead, slowly standing up. I observed my surroundings, trying to figure out how I had come to wake up on the forest floor. Looking around didn't help me at all. In fact, it made the confusion worse. I did not recognize any of the plants around me, nor the animals, nor insects.

I saw large blue plants with sharp knife-like pedals surrounding it, black roses, six tailed cats, fox-sized ants, and frogs with razor sharp teeth. Luckily, none of them seemed hostile. Although some animals seemed dangerous, they did not seem to want to attack me. Instead, they stayed out of my way, as if they were scared of me.

I stared in awe at the mystical plants and animals I was seeing.. The world around me seemed so different from the city life I was used to. As I walked through the forest, I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to my bed I had slept in, my parents who had cared for me, my friends who I loved…

My brain was flooded with memories as I walked through the forest, all alone. I was deep in thought, pondering every possibility, 'Had there been a huge world-ending event that killed everybody but me? Had I somehow been transported to another universe? Was I being tricked by my friends?

I thought about it, but never seemed to find an answer that seemed possible. I was still deep in thought as the green leaves below my feet slowly turned into gray rock, and as the fresh air turned into the putrid smell of ash, gas, and fire.

I quickly looked up, my thoughts interrupted by the sudden change in environment. My jaw dropped open at the horrible scene before me. I looked at the crumbling brick walls, its coat of paint burned off. I saw the glass shattered everywhere. I saw flames licking at the grass. But the worst thing of all, was the corpses of humans, littering the street, their white eyes staring off blankly, covered with burns. I looked upon the crumbling town, and I had to stifle a shriek. Not because of the town's destruction, but because I recognized the town. Sure, now, it was simply a wreck, and it was totally destroyed, but I could still see the natural features of the land. I could see the hills that I used to play on as a child. I could see the small stream in the middle of town that was now tainted with blood. It was the town I had grown up in. The town I had been born in. The town I had been in just a few hours ago. I wondered to myself, how could all this have happened in a few hours?

I walked forward, my eyes wide with disbelief. The city had been completely destroyed, as if a monster had destroyed it. As I approached the city, I realized that it was worse than I thought. I had simply thought that the monster had crashed through here, but the inside was completely wrecked.

Every single house had been destroyed, killing everybody inside. There was no way that anybody could have survived. As I silently mourned my family, and friends, a burning anger rushed inside of me. How had this happened? I wanted to take the destroyer of the city and stuff his head down a volcano. This was definitely not a natural disaster. Huge claw prints could be found on the streets. Houses that had been destroyed seemed to have been burnt down.

How was I supposed to deal with this? How was a fifteen year old boy supposed to take in the information that mythological monsters had destroyed his village? It was crazy!

I clutched my head, which was swimming with thoughts. The panic was so overwhelming that I almost fainted. I screamed, over and over, hoping that I would wake up from this dream.

I was just about to collapse, when I heard a whisper coming from behind me. "What are you doing?"

I spun around, startled. Strangely, I saw nobody. I said to myself, "I must be going crazy!"

I turned back around and started walking away when I heard that whisper again, "Where are you going? The monsters are still out there! I don't know who you are, but you should get back down here!"

I spun around again, wondering where the voice was coming from. Again, I saw nothing. But, this time, I was sure I wasn't crazy. I walked towards where I had heard the voice, and looked around. I still couldn't see anything. What was going on?

Just when I was about to turn back around, I saw a small head. It was poking out of the ground, as if the dragon had cut it off and left it there. The head said once more, "Well? Get over here! Don't dawdle! You are going to die!"

I stifled a shriek at the thought of a talking disembodied head. I slowly stepped towards it, cautiously watching it. After a few steps, I realized that the head wasn't cut off. It had been poking out from a pothole.

The head belonged to a young girl, about thirteen or fourteen. She said to me, "Well? Do you want to die? Get down her!"

I ran towards her, excited from seeing a fellow human being. I knew it was impossible that my entire town had been wiped out! Although I didn't recognize her, at this point, I was ready to trust anybody that seemed human. I crawled down the pothole, expecting to see the smelly water filled sewer, but instead, I saw a large dome. It was holding about a hundred people, all of them scrawny and thin. The dome had extremely high-tech objects installed, overflowing with objects I had never seen before.

The people gathered around me, suddenly asking questions. I didn't recognize any of the face around me, and I definitely didn't recognize the huge dome in front of me. I decided that I should introduce myself.

"My name is Zane Ronalds, and I am a student of Farhaxton High School, Class of 2019."

One of the eldest people said, "2019? This is the year 2050! How is that possible?"