The Stormwriter
Written by Arpinicl
Hope was lost on this desolate land many years ago, ever since the UAF fell to Kurtz’s army.
Now with free reign over this country, Kurtz and his minions rampaged over cities, toppling the foundations of society and sending it into what is now called The Bleak Age.
This story takes place during the Bleak Age and follows a man named Duvall Temmens, an innocent farmer who lives on the outskirts of the city with his wife and daughter. Now, with backstory out of the way, on to the story….
“Hey Honey! Did you put the chicken legs on the grill yet?”
“Yeah I did, like 10 minutes ago, why?”
“Well there is black smoke coming from the grill.”
Duvall sat up quickly in his reclining chair and because of that, his coffee cup spilled in his lap. Cursing under his breath, he ran through the house and to the grill. Just as his wife had mentioned, black smoke was pouring out from the vent in the grill. Duvall prepared his tongs and flung open the grill door. The smoke flew right into his face, causing him to cough and making his eyes water. The black smoke rose up into the air and floated off with the clouds and now all that was left was too blackened bones with meat on them. Duvall sighed and placed the chicken legs on the plate and brought them inside. His family was sitting down at the dinner table already, helping themselves to the green beans and mashed potatoes that lay on the table before them.
Duvall looked back down at his chicken legs and the food in front of him and turned around to go back outside.
“Dad, where are you going? Food is ready.” His daughter called from the dining room.
“Dad has to make sure the pigs get fed as well as us” Duvall told his daughter before making his way over to the pig enclosure.
Duvall threw the burnt chicken over the fence and the pigs snatched it up right away, eating the bones and everything. He walked back to the table and was finally able to sit down. Duvall looked at his family and smiled and just enjoyed this moment. However, this moment soon became interrupted by a knock on the door. Duvall and his wife, Linda, froze while his daughter, Stephanie held a confused look on her face.
“Are you expecting anyone to come?” Linda nervously asked Duvall.
Duvall shook his head and got up from the table,”Just as we practiced Steph, now go hide in the cellar with mom and don’t come out till I say so, got it?”
“Yes Dad,” Stephanie said and pulled open a hatch beneath the table to reveal steps leading down to a basement.
“Will I ever see you again?” Linda asked Duvall with tears in the corners of her eyes.
“I don’t know, now go!” Duvall closed the door and locked it.
Duvall grabbed his shotgun hanging from the wall and cautiously made his way to the door. He slowly opened the door to reveal his friend Mandrake from the rebellion. He went to greet him but Mandrake’s face was still. His body fell to the ground and Duvall yelled in terror as he realized he was not alive and had been shot. Behind Mandrake was one of Kurtz’s commanders and two soldiers stood next to him. A helicopter and two trucks were parked outside of his house. The two soldiers threw Duvall to the ground and handcuffed him and began to drag him away from the house. Other soldiers walked around the premise with gas cans and explosives.
“Hey let me go! I’m an innocent farmer!” Duvall kicked and yelled as he tried to escape from the soldiers.
They threw him into the helicopter and closed the door. Duvall looked back at his house and a terrible wave of nausea hit him as he realized what the soldiers were doing. At last the final soldier emptied his gas can and made a trail to outside of the house. He lit the fuel and the whole house erupted into flames, also triggering the explosives, which caused the house to topple to the ground. Duvall began to scream and cry as they flew away from his house and towards the city. A few minutes later, his tears stopped and his sadness turned to anger. Duvall moved himself so he was sitting on the side of the chair and kicked one of the guards in the face sending him into the window breaking it. He then maneuvered to make his handcuffs in-front of him and began to choke out the soldier flying the helicopter. The aircraft began to spill and soon the pilot lost consciousness and control, sending the helicopter straight towards the ground. Before he made an impact and became human purée,
Duvall unlocked his handcuffs and prepared for the crash landing. The helicopter slammed into the grand, breaking on impact and began to catch on fire as gases leaked out of the cockpit. Soon, it exploded and sent Duvall’s body out of the fire and into a grassy field. His body was covered in burns and scrapes which caused him to not look human anymore. Duvall barely retained consciousness and was able to see a man place him in his car and drive away from the crash site….
To be Continued….
Hope you enjoyed part 1 of The Stormwriter. Let me know what you think by liking the post!