Keil's Story

Keever McD · April 17th, 2010, 6:47 am

I started writing this story about 7 years ago, but it wasn't very good, I found it again a few months ago written in an old notebook of mine. I read it and I must say, I had awesome spelling and grammar back then even :-s

but I had like no character depth, the "science" was so lame and it was, shall I say, too fast paced. But since it had been so long since I wrote it, when I got to a part where a character appears to die, and then I didn't keep writing, I was seriously cussing out my 11 year old self lol I gave myself a cliff hanger.

Anyways, I made some character sheets, changed the perspective from one character to another (several times), changed some names even (Keil is the same still), changed the time era, ages of characters, relationships between characters, and still can't decide if certain characters are antagonists or protagonists, but this is what I have so far. Sorry, its really long.

I'm considering making my character from this story part of this one too, but I'm not sure, I already have several characters for this one made. Only like... 5 but still, I don't like have a whole wack of characters in one story, they get hard to keep track of...

Also, this is not the official title of it, I just don't have one. Its not even a working title lol

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October 28th, 2028

I died today.

I don't know if I should feel sorry for or envy those who don't know when it will happen. I feel sorry for them cause they can't be certain of when they will say goodbye for the last time.

But I envy them cause they live in such ignorant bliss of their approaching time.

I had known since I was 9 what day and how I was going to die. Thing was I didn't know what year. That was my only suspense.

As each October 28th past I sighed in relief. Another year to make it through. Another year to curse my power.

April 2028 I knew this year was different...

Chapter 1

April 8th, 2028

I love classic films. Blade Runner, Gattaca, Resident Evil, 2012. All about the future and about what people imagined could or will happen. In Blade Runner they imagined an Earth with flying cars, robots, and 1980 hairstyles were back in fashion. In Gattaca everyone was genetically manipulated before birth to be perfect and space travel was an every day thing. Resident Evil: everyone turns into zombies. 2012 is the end of the world.

They are like comedies to me. The world today is nothing like that. We still fuel our cars with gasoline and diesel, a trip into orbit costs $500,000 and to the moon is a couple mill, only two astronauts have gone farther out than Saturn, they haven't been heard from since they went into orbit around Titan. Kids are still natural "Sex Trophies". The only zombies we have are of the coffee deprived sort and since 2012 was sixteen years ago and I'm writing this, the world obviously didn't end.

Instead we have this generation. The 2009-2011 infant vaccines were contaminated with something that the people in charge don't want to disclose. 60% of the kids weren't affected by it. The other 40% are too scared to admit they were. When they were around 9 or 10 years old they developed abilities. Some more powerful than others, but those who revealed themselves to the normal people, whether on purpose or by accident, were feared and hated. Because of the public humiliation done to 15 of the changed in 2023, the rest have hidden. They deny who and what they are. They live in fear of what will happen to them when they are discovered. Those who have been able to keep it hidden from their families, scared of what their own parents will do if they are found out.

I was one of the 40%.

I was 9 years old when I started dreaming of horrible things happening. They were just nightmares though, so after telling mom about them and her smiling comfortingly and saying it won't happen, its just my imagination, I forgot about them. Not really forgot, but just stopped thinking about them. A few months later they started flashing through my mind while I was awake. Still it was "just my imagination".

The worst one was 65 days after the nightmares started and was the cause of the worst day of my life and what started my life of fear.

“Keil, hurry up, we’re going to be late!”

“I don’t want to go!”

“”Well I can’t leave you here, you have to come with me.” Keil’s mothers heavily accented voice carried up the stairs to his room.

The young boy grumbled as he slid into a loose pair of shorts and headed to the stairs.

He was half way down before his mother saw him.

“Honey, I’m sorry but you need to put a shirt on.”

“Mom-“ Keil tried to protest.

“Keil please! Just grab a shirt, we don’t have time for this!” She was getting exasperated, but trying her best to be patient with him.

“My head hurts and I don’t feel well, I feel hot and the shirt will just make me hotter…”

“Just get a shirt, you don’t need to wear it in the car, but you need to put it on when we get there. The sick card isn’t getting you out of this one.”

Keil started to mumble as he turned and started to run back up the stairs. He froze after only two steps.

“Moth-“

“Just hurry, child.” She was speaking in Hawaiian; she was definitely losing her patience. Several thuds from behind her stopped her from continuing and turn to find her son sprawled on the floor at the base of the steps.

“Keil!”

She slid to his side and lifted his limp body into her lap. His eyes flashed white as his eyelids fluttered rapidly. He started convulsing so violently in her arms she feared he would break his neck or back. His skin was blazing hot wherever she touched him.

As he started to calm and his eyes became still, she fumbled for her phone in her dress pocket.
She hurriedly tapped a number in and laid it on the floor beside Keil’s head.

“Emergency response, what is your emergency?” A 7-inch green holo of a young woman sprang out of the device and turned to face Mrs. Loams.

“It’s my son, please, he fell down the stairs and had a seizure, you need to send someone right away, he’s burning up.” She was crying and almost hysterical as she spoke.

“I’m tracking your location now, emergency crews are rolling and will be at your location shortly. Remain calm and do not try to move him.”

The holographic girl gave her rehearsed comforting speech and turned her sound off, talking to someone not visible without Mrs. Loams hearing her.

“Keil, come on baby, wake up,” She gently slapped his face.

He stirred somewhat and turned his face to her, slowly opening his eyes. “Mother?”

“Oh, Keil! Are you alright, honey?”

“I-I don’t know… I think I had another nightmare… But I was awake…”

“No, baby, you fell down the stairs and had a seizure.”

“No! It was the reason for me falling. I saw it then I fell. I remember…” His eyes unfocused and he started to push off the ground with his elbow.

“Just lie still, the Emergency Crew is coming. They will sort you out.”

“I… I need something to drink, I feel like I’m on fire still.”

“I’ll get it for you, just don’t move.” She scrambled to her feet, and moved quickly across the kitchen to the cupboard.

Keil groaned and pressed his left hand to his chest, feeling the intense heat within his hand being pushed into his chest. He changed position and tried to hold it away from himself when it just caused more pain. He pushed up into a sitting position and scooted back against the wall, keeping his arm away from his body, groaning as his sore muscles protested.

“Keil, no! You must stay still.”

“I will be fine, just give me the water” His mother was taken aback from the harsh sound in his voice, but complied.

Instead of drinking it down, he doused it over his hand, trying to alleviate the burning sensation. Instead of helping, it steamed upon contact, making his skin turn red and boil.

He was really scared by this point.

“Mom! What is happening?”

“I don’t know Keil, they are almost here, I can hear the siren’s, they will know what to do!” She was trying desperately not to scare him more, but she was just as witless about it as he.

Small green flames started to lick at his fingertips as if he had dipped his hand in fuel and lit it.

“I-I think you should get away from me, mother.”

“No, I’m not leaving you baby, we’ll sort this out.”

The flames engulfed his hand.

“Get away! Get away from me!” He screamed at her and she jumped back from him, horrified by the intensity that had sounded in his yell.

The flames raced up his arm and started to burn at the wall he was leaning against and she couldn’t control herself anymore, her body just wanted to get away from this monster in front of her.

Tears streaming down her face, she ran for the door. She was across the porch and running down the dirt lane towards the Emergency Crew when the flames had burned through the floor and found the spare propane tanks in the basement.

Three days later, when the flames were finally contained, the barely living body of a young boy was found. He was the only living survivor within seven square miles.

Chapter 2

“Keil? Keil, can you hear me?”

I was very slowly coming back to awareness. I felt weird. Like my skin was full of pins and needles. Not unlike the feeling of your hand or leg going to sleep, but it was my entire body.

The soft voice calling my name was comforting. It was female and I could tell she would be amazing at singing if she were to do it for me.

“Keil. Its time to wake up, its been far too long.”

I turned my head to her, listening to the melodic sounds of her voice. Wanting to match a face to the beautiful sound, I opened my eyes.

It was so bright, I squeezed my eyes back shut and flinched away.

“Oh, sorry! Of course you would be sensitive to that.”

I sensed the lights dimming and risked trying again. Though not as bright, everything was still blurred. Slowly it came into focus.

She was indeed pretty. Her auburn hair was pulled back from her narrow face, but thick ringlets still poured over her shoulders.

“Ah, there we are! Good morning Keil! Can you tell me what you remember?”

I tried to speak, but my voice felt like it hadn’t been used in a long time. Instead of words I started coughing and she was quick to grab a cup of water off the bedside table.

“Here, drink up and your voice will come back.”

The cool water felt good on my throat.

“Does it work now?” She smiled sweetly at me.

I cleared my throat before talking. My voice caught a couple times, but I managed to croak out “I think so”

“Very good! Now, can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

“I… I was burning. My mother was there… where is she? Is she alright?”

“We can talk about that later, first we’re going to see how your responses are like, you’ve been asleep for a long time.”

“I want to see my mother first.”

“We will do that later, first I want you to follow this light with your eyes-“

“I want. To see. Her now.” The authority in my voice almost scared even me.

“I-I’ll be right back.”

She scurried out of the door, hopefully to get my mom.

I looked around the hospital room that my bed was in. Sunlight streamed in through the window, making the yellow-ish walls glow a soft golden. A stream of sun fell across the table to my left where the nurse had been standing. She must’ve been waiting for me to wake up for a while, as the news tablet lay open on it.

I managed to raise my arm and grab it off the table, dragging it across my lap. I stared in disbelief at it. Mother had taught me to read before I was even four, but I wondered if I was reading it correctly.

The door swished open again and the pretty nurse returned with an older man who looked like a doctor. They both froze when they saw me staring at them with the tablet in my hand, the date on it plainly visible to us all.

November 24, 2021 scrolled across the screen above the headlines.

“She’s dead isn’t she?”

“I’m sorry, son. There was an explosion and you were the only one they found.” They both stared at me with unrepressed sympathy heavy in their eyes.

4 years is a long time to wake up after.

With the science age that I woke up in I was able to get out of the hospital with in hours. They didn’t want me to leave, being underage still, but I just couldn’t stay any longer. I needed to get out. I needed answers.

I was in Honolulu and homeless. But its not such a bad place to be homeless in. I spent a lot of time in the Waikiki Beach area, where it was warm and there were many unsuspecting tourists no matter what time of the year. I wasn’t proud of my life the way it was, but I got by. The tourists would have pity on me, being young and a little malnourished, and would give me fruit or muffins from their hotels breakfast buffet or lunches they had packed. That got me through the morning and in the evenings I would make sure I was in the International Market and help any of the vendors who needed it clean up their kiosk and sometimes they would give me some coins that they could spare. I became very good at pick pocketing on the days that I didn’t get handouts though. Some people made it easy for me, not thinking about what would happen to their stuff if they leave it on the beach when they go swimming in the ocean.

Two years I stayed there, sleeping anywhere I could find cover on rainy nights, or on the sand in the shadow of some cement barriers on the clear warm nights.

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And thats as far as I've gotten so far.

Tell me what you think, if there's anything I should change or explain better, if I contradict myself anywhere and yeah... critique to your hearts content, it may or may not make a difference..

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