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MY NOVEL!!!W
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MY NOVEL!!!W
MY NOVEL!!!
Wellll... not so much a novel, but a story. I made a vote and this story won, so here 'goes.
The Secret Life of Mahlia Dyst
Just like everyone else. This was the cry silently rallied by my people, the Hulya. We had branches in the government, the top being the Teilo. I was part of the Keir, the people. The perfect, identical people. I never felt like one of the Keir, I was different. Even after I turned four, still, I was not the same. I went to live alone at thirteen. Still not the same. My name is Joy. Joy Unpol. But I have another name, a name given to me by my mother, my mother who I should have forgotten. My name is Mahlia Dyst.
I feel terrible when I look around me, out my blurred plastic window. I see it every day. Small children, four years old. They all have blindfolds, and they bounce excitedly, because they all believe they’re just about to see the most wonderful birthday surprise of their life. If I could relive that moment with my knowledge from many years after, I would scream and kick and fight back. Because not only are they not getting a birthday surprise, they’re about to forget everything. They won’t remember who they are, what they’ve done, the wonderful birthday waiting for them in the Radar. They’re about to be brainwashed.
Every child, on their fourth birthday is told that there is a fantastic surprise waiting for them inside the Radar, the psychology center of Hulya. The children are ecstatic, sure they’re about to be the happiest people on earth. When the blindfold is removed, one of the Radar’s workers flashes an orange light into their eyes. Orange is the color of loss, or losing memories. In that split second, one flash, all their memories vanish. It’s almost like magic, how the children can still read and write, still have knowledge. Knowledge is different from memories, many just don’t realize just how very different they are. The children sit there, helpless, as they watch a long film telling them about themselves. The top of the top, the very most important, the Tola, choose a new name for the child. A perfect name, a normal name. Then they make a history, a brand new set of memories for the child, one they will accept openly as their own. The child is sent off to primary school, with other children who have brand new histories. They stay there until they turn thirteen, on which, they go to live alone in a private suite, with only a bedroom, a bathroom and a tiny leisure room. The only things in the leisure room are a cushioned chair and a tab, the only electronic other than lighting. We use the tab for everything; going through secondary school, games, research, and mainly, communication. They’re the only way to communicate with the world around us.
On my fourth birthday, I reacted like any child, beside myself with eagerness and delight at the surprise about to come. When the orange light flashed, I only forgot my wild excitement for the surprise. Why were they showing me someone else’s history, and telling me that it was mine? I pushed away the thoughts and played along, thinking it was a peculiar game. I never lost my memories.
Hope you like it!!!!
submitted by Little Sister, age 11, Novel Landia
(November 2, 2014 - 3:19 pm)
(November 2, 2014 - 3:19 pm)
What happens now? The suspense is kiling me!
(November 12, 2014 - 5:26 pm)
I barely have any more after this, so you might have to be paitent...
I stick my tongue out at the corner of my mouth, intense with concentration. I slice along the wood glue with a sharp piece of dinner-lid-plastic, trying not to damage the wall. The plastic falls and I catch it, sticking my head out the hole. Cold air hits my face, feeling fresh in my lungs. The Telio didn’t install vents in our suites, so all the air is fake and stuffy. I use some tape to attach a towel to the wall, making the air fresh but not so cold. I walk to my room, pulling my feather jacket close around me. It’s warm and waterproof, perfect for a long journey. Afoit’s all the way across the country. I pull on my special boots- the ones I engineered myself. They have a special feature, made of wires and a bouncy force-field. With these on, I can drop from up to 2,499 feet and land without a scratch. Pretty useful, though, sadly, I’ve never had a use for them before. The boots are black and puffy, filled with wires and whirring electronics when I switch them on. The warm circuits make my feet feel cozy and comfortable in my warm suite. For the first time, I’m having second thoughts. I zip my jacket up to my neck and pull on my sleek black hat. I pace around my bedroom, rubbing together my gloved hands, picking up my backpack, filled with clothes and non-perishable food for my trip. I unzip the top and peek inside, taking a mental inventory.
6 extra pairs of clothing. Check.
can opener. Check.
Canned food (enough for ¾ of a year) Check.
Tool kit. Check.
Minitab. Check.
Weapons (advanced mechanical electrical set. (finger darts, tranquilizer phaser, long-range retractable sword)) Check.
The list seems to go on forever, but I check again anyhow. Finally, Everything is how it should be. I’ve set up a mechanism to send my meals straight to the Disposal Unit. All the lights are off. I have my Minitab, so I can use it like my full-size tab. Everything is fine, and my Minitab has it’s compass and map enabled. I’m ready to go.
I peek over the edge of the building, teeth chattering not from cold, but anticipation and adrenaline. I swallow hard, thinking over what I’m about to do. I’m about to jump from the top floor of a 250 floor building out into the middle of the street. Happily, my boots have their hover feature enabled and primed. I swallow again, pumping my legs, getting ready to leap. If all goes well, I’ll land on the other side of the road. I count down in my head.
3 I finger my backpack, making sure it’s secure.
2 My shaking hand reaches down and presses the boots’ on\off switch, and they whirr to life.
1 I bounce, mustering up my courage.
GO!! I leap off the building, my boots holding me in the air just as expected. I spread my arms and my jacket helps lift me up, too. I soar across the sky, elated but terrified. The day is foggy, mist dense and cold around my head, blurring my vision. I don’t even have time to scream before a colossal pine tree looms before me and I hit it with a SMACK!
I groan, brushing pine needles off my stinging face. I’m sitting in the cradled branches of the King Pine across the street from my prison. I inspect my Minitab, checking for damage. I switch it on. Nothing happens. I turn it off and try again. Nothing. I reach again for the power button, but a little icon of the Earth appears in the corner. Instinctively, I tap it, and it expands into a podcast. It’s the Radar! Two important-looking men are sitting at either end of a gleaming aluminum table, talking heatedly.
“I, Mr. Schuel, think that sightings of a girl flying from room 2,463 of the Wysoki Więzienie building in Stolica is utterly ridiculous. We have made sure that nobody could escape countless times. It’s simply too risky that somebody will learn your secret! If you ever plan to really control the Keir, you must believe in your accomplishments! No person, much less a girl, could escape! You must-” The secret camera turns to a stunningly familiar man, older by far than the man who I first saw.
“Stop talking. You’ll give us away,” The man stands up, looking at the camera. “The rumours are true,” The man strides over and the last thing I see is a fist, before the screen goes black. I stare at the Minitab with hatred.
“Curse the fates and all the Minitabs of the world!!!!!” Somewhere in Japan, a Minitab dies for no reason, and a Fate is cursed. I shake my Minitab violently and curse some more. As if on cue, the screen decides to cooperate. The familiar home screen appears, applications glowing welcomingly. I curse even more, for another reason; Rebels in the Radar are out to get me. My first instinct is to call for help. But that would be pointless; everybody would know for sure that I’ve escaped. My second is to run and hide. Not much I can do right now, being stuck in a tree. So I try to climb down.
My legs and arms ache, my head spinning. I don’t dare look down, knowing I’d plunge to my death if I did. I look up instead, trying to process if I’ near the smooth part of the trunk. I see the branches thinning out above me, and I decide I’ve gotten where I need to be. So I switch on the boots and jump. I land in the field, safe, my bag falling to my feet. I look at the GPS application on the Minitab. The crater is about 105 miles away, all the way across Poland. It’ll take weeks, even months to get there. Unless… I stare at my bag, a crazy idea forming. I hide behind a boulder and get to work.
(November 13, 2014 - 8:52 pm)
top! top! top!
nyan says uouo. I think it's hurting.
random fact: on a normal keyboard, you can type "typewriter" using just the top row of letters!
(November 13, 2014 - 8:54 pm)
To the TOP!
(November 15, 2014 - 10:32 am)
SUPER GOOD! I haven't been on the Chatterbox for a while but when I came on today this was the first thing I read and it's awesome! I'm going to make sure I check often now. Keep writing!
(November 16, 2014 - 11:56 pm)
Thanks, Air!! I'm so glad you like the story! I've abandoned about half my stories for the moment, (not including this one) but I'm still working on about three more stories right now in addition to this one. You might have to wait a little bit for the next big chunk...
(November 17, 2014 - 8:46 pm)
Hey guys! I loooovvve your story, little sister! The main character (if you want to) could spark a rebellion against the ones that are swiping memories.?.
(November 27, 2014 - 7:13 pm)
Thanks, Will! And yes, that was the plan. =)
(December 1, 2014 - 6:10 pm)
Okay, from now on I'll just post... hmm... four paragraphs at a time.
I wipe my greasy hands on my pants, wondering when my project will be done. I stare at the compact chunk of metal before me, it’s sleek aluminum barrels glinting in the glowing sun, sinking below the horizon. I glance at the Minitab, checking the time. It’s getting close to midnight, and I’m not even done with the project. I guess that jumping from high objects twice unnerved me a little bit. Usually I can fix or build any machine in an afternoon. I want to close my eyes, to sleep and never wake up. Exhaustion snakes through my mind, catching everywhere it can reach. I claw at my head, trying to push out the agony clouding my thoughts. With a shiver, I glance again at the hunk of metal before me. I almost get back to work before I hear a low grumble, making my insides vibrate unhappily. I try to ignore it, but it keeps coming back to me. Hunger. Horrible, irresistible hunger. I glance at the sky again. Darkness starts to take over, leaving no stars or moon behind billowing clouds. I feel another pang of hunger and pull out a meal ration. I eat fast, grateful for nourishment. I don’t think to check behind the rock. That is, until the other side of the rock checks on me. Think about it: fourteen-year-old girl with no defense or fighting experience whatsoever up against the city’s most dangerous assassin. I don’t stand a chance… right? Yes, actually. Before I have a chance to scream, or do anything for that matter, he’s on top of me. We roll a few feet and soon he has me pinned against the boulder. Much to my surprise, he lets go of my arms.
“Feh! So you ain’t them! Well even so, no goody-goody runaway girl is gonna tell the Radar that I was here…” I tense as he pulls out a little pistol, filled, I suspect, with poison darts. He smiles a toothy smile and grabs my neck.
“On second thought, never mind. I could use an assistant, and you’re pretty clever, considering you escaped. You’re coming with me, my pretty.” Despite my fear, I almost laugh at his reference to the old book. I didn’t know anybody still read The Wizard of Oz. There are lots of things I don’t know it would turn out. I muster up my courage and try to speak, but it comes out as more of a strangled croak. He lets go of my neck.
“Wanted to say something? Well watch your mouth. You’ll notice I haven’t put my pistol away…” I nod and rub my wrists.
“I’ll come. I’m not really at a very good standing with the Radar, either. May I collect my bag-”He squints at me.
“So you didn’t lose your memories, eh? Well I have a question…” He raises the pistol again and my eyes widen.
“What’s the first thing you can remember?” The tip of the gun is like a hypnotizer, forcing me to answer.
“A… a shooting star. It wasn’t a star though, it was a spaceship. It landed near-” He lowers the pistol and I take a deep breath.
“That proves my theory, then. Go collect your things, girl, and be quick about it. We don’t have all night,”
Click. The sound of the seatbelt is satisfying, and makes me feel safe. I glance over at my new partner, scowling at the controls of his small hovercar.
“What’s your name any-” I begin.
“I’ve only known you for ten minutes. You think I’m going to tell you my name? I’m not that stupid, missy.” I laugh. Who would have thought that an assassin could have a sense of humor?
“Okay, okay. Well, then. Am I going to call you ‘partner’ until you trust me, Or should I call you by a different name?” He thinks for a moment, trying to come up with a suitable nickname.
“Hmm… Just call me… Mr. Assassin Person. Just kidding. Call me-”
“I’ll call you Commander,”
“Hmm… Commander. I like that. What’s your name?” Commander puts on a sly grin. I give him the stink eye.
“I’ve only known you for ten minutes. You think I’m going to tell you my name?”
“Fine. Just tell me the name that the Teilo gave you,” Even though Commander has taken me in, I still don’t trust him. I use the first name that I think of.
“Oh, my Teilo name? Uh… Iota. If you’d rather use-”
“No, Iota shall do nicely. Now, Iota, start the hovercar. I’m not driving myself.”
Uh-oh, Mahlia! You never learned to drive, did you?
(December 1, 2014 - 6:54 pm)
TOP!!!!
(December 1, 2014 - 6:55 pm)
Hey little sister! Are we allowed to submit characters or is this a read only kind of thing? Just asking, so don't feel pressured to answer either way. Thanks!
(January 20, 2015 - 9:22 pm)