The Saviors

Chapter 1(Part 2 - The US, 2080)

The blue green sea washes ashore wiping away all footprints left behind by the mindless wanderers hoping to escape reality. The sun hits the sea lighting up its surface, emphasizing the many colors contained within its depths. The smooth surface is an image of serenity similar to a mirror reflecting the beautiful blue sky. The sea seems to breathe as it moves back and forth getting closer to the shore. The sun peeks out from behind the clouds, waking up to announce the beginning of another day.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," my sister says yelling at me from the porch. "What are you doing out here?"

"Leave me alone."

"I'd love to, but mom says that we're leaving in ten minutes to go travel the island."

"Okay. I'm coming."

I jump up brushing the sand off my legs and arms. I head over to my sister leaving the turquoise sea behind. Ahead of me is our small, white house with sky blue shutters. In front of the house is a patio with a table and chairs and a stone chimney. The doorway leading to the beach is open showing a hallway leading to the other side of the house. All the windows are open letting in the fresh, salty air. I can hear the fans running from across the beach. I reach the house to be met with the smell of pastries wafting through the door.

"Mom bought strawberry turnovers at that little cafe downtown." My sister informs me.

"Cool. I'm going to go get dressed, and then I'll eat breakfast." I respond.

I skip inside and up the stairs to my room that I share with my sister. Our room is one of my favorite places in the house because of its many windows showing the beauty of the outside. One of the windows looks out on the sea and another opens to a small balcony. The third window is shoved into a corner of the room and has views of the mountain ranges far from our house. Inside my room are two beds squeezed together. Shoved into the corner is a wooden desk stacked with papers. In the back of the room is a dresser next to a closet bursting with clothes. I walk over to the closet and pull out a light purple halter top and a short jean skirt. I throw the clothes on over my bathing suit, and I put on white zipper backed sandals. I quickly brush my hair and tie it back with a light purple scrunchie. Then, I run down the stairs, grab a pastry and go outside where the rest of my family is waiting.

My mom, dad, and sister are all sitting in our pale blue jeep. My dad is blasting the Beach Boys, his favorite band, and my mom is sitting shotgun reading a book. My sister is taking pictures of the beautiful landscape around us. I quickly pull myself into the car, and my dad turns on the engine and starts driving.

"Where are we going today?" I ask unsure of the always changing plan.

"We were planning on going hiking, but I was talking to one of my friends last night and they are staying in town, so we decided we would go shopping with them," my mom answers.

I'm not the biggest fan of shopping but nothing could seem dull in this beautiful country. The drive into town is about twenty minutes but it feels very short because the road is along the beach and is surrounded by mountains and the sea. I could spend the rest of my life driving on this road with my family. The drive is a picture of serenity. We reach the town too soon; I am not ready to leave this bliss and enter the busy, chaotic world of shopping. My sister hops out of the car ecstatic to go to all the stores while I reluctantly follow her. My dad is just getting out of the car when a bright yellow convertible pulls up beside us.

"Elizabeth!" A woman in her thirties exclaims emerging from the car. "How have you been?"

She quickly jumps out of the car and starts talking to my mom as my dad introduces me to the other people in the car. I find out that the woman she is talking to went to college with her and has three children. She has a daughter in college, a son my age and another daughter starting her freshman year of high school. Her son and husband stayed back at their house, so I only get to meet her two daughters. They both are stunning with similar colored dark brown hair and light blue eyes. The older girl's hair is curled and the younger girls hair is wavy with blue streaks to match her eyes. Both girls look like they could be models, but despite their startling looks, they are very friendly, and my sister immediately becomes friends with the older girl.

After introductions, we are sucked into all the shops. We visit boutique after boutique. Barely stopping to take a lunch break. After we eat, we are walking through a very crowded street when I decide to step away from all the shopping. I find a small backstreet in between two of the shops and head down it. On the other side of the street is a stone patio with benches overlooking the beautiful ocean.

I sit down on the bench closest to the ocean and pull out the book that I bought at one of the boutiques I visited. I sit there for a while reading and enjoying the view while I wait for my family to finish shopping. The air is heating up from the sun but the light ocean breeze prevents the atmosphere from getting too warm. The wind blows bringing with it the scent of flowers of all variations. I read my book relaxing from the breeze and summer weather. Too soon, the sun starts to set, and I decide to go find my family. I call my mom, and she tells me that they are heading back to the car.

On my way to the car, I follow the path along the ocean, and I watch as the waves break against the rocks. I hear the sound of seagulls flying close to the shore. Nothing compares to the serenity presented by the ocean. I come here every summer and each time I am still shocked by the beauty. I am so caught up in my thoughts that when I finally snap out of it, I have no idea where I am. I look around and see nothing. I try to turn on my phone to get directions, but my phone shows the low battery symbol, and I remember that I forgot to charge it. I look around hoping to find a street sign that will tell me where I am, but it is so dark that I can barely see five feet in front of me. I decide to keep walking until I can find someone who can give me directions.

Despite the fact that I am lost in a foreign country, I am not afraid. Everything around me is just so dazzling that I can't imagine anything bad happening to me. I feel as if I am protected by the beauty of the nature surrounding me. The beautiful music produced by nature sounds so real and protective. The flowing of the notes from a very realistic sounding piano. I'm pretty sure that I am imagining these sounds when I round a corner and see a house. The house is filled with light and towers up ahead of me. It is gorgeous in its immensity. It is covered in vines which makes it seem as if no one lives there, but the vines also present an artistic tone to the house. The house takes up most of the land in front of me and cuts off the rest of the road. As I stand there examining the building, I locate the source of the music. There on a balcony overlooking the ocean is a boy who looks to be about my age. He is seated behind a piano. His luscious brown locks cover his face as he is absorbed into the music. His fingers slide along the keys producing an amazing song that makes the incredible landscape a million times more amazing.

After snapping out of my daze, I walk up to the house. I reach the massive front door and bang on the gold knocker.

"Coming!" Someone shouts from inside the house. A woman with graying hair and blue eyes opens the door. She looks at me with a kind inviting face, and then proceeds to give me directions to get back to the center of town. I thank her for her help and head off to find my family.

"Times up!" A gruff voice is projected across my screen. I am directed to the exit point and pulled out of my imaginary world. I open my eyes to the real world and see a worn man with a long, shaggy beard and wrinkling skin. He hands me my memory card and directs me to the door leading outside as if I've never been here before. I leave with one last look at the sign indicating the entrance to the memory bar.

I start my trek through the city keeping my head down in an attempt to stay hidden. All around me is the hustle and bustle of people going to work or going home. No one stops to talk. No one is out on the street enjoying the views. Everyone walks alone and fast to try and avoid all human interaction. The world is a dangerous place, and you never know what you might come across if you bump into the wrong person.

I turn into a dark alley and check behind me to make sure I wasn't followed. I then sit down and pull out my pack. I grab a water bottle and a bag of chips, and I check to make sure my memory card is still in my pocket. My memory card is all I have left of my past life. Without it, I don't think I would be able to keep living. I put my card into a more secure pocket in my bag, and I place my bag onto my back. I quickly eat my food and drink the rest of my water. I decide to stay where I am and try to get some sleep before going out onto the crowded streets again.