Location: Juneau, Alaska

Year: July 15th, 2100

 

Dr. Klombard rushed towards the room, running with all of his might. He had to warn the others about the news. The terrible news that was inevitable. He quickly entered the office room, which was full of people working on their computers, and some on the printers. They all stopped what they were doing and stared at him. His dark brown hair dripped with sweat.

Only two words came out of his mouth as he spoke the message:

“They’re here.”

Just as he said those words, the sirens to the building blared. Indeed, the enemy forces had arrived.

Everyone became silent. Surprisingly, no one panicked or cried. They were just shocked. They knew that this moment was coming, but not this fast. And now they were all going to die.

These people had worked in this office daily for a project that could save a valuable foundation of mankind. But time was running out, as the new government forces had conquered the continental US and the rest of the world. And now this army was heading for Alaska.

When the enemy forces were conquering the continental US, they took the capitals of each state first, as the rest of it would fall quickly. Just last week, the entire city of Olympia, the last state capital in the continental US that was not under control of this new government, had been overrun by the enemy government.

After everyone in the office heard that the army was heading towards Alaska, they worked harder and harder. They knew that staying in the capital of Alaska was very dangerous and would likely result in death, but they couldn’t move their headquarters elsewhere, as their project relied on something in this city that helped them with their mission. Something that was powerful, something that could create and destroy. And now, today, the time had come. The government forces had arrived at the capital of Alaska. At any moment, the forces would enter this door and incinerate them all, sparing no one. It was too late for everyone to escape. They had planned on an escape route via boats, but it wasn’t ready yet. Since they didn’t think that the enemy forces would arrive so early, they were unprepared. Only one vessel was ready, which meant that only one person could escape. And after a bit of discussion, it was decided that Hoban, the son of Dr. Klombard, would be the one to escape. The rest would sacrifice their lives.

Hoban would first have to escape this room via an underground system, its entrance being a hidden trapdoor located at the corner of the room furthest from the door.

According to the escape plan, Hoban knew where to go once he left the underground escape route. His father had told him to head to Anchorage via the vessel. The vessel would be located in the Southern side of the city of Juneau. The plan was for him to leave the entrance of the Gastineau channel in the southern end, then loop back around and head North towards Anchorage. (Hoban had asked his father why he wasn’t allowed to sail to the airport on the northern side of the channel and fly out to escape, but Dr. Klombard had said that it would be too dangerous because the enemy forces would have captured the airport by the time Hoban’s boat reached there.) That was the plan in order to escape this place.

Dr. Klombard looked at his 16 year-old son one more time, gave him some extra instructions, and then hugged him tight. Tears dropped to the floor as Dr. Klombard said his last goodbyes to his son. Afterwards, Hoban walked to the trapdoor, and looked at everyone one last time. Then he climbed down the hole and closed the trapdoor.

Dr. Klombard, still heartbroken, wiped his tears and quickly got back into leading the group. He ordered all computer data to be erased, all paperwork to be thrown into fires, and to prepare for their impending death as the forces continued to come closer to their location. Surprisingly, no one panicked or tried to run for the trapdoor. Instead, they did what was told, as if they were robots that had no survival instincts.

Alas, the enemies were here. The doors burst open as a platoon of soldiers rushed in, guns in their hands. They saw the entire group and–

The second he heard the explosion up above, Hoban started running faster like never before. He knew the enemy forces had annihilated his father and everyone else. He broke into a cry as he began to realize that his fears had turned into reality. His father was dead. The workers were dead. They were all dead.

But he knew that he had to escape, or else he would die like the others. He ran faster and faster until he reached the end of the underground hall, and a maze appeared. The maze was constructed on purpose, so that if the enemy soldiers ever came and hunted for him here, they would get lost in it, giving him time to escape. Fortunately, he remembered exactly where to go, as he had memorized all of the twists and turns beforehand.

While Hoban was in the middle of the maze, he could hear the sounds of soldiers behind him. They had discovered the trapdoor. He knew that he was protected by the maze, but also knew that they would eventually find him if he kept on staying here. He quickly turned a few more times before reaching another long corridor.

At the end of this corridor was a set of ladders in which he could climb up towards the surface. He quickly did so, slipping a few times but eventually reaching the trapdoor that led outside.

As he peered outside the trapdoor, all he could see was destruction. Almost the entirety of Juneau had been turned into a flaming fireball. Buildings were set on fire, alarms blared, cars were overturned, and the sound of screams echoed, as if the city was mourning over its destruction. Outnumbered Junean national guard soldiers battled against the superior enemy forces at the center of the ruined city, fighting to protect it. Hoban kept on standing outside the trapdoor as he looked at this view, almost in awe. Then he snapped back to reality and headed straight for the woods.

 

(To be continued.)