The Stone

[Magenta 5,165]

 

 

Rain fizzes down onto the hard ground, crashing like lead onto the heads of the shivering men crouched just inside the deep groove cut into the sodden ground. Most lack helmets and many with gaping ugly wounds are struggling with the cold. Not far away, a streak of lightening rents the sky. Thunder's drums roll steadily on in the background.

 

The men are tired, exhausted in fact. Many are drooping like unwatered plants as the clutches of sleep grow ever stronger on them. Several are already lying in the thick layer of cold mud at the bottom of the trench, too tired to care where they fall. To the left there is a gaping hole in the trench wall, where a shell has ripped the earth clean away. The muddy water is stained red in places; red with human blood. A rifle lies nearby, seemingly twisted into a knot by some powerful being in a fit of anger.

 

Still the men hold their positions, gazing with tired eyes across the barren landscape. Little can be made out through the rain, except a few stunted trees.

 

A radio transmitter suddenly crackles into life inside the trench, loud even with the hammering of the rain. The men are aroused, and one reaches for the transmitter and flicks the switch.

 

 

“*radio static*...zz… retrea… zz… etrea...z zz… enem… eave... rythin… else behin… retre… *line ends*”

 

Even through the heavy static, a few things are left clear. One, the voice was unmistakably the general’s, one of those men who got most of the glory and yet spent his time sitting in an air conditioned room somewhere safe and distant. The Cayman Islands, perhaps. Two, the voice was panic stricken, worried and filled to the brim with anxiety and fear. Odd, for the usually calm general.

 

But it made no sense. Retreating meant surrendering to the enemy, something they wouldn't do even if it meant death, something the general knew they wouldn't do even if it meant death. But even if they did put their honor, pride, and patriotism aside, and did retreat, that too meant death. Behind them were the mountains, and given the state of the men, they couldn’t climb an inch. Furthermore, it was December. Nature was doing its routine work, oblivious of what its children were doing, the dishes they were breaking, the garden they were wrecking, the pillow-fights they were waging. Perhaps she didn’t care. She could always return things to their original beauty.

 

Obviously the men would rather die trying to overcome the enemy, dying with honor, rather than running as cowards. Why then, did the general give such a contemptible order? It made no sense. Something was wrong, something these men had no idea of, something that only I knew…

 

Blinding light. A crack in the sky.  Boom. Nature’s rage. More rain. Znooo.  A warplane approaching. Chaos. The enemy is coming. A weak voice filled with vigour cries, “Fall back! Take positions!” Spew spew spew. Plasma everywhere. Screams. Fear. Panic. Friends and foe vanishing. Thin air made heavy with subatomic particles and red with some vaporised liquid. Blood, perhaps. Something red sprays out of the bodies. Those who don’t vanish simply fall back dead, a look of horror etched onto their faces. And then, out of nowhere, a pale, thin, green mist approaches. Poison, perha….?

 

 

~.~.~

 

 

I wake up in a cold, barely lit room. Slowly, my eyes adjust. I feel nauseous, and I try throwing up, but nothing comes out apart from some blood. My chest aches, and I try putting my hand on it. But my hands are tied to the wall. Then I become aware of the eyes staring at me. Cold, black, expressionless eyes. I summon the courage, but only a few garbled words come out. I want to ask, “Where are the others?” but I don’t know what exactly my tongue conjures. Black Eyes walk out. White Shirt walks in.

 

“Hello, Gabriele. I am a doctor. Harmless and friendly,” he says with a smile.  “And in case you’re wondering, my doctorate is in physics, not medicine.”

 

“You have been asleep for two days since the gas attack. We collected as many of your colleagues as we could. We asked them a few harmless questions, but alas, most of them refused to co-operate. They were tired and are taking a rest now. I don’t think any element of this world is impolite enough to wake them up.”

 

He then looks at Black Eyes, who has returned, and points at my wrists. Black Eyes unties me. “We are aware that you received orders to retreat, but we reached you before that was possible. We are also aware of the reason behind the order. I hope you are too?” I become conscious that I am supposed to know something. And then it hits me.

 

“Yes.” I manage to say. I am immediately overcome with guilt. I just betrayed my country. But then, sooner or later I would have said it. I'm only human, after all. I would have broken. One my colleagues probably already has.

 

The man’s expression immediately changes.

 

“Will you please tell me in detail about it? I hope you can speak?”

 

“Yes, I can tell you all about it. But why should I?” I ask him.

 

“Because if you do, you get to keep your life.” I don’t understand why they sent a scientist to do this. Could have sent an executioner, and saved this shame on the scientific profession.

 

“May I have some food first?” saying that, I realize my hunger and thirst, remembering that I haven’t eaten for two days.

 

The ‘doctor’ looks at Black Eyes. He disappears behind the door.

 

“I realise that the moment I tell you about the stone, I become a traitor, a criminal in my country who, if caught, is punished with death,” I tell him, “What about that?”

 

“Well, if you tell us about it, your country will cease to exist.”

 

“What if I tell you nothing?”

 

“I highly recommend that option if you miss your colleagues and want to join them.” Now I am definitely sure he is not a doctor. He is the devil himself. “So will you tell us or not?”

 

“I reckon I must.”

 

“I’m all ears.”

 

“So, you want to know what’s so special about the stone. Right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Gives off intense heat at a crazy rate in the presence of water, or even the moisture in the air. Enough to turn iron into semi charged sub atomic particles. Problem is, when the water runs out – is turned into sub atomic particles – it produces an explosion similar to that produced by a nuke. Everything within a sphere with a 10 miles radius ceases to exist.”

 

He gives a low whistle and raises both his eyebrows. “So why did nothing happen in our lab? Everyone’s supposed to be dead by now.”

 

“It’s covered in a thick layer of anadium-septic-fluoride or something like that….”

 

“Anovidialerium septa-fluoride. Most inert thing on earth.”

 

“So, what are you going to do with it?”

 

“You do realize that this stone can be used as a complete;y renewable source of energy.”

 

“Don’t tell me you started a world war for energy.”

 

“I guess they will make bombs, or something. I don’t know.” So, the ‘doctor’ isn’t someone with high authority or power.

 

The food comes in, along with Black Eyes. It’s a hard loaf of bread and some old cheese.

 

“Ok, I think we now know a good deal. I appreciate your co-operation, and promise you won’t regret it. And if you need anything, just ask.” He smiles and gets up to leave. Just before opening the door, he hesitates, turning back and looking at me. “I wonder how you got to know about this, though.”

 

“I'm a doctor,” I tell him. “Just like you.”

 

He gives me a knowing look, as if to say how we were all victims, how we were all nothing more than pebbles thrown into a river. In that short moment, we got to know more about each other than anyone could have ever possibly interrogated from us. He then leaves, taking Black Eyes with him.

 

While they are out, I quickly examine the room. I am facing the door. There’s a ventilation grill towards the top of the wall left of the door. The door is locked by a keypad system, which needs a password to open. I consider trying to see the password next time Black Eyes comes or goes. But Black Eyes will probably block it from my view with his body when he enters the password.  The ventilation grill seems to be screwed tightly. I would need a screw driver or something. A knife should do. But how do I get a knife? 

 

There’s a bed on my right. I notice it is made of wood, and a thin, small chip of wood has come out. It’s sharp, and thin enough to be used as a knife.

 

After finishing the food, I notice Black Eyes still hasn’t returned. He’s outside, perhaps. So I take the food plate and knock on the door.

 

“Is anyone there?” I shout. A new guard, with a thin chin, broad neck and fat cheeks stares at me. I notice this one has black eyes too. When I raise my hand holding the plate, he takes it and disappears. So from now on a guard will be waiting outside. Good.

 

I try to lift the chair I was sitting on. It’s heavy. It’s probably me. I have become pretty weak since the war broke out.

 

Nonetheless I lift it and carry it to beneath the ventilation fan. I take the small wooden chip and get up on the chair. I unscrew the ventilation fan. Turns out it wasn’t screwed in tightly at all, and the job was easy.  I get down and put the grill on the bed. I get back up, and look down the hole left by the grill on the wall.

 

I am 3 floors above ground. I can’t see any windowsills.

 

What now?

 

I screw the grill back on and lie down on my bed. My tiredness drags me into a world which stands in stark contrast to the reality.

 

 

~.~.~

 

 

When I wake up, I find a stranger sitting on the chair. Thin as a stick, face unshaved. Tall and lean. No muscles. None visible, anyway.

 

“Who are you?” I ask, my voice betraying my overflowing shock and fear.

 

“My name is Albert.” He timidly replies.

 

“Now who is that?”

 

“I was in division 105. They attacked, and I was brought here. There seems to be no space. That’s why we are sharing rooms.”

 

 “Have they interrogated you yet?” I ask.

 

“Yes”

 

“What did you say?”

 

“They didn’t ask much. Just the names of others in the division, whether I knew anything about something called 'The Stone’…”

 

I don’t know why, but I panic. Then I remember my betrayal.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“I said I know nothing…well, I do know nothing. They seemed to believe me. They asked a few other minor questions, and then put me here.” He says, “What about you?”

 

I tell him.

 

 

~.~.~

 

 

“What might they do with the stone?” Albert asks.

 

Albert’s division seemed to have yielded last, among Neksov’s once mighty army. Neksov, with its gigantic tanks, world demolishing fleet of nukes, submarines and ships larger than the human mind can imagine, storm causing fleet or warplanes, Neksov with its proud leaders and happy, satisfied citizens, finally on its knees.

 

Albert tells me from what he knew that Neksov was going to fire all its remaining nukes at all the nations which are part of The United Alliance – which includes Gelenovikia. That’s where we are held right now. Currently, we are somewhere in Gelenovikia’s top secret military head quarters. Albert says Neksov had somehow found out its location, and planned on nuking it.

 

“They probably won't use it, not for physical purposes at least, no. It’s just to instill fear in the people, and to use that fear for the benefit of the politicians. Or they will make something worse than nukes. They might discover more of these strange minerals. All this, of course, if anything remains of this world.” I smile, looking at him. “You know, Einstein once said that he didn’t know what World War 3 would be fought with, but he knew that World War 4 would be fought with sticks and stones. I reckon we are about to prove him right. And….”

 

I gaze out of the gaps in the ventilator grill. It’s a starless night outside, dark, the time when beings sleep, a time when we assume we will be safe, that we will be living tomorrow. Silhouetted against the dark sky, I see something bright appear. I stop talking, and point towards the ventilator grill, gesturing Albert to look at it. He looks at it, looks back at me, an expression of confusion on his face, a reflection of my own. The bright thing gets bigger. That’s when we realize. The next thing we know is oblivion.

 

 

~.~.~.~.~

 

 

Credits to @Cpt.JackHammer for suggesting the name “Neksov.”
Credits to @g-force for the banner.

Credits to for the first four paragraphs, originally written for the [issue 63] Continue the Story, which I had subsequently won, with the-very-story-you-just-read being my entry. Mult keeps changing his nickname so click here to go to his profile in case the code doesn't work.
Thanks to numerous members of the AWG Discord Chat for proofreading.

 

 

 

Other writings by me:Interviews by me:

-An Expert's Extensive Guide On Onions And What To Do With Them-Personality Cut Down: Cutting Nives with Knives (Winner of The Best Of The Amateur Writing Section 2017)

-5 Magic Tricks You Can Perform In Tanki-Personalities of Yesterday: Night-Sisters

-The Paint Invasion - Strategy Room-Interrogating The Helpers: Reporters

-Mag's Journals: My Visit To The EN Reporters' HQs - Part 1-Interrogating The Helpers: Forum Moderators

-Part 2 - My Visit To The EN Reporters' HQs [Mag's Journals]-Interrogating The Helpers: Wiki Editors

-Dear Love

-Lost To The Snow (Published in the 78^th Issue of The Newspaper)

[kaisdf 3,320]

Article approved.

 

Pretty good, certainly better than my entry for that competition was :x

 

The ending feels very rushed. You suddenly bring in a huge amount of detail without really explaining it properly, and it all ends up kinda jumbled.

 

· Overuse of commas: “I screw back the grill, and lie down on my bed.” does not need the comma

· CaPiTaLiSe uR pRoPeR nOuNs/NaMeS

· As I said in PM, three dots (“…”) signifies a pause, four (“….”) is a pause followed by a full stop. Five dots is just wrong :P

· Get is such a dull verb. Why say “gets out” when you can say “leaves”

 

Full list of edits will be sent via PM, as requested.

[Pyre 3,485]

The master of writing strikes again.

[thethiefofvictory 339]

Yay! It's back! Good job!

 

Hexe should replace the link to your entry in the results to this page now :p

[g-force 1,000]

Wow, this story is great!

[P.4.R.K.O.U.R 329]

Nice.

But you ought to know that the heat that you produced is nothing compared to the strong nuclear force, one of the strongest forces in the universe. You may turn gases to plasma, but not iron. ^_^

Take it from a science Nazi scientific genius.

[mydoom.exe 5,154]

Nice.

But you ought to know that the heat that you produced is nothing compared to the strong nuclear force, one of the strongest forces in the universe. You may turn gases to plasma, but not iron. ^_^

Take it from a science Nazi scientific genius.

the four basic forces of physics are actually fairly common knowledge lool

 

---

 

Great piece Mag, thanks for sharing it!

[Chronicle 164]

Great work, looks like you've done an impressive amount of worldbuilding and have the start of what could be an interesting story. I like it for the most part but I feel like the dialogue takes away from the impact. The story is replete with conversations, what I usually see in plays is a different narrative based on the character's movement during a conversation. 

 

For example: 

 

“What if I tell you nothing?” impatiently eyeballing the doctor

 

“Yes, I can tell you all about it. But why should I?” I ask him in a demanding tone

 

I've noticed that you have indeed used this but not with your bursting raw talent. But of course, you don't need to overdo it. I trust that you would know when and where to use it, that's all from me!

 

Hey I never knew there was an AWG Discord server, is it exclusively for the AW members? :ph34r: 

Edited August 13, 2018 by Chronicle

[Magenta 5,165]

Hey I never knew there was an AWG Discord server, is it exclusively for the AW members? :ph34r:

AWC is now AWG; it's a group now, not a club. What that means is that it's open to everyone; and there are no "members" anymore, really.

 

Thanks for the feedback, though!

[Chronicle 164]

AWC is now AWG; it's a group now, not a club. What that means is that it's open to everyone; and there are no "members" anymore, really.

 

Thanks for the feedback, though!

Ooo awesome. might as well join it when I have a bit of time on my hands

[P.4.R.K.O.U.R 329]

the four basic forces of physics are actually fairly common knowledge lool

 

You do realize I was being sarcastic, no?

[Magenta 5,165]

Nice.

But you ought to know that the heat that you produced is nothing compared to the strong nuclear force, one of the strongest forces in the universe. You may turn gases to plasma, but not iron. ^_^

Take it from a science Nazi scientific genius.

Illuminati propaganda.

[thethiefofvictory 339]

Illuminati propaganda.

Illuminati what?

[Rains_of_Castamere 384]

You should get your characters unique names as well.

[Magenta 5,165]

You should get your characters unique names as well.

Gabriele is not too common, I guess, and Albert was intentional.

[thethiefofvictory 339]

Gabriele is not too common, I guess, and Albert Einstein was intentional.

I see... :p

[Magenta 5,165]

I see... :P

:mellow:.

[Rains_of_Castamere 384]

Gabriele is not too common, I guess, and Albert was intentional.

No, I mean like naming them yourself like GRRM. 

[thethiefofvictory 339]

No, I mean like naming them yourself like GRRM.

now what's GRRM?

[Magenta 5,165]

No, I mean like naming them yourself like GRRM. 

Can you please clarify what GRRM is?

Edited October 9, 2018 by kaisdf
BUMP!