Chandra Datadeen, “The Lost World”

THE LOST WORLD

Chandra Datadeen

As the ground started to shake, a blinding light came shining down from the ceiling. A giant hand peered through the ceiling as buildings were falling to the ground. People began scurrying to safety when I just realized our burrow was under attack. I ran outside looking for my father. I cried out for him while running towards the large metal door. I saw no one as water started rushing in from the broken pipes and cracks in the walls. In disbelief I looked back at the destroyed remains of my home. The water had soon caught up with me as everything had blackened. I struggled to stay afloat on the water as it carried through a long, narrow, and dark tunnel. Fighting against the current, a light slowly started to appear on the other side. As the light grew, I could see the end of the tunnel. The light blinded me as I fell to the ground. Everything became a blur. After a couple of seconds, my senses came back to me and soon I realized where I was. I had made it to the surface world. Only a few had ever been here in decades. All anyone knows about this place is the stories and tales of legends told in the underground bunker. People used to say the surface world was a safe place to live until it became inhabitable. A mysterious virus infection broke out, causing a complete panic for everyone worldwide. The virus started infecting whatever it could touch, turning everything into a mutated version of itself. I looked around at my surroundings and realized the surface was beautiful. The sky was gleaming a bright blue, the flowers were blooming and the sun’s rays shining on my skin for the first time felt warm. I was surrounded by a forest. The surface world isn’t like anything people had described it as. They always said there was radiation or dangerous mutations

lurking around every corner. Or maybe I had just spoken too soon. I was alone in the middle of a forest and I had to find a way back to my family. We were taught in the burrow to look for landmarks that would appear on the surface. Follow these landmarks correctly and you can find your way to the bunker. Although, everything has happened so fast and I don’t know where to start. As I stood there clueless on what to do, I heard a terrible, loud screeching noise. My ears started ringing. I looked around to see what the noise was when a large imprint of a shadow appeared on the ground, it was mildly visible in the bright green grass. In seconds the shadow multiplied and there were more. That terrible sound became louder. I turned around and saw these terrifying creatures had landed on the ground in front of me. They were green, and scaly. Along with blood red lustering eyes, and large wings. I stood in fear while they began to circle me. One of the creatures started edging its way closer to me; as the others followed, I screamed for help. I struggled to get away from the creatures with its tight grip on my arm. Suddenly, another creature appeared from the brush with dark vibrant purple fur, the body of a tiger with large wings, horns, and three tails and it started running towards the creatures attacking me. The tiger had chased away the birds in seconds. I fell to the ground, as the birds didn’t have their grip on me anymore, wondering why the tiger saved me. The creature looked at me with kindness, and I could see it wasn’t going to attack me. It came closer and sat on the ground next to me. It could sense I was frightened and laid down next to me on the grass. I guess the rumors about the surface world were true. Or at least some of them were. “I’m trying to find my way back home.” I said to the tiger while

stroking its fur. “I’ve never been to the surface before. This place is dangerous with all of the infected creatures. Do you want to come with me?” It gave a soft growl and nuzzled me. “I’ll take that as a yes. My name is Celeste, and I’ll call you Ambrose.” As the wind calmly brushed against my cheek, Ambrose’s attitude had completely changed. He perked his head up and started twitching his ears. There was a sudden silence as Ambrose was sitting there listening to something. He then stood up frightened trying to pick me up from the ground with his mouth. “Did I say something wrong?” I said, getting up. He started to circle me and looked at his back. “Do you want me to climb on?” He nodded his head and looked at me. Whatever he heard back there must have not been good. I climbed on his back and his wings started to unfold. They began flapping faster as I held on tight. We had taken a flight. “Ambrose, we have to look for landmarks. Do you know if there is a city or town nearby?” As I said this, he turned around and headed in the opposite direction. We flew in that same direction for hours, only stopping for occasional breaks every now and then. We kept on heading forward when I noticed the sky was different from early. It was filled with dark blues and purples. Scattered on the sky there were also these small white dots appearing. They must be stars. I was told all sorts of myths and stories about the stars in the bunker. The sun started to set and there was no sign of a city. It was pitch black and you could barely see anything besides the forest. We were about to land when I heard the screeching noise from the birds earlier. They’d followed us. Guess they came back for revenge. We couldn’t land anywhere without losing them first.

“Ambrose, you think you can lose them in the forest?” He flew close to the ground and started weaving through the trees. I didn’t know where we were going but after a while the noises became distant. I knew the creature would come again, the best option would be finding a safe and secure area to stay in for the night. That was when I saw a glowing light coming from a building. Landing on the ground, I approached the building cautiously not knowing what was causing the bright light in the building. Maybe someone else was inside the building. I ran to the door and held it open for Ambrose to come in. The building looked larger on the inside than it did on the outside. The light I saw from outside was newly lit candles. There were tables with glass beakers scattered everywhere along with other technical equipment you’d find in a research lab. On the other side of the room, I saw a silhouette of a person. “Celeste, I was worried about you,” the stranger said. “How do you know my name?” I said. He came into the light holding a candle. Only when he had gotten close enough did I realize the stranger was my dad. Speechless to words, I ran and gave him a hug. “Where were you and what happened?” “A mega mutation had attacked the burrow. I tried looking for you but you were nowhere to be found. I’m glad you’re safe though.” As he said this, I became more confused. It doesn’t explain why I found him here. But I didn’t care. I’m glad I found him knowing I’m not alone in this strange new world.

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