!CONTENT WARNING! -This story is for kids ages 12+ -this story features VERY SLIGHT g0r3. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THESE TOPICS, PLEASE CLICK AWAY FROM THIS PROJECT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radiation A fiction novel about a nuclear meltdown in Kola, Russia The weather was always confusing. The air felt warm but cold at the same time. Nothing ever made sense where I lived. My отец was sharpening knives behind the barn, where the animals used to be. "Отец" means 'father' in my language. My mama was gone. She had died in the suffocating heat that caused all the animals to perish as well. After the meltdown, the whole world seemed gray and lifeless. Since there was nowhere to go after the power plant collapse, I felt sad. There was no one to talk to; the streets were cracked and dusty, and the power lines lay tangled on the warped streets. The forest began to grow back, although it had been eight years since anything had been the same. There was no mold, no… “Саша?” I was jolted out of my thoughts by my отец's voice. He seemed... happy. This was not my отец. Neither of us had been happy since we lost our entire city. I ducked under collapsed bridges and vaulted over old cars to reach my отец, who was with another man. I was shocked to see evidence of other life, but something felt off. The expression on the man’s face was as if he had just received bad news. Curious, I waited for someone to say something. To my surprise, it was my отец who broke the awkward silence. I had never heard him speak another language before. I understood a few words, but they were not clear. I believed he was speaking English. I turned to the man with curiosity. Отец told me that we had the option to move to a new civilization in Sweden, which would involve traveling across Finland. I wanted to agree, but it was such a long journey. “Do we have to do this?” I asked the man and then turned to my отец. “No, it was just an offer. We need more people in our civilization to help us create a state that we can all stand to live in.” I could see that he struggled to speak our language, as he looked at my отец when he stumbled over a long word. “If you both agree, we can start our journey by tomorrow morning.” The man continued, awkwardly scooting away from a glowing plant, which stood on mutated grass. I looked at it, then back at him. “That one’s harmless.” “That one?” he asked, looking slightly worried. I pointed toward the trees. “The red ones are the problem.” The man blinked. “..thanks for the warning..." Nearby, a root shot up from the ground, wrapping around a small animal. The wood creaked as it constricted tighter and tighter. The creature screeched in panic, its legs pinned by the pressure. Then—snap. Silence. The soil shifted, swallowing the two halves of the animal as if it had never existed. The man froze, eyes wide, horrified. (this is a WIP. PLEASE GIVE ME IDEAS/ SUGGESTIONS!!)
