Tri System's Edge: Paradise Unraveled

by Ron Schrader

  Three Weeks Ago

  It was a clear, star filled night, as Seth lay in the tall summer grass with Nola, kissing her gently, enjoying his newfound romance. Nola’s long brown hair fell over Seth’s face as she leaned in toward him, forcing him to roll to his back. He quickly reacted, playfully, pushing her to his side, giving them both a full view of the beautiful heavens above. The two remained comfortably still as they talked quietly, staring into the night sky.

  “I wish we’d met years ago!” came the quiet, soft words from Nola as she squeezed Seth’s hand a little harder. He just smiled, squeezing her hand in return, as the two cuddled close together, quietly enjoying the view above. The two drifted off to sleep as they lay comfortably together, holding one another, both wishing the moment would never have to end.

  Startled by a large explosion in the sky, Seth and Nola awoke abruptly to find a bright mass in the otherwise dark sky above, splintering off into hundreds, perhaps thousands, of bright lines in every direction. The two jumped to their feet and began to run toward the city walls off in the distance, a good two kilometers away from where they had laid just moments ago.

  “What is it?” inquired Nola, a mixture of excitement and concern in her voice.

  “I think it’s a meteor shower.” replied Seth. “But let’s find my Dad just to be sure!”

  Nola followed as best she could as she struggled to keep up with Seth who was in better physical condition than most athletes, something that his life here had forced upon him. About half way to the city walls, Seth stopped and turned to find he’d put a good ten meters between he and Nola, so he stood and waited, watching as she gracefully ran toward him.

  “I’m sorry Nola!” he shouted as she slowly moved closer to where he stood. When she finally reached him, he grabbed her hand, swung her tiny frame around to his back and began running once more, now carrying his sweetheart.

  “You’re crazy!” she laughed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, trying her best to hang on tight. As he ran, now noticeably slower than before, she leaned her head toward his neck and began to kiss him. “I think…I think I’m in love with you Seth.” She whispered softly, just as they reached the city walls. Seth stopped and swung her off his back, then turned to face her. The two hugged briefly, staring into each other’s eyes for a moment before Seth leaned in for a kiss. Nola met him halfway and the two kissed briefly under the beautiful light show playing out from above.

  “Let’s find my Dad.” Seth finally said with some difficulty, not really wanting the kiss or the moment to end.

  “I go where you go!” Nola replied with a loving smile.

  The two held hands as they walked up alongside the wall of the city, following it toward the main gate where a guard on duty was positioned in a tower like platform above and to the right. Seth yelled up to the guard who quickly opened one side of the large gate to let them inside the city. As they followed the road to Seth’s house, weaving through the city, passing home after home, it was impossible to ignore the splendor and brightness of what almost seemed like fireworks in the night sky. Each house they passed along the way must have been empty, as it seemed the entire city stood outside watching the performance taking place. When they finally reached Seth’s house, it was no surprise to find Dr. Staves standing outside with the rest of the city, watching in awe the sky above.

  “Is it a meteor shower Dad?” asked Seth intently.

  “Yes, I believe so.” replied the Dr., not taking his eyes away from the light display. “I can’t be certain without a sample of some kind, but I’m sure that’s what it is.”

  Dr. Staves, Seth and Nola all sat on the step outside the small home, watching for over an hour as the light show commenced. Finally, uncertain how much longer it would last, Nola broke the silence.

  “I should probably get home Seth. I have to work early tomorrow.” With that, Seth took her hand and stood, pulling her up with him.

  “I’ll walk you home.”

  “I’ll need your help at the farm tomorrow.” Dr. Staves called out to Seth as he watched the two love birds walk off into the darkness.

  Standing finally on Nola’s door step, the two kissed one last time for the night, Nola then slipping quietly inside the doorway, leaving Seth to his thoughts and the magnificence of the amazing night the two had shared. He then slowly stepped down to the ground level and reluctantly turned to walk back home once more.

  About half way home, Tav and Davis came running up behind him, almost knocking him to the ground with their approach.

  “Isn’t this just incredible!” exclaimed Davis as he threw his arm around Seth.

  “I know, pretty crazy, isn’t it!” Seth replied as the three walked the distance to Seth’s house, talking about the events of the night.

  “So how was your night out with Nola?” Tav interjected sarcastically, meaning to tease Seth about his new love.

  “It was…” he paused, looking down with a smile before lifting his head back up. “She’s really great you guys!” The two friends continued to tease him as they all laughed and joked. “I’m sorry I’ve been spending more time with her and less with you.” Seth finally said as they approached his home.

  “Hey man, we’re both happy for you.” responded Davis, Tav nodding in agreement. “We’ll catch up with you later!” With that, Davis and Tav walked off into the clear night, laughing and roughhousing as they disappeared in the night.

  The light show lasted long into the night and early morning, most of which Seth and his Father missed due to a need for sleep. When Seth finally awoke the next morning, he found that his Father was already up and had left the house. He quickly got himself dressed and headed for the front door. He remembered hearing the night before that his help was needed on the farm today and as he opened the front door, a note fell to the ground, another reminder written inside. Seth crumpled the paper, a bit irritated about the reminder, and threw it across the room where it landed near the entrance to his Father’s room. “He could have at least waited so I didn’t have to walk!” he thought angrily to himself as he proceeded to walk outside, taking special care to slam the door behind him as a means of outwardly expressing the irritation he had. Feeling a sense of relief, having taken it out on the door, he started the long, seventeen kilometer walk to the farm where his father would be waiting for him.

  As he began his journey toward the gate, he noticed people reaching out into the air, as if to feel rain on their skin. Seth looked up to see a fine dust like substance falling from the sky like rain. The closer he got to the city walls, the more wind he noticed, which seemed to be creating a sandstorm of sorts with the strange dust in the air.

  Seth approached the gate, looking up at the guard who nodded in acknowledgement as he opened the gate. As Seth stepped out into the grassy field, he froze dead in his tracks as he noticed a dark, brownish red color, covering the valley floor as far as he could see. He began to walk toward the farm, both amazed and slightly concerned about the odd occurrence that had all but covered the green valley floor. And as he walked, getting further and further in open territory, the wind seemed to be moving the dust more powerfully through the air. Feeling a sense of uneasiness, Seth decided to run the rest of the distance and get to his Father as quickly as possible. “He’ll know what’s going on.” He thought as he began to run the remaining distance.

  Just shy of an hour later, Seth, now covered in sweat and space dust from the run, arrived at the farm to find his father and several others standing by the small lake. As he came closer, Seth quickly recognized that the light blue color of the lake had turned slightly murky. He could hear some of the others standing nearby, talking amongst themselves, wondering if the water was still safe to drink.

  “What’s wrong?” Seth asked as he approached his Father.

  “The meteors last night seem to have burned up in the atmosphere which explains the dust rain.” replied the Dr. “I’m sure it’s still safe to use, but until the dust settles in the lake,
I’m afraid it’s going to look slightly less appetizing.” After feeling satisfied with his prognosis, he finally spoke up so the entire group could hear him. “I’m sure the water’s fine to use and drink. The dust just needs to settle, that’s all.” He then turned to Seth and motioned him to follow as he began heading back toward his small research lab.

  Later that day, Seth walked out to the pump near the lake to get a drink and noticed that the dust seemed to have mostly settled already, much of the normal color of the lake having returned. Seth filled the jug in his hand, and without any hesitation, drank the cool water down quickly, quenching his thirst and thinking nothing more of the dust. By day’s end, over seventy five people had taken water from the lake to drink, including Dr. Staves.

  Two Weeks Ago

  Nola stood at the door and continued to knock. It had been three days now since she’d seen or heard from Seth and she couldn’t help but be worried. There had already been reports of several farm hands visiting the medical center with some pretty intense flu like symptoms, so her concerns were completely valid.

  “Seth? Are you in there?” she called out, pounding on the door. Finally she heard the sound of someone walking to the door. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a very ill looking Dr. Staves.

  “I’m sorry my dear, but Seth and I seem to have both come down with something.” He barely finished his sentence before he began coughing uncontrollably, doubled up in pain and fell to the floor. Nola forced her way through the partially open door and crouched down next to the Dr. in an attempt to help.

  “Are you alright?” she said with great concern. “We need to get you into the medical center right away! Where’s Seth?” With that she quickly ran to Seth’s room to find him unconscious, sweat pouring from his skin from the powerful fever that had taken him. After several attempts to wake him, she ran back out into the main room to find the Dr. had also succumbed to the fever and had passed out as well. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to hardly move one of them by herself let alone both of them, she quickly left the house and ran to find help. As chance would have it, Tav was walking toward the house as Nola frantically ran toward him.

  Hours later she found herself wondering if Seth would recover or not as she sat in the waiting area of the medical center, Tav and Davis both by her side, unable to go home as she was filled with worry for the man she loved. The three talked for several hours as Tav and Davis attempted to comfort the clearly frightened young woman.

  “I’m sure things will be fine.” Davis said confidently. “Seth’s a tough kid, so I’m sure he’ll be back on his feet before you know it!”

  “Yeah…” Tav added. “He’s anything but a quitter!”

  Another few hours passed, evening now upon them, before Tav and Davis finally had to leave.

  “Will you be alright?” Davis asked with concern. “ We really can stay longer if you want us too.”

  “No.” was her simple reply. “I’m fine. You can go.” She thanked them for their help and for staying this long with her as the two men unwillingly walked away, both with other duties to attend to. As she sat in the chair waiting, now alone with her thoughts, sleep soon overtook her.

  Nola awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of yelling outside and quickly rose to her feet, needing to find out what was happening. As she approached the large wall of windows near the front entrance of the medical center, she could see nothing but a thick cloud that loomed just outside the walls of the building. As she stared out into the darkness, the front door quickly flew open, startling her, as a woman rushed into the building.

  “I can’t find my baby girl!” cried the frantic woman. “She let go of my hand for a second, and now she’s gone in the fog!” She began to break down, trying to continue. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, this fog. You can’t see anything out there!” Nola held the woman in an attempt to comfort her, when to the surprise and amazement of everyone standing in the room, a little girl walked through the door, tears streaming down her face.

  “Mama?” she cried out as she rushed toward the woman. “I couldn’t see you anymore!” The two embraced, having been happily reunited as if by a miracle.

  Nola backed away from the woman who took her daughter across the room to an empty bench, her attention once more focused on the eerie mist outside. As she continued to look out the window with great concern, a feeling of fear and uncertainty overcame her as she had no idea what was going on or whether or not Seth and his Father would live or die. She sat back in her chair, pulling her knees up to her chest and began to cry quietly to herself until, exhausted from the long difficult day, she drifted off to sleep once again.

  Morning came the next day, but the sun did nothing to remove the thick mist that lingered on the valley floor. The light from the sun did little but illuminate the thick smoke like fog, allowing everyone to see, just not very far. Nola pushed that concern aside as she went to speak to one of the medical staff, hoping to hear new information on Seth and his Father.

  “Nurse?” she asked as one of the staff walked past her. “Is there any news?” The nurse stopped for a moment and explained to Nola that there were dozens and dozens of cases like Seth’s and Dr. Staves, none of them were conscious yet and no one could figure out what was wrong.

  “The only thing we do know” the nurse continued “is that every one of the patients worked on one of the two farms the day after the meteor shower.”

  “And you have no idea what’s wrong with them?” Nola asked once more.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid we don’t.”

  By this time, all of the patients had been quarantined to one section of the medical center out of fear that this ailment might be contagious, but Nola refused to leave, choosing instead to remain in the waiting area until some news came, any news, about Seth and his Father’s condition. In the meantime, her mind began to again focus on the thick mist that was still clearly visible outside the windows of the medical center. “How odd.” She continued to think to herself as she tried to make sense of everything.

  As the day drifted slowly into night, the darkness of the mist once again engulfed the lower valley of the planet, the city included. Nola remained in the medical center once more that night, still unwilling to leave until she knew if Seth would live or not. She fought sleep until late into the night, finally losing the battle. In the early hours of the morning, a nurse woke her with news, albeit not the news she wanted.

  “Miss?” spoke the nurse while gently trying to wake Nola. “I thought you’d like to know, another patient just woke up and he’s feeling fine. Hopefully the rest…”

  “Thank you.” interrupted Nola, her face radiating with hope.

  “Certainly.” the nurse replied, hurrying back to her duties.

  As the hours passed, one by one, patients affected by the strange illness awoke from their unconscious state. Dr. Staves and his son were among the last of the patients to wake, feeling the same as all the others, tired and hungry. As Seth finally walked out into the waiting area, Nola rushed toward him, practically jumping into his arms, almost knocking him back because of the weak state he was in.

  “I wasn’t sure if…” She began to cry as she hugged him. “I was so worried!” were the words that escaped her sobs.

  “I’m OK, I think.” Seth whispered in her ear as the two embraced. “Just starving.”

  The three followed many others, leaving the medical center to head home, caring very little about the lingering mist that seemed to be maintaining itself quite nicely, with no intentions of leaving.

  “How long has this mist been here?” asked Dr. Staves.

  “Since about a day after you passed out.” replied Nola.

  “I have a theory as to why, but I’d first like to see what I can learn about our condition.” No sooner had they stepped foot in the house that the Dr. had begun drawing blood to examine and test. It wasn’t long before he noticed something strange. “How could they have missed thi
s at the medical center?” he thought to himself as he looked into his microscope. Next to each blood cell he was barely able to notice a small speck of something that did not belong.

  In the meantime, Seth was enjoying the much needed meal that Nola had made for all of them when a knock at the door broke the otherwise silence. Nola walked to the door to find Tav and Davis standing outside, anxious to see how their friend was doing.

  “Come in!” she said as she opened the door and moved to the side.

  “See!” said Davis, speaking soft enough that only Nola could hear him. “I told you Seth was a fighter!” The two exchanged a friendly smile as they all gathered around the table where Seth sat, still eating as if he’d almost starved to death.

  They all sat around for several hours, talking and laughing, glad that Seth and his father seemed to be alright. Finally, Tav and Davis taking a hint from Nola who wanted to be alone with Seth, stood and said their goodbyes, happy to see Seth back on his feet.

  “We’ll be up on the cliff for about a week.” Davis said as the two walked toward the door. “Commander Tarin is pretty interested in that forest we found up there and wants us to gather more intel about the area, but we’ll let you off the hook this time!” Seth smiled at the remarks and told the two to be safe as they walked out the door into the night. As soon as the door shut, Nola grabbed Seth by the arm and led him to his bedroom.

  “You need to rest.” she said as she shut the bedroom door behind them.

  Over the next couple of days, Dr. Staves continued his research with great concern as the tiny specks in his and Seth’s blood seemed to be mutating and growing. It was not a simple anomaly, it was several micro organisms that were getting bigger and changing in a way he knew was not natural.

  One Week Ago

  The story spread quickly through the city about the first man to awake from the sickness. Out of nowhere, he had gone into a fit of pain and locked himself in his room. People throughout the city could hear his screams of agony. Within hours, there were more screams from more victims until this new symptom had reached all of those infected.