Fog 2052

By Richard Ellis

In 2052 a deadly fog has coated the entire earth, splitting the world in two. Peace reigns in the Lower World city of Cevario, until disappearances, mysterious deaths and cryptic messages lead City Guardian Conner on a mission to save his people.

His quest to find answers uncovers a plot more sinister than he could possibly ever imagine. There is a force gathering out in the Wastes, that threatens the existence of the entire Lower World.

With only a small band of fellow Guardians, a Scientist from the Upper World, and an eccentric old man that keeps following him though the city, can Conner overcome his own personal demons and lead a team strong enough to fight the impossible odds coming their way?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Aug 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499007954

Book preview

Chapter 1

O ne hundred and eighteen point six metres. That number was etched into the mind of every single person on Earth. That number was the average thickness worldwide of the catastrophic, lung-destroying fog that now coated the Earth like a thick blanket.

Conner Walt, from the Lower World town of Cevario, was walking right through it.

The road he was on was barren. Devoid of life. He had travelled this battered path many times now since the Land Wars ended, but it still hurt to see the devastation every time. He paused to assess his surrounds — partly to make sure he wasn’t being watched, partly to reminisce. This road wasn’t far from where he had grown up. He remembered fighting with the neighbourhood kids here. And running though the shops, now nothing more than rubble.

All the streets were caked in debris. Over the road from where he stood the entrance to the supermarket was largely intact, but the doors hung limply on their hinges. Large shards of dusty glass littered the pavement in front. On the inside, empty shelves were barely visible through the fog. Conner thought to himself — is this really what the gangs wanted?

The shop beside the supermarket used to be a hairdresser, but now it was a mound of broken concrete. Although he didn’t see it happen, from the size of the damage he guessed that it was a K3 RPG. And mounted on the kerb beside the hairdresser, the remains of a Sedan lay wedged onto a broken street lamp. The car had been stripped of anything valuable long ago, and it was now just rusting bones.

Conner shook off his past memories and looked down to the small instrument panel strapped to his arm. The motion sensor showed nothing but a pale green triangle in the center. Satisfied, he continued on.

He trudged around the corner and down towards the empty playground. The gate was open as expected. Again he surveyed his surrounds, but the haze was thicker here in the open space. He flicked a switch on the side of his glasses, and infra-red lit the park up in various shades of blue. It was all cold. All dead. He flicked the glasses back to normal.

He walked to the back of the playground towards the dead Sycamore trees. Once tall and majestic, he felt now that they were just brown logs stabbing at the sky. Beside him were the swing-set and slide, and a ring of small bricks that once held back soft bark. In the distance, the dome-like city energy shields of his hometown, that held back the deadly fog from the population, glowed faintly through the brown haze. It was like looking at a giant pink bubble of static floating on the horizon. But at the moment the only thing between him and the fog, was the custom-made gas mask that moulded perfectly around his face.

At a patch of dirt beside the stump of an old Oak at the rear of the park, Conner knelt down onto the ground. Stuck into it was a rough sign with the Greek symbol ‘Beta’ and the number 19 etched onto it. He inspected the dirt patch, gently flicking aside the topsoil. To his dismay, there was still not a glimmer of any green. He cursed yet another failed test.

He knelt there quietly for several moments, until the silence was broken by a sharp ‘bleep’ from the motion sensor. He instantly swivelled around and drew his Koller 18 Sidearm. There was nothing behind him, so he spun to the front again. A twinge of fear rose through his spine. He couldn’t see any enemy.

He slowly raised himself, keeping his eye trained down his gun’s sights. Only when he was fully standing did he move his eyes to his sensor. It was quiet again, only showing himself — the lone green triangle in the middle.

Shit. He mumbled. He tapped the sensor’s screen. Is it broken? A friend or witless foe would have revealed himself by now. If the sensor was working correctly, someone or something had gotten close to him, then moved back out of sensor range and was watching him right now. He turned a full circle and switched to infra-red. Still nothing.

Suddenly he saw a red blur out the corner of his eye, and the sensor bleeped loudly. He turned sharply and saw a humanoid shape coming straight at him. He fired. A bright red circle of light erupted on its chest but it did not stop.

He felt the impact like a truck. The attacker tackled him and both went crashing down. Pain coursed through Conner’s back.

Thoughts raced quickly through his mind. His attacker had survived a direct hit, and had no weapon, just brute strength. He knew immediately what it was, and that he was at the disadvantage. He needed to get out and back to his feet. He felt a shift in the weight of the beast on top of him and sensed that it was raising its right arm. He shifted his head away and raised his own to parry the punch just in time. He felt a painful glancing blow and heard a resounding thud on the ground next to his ear. A second punch wouldn’t miss. He twisted his hand around and pulled the trigger. The blast glanced across the beast’s back, which let out a howl of pain. He pushed hard with his legs and squeezed out from under it while it reeled. He rolled away and let out a loud grunt of his own as the pain in his left arm hit home. It was rendered useless. He panted heavily.

The beast was rising to its feet. Conner launched himself into a defensive position, and levelled his gun.

He had time to study his attacker. It was half human, half machine. Immune to the deadly fog. It was on its hands and knees, staring back at him. Its skin was as grey as a cloud. Its eyes were sunken deep into the skull, hollow and black. It was scowling at Conner through rotten teeth. Its chest was covered in black armour — a thick titanium alloy on the front, and on its back a thinner titanium mat. Between the two sets of armour the human skin could be seen stretching over pronounced ribs. Its limbs were mechanical horrors; steel, titanium and wires carefully arranged to create powerful appendages. This was a well-built Pet. It had been worked on by its creator the most Conner had ever seen. Its creator was long since dead now though, a criminal who was exiled to the Wastes in the years following the Land Wars. But with very few exiles left in the Wastes now, Pets roamed free, scavenging and destroying.

There was only one way to stop this creature.

Conner let it come after him again.

It sprung forward with lightning speed, lashing its claws like five deadly knives. Conner threw himself to the side just as the claws scraped his shirt. He grabbed the Pet’s arm, jammed his gun into its ribs and emptied the entire round of his gun. Thick blood sprayed out from the other side. Conner had blasted straight through its human heart. The Pet bellowed and threw his head around, and Conner shoved it to the ground.

It wailed and thrashed, continuing to writhe for several moments. Conner reloaded and put a bullet into its primitive brain, stopping it altogether.

Once again he was alone in the Wastes.

Chapter 2

I t took a long time to stagger back to the main gates. Conner clutched at his bruised arm that throbbed mercilessly. It swung limply and his legs struggled beneath him. The fog was thick, and the Gatekeeper only saw him as he emerged, like a ghost, from a few yards away. He ran up to him and helped him approach.

Conner! What happened?

Damn Pet. He muttered.

My God! You OK?

It’s just my arm. Pretty busted.

Well you’re alright now. You’re home. We’ll get you fixed up.

Conner slumped onto the Gatekeeper. He made a mental note to speak to the others about going out into the field alone. He would never let anything like that happen to any of the others. From now on, expeditions will have to be made in pairs.

For the moment though, he was just happy to be home. Soon he would be drinking in the warm, safe air of his beloved Cevario.

Gate 4 was at the South side of Cevario, a small tunnel that allowed passage through the vast city shield. The shield defended the city’s 150,000 inhabitants from the fog. It was powered by a Sirillium Crystal at the center of the city, which generated a thin sea of electromagnetic particles held by plasma waves, spanning the whole city at the base and rising well above the fog and into the clouds. Conner watched the plasma waves course over the surface, like steam from a kettle on glass. He never got tired of the sight.

The Gatekeeper helped Conner to the safety ring and powered up a smaller Sirillium Crystal that was used solely for this gate. It hummed and a gate shield materialised. It crackled and sparked where it merged with the main shield, creating an arc above their heads. The evacuator at their feet then kicked in and vacuumed up all the deadly fog and spat it outside, and the city shield slowly faded and dissolved within the gate to allow passage to the other side.

Clear! The Gatekeeper announced.

Conner glanced at the Aurachloride meter on the wall panel. It read zero. He stepped through to the other side of the shield. Finally home. The gate powered down.

He removed his gasmask, and let the fresh air fill his lungs. He closed his eyes and breathed hard. He could smell the freshness of the air and taste it on his tongue.

The second Gatekeeper on the inside shook his hand. Welcome back.

Thanks. Glad to be back.

Even though Conner had lived in many cities, he considered Cevario to be his true home. Meaning ‘Safe Haven’, the town was where he chose sanctuary from the ruins, after the world split in two. Cevario was a well-established city, created largely from a smaller town untouched by the Land Wars. At this edge of the city, small masonry homes and gardens were dotted around dirt roads. Each home had a garden on the rooftop, with fruit trees and vegetables adorning the otherwise plain brick. Moving toward the centre of the town, the homes grew to small units, then larger and larger apartments all topped with greenery, until finally culminating in the giant center tower which housed the security center, and life of the city — the Sirillium crystal itself. Cevario was lucky enough to have a tower already built which could house the crystal, although the top third of the structure was a lattice tower to get the crystal to the right height. The crystal stood like a beacon atop the spire, and could be seen at all edges of the city.

At the base of the tower there was the Sirillium Lab, which was used to refine and process Sirillium. There was also the main powerstation, that kept power flowing up huge cables to the crystal. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

Conner closed his eyes and recalled other Lower World cities he had seen. In some cities, the townspeople had to construct massive steel trusses to house their Sirillium crystal, or fashion rough towers out of anything they could find. Conner had heard that a city just outside of Paris, had transported the toppled Eifel Tower and placed it on top of a 12 story building to house theirs. To some people it felt like living in a giant prison, but at least it was an existence. Anything was better than the Wars that preceded it. By the end of the splitting of the two Worlds, hundreds of beautiful glowing pink orbs peppered the landscapes of the Earth. Conner ached for the day someone would find a cure for the fog, but in the meantime, the greenery of Cevario and the pebbles beneath his feet would do.

A figure marched confidently up to greet him. He wore a thick blue cotton shirt and brown cargo pants, which were tucked neatly into heavy boots. A gold ring and three gold stars were sewn onto his right sleeve, and on his chest was the emblem of the City Guardians. It was a patch of a golden yellow circle with rays shining outward, to a yellow half circle. It represented the Sirillium Crystal and the energy shield of Cevario. Below the emblem, simple stitching read ‘CEVARIO GUARDIAN’.

Bloody Hell what happened to you? Captain Onasta frowned.

I’ll be alright Captain. Conner replied. He smiled and took the Captain’s hand in a firm handshake.

But the Pets are getting bolder. We can’t keep going out alone anymore. They’re getting desperate I think. Like us.

That will strain our resources. Onasta replied. I’ll have to see what Stef says about that.

Mmm. Was all Conner replied.

And the crop? Said Onasta.

Conner simply matched his gaze for a brief second and started walking, head lowered.

Onasta swore under his breath.

They walked to the waiting car, both deep in thought.

I’ll take you to the hospital, Conner.

It’s not broken.

I don’t care. You’re going, that’s an order.

Fine. But I won’t let them keep me long, I want to go see Marcus.

Onasta sighed as they hopped into the car. Not listening to me as usual. He said. Marcus will still be at the kitchen then, as he always is on his time off.

Thanks. Replied Conner.

The ‘kitchen’ was the town’s soup kitchen for the townsfolk that needed a meal or help getting back on their feet. Today, as usual, a line of bodies, faces drained of colour, snaked around the old wooden tables from the servery all the way to the front entrance. A few lights dimly lit up the dusty floor panels and walls that desperately needed a clean. No one spoke. Those sitting at the tables were devouring their soup like it was a dish from a restaurant.

Marcus and Mrs Kay spooned steaming soup from their pots as fast as it was taken away.

Mrs Kay was a plump lady, who shuffled about in a simple dress with patterned flowers. Her wide smile always stretched outward to rosy cheeks. She wiped her hands on her stained yellow apron.

Thank you. The eager patron offered a slight nod as he shuffled off to the nearest spare seat.

Marcus, a Guardian like Onasta and Conner, towered over Mrs Kay and his long arms stretched out to the bench. He dipped his ladle into the soup and looked up at the gentleman standing there patiently. His eyes widened.

John! What are you doing here?

Damn. I should have known you were volunteering today.

Marcus kept quiet, waiting for his answer.

Look I just need something for today Marcus. Please. I lost my job.

Oh John. Are you OK?

I’ll be alright. John replied. Things are… just a little tight at the moment.

Marcus started to object, but knew that his old friend still had his pride. He wouldn’t want any sympathy.

Look, we’ll talk later mate. Marcus said and poured his soup.

John strolled off.

Marcus sighed. All the faces in the hall had a similar story. People had been moving into Cevario from other Lower World towns that weren’t doing as well as Cevario, and even people from the Upper World cities that wanted a quieter life. While that meant more revenue for the town, the older workers were slowly being replaced.

Marcus looked around the hall. There was a small boy in the corner who caught his eye. His hair was ruffled, he wore a plain black T-shirt, and fingerless gloves for the cold. The boy was staring straight at him, and didn’t have a bowl of food.

Marcus looked back at the boy and tilted his head to the side. He lifted his ladle and pointed to it.

The boy reacted by pushing his chair back and darting for the door.

Marcus watched confused as he bolted out the hall. Oh well, he thought. Perhaps he would be back, just a little too shy to ask for help at the moment.

I hate to see the little ones in here. Mrs Kay sighed. But better in here than hungry outside.

Marcus grunted his agreement. Yep.

Conner strolled in through the door, looking considerably better than an hour before.

Mate, how are you? Marcus cheered.

Glad to be alive buddy, very glad. I came pretty close to not coming back this time.

Eh?

Yeah I know. We just can’t go out into the Wastes alone anymore I think.

As quickly as Marcus’s expression had brightened, it died away. That’s… not good.

Nope. Conner whined. I’ll fill everyone in about it at the meeting.

Marcus grunted. Are you going to tell me?

Sure. You going to the bar?

Marcus looked at Mrs Kay.

You can go Marcus, the line is dropping off a bit.

Thanks, I’ll be back tomorrow.

Oh you’re a gem.

Conner turned toward the door but remembered about the crop. He looked back at Marcus who was snapping off his rubber gloves.

Oh yeah. And no good on the crop. Looks like we’ll be opening up the weapons store and going on that raid after all.

Marcus paused, then slammed his gloves into the washer.

Chapter 3

M usic spilled out onto the street from Central Cove, the bar not far from the Cevario Guardian Headquarters. Conner pushed the door open and found half of the full Guardian team sitting at a table at the back of the bar.

They turned to greet him and Marcus as they arrived.

Heh how was your trip? Asked Dog. Dog was the oldest and longest serving Guardian, just after Captain Onasta. But despite his age, with his broad shoulders and thick legs and arms, he could still match it with the youngest ones.

Ugh, I just need a beer. Replied Conner.

That bad huh?

Yeah.

Conner sat down next to Python. Python was the mother of the group, a veteran like Dog but more of a fierce protector than a fighter. She sat watching Coop, the newest and youngest member, get beer all over his mouth. Coop had only been with the team a week.

Python rolled her eyes and sniggered. Next to Coop was Med, the second newest member, who was taken on board as their first field Doctor.

So Med… how long have you been with us now? She asked.

Med was silent.

Med?

Huh, oh sorry, I’m still getting used to that name.

Python laughed. Yeah sorry, Onasta has a thing for nicknames. Most of us get one except for the Officers. I don’t remember how I became Python.

Med simply shrugged.

But he didn’t get too original with you.

No. I’m pretty much labelled as ‘Medic’ forever now.

He’s just proud to have a doctor as good as you in the group.

I hope so.

Med took a drink of his Pomegranate juice. I can see why Dragon got his name. He looked down to the far end of the table, where Dragon sat quietly eyeing the bar. Under his worn cap he had a dark tattoo of a dragon carved from his forehead all the way down to his chin and down his neck.

Python looked down towards him as well. Dragon was looking at the bar entrance, then growled and took a quick swig of beer. Python turned toward the entrance too where a group of men had just entered. They must be new to the town, because most people knew all the Guardians. But they didn’t know Dragon, and looked twice when they saw him.

Python admired Dragon’s strength and dedication. Dragon was always ‘on duty’ even when he was not.

Anyway. She turned back to Med. How long have you been with us?

Two months. Med answered.

Huh. Seems longer.

No, only two months.

Oh that’s right, you weren’t on the last raid with us. Marcus had to do most of the field dressings himself. Lucky it was a pretty small raid though.

Med nodded, listening intently. Coop finished his beer and leaned in as well.

I’m glad we finally have a proper Medic on board too.

Well, glad to be part of the team.

Python leaned back in her chair and put her elbow on the backrest. She lazily scanned the bar. They were in the corner of the dimly lit room, tucked away from the noise of the majority of the crowd. Still, they could see almost the entire bar. She looked at Dog at the end of the table, idly chatting to Marcus while Conner went for drinks.

What were you doing before this? She turned back to Med.

I worked at a Capitallia clinic. Mostly coughs, colds and such like. Some broken bones.

Ahh, the big Upper World city above the fog. This will be a bit different for you then.

Yep. I’m keen to get into the field work.

You’re keen to live down here in the fog? Why?

"Well, I wasn’t really ‘helping’ people up