The Arc Strider

By Nicholas Newstead

Through a long and difficult journey Jeremy finds his way through the world. He learns how to brave lightning storms, lava, and Jeremy, the eldest son of the Thorne Family, braves a broken world in hopes of saving his family and friends. This once perfect world finds itself separated in multiple senses of the word. No one knows if distant friends and family members are safe and with constant storms, no one has had the chance to check. That was until Jeremy started his journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667849942

Book preview

Chapter 1

It has been two years since the world shattered and things are slowly getting better. I wonder if anyone has figured out why this has happened.

Jeremy sits on the edge of an enormous crater and stares at lightning as it constantly arcs down from the floating land mass. The giant mass was, once part of the planet Earth, now has been separated from the ground. Finding itself stuck in the air, forever trapped between a constant lightning storm and the eventual discharge of the lightning down into the crater below.

How can this even have happened? Thanks to the constant lightning storms we are divided once again, both planet and people. We use to be close and the world was finally united but now we have this mess. I don’t even know the last time I have been out of town. If the rest of the world has lightning like this I wonder if we can ever come together again.

With that thought Jeremy collapsed on his back. Falling amidst the damp and lush green grass that now covered the world. As he slowly looked up he found someone standing above him.

Looking over the person Jeremy saw a man wearing a slick black rain suit with an emblem of a rose prominently showing on his left breast pocket. Mirroring the emblem that adorned Jeremy’s jacket.

What have I told you about coming out here by yourself?! The man questioned.

Hi Dad, nice to see you too. I think you said to look both ways before crossing the lightning.

Completely ignoring the comment Harold continued talking, I told you to never approach the craters! Especially the ones next to a giant floating island that discharges lightning! Seriously Jeremy, it is extremely dangerous out here! Even if you are wearing your non-conductive clothing one wrong step and you could be fried. I don’t know what your mother and I would do if we lost you.

Probably have to make Lyle the new heir to the family. Jeremy said with a dead pan expression.

Jeremy this isn’t a joke! Harold scolded.

I know Dad, I’m sorry… The feeling of guilt creeped over Jeremy as he sat up and adjusted his hood to cover the rain fall. Once he got it to drape over most of his face he continued talking. Dad I just … how do I say this? Well… you know how I used to sit on the roof of the house? This is like that.

I can hardly see how sitting on our house would be the same as sitting on a cliff that overlooks a seventy foot drop.

I didn’t mean they were exactly the same. I meant more the feeling I get when I was up there.

What, the feeling of putting yourself in danger?

No… The feeling of peace. Like when I was on the roof, I can just sit here and think. You know what I mean Dad? I know it sounds weird but it works for me.

With a sigh Harold slowly eased himself down next to Jeremy on the edge and said, I think so. I get the same feeling when I am in the middle of a speech. The feeling of all my friends, family, and like mined supporters all around me makes me feel like that is where I should be. I know it’s the opposite for most people, they get nervous but not for me. It is peaceful to be in the moment.

Yeah exactly… Well I mean close enough, hahaha. What do you see and feel when you look at the shattered piece of Earth and the cacophony of lightning?

I wonder if there is a way to fix it and how dangerous this could be if the whole world has pieces scattered around like this. So a mixture of fear and sadness, I suppose. Why do you ask?

Just curious, honestly. When I look out, I see the rhythm of the strikes. Seeing the lightning arcs and movement remind me of music. I think it’s beautiful.

Lost in thought Harold focused on the power of nature. Watching as the lightning surged from the sky down into to the floating mass. Then once enough lightning builds up within the island it arcs down into the planet. Forever keeping the mass floating.

Can you see it Dad? Jeremy asked as he pulled out his solid oak recorder and begins playing a song in tune with the lightning strikes. Each high note being accompanied by a flash of lightning arcing down in the pit below. The song continued as every note melded into strange but relaxing song.

After letting his son finish his song, Harold stood up and gestured for Jeremy to do the same. Come on Son, we need to get back home. I want to be honest with you, I don’t really see anything more than the lightning. I understand what you are saying but I just see the danger. I wish I could see what you saw but I can’t.

I don’t think he understands even if he thinks he does, but that’s fine. At least he tried to see what I was saying. That is more than anyone else does. No one really pays a lot of attention to the beauty of the storms, just how to fix them. Well I can see why, but it’s so beautiful out here.

Thank you for trying Dad. I appreciate you trying. So what brought you out here anyway? I didn’t think you liked going out this far. Over here talking about how dangerous it is and here you are. Jeremy turned to his dad with a giant grin on his face.

I figured you were out here and I didn’t want to worry anyone else. So I just came out to get you and yes it is dangerous! I know I can trust you, but … just be safe ok? So while I am never sitting on the cliff like that again, I at least will know you are ok. Just don’t tell your mom or she will kill both of us

Hahaha sounds good Dad. I could always see Mom’s mini heart-attack back when I was on the roof. So I appreciate you keeping this between us.

Of course, and if your mom finds out I will deny everything. Harold smiled and shot a knowing wink towards Jeremy.

Probably smart, we don’t need her next book to be our obituaries hahaha. Jeremy said returning the smile.

At least she would make us sound better than we are. Harold said thoughtfully.

Knowing Mom it would start with, Here is the story of two dummies who didn’t listen to me.

So Dad, you didn’t say what was going on. Why did you need to get me?

Harold slowed slightly to look at one of the lightning rods that lined the path from Norfolk to the floating island. Looking over it to ensure it was still standing strong and as he looked over the lightning rod he responded to Jeremy. Well the family and the town have been talking about what the next best course of action would be and I want you there.

I am not sure what you mean isn’t everything going pretty well right now? I know we have a few struggles but overall we are doing ok. Aren’t we?

As if timed to Jeremy’s sentence a boom of thunder erupted from the sky above, as a lightning bolt raced downward. The bolt of lightning slammed into one of the lightning rods sending electricity down the connecting cables and off towards the town.

If it wasn’t for the series of lightning rods this would be a pretty dangerous area. So I guess Dad is right. Good thing the Wise Family came up with the idea to protect and power the town with these rods. Otherwise, we would never leave our homes and we probably would have died long ago.

Jeremy turned back and saw his dad looking at him expectantly. What? Jeremy asks.

Didn’t you just hear me?

Oh… umm no… I guess I just kind of zoned out for a second. I was watching the lighting again hahaha. What were you saying?

Harold shook his head and began walking towards the town again, What I was saying is we may be decently set up now but that won’t last.

Why not? We have plenty of crops, the rain makes sure of that. We have plenty of power thanks to the Wise family, and we are safe.

For now we are ok, but we will need more metal and space. We did everything we could to build up Norfolk, but with the repeated lightning strikes our metal can only take so much. That and we may have crops but we need more varied meals. If we could find some animals that would be ideal.

But where do we find all of that stuff?

I don’t know. Hopefully there is a town out there that can help us out. Also take a look at this lightning rod. Harold said gesturing Jeremy over. Jeremy slowly walked over and took a look at the one his dad was near.

You see how the lightning rod is being worn down? Harold continued. Yes it helps us with power but the constant lightning strikes are making the rods crack. The constant heating and cooling is just slowly chipping away at them.

I guess I never looked at that before. I can see how crucial it is to get the extra metal now. Jeremy answered.

Taking a step back, Jeremy followed his dad on the walk back to town. The rest of the walk, father and son both stayed silent and thought about what was coming next.

The lightning rods are not the only thing getting worn down. Dad is looking older every day. This all has really wore him down. His hair is getting grayer and he has wanted me to be more involved. I wonder if he sees something coming. He is only fifty four so it isn’t like he is that old. I wonder what Mom thinks of all of this? I wish I had more ways to help the city. These stupid but beautiful storms have really hindered us. No air travel, no cars, no exposed metals of any kind, and worst of all we have no way to talk to anyone outside of the city.

Alright Son, we are at the gates now, but I want you to promise me something. When the meeting starts feel free to speak up if you have any questions or suggestions.

Wait… really? Normally I just am there to understand how meeting go and listen.

This is going to be a little bit different than most meetings. I want to make sure we are all on the same page. We can’t afford to have mistaken or misunderstanding. So your voice is just as important as anyone else.

Ok I can do that, not sure how much help I will be though.

You never know, you may see something different than everyone else. You did always have your own way of doing things. For example, how did you time your song with the lightning?

What do you mean?

When you played your recorder, it was almost perfectly in sync with the lightning.

Oh that. Well… I am not really sure to be honest with you. I told you I thought of the strikes as music, so I just played along.

See that is what I mean. So feel free to share your thoughts in the meeting if you want.

Okay.

I think Dad just called me a weirdo hahaha. I mean he isn’t wrong, but still! Oh well he means well. I will do what I can and see what everyone talks about. Still going to be odd to just jump into the conversation. Not sure how comfortable I will be with that but we will see. I always got nervous talking in front of a bunch of people…

The two walked through the gates of Norfolk as Jeremy began taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. Slowly he looked around at the town to trying to help his mind focus on something else.

The entire town is surrounded by pillars the size of telephone poles (in fact some of them were in the past.) There are other ones placed throughout the town to ensure all the houses stay safe. All of the poles have a net cables running atop them. Then as it is all tied together they have been thoroughly grounded. Periodically there are large generators positioned with rubber compounds that supply power to the homes. All the power ran through reinforced cables that are fed into the ground. Each with a switch that connects it to the town’s generators allowing the power to be rerouted when they run low.

The houses themselves have been stripped of any excess metal that isn’t needed and set far enough apart that there is a drainage trench between all houses. Since the lightning storms and showers are so prevalent all the trenches are ran to aquafers for later use. There is a filtration system set up near the entrance of the aquafer to help get any extra debris out of the water. Giving us drinking water and extra water for showers and other thing.

All around the town there are lush and beautiful plots of farming area. Over watering is a very big problem so tarps were set up to help divert any excess rain to the trenches. Forty percent of the inside area has been reserved for farm land. With a very large amount of the city being farmers to help tend all the crops.

With one last breath Jeremy took a finally look around and felt his anxiety slowly getting to a manageable level. Then with that he turned to his dad as he heard him say, You feel like you’re ready son?

As I will ever be, I suppose Jeremy took one more look at the two story house and headed into his house.

Jeremy and his father walked into the house and were instantly greeted by one of the townsfolk who was helping set up the meeting. After Jeremy and Harold took their wet cloaks off, the townsfolk ushered them into the grand hall. On the way the helper informed them that the other guest were already waiting for them. Jeremy thanked them for their help and followed his dad into the grand hall.

Upon entering the room everyone stood and watched as Harold and Jeremy entered. With a gesture of his hand Harold apologized for the absence and headed to the head of the large table.

Jeremy followed in and sat on his father’s right side and surveyed the group that has been assembled around the large square table: His mother Cindy was to his father left, beside her was his seven year old brother Lyle, and to Jeremy’s right was his grandma Sharon.

Jeremy then took a mental tally of everyone else in attendance. On the left side of the table sat the Wise Family: Gerard (the second born), Kevin (the oldest), Leigh (Father), Mitzi (Mother), and Tyler (the youngest).

On the right side of the table are the fragments of the Families that were lost to the initial storm and representatives of the townsfolk. There was Blane (the towns handyman), Dianne (the eldest daughter of the Horn Family), Erin (the towns physician), Greg (the lead farmer), and Shane (the youngest of the Fischer Family).

The last side of the table is always reserved for staff to stage the food, this way no one at the table ever feels like they are below anyone else. This has always been pretty important to Dad. No one should feel like they are below anyone in the room, regardless of their contributions or status.

Hello Everybody! Thank you all for taking time out of your day to come here for dinner. I hope we didn’t inconvenience you too much, Harold spoke as he stood up and thanked each person individually for coming.

Oh it wasn’t an inconvenience at all Harold. It is always a pleasure to dine with the Thorne Family. Leigh replied as he returned Harold’s smile.

I second that sentiment Blane added. I really appreciate that you would include me in today’s dinner.

Harold looked at Blane and with the most genuine smile he said. Well, Sir Blane I would truly be a fool to not include yourself and everyone else in this room. You all are amazing at what you do and Norfolk would have fallen apart a long time ago without you all here to help.

You are far too kind to us, Greg answered.

We are lucky to have your family and the Wise Family to help lead us. Otherwise I would just be a farmer with no place to grow crops.

Bah! Enough of that! Shane scoffed We are all here to work as a team. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. So what is on the table for us today?

With a chuckle, Harold gestured for the staff to bring out the food.

I am sure you are referring to the conversation at hand Master Shane but I know for me I need some food in me before I get too serious.

I second that Father! Lyle interjected.

That sounds perfect. What is on the menu today? Mitzi politely asked.

Before Harold could answer Cindy stood up and said, I wasn’t about to subject you all to another one of my husband’s spicy concoctions. So I took the liberty of helping tonight’s chef make some cauliflower soup for an appetizer. Then we will have Broccoli Pesto Pasta for the main course, and last but not least I personally made some of my pistachio oat squares.

The relief was visible as everyone heard the absence of spice in today’s entrees. Then Leigh laughed and added his own thoughts to the table. I have to thank you for your help Cindy. I do love spice in my food but Harold always finds a way to kick it up to a new level. I don’t know if I could discuss anything after a meal like that.

Chuckles erupted from around the table. Even some of the volunteer staff laughed as they laid down the plates for the guests. With a side eye Harold looked at Leigh and said, Hey now, I am getting better with my spices. Not my fault my tastes are more refined than most people’s hahaha.

Sharon replied, Oh Son. I don’t know if refined is the right word for the concoctions you have made over the years. I think that some of those would make a dragons stomach upset. Then Sharon started laughing and soon the entire table fell back into a fit of laughter.

I remember when dad had to have milk and bread on hand just to make sure our guests wouldn’t run off before haha. I love Dad but man are you meals spicy. I wonder how long it took Leigh to get his taste to come back after the last incident.

The meal passed flawlessly as dinner and desert had concluded. Then looking across the table all that could be seen were satisfied faces and full stomachs.

That was fabulous Cindy! Dianne exclaimed, You must give me the recipe for your oat squares one of these day.

I would be honored Lady Dianne. Maybe tonight I can get you a copy of it.

I would love that! Thank you!

The room fell silent as all plates were cleared away by the volunteers. Then after all plates were gone Kevin asked, So what is the topic of today’s discussion Lord Harold?

No need for the formality Kevin, but I think you are right it is time to start the conversation. As all of you are aware, it has been getting harder to get supplies as of late. From metal to food, Even now we are beginning to run out of room as our city grows. Which is going to put us in a very bad situation soon. Just today I noticed that some of the lightning pylons are cracking and are covered with several burns. Yet we have no supplies to fix them. I was hoping today you all would have some options to help out the town, because I myself am running out of ideas.

Greg was the first to add his opinion. I suppose if we need room we could always try to use some of the crop land. Perhaps instead of having dedicated land we just turn the needed plots to build something else?

I can see what you mean but trying to get to the crops with houses mingled in would be a pain. Plus getting the needed space would be pointless if we can’t feed everyone. Erin added.

I agree with Erin, but Greg might have an idea. Can we rearrange the town to truly optimize its usage? I know it would be a lot of work, but if it helped we have plenty of people to work on it. Blane asked.

Now it was Leigh’s turn to add his opinion. I do believe we can move around some elements of the town. We have enough people here to help, like you said Blane. The only problem I would see if that of supplies. Even with all fifteen thousand people working together, they won’t have proper tools or projects to work on.

I think my father has a point, Kevin jumped into the conversation as Leigh finished. We have the people yes, but we have no materials. We have already stripped the current building of any unneeded furnishings. Just in an attempt to help keep the town safe. We have so much that we need but no way to get it. Don’t you agree Blane?

I do Kevin. I have been trying to ration out more of the supplies lately but even with that there isn’t enough. I have noticed the pylons have been breaking down, like Harold said. We just have no way to fix them. I have no idea if we will ever be able to at the rate we are going. Unless we actually start shrinking the town. Even that would only buy us a few years at most.

Why don’t we look at trading with some other towns? There has to be other people that are still living out there. There is no way we are the only ones left. Shane interjected.

Leigh thought for a second then responded. The only problem with that would be the transportation. That and finding them of course. All we have is hearsay and no actual evidence of where they are. Even if we did we don’t have a way to transport any sort of material.

Yes but maybe that’s the problem. We are sending people out with an intention of bringing back materials. What if we send them out just to make outposts? This way there is a chain of posts that we can use to shelter in? Shane retorted.

Leigh looked to Harold, giving him a look like that showed he would appreciate his input. Seeing this Harold answered, We have tried that actually… I have worked with Leigh a little bit to see if we could do that exact thing. Any people that we send out don’t have an appropriate area to start a post. There is nothing but flat land around us and if we tried to set up posts the people who set them up would just be stuck down. That and we have learned another thing as well…

Leigh took the nod from Harold and continued, We found that we are separated from the rest of the world. He paused so everyone could really grasp what he said and then continued. It appears that the lightning strikes have separated us from the world, quite literally. The scouts we have sent out… the ones that returned anyway. They have told us that there is a large chasm that is completely surrounding us. The best guess is that fault lines around the town couldn’t handle the initial earthquakes we felt. So now there is a giant triangle that keeps us isolated. Chasms that are far too wide to jump across.

So how did you go about excursions in the past? The successful ones that is. Have we figured out anything? Shane asked.

Well we have tried a few different times, Harold continued. We have tried sending people out with non-conductive cloaks that should keep them completely safe. However the lightning still will strike them and while it may not electrocute them as bad, the sheer heat still melts the material to their skin… We have sent out wooden carts, but they get struck by the lightning and then the wood gets cracked and falls apart. No matter what sort of tarps or safety measures we introduce the lightning has a way to counter.

Harold continued. I had to stop the excursions, because people were getting hurt or worse. The biggest problem is that there is so much open plain around us. The lightning always takes the shortest path and goes towards the tallest object, which is our people. So even with individual ventures they still have the risk of being struck. The only thing that brought most people luck was curling up like a ball and hoping for the best. So not something that can be counted on.

Has anyone seen what is across these chasms? Or even tried to cross them? Shane asked.

Nothing much. It looks like the woods can be seen to the west of us, towards Zeffari. Other than that no one could cross the chasms. From what they shared the chasm is about forty yards wide. So almost half of a football field. So there is no way to bring materials to cross it. That is assuming you can make it safely to the chasms as well. So in short there is no way.

As he finished the room fell quiet and despair seemed to be creeping in. But Cindy broke the silence. That may be true but we need to figure out something. We have survived this long and we aren’t about to give up now. So what kind of ideas do you all have?

I think I may have an idea Mom. With that comment the room fell deathly quiet and all eyes focused on Jeremy.

What do you propose, son? Harold asked.

I will head out across the plains and cross the chasm you spoke of. I’m sure after that I can find some of the other Familys out there. Then I can bring back some help and supplies.

"Absolutely not! Were you not listening to how dangerous it is out there?! Plus even if we let you go, how would you manage