Bright Nights

By A.B. Croucher

A young seeker wakes atop a column of earth at the center of a massive crater with no memory of who they are or what's happened. With the only other person alongside them dead, they're forced to face a very different world from the one we know.

The Shifted continue to fight for their place in what's left of the planet, some simply wishing to exist while others seek domination. For the seeker, however, it's a struggle simply to try and find who they are, constantly discovering seemingly impossible things both about themselves and those around them. As things unfold and what's left of life on earth fights to survive, they find themselves occasionally posing the same question.

Should they want to remember?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887938509

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Bright Nights

A.B. Croucher

Copyright © 2023 A.B. Croucher

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88793-841-7 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88793-850-9 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Epilogue

About the Author

SHIFT

BOOK II

Chapter 1

January 4, 2060

15:15

What do I do? How am I supposed to get down from something like this on my own?

Hello! Is anybody there? Hey!

I get nothing in response, my voice cutting through the deathly silence like a knife just to fade off into the vast emptiness around me. It makes me feel like I could be the last person on earth. I really hope I'm not.

Shaking myself out of that trail of thought, I start scooting over to the edge of the pillar on all fours, terrified it might collapse at any moment. Lying down on my belly once I reach it, I risk a peek over the edge. Which I instantly regret. Pushing myself away from it with much less caution than I had getting myself there, I'm forced to just hold my brain in my skull until the nausea and dizziness subsides. Oh god, that was high. Oh god, how am I even still sitting here? I can't believe I survived whatever happened only to end up trapped up here with no way down. Well, no sane way down.

I guess my only real options are to either sit here and hope for the best or try climbing down. I don't know which is worse: waiting for help that might never come and starving, or falling off and going splat on the ground below. If there's nothing for me to hang onto on the way down though there wouldn't be much point in trying my hand at rock climbing now, is there? I have to get over my nerves.

Heaving a sigh, I make my way back to the ledge. Letting out a whine of mixed fear and uncertainty, I force myself to keep my gaze out into the chasm below. Now that I'm paying more attention, I can see that it's not actually a straight drop down but actually more like an inverted funnel. The first bit is pretty much vertical, but as it goes, it gets less and less steep. Too bad the steep bit consists of over a good half the height; otherwise, I could just slide down. Well, at least I only need to really worry about the first part.

Tentatively reaching out over the edge, I smooth my hand along the side of the pillar to try to see if there's anything for me to hold on to. There isn't. Even though I can see it's made of a whole bunch of different rocks and dirt and stuff, I find no ridges or holes at all. Wow, it's so smooth, it's cut so perfectly clean through. How on earth did this happen?

It looks like this thing is mostly rock, which is good for stability but bad for climbing when it's this even. Maybe I can dig out what pockets of loose gravel or dirt there are and use them as footholds? Or more like kick out, considering I'm certainly not going down headfirst. Aw, this is going to suck so bad. Turning around to kick my legs out over the edge, it takes a little bit, but I manage to find a soft spot and dig in. When I go to move further, my body—or more like my mind—refuses to. I don't blame me.

Come on, you can do it! Just don't look down, and don't slip!

My self-motivation helps me lower myself the rest of the way over the ledge, and I keep talking to myself as I go to distract myself from what I'm doing. After a while, I get quite into my monologue, not exactly having to care about anyone judging me. That is until a loud crack cuts me off. I stop dead before slowly looking down toward where it came from to see a fair-sized fissure spreading out from around the spot I just kicked in. Oh god, what do I do now? Sure, it hasn't collapsed yet, but that might just be because my foot is there. I can't just stay here dangling off the side of this thing forever though, can I? I have no option but to keep going while being a little more careful.

Gingerly pulling my foot out from the crack, I heave a sigh of relief as it holds. Thank goodness! I was sure I was done for. I recommence my descent with a fair bit more caution. When my hand lands where my foot had been, however, it's made quickly obvious that that was a bad idea. More of the stone around the crack gives way, a horrid groaning accompanying the sound of crumbling rock as the top part of the pillar splits off from the bottom. The last thing I see is a column of earth crashing down onto me from above.

Chapter 2

April 29, 2060

9:37

Am I…am I alive? How? I thought I… Did that really happen? Was it just a dream? I don't see how else I could—wait, I can't move. Why can't I move? I can't see either, I can't open my eyes. Am I dead? Will I be stuck like this forever? No, I can't be, please. It's so dark, and so lonely…

I feel like I'm floating, like I'm deep underwater, yet I can still breathe. Am I breathing? I feel like I am, and I can feel my heart beating in my chest. That wouldn't be happening if I were dead, right? But if I'm still alive, then what's going on? Am I in some kind of coma? Whatever it is, I don't want to be stuck in it any longer than I have to. I have to try and wake up!

Having no idea what to do with myself, I just start trying with all I have to move something, anything. For some reason though, despite accomplishing nothing, not very long into it, I feel myself getting really tired. What's going on? Why am I so…sleepy?

Chapter 3

May 25, 2060

23:11

Idon't know how long I'm asleep before slowly coming to again, and this time, I find myself able to move and open my eyes. Any relief it brings me is near instantly replaced by panic as I become aware of the fact that there's something strapped to my face. Automatically reaching up to pull off whatever it is, the action's halted when I realize I'm underwater.

Now thoroughly freaked out, I instinctively try to make my ways upward, having no idea how deep I am but not really caring. I reach the surface a lot sooner than I anticipated, splashing about aimlessly before my hands find some kind of ledge. Pulling myself up over it, what I don't expect is to fall out and hit the ground a decent way down. The landing knocks the wind out of me and the thing on my face off of it, finally giving me clear view of my surroundings.

Breathing hard as I try not to panic, I take in what I find around me. It looks like some kind of lab, the thing I just fell out of looking like some giant test tub with a vast number of complicated machines and computers surrounding it. All of which are now dark. What am I doing here? What was being done to me? Did whoever runs this place save me somehow? If so, where did they go? I could call out, but for some reason, I feel like that's a bad idea. Something about this place doesn't feel right to me.

Picking myself up off the ground, I look around for a way out. There's at least half a dozen doors around the room, but I have no idea which I should use. Where do I go? I have no idea how to get out of here. Guess I'll just have to start opening them.

Going around the room, after a few locked doors and a bathroom I find one that leads into a long hallway lit by slowly throbbing red lights on either end. They look like alarm lights, but there's no sound, which actually makes it creepier. Maybe there was a fire? That would explain why nobody's here if the place was evacuated. Stepping out into the corridor, I'm surprised when the warm light that I assumed was coming from somewhere in the lab now illuminates this area, looking back into where I had just come from to find it now dark. Huh? How is…is it coming from me? Is there some kind of light on me? Checking myself over, I find nothing on me but a pair of white boxers. That doesn't make any sense; that would mean the light is coming from…me? Myself? Cupping my face in my hands, I find I can see my palms perfectly fine, proving that yes, it is coming from me. What the heck, last time I checked people don't glow in the dark! Did they do this to me? Am I some kind of—what was that?

My more than slight panic attack is cut off by the sound of clamoring metal nearby. Not in this hallway but somewhere beyond the door at the far end behind me. I turn toward it, and after a moment, it slides open with a slight hiss. I'm rooted to the spot as a man in body armor stumbles through, taking a moment to think about why they look wrong before realizing his right arm and part of his face is covered in churning black slime. Stumbling back, I watch in horror as it spreads rapidly across the rest of him. It reduces him to a black puddle in seconds, the substance still writhing slightly like it's somehow alive, leaving only his armor behind. My attention is soon drawn elsewhere, however, as something else comes through the door. A massive figure with piercing black eyes and bleached white skin. Wait, I've seen this person before…

I'm not given time to dwell on it for long before I hear the door at the other end slide open, and I'm given even less time to register what's going on before the black-eyed man disappears. By the time I turn around, they're already there, and what they end up doing sends me running for my life.

Wait!

The sound of their voice just makes me go faster—faster than I even thought possible. Oh god, what are they? How could they do that to those people? All they had to do was touch them! I need to get away from—wow!

When I turn the next corner as I'm running aimlessly through the building, I find myself face-to-face with a similar band of soldiers as the black-eyed guy had cut through just a little earlier. Thinking for a moment that it means I'm safe, I'm caught completely off guard when they all raise their weapons at me. They fire on me without hesitation, the shots echoing through the halls. I feel what seems like three burning-hot knives drive into my body, sending me to the ground as I cry out in mixed surprise and pain. My shout is near instantly followed by a very threatening snarl somewhere back toward where I'd just come from.

The soldiers double back at the sound, but I hardly notice. Did they just…shoot me? Am I… Why? What did I do to deserve this? Why…would they…

Chapter 4

May 26, 2060

10:40

Iwake up with a start what seems like only a moment later, bolting upright on the bed I find myself on and instinctively reaching for the spots where I'm sure I'd been shot. My hands find nothing, however, and my eyes verify that in fact there's no trace of any such thing having happened. How could all that have possibly been a dream? I didn't think pain like that could happen in a dream, and everything seemed so real. But then how could I have wound up here and perfectly fine? It seems like every time I wake up, things are getting stranger and stranger.

Once I'm sure I'm all right, I take a look around the room I find myself in. Unlike the last two places I've been though, this place seems perfectly normal. Judging by the fact that this one room is serving as a bedroom, living room, and kitchenette, this must either be a bachelor suite or a hotel room. The later proves correct when I spot some pamphlets on the bedside table next to me and pick up the small pile to look through. Turns out I'm in a room at a place called Hotel Hasrad in Iran. I find I can't read anything but the English bits though, which would be weird if I were actually from here, wouldn't it? So if I'm not from around here, then where? How'd I end up here? I guess I should be more worried about what to do next rather than what's already happened though, shouldn't I? Where's whoever brought me here? Are they even still around? I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I'm at a complete loss.

Putting the papers back on the table, I find myself still in the same white briefs as before when I get up. It's not much, but it's enough to convince me just a little bit that what happened actually happened. Making my way around the space, I find a neat pile of clothes on the kitchen counter. Sitting on top is a folded piece of paper under a pair of sunglasses. Picking up and opening the note, I find a message in English written in heavy block letters.

The room is paid for. When ready put this on and leave. Be careful and try to find shelter with others.

With others? What others? Other people? Isn't this shelter? Cocking my head in confusion, I soon turn my attention to the clothes I've been given. The khaki shorts and light-blue T-shirt end up being a bit tight on me, but it's better than just being in my underwear. I opt out of the glasses though; they're so dark it makes it hard to see. I might need them outside, but in here, I'll just hang them on my collar. Well, guess I'd better head out—after all, I don't know how long the room is rented out for. Judging by this note, I don't think whoever wrote it plans on coming back. I'll have to go to the front desk to try and get some more info on what I should be doing. I just hope they speak English.

Not really knowing where I'm going, as I make my way toward what I hope to be reception, I find the few people I meet shying away from me, muttering in a language that I don't understand but still gives me the impression they're not fond of my being here. What's going on? Is it because they can tell I'm a foreigner? They're all so short too. Well, that probably means I'm just tall. Maybe they find it intimidating? As far as I can tell, there's nothing else scary about me. Maybe I should've looked in a mirror before heading out.

After a few more minutes, I finally find the main entrance, which is little more than a slightly large lobby. Making my way over to the front desk, when the receptionist looks up at me,