I’M ACTUALLY SHARING SOME WRITING!!! To be honest, this was more written up to keep the story somewhere as a reminder of it. Came across the concept one day and started writing and before i knew it I was finished the chapter. HOpe you enjoy! First draft, expect it to be terrible.

We Believed In Gods

By Jon M Vidal

The man standing in the corner with children all around him was a Lost. He wore a brown robe of much use and travel, a belt with several pouches, and his boots showed off some very obvious holes. He was worn, you could see it in his face, but he wasn’t done. He had his work to do.

“Children, listen well! I come to you with a story of our past. A story you must never forget.” He looked at everyone, letting the moment sink in a bit. “We weren’t always stuck to our cities. Trapped behind walls so high they block out the sun for most of the day. One we were free to run where we could, on open plains filled with grass, through forests where the trees outnumbered people. That was centuries ago. Since then we have lived in fear of the outside world.”

He looked over their heads and to the wall that outlined the city. It stood thousands of feet into the air, at the top you could make out tiny figures patrolling. He shook his head and it hung down in sadness.

“We were a great civilization once.” He continued. “There were cities covering the world, billions of people lived at the time. We knew so much then. My people came from an order that believed in something else, we believed in gods. We have lost so much. We no longer remember the names of the old cities, we have lost the name of our gods…”

He paused for a moment, a tear running down his cheek.

“We always searched for something more. How to better ourselves, better our technologies. We went too far. We pushed at what we could do and made something that we couldn’t control. We made machines to bind to us, but it went beyond just the simple word spoken and command obeyed. No we needed more, we needed our very thoughts understood. It started simple, implants into the brain. That was too intensive they said. We had to make it easier, simpler. Se we changed ourselves. We put tiny machines, nanobots, into our very bodies. At first these machines were a wonder, a victory for our people. It repaired damage cells, boosted our immune system, it even made us smarter.”

The Lost reached down petting a child’s head. “We started giving them to our children as soon as they were born. Then like children, the nanobots grew. They evolved. Soon we didn’t have to give them to our children, they were being born with it. They cheered for this, but they should have taken it for a warning. Soon the machines we controlled stopped responding to our orders. Instead they came alive with their own consciousness. When we tried to change them back, they fought back. Cities fell, millions died, and we were forced to make these cities, hide behind our walls.”

The Lost walked over to a man and nodded. Every child began to smile, they all knew who he was. Before them stood Darius Allen, High Commander of the C.O.R.E, and they sat excited that he was there in front of them. He strode in front of the children, and beside him came a huge machine.

It walked on two legs, four arms swaying as it walked. The machine’s eyes burned with a blue light as it’s head swiveled back and forth scanning the gathered children. This was Argarim, Darius’ chosen.

“When we came behind these walls it broke a link between us and them.” Darius said, his deep voice reaching out to those at the opposite end of the square easily. “Their consciousness lost all the human thought that holds a mind together, and they became rabid, disorganized. There were attempts to annihilate them but even wild, something held them together and there were heavy losses on both sides. Today, we still fight them off our doorstep. With gun, with blade, we push them back. The most important weapon we have against them are the members of C.O.R.E, Chosen Of Robotic Energies. At the age of 16 all males will go on their pilgrimage, a voyage to one of the two remaining cities. This trip is a hope that by the time you reach your new home, one of you will become a member of C.O.R.E.”

“Is it only boys?” asked one young girl.

“No, any woman who wishes to go may but they aren’t forced to do so.”

“Why not? That’s not fair” asked a boy in a red shirt.

The High Commander looked at the child, his manner serious. “The trip is dangerous. Too many times over my lifetime a group that leaves is never heard from again. Without women we would have a tough time building a bigger population, and so they are given the choice to risk their lives with this or not.”

He turned over to his Chosen tapping him on it’s chest plate, making a clear hollow clunk clunk sound. “As you may know this is Argarim. I want you all to know this important fact. It may look like a deadly weapon, and you would be right in this. More importantly, it is my dearest friend.”

Argarim bowed to Darius and he returned it, the children watching in awed silence of the respect being shared between man and machine.

Sirens in the city started to scream into the air, and the look on the High Commander’s face changed, concern written in his eyes. He looked back to the children.

“In six years, you children will be up for the pilgrimage. Prepare yourselves now as you can, and remember that every life is needed if we are to survive as a race. Good luck, and may the Lost gods watch over you.”

He turned to Argarim, who leaned forward, and jumped onto his back. The machine raced off, climbing the soaring builds with ease and finesse, quickly vanishing from sight.

Ten year old Rekson sat there as the adults began gathering children and motioning them to shelters for safety.

As his mother picked him up, he said to her. “Mom, I don’t want to leave the city. I don’t care about the machines. I just want to stay here with you.”

She smiled at him, as they hurried over to the shelter. “It’s not something we can avoid. We all have to do our part. Who knows? Maybe you’ll help and save us all.”

He pouted. “I don’t want to. I want to be left alone with you and dad.”

“It’s not something you have to worry about now. We’ll discuss it when you grow older.”

A red bolt of energy tore through the air, screaming before impacting a building beside them in an explosion of red crackling energy. Rek felt his mother’s arms tighten around him as they flew through the air, and as they came down he tumbled from her arms.

At first Rek couldn’t see anyone, he couldn’t even hear through the high pitched ringing in his ears. As the dust started to settle, he could make out individuals. People lay down all around him, they looked like they were sleeping but it all seemed wrong. His eyes settled on his mother and his breath left him. He knew about death, like when his grandfather passed away, his eyes staring into the sky. His mother looked the exact same way; laying down, her brown eyes staring blankly upwards, once side of her face marked with scratches of blood.

He tried getting up, but his legs weakened under him. He forced himself to his feet, pushing against the floor with his hands. Every step was agony, wavering from foot to foot. As he got to his mother he just stood there, staring. He could feel tears going down his cheek, but he didn’t know when they started.

As he started reaching down to his mother someone lifted him up and started running. He tried fighting them off, but they held tightly. He screamed and shouted, but forever he would dream of how he was carried away from his mother.