Apocalypse Online, Chapter 4 Albion jerked awake, his heart hammering against his ribs. The haptic suit was gone, replaced by thin cotton sheets that stuck to his sweat-damp skin. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling—flat, white, institutional—trying to gather the fragments of his memory. The tree, the leaves with their tiny worlds, the rushing sensation […]
Apocalypse Online, Chapter 3 The world around Alice shattered, blinding her with white light. For a moment, she felt Albion fall away entirely. Her old mind floated, weightless, like it was submerged under miles of water. And then she was gasping. Stumbling. Fighting to regain balance and breath. The whiteness resolved around her, stretching out […]
Apocalypse Online, Chapter 2 “Humanity Will Persevere!” a poster next to Albion proclaimed. The restaurant itself felt like an afterthought, tucked into a corner of the sprawling bunker complex. Its steel tables and metal chairs were bolted to the floor, arranged with cold precision beneath fluorescent lights that cast a clinical pall over the space. […]
Apocalypse Online, Chapter 1 Albion sits on the underground train, watching the walls of the tunnel flicker by, an endless blur of gray. The train hums beneath him, vibrating with a steady monotony that matches the rhythm of his thoughts. He’s always liked tunnels. Their dark, constant lines make him feel as though he’s suspended […]
⌚ Approximately 12 minutes to read ⚠ Content Warning: mild violence, mentions of danger and potential harm, and a general sense of unease Previous Chapter | All Chapters | Next Chapter “Looking for work, Sojourner?” A burly woman shouted to Alice as she walked into the guildhall with the hammer and anvil sign above the […]
⌚ Approximately 15 minutes to read ⚠ Content Warning: disorientation, confusion, and anxiety due to amnesia or being in an unfamiliar place; mention of a physical disability Previous Chapter | All Chapters | Next Chapter “Whoa there, Sojourner.” A firm hand reached down to help lift the girl to her feet. “Careful there, lassie. Sometimes […]
“Well, what do you think? A lot nicer than your room at our old place, right?” The smile on his dad’s face was hopeful.
Ali surveyed the room, trying to take it all in and give it a chance. It was smaller than his old room, which he supposed made sense. There were more people in Bastion, so space was probably harder to come by. In the corner of his room, the movers had set up his bed, a twin, and put some light blue sheets on it. At either side of the bed were two doors. One was open, revealing his own bathroom. The other was closed, but Ali presumed it was a closet. Against the other walls were Ali’s small dresser full of clothes, his rickety old bookshelf stuffed with books, and a new metal-framed desk with his computer set up on it, which was built into the wall.
They say that before the mammock, trains sped across the land aboveground, affording passengers beautiful views of forests and mountains as they journeyed.
But out Ali’s window was only blackness, interrupted occasionally by dimly lit rock walls.
Ali sat in a nearly empty train car across from his father, humming to himself.
Above his father’s head, Ali could see an LED sign with several burned out bulbs, which read “Bastion,” their destination.
Aetherloft 