Scared of the Dark

By Andy Yang 9G
Prologue
There was no light. Rather, there had been no light for more than a millennium. The sun was long
gone now, as well as the plants, as well as the animals, as well as the humans. Well, most of them
anyway.

The scientists had genuinely thought it would work. They never saw it coming. On that fateful day in
2350, when the sun and nearly all life disappeared. Scientists had tried to prevent global warming by
spraying a “black-out” solution into the Earth’s atmosphere which sucked up all the carbon dioxide
trapped in the atmosphere and returned the Earth back to normal.

The result had been catastrophic, the solution had not only sucked all the carbon dioxide on the
earth but also completely covered the earth, blocking all rays of sunlight and making the earth pitch-
black. From then on, no plants, no trees, no grasses grew.

Luckily for some of the humans, food, water and oxygen were being generated in factories from any
substance or material, which meant that humans could survive as long as they found enough
resources. Since the sun had gone and electricity was now barely available, power for factories was
created by people spinning large cogs round and round.

As the years went by, the surviving generations slowly developed. They see better in the dark and
lived underground in bunkers. At least that’s what my parents told me anyway…

Before
I sighed as I closed the bunker door behind myself. My parents and my brother, Dave, were still at
work, which was either at the factory creating energy or scavenging for materials. Wages were now
paid in food and water, sometimes even a battery or two (for light), if you worked well. My parents
always saved these batteries for special days, such as my birthday, dates they were never exactly
sure of, as all recordings of time had been lost. All they knew was that it had been a long time since
anyone had seen the light of the sun…

“What’s up honey?” my mum asked my brother, Dave, who had been unusually silent since he had
arrived home from work this evening.

“I got fired by my boss at the scrap collection centre today,” Dave replied. “Apparently, I didn’t
collect enough scraps required.”

My brother had started working to put more food and water on the table. We’ve started to eat more
food and drink more water since we’re all grown up now. My parents always pretend that they are
not hungry, an excuse to give us more food, but I always refuse. However, despite the challenge, my
family is doing well. We aren’t starving, but we’re not exactly full after every meal either.

I returned my attention to the table and found my parents in despair. Without my brother’s job at
the scrapyard, my parent’s will have to work more shifts to cover for the food that is needed. There’s
an alternative, except…

“Mum?” I enquired. “Am I old enough to work?”

Mum sighed, “Didn’t we discuss this before Lucas?” “You can’t work until you’re eighteen, in the
meantime, your father and I will be able to support you both.”

“How do you even know when I’ve turned eighteen when all records of time have been lost?” I
retorted. “I’ve watched both of you support our family ever since I was born!” “It’s time for me to
step up and help!”

Ok, that was an understatement. The job, as an explorer, I’ve been trying to convince my parents to
let me do is organised by the boss of the food and water factories, Andre Darkness. Darkness has
recently started a program in which he recruits people to explore the surrounding areas to search
for new areas that contain resources. Some explorers have never returned…

The risks are big, but the rewards are too. I can still remember one of the people in our
neighbourhood who found a huge depot of plastic. He was rewarded with food, water and electricity
for an entire month. If I found something like that or maybe something even bigger, my family may
never have to work again.

Now
It is silent as I trudge through the dark away from my home. The adrenaline masks my guilt as I recall
the events that happened earlier this morning.

“At least I left a note,” I think to myself as I travel further and further away from everything I had
ever known. The bag that was handed out to us feels heavy and the coarse straps dig into my
shoulders like spikes, rubbing them raw.

After aimlessly wandering around for several hours, I take off my pack and tip out its contents. Two
sandwiches, several bottles of water and a first aid kit. It was all I have. There was no hesitation as I
quickly unwrap the sandwiches and devour them in a matter of minutes, taking a huge swig of water
to wash it all down.

It was then I spot a piece of flat plastic under the pile of items. I reach down and slide the plastic out
from under the pile. It was blank.

“Hmm,” I think to myself as I tuck it into my pocket, “It could be of use sometime later.”

I pack up my belongings and continued on from where I left off, searching for piles of materials over
this dark land.

Many hours later, I gave up. It is almost impossible to find any piece of material out there. I had so
far found only two small pieces of plastic, barely enough to earn me a small portion of bread. With
this thought in mind, I turn around and start following my footsteps back towards my house. As I
was in the process of taking my first step back, a dreadful wind picked up, erasing my only hope of
getting back to my parents.

“No!” I scream as my footsteps vanish before my eyes, “NO!”

I break into a sprint as I try to outrun the wind and chase the rapidly disappearing footsteps. But it
was all in vain as I fell down after barely 5 paces, crashing onto the ground. My world went black.
When I came to, the wind had stopped and all was quiet. I sit up and glance around, noting the
absence of not only my footsteps but also my bag.

“Well,” I think to myself as I stand up, “at least I get to die faster.”

I close my eyes and start to walk straight, it’s the only way I could find peace at this moment as I am
waiting to die. After what seems like an eternity, my legs start wobbling and I fall, only for my body
to get up and start walking again. Just as my legs were about to collapse for the third time, I bang my
head against a hard material. The pain awakens my senses and I open my eyes.

I’m facing a huge wall made of what seems like stone which spreads out on either side of me,
stretching away for miles to a point where my eye simply cannot spot. I trace my hand along the
grooves of the wall and start making my way along it, wondering what it was for.

Barely 15 meters later, I spot a door carved into the wall. I try to push open the door only to find that
it is locked. As my hand runs over a particularly loose piece of rock on the wall, it reveals a keypad
with the words “Door 384” hastily scrawled onto it. Goosebumps start to spread over my skin as I
absorb this new piece of information.

“Is the world I’ve lived in all my life made up?” I ask myself. “Is there light beyond these walls, or is
there just darkness and destruction?” “What if I open the door and let in the danger that could
destroy my family?” “Are they even my true family?”

After many minutes of wondering, my curiosity gets the better of me as I reach into my pocket and
take out the blank plastic card and before I knew what I was doing, the door was open.

A bright light erupted from the open doorframe and I staggered backwards. It was light I had never
seen before, the kind that pierces the body and the brain, the kind that you see when you haven’t
seen the light for ages.

I stumble through the doorframe and lie on the cold hard floor of some room, slowly letting my eye
adjust to the light. Suddenly, a sound comes out from beside me requesting that scientist
“someone” Dave must report to someone somewhere.

“Hang on…,” I murmur. “Isn’t Dave…” And with that, my memories start coming back.

After
It was all an experiment. An experiment to monitor the reactions of humans if such a catastrophe
ever came to light. An experiment to measure the development of the human eye if it was exposed
to continuous darkness. An experiment that only 5 people have escaped. An experiment since the
year 2012.

Epilogue
It is the year 2320 now, and I’m actually 15 years old this year. There’s a lot to cope with right now,
the sun, the light and my supposed brother, Dave, who was one of the scientists within the
experiment.
Andre Darkness was in it too. In fact, he was one of the leading scientists controlling the overall
experiment. The only thing that was real was the food generating machines, which actually exist in
the world today.

I can only hope my parents could find their way out of the experiment and how they would love the
actual world, full of light and laughter.

Dave, who I guess felt sorry to have tricked me all along, is getting me settled in the actual world
with another family. Oh, and talking about the world, there’s still so much for me to learn as I’ve
already missed 15 years of learning. Things like countries, cultures and maths are thing still fresh in
my mind. Well, I guess I’ll just have to start learning!