In the year 2060, the sky lit up with blue light, stunning the entire world. The clouds were turned blue, and even the sun rays became non-existent as blue rays poured down on the world. These blue rays were oddly comforting and with it came a pleasant feeling that no one could explain, even drugs couldn't make a man feel this good.
People gathered around with their cameras pointed toward the sky, taking pictures, while some were recording the incident. As expected, some humans were superstitious and hid away from the safety of their homes, some were religious and called it the end of the world, some sunbathed under this comforting light while others decided this was the best time for outdoor sex.
Scientists were confused about the recent development since there was no prior warning of this event. While they worked their butts off to understand what was going on and what it meant for the human race, many religious leaders took the opportunity to make bogus prophecies, some even claiming this was the heavens trying to communicate with them.
Reactions and opinions concerning the strange event varied across the world, but barely twenty minutes later everything changed. Cats began hissing, dogs barking aggressively, and all animals reacting violently to the change.
Pet owners were violently attacked by their once harmless pets, zookeepers were slaughtered by the caged animals that strangely gained enough strength to break out of their confinements. Rats poured out into the streets in swarms, attacking everything on their part, barely leaving behind the bones of their victims as they went on what could only be referred to as a carnivorous rampage.
Birds attacked in masses, bomb-diving and slaughtering anything they could kill. Defenseless kids were their main target, and even the protection of their homes was not enough. With overwhelming numbers, windows were shattered, making homes a bloody crime scene in mere minutes.
Gun owners in the United States and other parts of the world were at their happiest, as business was booming in the chaos, but even their newfound joy was short-lived.
Buzz!
The clouds tore open as numerous blue meteorites descended from the heavens, their quantity so much it was impossible to see anything else above, regardless of the country or continent one resided. These blue comets were engulfed in dazzling blue flames which seemed to be the source of all the blue lights earlier, but this left many scientists with one question.
How did these strange meteorites get so close to Earth without being spotted?
Unless they were warped into existence, it should be impossible!
Unfortunately, this was not the time to ask questions, it was the time to survive.
The chaos began the moment the first meteor hit the earth, and soon the entire was bombarded, turning earth into a place that would make Hell look attractive.
Earth was bombarded back into the Stone Age!
Over three billion human lives were lost at that moment, with another one billion dying weeks later due to their fatal injuries sustained. Somehow, the world leaders and high-profile people survived the attack as if they were expecting it, this was suspicious but no one paid attention to this, they all focused on mourning the death of their loved ones.
The event of that day was termed the Day of the Blue Death. It was an event that the remnants of the human race would never forget. However, this tragic event birthed more problems and a few benefits as well.
The blue meteors that struck the earth brought with it a strange blue mineral known as Aetherium. Upon impact, blue fumes from the comet mixed with the atmosphere, spreading all over the world, and this caused by the mutation of animals and humans alike.
The mutation was more potent on animals, creating creatures more dangerous and deadly like never before. Beasts residing in crash sights of these comets were exposed to even more radiation from the Aetherium pack comet, mutating further into things that made the word Beast sound cute.
Amongst humans, the mutation was mild for most humans. They gained a bit more physical abilities, but nothing too special, but for a few the mutation of their genes changed them in ways no one could ever imagine.
Their genes were awakened by the mutation, allowing these special humans to gain unique abilities. In this dangerous times when beasts roamed the world, these awakened humans were desperately needed to protect the human race.
The Aetherium resource turned out to be a good power source, this discovery lead to the rapid growth in Earth's technology at a pace never seen before. Ten years of progress was something which would have been achieved in two to three centuries without the presence of this valuable resources.
One would think the struggle for resources would begin, but the opposite happened. The resource was in abundance, and the most important thing at the moment was the survival of the human race. With the aid of this new resources, rebuilding what was lost and creating even something better was much easier.
The human population had drastically reduced, controlling the population was far more efficient, and soon a new social order was installed. One that was only beneficial to the strong and wealthy, but was hell for the common man.
The tragic event was the opportunity the world leaders needed to throw the tern "Human rights" into the trash. They created a system of government that operated with force and propaganda. Slavery was reintroduced, and the noble system was revived!
While humanity advanced technologically, it degraded in the social aspect of life.
The world became shit!
After the night of the Blue Death, America's population had dwindled drastically, with barely up to twenty million left. Amongst that twenty million, barely up to five million fell into the range of civil workers and nobles, while the remaining fifteen million became slaves.
With such little population, all that was needed was one state, lavishly upgraded to suit the insatiable taste of the ruling class, while the rest of the country remained a pile of rubble and wreckage. Dangerous beasts roamed the streets where civilians lived, occasionally, and the rare interference of the military was enough to make sure the population of the people did not reduce drastically.
By the way, slaves were invaluable assets in this time of abundance.
While New York was made the new America for the wealthy, the poor living outside the state were given arm bracelets bugged with trackers to make sure they never ventured out of zones. Once a child reached the age of ten, they were forced to wear the arm bracelets and since humans had grown stronger due to the mutation, these kids were considered strong enough to engage in menial tasks.
While men were thrown into the mines where the blue comets fell, the sounds of their rusty pickaxes smashing against the hard surface of the crystallized Aetheriums echoed all day, women pushed the wheelbarrows filled with shards from the mines and also engaged in other minor tasks like cooking of low-quality porridge.
At the end of each work shift, a crusty old loaf of bread with some porridge was provided and at the end of the day, more food was given out to workers for themselves and their family. The food rations were barely enough to feed a family of four, because of this new couples were reluctant to have children so that they could have more food.
Lucius was from a family of four. His father worked in the mines, while his mother was amongst those tasked with cooking. He had a little sister Lia just two years younger than him and each day they would stay in the dilapidated building structure they call home while waiting for their parents to return with some food.
Due to the little they had to eat, and the quality of their meals, they were both emaciated, their bones visible for all to see. Their skins were pale, and their faces were covered by their unkempt black hair. In this world of abundance, they had no choice but to dress in sack clothes and walk around barefooted.
How could they hope for better clothes when something as common as water was given in rations?
Two bottles per day for each household, leaving many thirsty, but they just endured and patiently waited for more rations the next day. Regardless of their situation, Lucius and Lia were happy and their parents showered them with love and kindness as much as possible.
Even after the day's hard work, they always made out time to chat and laugh with them, telling them stories from the good times on earth before the Blue Death event. These stories were entertaining for the youngsters and were usually enough to distract them from the hunger and thirst they felt.
As time went on, Lucius began noticing something strange about his father. While they all suffered from malnutrition, he was thinner and paler than usual. One morning he was about to leave for work and Lucius noticed the rough blue surfaces on his skin, the man was constantly scratching those spots.
He thought nothing much of it and played with Lia all day, but that night something unusual happened. Their parents always returned in the evening, but this time it was already late at night, but they were yet to return.
Lia kept crying, saying she was hungry, and Lucius tried consoling her by saying their parents would soon be back. That night, their father's friend came with the daily ration and a sad look on his face. He told Lucius that their father had contracted the deadly virus known as Aetherscourge, caused by continuous unprotected exposure to Aetherium.
It was a deadly disease that could spread, so when the soldiers found out, they dragged him away from the others to execute him in a bid to prevent the spread. Alarmed by the commotion, their mother ran to their father who was about to be shot dead, unwilling to let go of him, and in the end, both were murdered in cold blood, their corpses burnt to ashes.
The man spoke in a cold but calm tone, with no sadness in his voice. The way he spoke made it clear that such events were common, and it was an ill fate that awaited all those who worked in the mine, it was only a matter of when!
With the food brought was a slave bracelet, which he presented to Lucius. While he was only nine at the time, they needed the food and the only way they could survive was if he started working. The man left the two shocked and confused by what they heard, the news of their parents' death was something they didn't foresee.
While Lia cried loudly, Lucius just sat there, silent and tired. He was young, but he had witnessed a lot of tragedies already, and his father always told him never to cry as a man.
"If you cry now, who will console your sister?" His father always said.
A tear rolled down his left cheek as he sat like a statue in one corner, watching his sister cry. He wanted to console her so badly, but he didn't know how to do that, especially since he was on the edge of losing his composure.
He just watched her tire herself, after which she ate a bit and then crawled up to him, laid on his laps and slept off. Only after she was fast asleep did the tears start pouring out.
"Dad, Mum… I miss you already…" Lucius cried.
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