Claire lives in New York, a deserted ancient city. The city used to host thousands of people but after the spread of a bacterial disease, only those who were immune stay.
Everyday she leaves the house with the accompaniment of her little brother Sage in attempt to find the scientist who has been rumoured to have access to a mothership which can take them to Mars, away from this place and to the New World.
They would walk to the [[pond]],
To the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]],
To the [[theatre]],
Or to [[Times Square]]. Claire and Sage walk to the pond. Their favourite pond. The one that used to be filled with fish and frogs and birds and grass.
Now it lays still, quiet and grey.
Claire looks for clues of the scientist's appearance but she can't seem to see through the [[fog]].
It's dark even in the midst of the afternoon and Sage clings to her pant leg, when all of a sudden a [[silhouette]] appears in the distance.
Claire and Sage push through the large, carved out doors and find themselves in the theatre.
They've never been here before.
Its large and grand and dim. The chandelliers dangle above them, the light from the door reflecting [[little rainbows]] all over the walls. They walk to the Metropolitain Museum of Art. It's dusty and cold and bare. Its contents have been robbed from the museum ages ago but a projector is left.
It plays different images. A dog, a cloud, the [[city in its prime]]...
It clicks at every change.
They don't know how these images change but every couple of days, the images change. They are replaced with images of people, colour and joy.
Claire hypothesises that [[someone from the New World]] must be changing these images. No one else would have such access to these images. They walk to Times Square. They frequent the vacant concrete jungle often.
There are often others there. Sitting on the steps and chatting. Its the only place in the city where you would see other people.
Claire sees her friend [[Amy]] and waves. The fog was thick and heavy. The unknown source seemed to supply it infinitly. It wasn't natural, it always had the smell of sour sulfur.
When all of a sudden, her brother falls. She looses him in the fog despite him being at arms reach.
[[Sage!]]
She falls to her knees calling for him and [[feeling the ground around her|"Hello? Dr Henry? Hello?"]].
The city was rumoured to bustling with hundreds of thousands, even millions of people, but today it is quiet.
138 years ago, the world went quiet. It started as a sickness but soon evolved into a killer of a disease. It first wiped out Europe, then Oceania, then Asia, then Africa, then the Americas Now only the immune live. There is no technology, no electricity, nothing new.
However once in a while, there is a slip up. A light turns on, a computer works, a picture is found.
It's been rumoured for decades about the scientists and the [[New World|someone from the New World]].
The world which all those rich enough moved to. The pictures change and change and Claire analyses each and everyone of them.
She has analysed every photo which has been screened here in her lifetime and crossed referenced objects and artifacts with books from the library. That is why she realised something odd. An artifact she had never seen before.
It was small and square and everyone seemed to have one. Whether or not they were using it, it was in every picture. In a pocket, on a table, in a hand.
Claire double guessed herself and wondered if she had just missed this one thing. But how could she miss such an important and prominent artifact...
Unless the artifact isn't from the past but from the present or [[future|Begin]]. They had never seen these rainbows before. Nothing similar to it ever. Their jaws dropped open. They walked around the massive space.
It was [[uncannily clean]], a lack of dust, a lack of fog. The theatre held a sweet smell.
The rainbows danced along the walls and Sage tried to reach for them.
Each step she took echoed through the building with a [[beautiful ring]]. Amy emerges from out of the heavy haze.
Claire and her have been friends for around 6 years. They met at Times Square.
"Why are you wearing the coat?" Claire asks urgently.
"Oh I found it on the [[ground]]" Amy replies,
"Where?!"
"Oh, by the [[big doors|theatre]] on the building around the corner"She feels her breath quicken.
Sage! She yells but there is no reply.
She feels what seems to be an arm and pulls it. It's heavy and cold.
Sage!
She starts to hyperventilate. She feels her heart beating through her whole body.
Sage!
[[everything goes black|Begin]]The ground? It was just laying there?
It was uncommon to come across unclaimed clothing.
It must be from the scientist.
She snaps out of her thoughts of questioning to [[Amy]] talking. The silhouette is tall and slim in the distance. It seems to be wearing a long coat.
//Something a scientist would wear,// Claire thinks to herself.
Excuse me! Excuse me! She yells after them.
The fog gets thicker and thicker and she starts to loose sight of the silhouette. She fastens her pace.
[[Excuse me!|Amy]]
Claire traced the walls. Smoothe and detailed. They were covered with artwork and there were rows and rows of seats between them.
She climbed up to the stage and looked over the large room. That's when she noticed a shimmer coming from between the seats. It shone from a distance and it seemed as it it was glass or metal.
She ran down the aisle and picked up the contraption. It was small and rectangular and fit perfectly in her hands.
That's when it started to make an [[awful noise]]. The rainbows are filled with colours they've never seen before. All this is so new. So undiscovered. Claire's heart starts to flutter and race with [[optimism and adrenaline.|little rainbows]]The object started to shake and beep. The screen on it lit up and had text and images on it. Claire dropped the phone in fear, accidentally cracking some of the glass on the one side of it.
She bent down, peering over the device. A red button appeared on the screen and she reached to click it.
With hesitation, she clicked the button.
[["Hello? Dr Henry? Hello?"]]
"Hello?" Claire asks.
"Who are you?" Asks the voice.
"I'm Claire, are you a scientist?"
"Hello Claire. How do you know about us?"