Celeste test book1

Chapter 1 Year 2137

Her eyes strained as she glazed out the windshield of her 2136 Tesla glider. The automobile was not actually a glider, but was built to seemingly glide upon any road no matter the conditions since the common road noise and road feel was eliminated decades ago with the introduction of this model vehicle through the use of magnetic engineering. While it still had the standard wheels and tires, it was guided and stabilized by various sensors in the car itself and the roadways causing the on board computer to compensate for every crack or crevice in the road. Since there was far less vehicles on the road then 100 years prior, there were also far less options. The gliders had become the standard vehicle. There were only a few other options available, and those were usually reserved for the military, government officials, or the very rich. 

It wasn't easy for modern day drivers to remember they must remain alert while operating these modern day vehicles, even though they practically drove themselves, anything could go wrong that the computer may not be able to compensate for in time. The human mind was still far superior in calculating unexpected events and reacting in the proper manner. One of the most common of problems was the operator falling asleep during such a smooth ride. This concern was a huge issue when the technology was introduced, but quickly swept under the rug as paranoia or an un willingness to change by the republic of China, which was now in charge and over saw politics in most western and European countries.

With still close to an hour of travel to her destination, she strained once again looking at the surroundings hoping the moonlight would help with recognizing some sort of land markings of the wooded area. It had been many years since she had traveled this place, which was now North California. California had been split in to two states shortly before the revolutionary wars of 2088, and the last time she was here, she was just a teen, and on foot for that matter.

As the familiar dark outline, visible only by the moonlight, of the mountain ranges before her began to take shape, the moist smell of a nearby creek containing rotting vegetation started to filter through the ventilation system. She was nearing her home, or what she had once called home a little more then a decade earlier. Memories started to fill her mind as she thought about her parents.

Her father had led her mother to these parts when the wars started. Celest was born almost 20 years later. This place held the only memories of her past. He taught her martial arts, how to live off the land, and how to read people with only a few words. The times of the wars were dark, and many believed it was the end of times. Her father wanted to do everything he could to make sure if they did survive through the worst, that she would be able to start anew with the knowledge he passed down to her. They spent many a night around the camp fire while he pointed to the stars and explained things about the universe in a way he thought she could understand. While the world never ended, and her parents never emerged from the woods, she was easily able to re assimilate in to society with her fathers teachings after the wars had ended and a new world structure had been built.

During the worst of times, many others retreated into rural areas as her and her family had, creating small communities. They were not alone, but she knew of few outside the immediate surroundings, and as she grew, she inevitably began to notice the opposite sex. In 2122 she met a boy named Troy in a neighboring community. While her father did everything he could to keep her away from any boy, he couldn't watch her all the time, and it wasn't hard for the young couple to began meeting up in secret locations, and on a regular basis.

Two years later, she approached her father, and had a very awkward conversation with him. She explained that her and Troy had began to wonder if it would be better for them to create a life in the cities. They had heard rumors that the hostilities had ended, and of the endless job opportunities available to help rebuild the words infrastructure. She knew she wouldn't get his blessing, and he knew that he couldn't stop her even if he down right refused her request to leave the community. He only nodded and continued to whittle on a small statuette, which he often did when he wanted to ignore an uncomfortable situation. She soon gave up on trying to convince him of the pros when his only reaction was the growing, pulsing vain over his right temple. She sighed, stood, kissed his forehead and headed to the nearby shelter where her mother was watching in tears. She could not hear the words her daughter spoke to her husband, but by the look on his face she knew of the topic in which she spoke. Upon reaching her mother, they locked arms and spent most of the rest of the night crying on each others shoulders while her mother helped her gather up a few of her most precious possessions.

As she continued closer to what she believed to be her destination, she wiped a tear away as the light of a glider headed in the opposite direction jolted her momentarily from her memories. “I will find you father, this I promise.” She whispered to herself as she once again let the memories flood back to her. 

It was the morning after she had spoken to her parents, her mother somberly greeted her as she emerged from her sleeping quarters. Her mothers eyes were swollen and bloodshot, it was obvious neither of them had slept a wink that night. After a momentary embrace with her mother, they stood back from one another, each wiping the tears from the others cheeks. Stepping into the encampment, her eyes searched for her father. The fire was unattended, and the nearby pebble stone creek-side beach, where her father often spent the mornings fishing, was abandoned. She began to cry uncontrollably knowing the pain she had caused her parents, just as a hand landed upon her shoulder. Turning and seeing Troy's concerned face behind her, she fell into his arms sobbing now harder then ever before.

After spending some time, and sharing some breakfast with her mother and Troy, she collected up her backpack, a few supplies, and said her final farewells to her mother. Taking Troys hand they headed south in search of the very mountain hwy she was presently traveling on. She cried off and on for more then an hour as her and Troy got further and further away from the community. She had stopped several times and started back in a flurry of emotion, only to be stopped by Troy and re assured they were indeed doing the right thing. The fact that her father had not seen her off hurt her the most, how could he be so angry as to not at least hug her and to give Troy instructions on the best way back to civilization. She knew he didn't hate them, but she also knew he was not one for showing any type of emotion.

They were mere mile or two from the winding hwy as they headed through a clearing exposing rocky cliffs on either side, when the sound of her fathers voice rang out from a distance. Looking in the direction of the voice, they both could see his silhouette upon the top of a nearby cliff to the east of them, nearly washed out by the mid morning sun.

“Celeste! Celeste! Never forget me my daughter! I love you! Remember my words! My teachings! For I will never forget you! You are my life! My purpose! Do not return for us, we will fair fine! Stay strong and do not cry! Be well my daughter! For I will always be watching over you! I love you! Goodbye my princess!”

That was the last she had ever seen or heard from her father before this attempt. It was years before she let herself cry after that, for he had mended her heart, and she accepted his strength as her own.

Wiping away a couple more tears, she wielded her hands in front of her eyes, another vehicle was approaching, but this time the light was so bright it caused her to take manual control of the vehicle and slow to the side of the road from the lack of vision. As the light got brighter and brighter, it began to appear as daylight around her. “What the hell is that!” She said aloud as the light got so bright she was forced to close her eyes in an attempt to wait until it passed. Though it didn't pass, it continued to get brighter tell even with her eyes closed it felt as if she was staring directly into the sun. Then, an eerie silence, the flash of blackness, and unconsciousness took hold of her.

2

A chill ran through her as her eyes fluttered letting the dim morning light filter in. Her blurry vision slowly began to clear, the early morning dew on the windshield tricking Celeste in to rubbing her eyes more then necessary as her mind cleared becoming aware of her surroundings. Her vehicle still at idle, but now in neutral, blew chilly moist air through the vents causing a second chill to prick at her skin. Outside, a thick layer of fog rolled passed the car, making the mountain road in front of her barely visible, The only light the dim morning sky offered with the rising, yet to crest sun, was hardly able to filter down through the surrounding redwoods.

Her body stiffened at the realization of where her memories left off. Her quest, interrupted, remains. However her decision to pull over to rest eludes her. “That light” she murmurs to herself, eyes closed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Maybe she had pulled off to rest and it was all a dream, It felt like only moments ago to her anyway. “That had to of been it, a dream” she reassures herself. The clearer her mind became, the more the light faded to the back of her mind like an early morning dream fading from ones thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to recall the events.

Without taking the time to adjust the temperature controls, Celeste reached to the smart panel and tapped the power down icon on the touch screen. Silence took over as the hum of the climate control blower motor wound to a halt. A slight ringing in her ears was all that remained, only interrupted by the regular rhythm of her breath. Opening the car door gave way to the sound of the redwoods, a sound of which she has gone far to long without. A slight breeze, trickling water from the nearby creek, crickets in the distance, and awakening birds up in the trees (including a nearby owl), and the scent to cap it all off, almost overwhelming her. Now standing with arms outstretched, she took a deep breath and then let them fall limp upon exhale.

With a quick survey of the surrounding area, Celeste becomes aware of the familiarity, not only with the environment, but the exact location. “Impossible” she hears herself say. “I was still an hour away.... How can it be...” Bristly walking to the adjacent side of the road, she finds herself standing on the very same dear trail that her and Troy had found the road with so many years earlier. The trail was marked by a bench sized boulder the two had rested upon while waiting for any passerby that was willing to give then a ride to the nearest town or city. Her mind reached again to the hours before. “Maybe I did continue on, only to stop when I got here. No way I was so tired though that I.. Or did I? Did I fall asleep and the vehicle fail to awaken me ignoring its own fail safes by not stopping” she pondered.

Whatever the case, she had gone as far as she could by car. She took several minutes changing in to the appropriate gear and going over a mental list of some things she wanted to make sure she had in her pack for her hike. The teachings of her father never wavered. Survival gear was the first on her list, water, nutrient bars, the standard toiletries, a laser blade, a change of clothing, and a few luxury items, one of which was a magazine (which was rare and hard to find in paper form) that highlighted the regrowth and infrastructure of the modern cities. If she was to be successful in her goal of reuniting with, and possibly talking her parents in to re locating, it was going to be needed since her parents had been cut off from the outside world for decades. After checking the Tesla Glider was secure, Celeste pulled the straps on her pack tight, and headed down into the trail disappearing in to the fog.

Her thoughts traveled back to the last time she had made this trek, (but in reverse) At the time her and Troy left, their emotions were so high, it was hard not to run, not only with excitement of what was to come, but in fear of not being able to go through with it. She imagined what it may had been like if they had stayed. Would they have children of their own, and live in solitude as they were raised from such a young age, or would Troy had left her behind. Knowing the man Troy was, she felt the latter would have been true eventually. She never would of let him leave without her, but if she had absolutely refused to leave, after some time, his want for more would have pried him from her, of that she felt sure.

The fog begin to clear as she neared the meadow with the rocky cliffs where she has last seen her father. The place seemed smaller, but it was the over growth that had began to encroach into the clearing. The annual amount of rain fall had nearly doubled with the change in climate in the last decade since she had been there. She looked up as she passed through almost expecting her father to be standing where she last watched him call out his goodbye, but she grinned at the thought knowing there was no way they'd know she was coming.

During the wars, people were separated, not only physically, but mentally. People that stayed in the city, “dwellers” or went back for that matter, (such as her and Troy) wanted to rebuild all that had been destroyed. The people that retreated, survived, and stayed secluded, “diggers”, (because they dug in to safe land) wanted nothing to do with the cities or outside world. Acceptance was hard for many. And who could blame them, everybody lost everything. Billions had died during the economic collapse and war. Less then 1 billion people remained at last estimates, but the numbers were sketchy because diggers were almost as hard to find (when they didn't want to be) as the mythical BigFoot. The drop in population made interaction rare. Yes, there was government again, in the cities. States remained, roads were maintained, infrastructure was all but back to normal, but highways were empty compared to prewar. During the rebound, those in smaller towns, that had survived, moved to the cities for resources. Some stayed, but areas outside and close to the major cities became farm land with ghost towns (or small ghost cities) littered in between. Further out, only “diggers” remained.

As Celeste neared her old encampment, the trails seemed to close up on her. She grew more worried with every strike of her laser blade as she cleared the path she used to run through as a child. With strands of hair now stuck to her sweaty forehead, she breaks through the thick brush to a scene she feared all along, but never allowed herself to contemplate. She could barely make out where their dwellings (huts or shacks made from the surrounding woods and scraps of building materials they were able to find at the time) had once stood. Grass and ferns covered almost everything, the grass leaving thick lines where the walls once stood. The pebble beach her father had spent his mornings fishing at, was completely covered in shrubbery.

Her eyes begin to well with tears. “No..” She repeated to her self over and over. “No.. no.. NOO!” her gaze thinned. “Do not return for us, we will fair fine! Be strong and do not cry!” Her fathers voice rang through her head. “Damn you! You knew I'd return! And you left! You left me!” Her voice became louder “You let me leave!” He voice softens again “I left... I left you....” then a whisper as she falls to her knees clutching her face in an attempt to hold back the tears “I'm sorry..I should have come back”

Hours seemed to of pass as Celeste sat in an almost meditative state trying to hold back emotions she no longer seem to have control over, though it was only minutes. The usual ringing in her ears (she hears in complete silence) gave way to a slight hum, almost a buzz. Her head tilts in search of a direction of this imaginary intrusion, and stands as the noise gets louder with the redirection of her hearing.

As she looks in the direction on the noise, Troy's essence flows through her. Memories of sneaking off to meet him when they were young flash before her. It was Troy's old “camp” she was looking towards. She had planned on visiting Troy's parents, as soon as she found her own, it hadn't occurred to her otherwise, but now plans had changed. And who knew if they were there either. Maybe both communities were gone and it was just one lone digger left to keep the camp secure. The only thing she did know, was that, that sound was not native to the redwoods.

Nearing the sound of the nearby encampment, the trails once again began to open up. Celeste found herself carrying her blade by her side instead of slashing it around before her. It was also clear now, the sound was that of a small engine, one that may sound like a small tractor or a lawnmower.

“Halt! Who comes?!” a voice calls out from the shrubbery before her. Startled but not surprised, Celeste stops in her tracks and replies.

“My name is Celeste, I am digger by root. I search for the Hillside family. I mean no intrusion.”