Creatures crept through the soil. Rotted woods and mossy streams jutted from mountains like veins, creating gorgeous valleys, abundant with sustenance. As the sun was setting, purple and pink hues dashed across the sky, and not unlike a painter’s canvas, the brush strokes of the clouds wisping into the vibrant colors were clear and beautiful. The outline of a distant planet—a moon perhaps—was visible directly overhead. The craters and watery streaks could be seen by the naked eye.

The villagers watched the faint meteor shower as the sky grew darker. The fishermen gathered their tools, four women bunched up the large netting and eight men each grabbed a spear. Two boys tagged along, joking with each other and battling with sticks as the group made their way to the river. One of the boys had bright blonde hair and darkened skin, the other had bushy brown hair—lightened by the sun—tightly weaved into cornrows. As the group began to scout the river for schools of fish, the two boys made sure they were unseen as they crept away to their favorite hideout.

The Ruins was what the natives called it now. An enormous metal structure that lay on its side, covered in vines and various vegetation. Legend had it that inside this structure were the secrets of civilization and the origins of Mother. No one in the village was allowed inside for it had been the wish of Mother that the truth never be uncovered. Apparently it was something so horrible that the innocence of the village would be compromised. Some believed Mother to be an angel who descended from the heavens and created the villagers, others believed she came from hell and left the early ones before they were ready. It depended on which stories you believed and how you interpreted them.

As the sky became darker, the two boys climbed the Ruins pretending to be hunters stalking the Beast. “Connor! The Beast is behind you,” said the blonde boy. Connor ducked down and they both giggled to themselves.

“Slay the terrible thing! Slay it, Holden!” Connor yelled, as they pretended to be frightened. Holden brushed the blonde locks from his face as he threw his stick like a spear into the air, and it fell with a loud clunk onto the metallic surface. The two boys cheered and high-fived as the imaginary Beast fell on its side. They laughed and lay their backs onto the structure and looked up as the stars began to twinkle.

“Have you ever seen the Beast?” Holden asked Connor.

The little boy shook his cornrowed head with ferocity. “Mama says it’s too dangerous to go looking for.”

Holden shrugged his shoulders, “All the elders say that. But haven’t you seen it?”

Connor watched as the last of the meteor shower finished. “Have you?” he asked.

“I’ve seen it,” Holden started, “well, parts of it. Once I saw his big tail, it was hairy and bigger than our tents!”

“Did you see it’s teeth?!” Connor asked, sounding concerned.

“Boy, did I! They were ten feet long! Each one of them!”

“You’re a liar, Holden. Mama told me to watch out for your fibs.”

Holden smiled, knowing his friend had caught him in a lie. “Fine, don’t believe me, but if you hear a terrible roar and you smell death on the horizon, it won’t be long until a mouth full of ten-foot teeth comes chomping down on you!” Holden used his arms to clamp down on Connor and they both screamed.

“Holden!” yelled a voice from below.

The two boys immediately leapt down from the Ruins and Holden threw his stick away. “Papa, we were only pretending,” Holden defended.

“You know you’re not supposed to be here,” Holden’s father proclaimed as he grabbed the two boys by the back of their necks and led them away. “We are going to miss the opening ceremony thanks to the both of you!”

Holden had almost forgotten that today was the Tricentennial Celebration. The village had been preparing all day, gathering large amounts of wood and harvesting mounds of food. Holden’s father and the two boys made it into the village just as the opening ceremony had ended and the food began to be passed around.

Hundreds of villagers gathered around a massive bonfire that flickered monstrous shadows on the surrounding tents and shacks. The people danced and sang together, and the food was full of color. Berries and roots and flowers and fresh fish satiated the appetites of the villagers. Holden was always excited when there was something to celebrate but he had never seen a party to this magnitude. Everyone in the village was there having the time of their life, Holden was sure that even the creatures in the surrounding jungle were dancing to the booming drums.

And that’s when he heard a roar in the distance and smelled death on the horizon.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2