Before Our Time

Before Our Time

The wind blew over the green hills, and through the Valley of Metal, making low, sad whistles through what was left in the world. The wind blew past, and over the Great Door, sending chills throughout the small village of Oshatha. They rustled the small, pitiful crops and sent dust spiraling through the air. It was strong, blowing against the humans wandering the gray, sandy streets. They didn’t mind.

There was nothing left that the wind could take from them.

It continued down the streets, pushing open the straw doors of the houses, and sending tumbleweeds rolling. It finally stopped when it blew against the boy and girl who were sitting outside, listening to the village elder tell them about the land as it used to be.
“It was wonderful!” He said, his eyes sparkling as he recalled the memory. “There were big cities filled with towering buildings, sunlight bounding off of them! People were at every part of the world, and you could go wherever you wanted. You could have animals in your house called pets, and if you wanted to go to Mars, you could do so at any time!”
The way that the old man described the past filled the children with wonder, although they had already heard the stories hundreds of times. But today was different: Now that the old man had overcome his sickness, they weren’t restricted to 30 minutes of company like they always were inside of the doctor’s hut.
“Wow!” The boy said. “That’s incredible!”
The girl stared into the sky, gazing at the towering walls of the valley. “You could go anywhere? Even Mars?”
“Yup.” The old man responded, looking indifferent. “But that doesn’t mean squat now! It’s a shame what became of Earth. It used to be so vibrant…”

This was the part that the children never got to hear.
“Well then… What happened to it?” The girl asked hesitantly.
The old man sighed. “The Mavericks happened, Gris.”
The boy turned to the other child, Gris, with a confused look on his face. “What’s a Maverick?”
“Why do you think we had to build the Great Door?” The old man asked. “Mavericks are monsters from the past: Mechanical wolves that know nothing but destruction. Back then, when planet Earth sent humans into deep space for exploration, they decided they needed a defence system in case they were attacked by another species. So, they made the Mavericks to defend Earth. They outnumbered the human race 3 to 1, and they were positioned almost everywhere to keep watch. Then, no one knows how, no one knows where, know one knows when, the Mavericks all got a virus. It caused them to turn on the human race, quickly destroying them all except us. So, Hamilton, we need the Great door to keep the Mavericks out.”

Hamilton, the boy, suddenly didn’t feel so excited.
“W-what?! That can’t be it! We’re the only ones left?”
“Yup!” The old man said. “And we’ll all be dead soon because WE. CAN’T. GROW. FOOD. IN. PILES. OF. SAND!”
Just then, the village chief drove by in an old car.
“Hey!” He said to the kids. “Get away from that man. He’s got pudding for brains, so don’t believe anything he tells you.”
“Come on, Hamilton,” Gris said, standing up. “Let’s go somewhere else.”
Hamilton stood up, anxious to get away from the old man. The past was supposed to be fun and wonderful! Before, he was eager to hear what the old man had to say. Now he was just scared.
“Hey, hey, don’t go!” The old man said. “There’s a way to turn them off! You just go out of the valley and follow the setting sun until you reach the land of the Giants! Go to the land before our time!”
Hamilton walked away from the old man with Gris. For some reason, his final words echoed in his ears.

“GO TO THE LAND BEFORE OUR TIME.”


* * *

The night air was harshly cold, and sent shivers through Hamilton. He through the fields of crops, the Great Door coming closer. There, Gris sat and waited, her breath visible in white wisps.
“What are we doing out here?” Hamilton asked her, staring up at the wall. Suddenly, Gris threw a bag at him, which he barely caught. Inside were traveling supplies.
“I was thinking about last week.” She said. “About the old man. He had a point.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hamilton, don’t you see? We’re gonna die here. Like he said, we can’t grow food in sand, and this year’s drought has been longer than ever, not to mention that fall’s already setting in. We don’t have time to grow food for 500 people.”
“...Gris? Why are you telling me this?”
“We have to save everyone, Hamilton. We have to go to the land of the Giants.”
Hamilton stood, staring at his friend. He suddenly started to laugh. “Seriously?! Gris, do you wanna die?! You heard how he talked about those Mavericks. And if they’re machines, that means that they’re probably still up and running! You wanna go to a place that we’re not even sure exists after an old man told you you could flip an off switch?”
“It’s better than dying here.”
Hamilton looked down at his bag, and how it was bulging with contents. It must have taken a long time to get them.
“Gris, look, I’m sorry, but this is insane.” Hamilton said, putting the bag down.
“Fine!” Gris lashed out. “Be like that! Let your best friend go out alone and try to save the world. That’ll totally be fine!” Gris stood up and stormed over to the wall. Using all of her strength, she pushed on one of the large bricks in the wall. It shifted, and soon it fell out of the wall, landing on the other side.

Gris started to climb through the hole in the wall, and Hamilton stared with sad eyes at his friend. Suddenly, his stomach churned.

Did she just say “Best Friend”?

Hamilton suddenly picked up his bag and ran towards the wall. “Gris, wait!”
When he got to the hole in the wall, Gris was already standing on the other side. As he climbed through, Gris gave him a glare.
“What made you change your mind?” She asked.
“Oh, nothing. I just… I felt bad.”
The truth was, Hamilton had actually been hurt when he realized Gris thought of him as a best friend. Over the past 2 years, he had grown fond of the girl, and wanted to confess his love at some point. If Gris died on the journey, which he was almost sure she would, he would never get to tell her how he felt. Plus, the fact that he had just been friendzoned played a big role.

When Hamilton had finally crawled through, he looked forward. In front of the duo was towering metal structures, lining the sides of the valley, covered with green vines and ivy. They were all dilapidated, as if the life that was in them had somehow been sucked out. About 50 feet forward was the end of the valley, and the last dying rays of the sun were sitting on the horizon.
“Are these…?” He breathed.
“Skyscrapers.” Gris said. “The old man told us about these a while ago when he was sick.

“He said that this is the Valley of Metal.”

* * *

The duo walked across the rolling green fields, the sky cloudless above them. Every once in awhile, they saw a relic of the past, like a skyscraper, or building. The most interesting had been what looked like a giant bowl made from whatever odd material the skyscrapers were. It was daytime by now, and Gris was tired from walking. They were approaching another skyscraper, and the one side of it was warped, metal pieces scattering the ground.
“Hey,” Hamilton said, turning to her. “Are you O.K?”
“Uh, yeah.” She said, not wanting to show weakness. She was the one who dragged him on this journey, and she was the one who was gonna see it through.
“So… on a scale of 1 to 10, how good are you at responding to offensive questions?” Hamilton asked.
Gris chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean? 10, I guess.”
“Do you usually sweat motor oil?”
“What?” Gris paused and sniffed her shirt, then sniffed the air. “Uh… That’s not me. Why would there be motor oil out here?”
Suddenly, Hamilton went pail.
“Gris… Don’t move a muscle.”
Gris didn’t know what her friend was talking about, but she froze anyway. She had never seen him like this before, and that made her nervous as well.
“What? What is it?”
Suddenly, a snarl came from behind her. She whipped around to see a mechanical wolf, stalking towards them. It’s mouth was foaming with motor oil, and it’s limbs clicked and groaned. But it was only for a second: Next thing she knew, the wolf was on top of her, giving out mechanical screeches and snapping violently at her face. She used all of her might to keep the wolf from biting her head, as it scratched her stomach with it’s deadly claws.

Suddenly, the wolf flew off of Gris, and she bolted up from the ground. Hamilton had small metal girder from the skyscraper’s debris in his hands, and was swinging it at the wolf as a warning.
“Get off her!”
The wolf bolted forward and bit the girder, snapping it in half, and pushed Hamilton down. Before it could get on top of him, Gris picked up another girder and swung it with all her might at the wolf’s head. There was a loud clang as metal smashed against metal, and the wolf’s head flew into the air. As it fell to the ground, the wolf’s body stood rigid for a few seconds, then fell in a heap of sparks, oil, and metal.

Hamilton lied on on the soft grass, breathing heavily, still in shock of what had just happened. In the corner of his vision, he saw that Gris had walked up to him, staring at the remains of the wolf all the while. Then, she got down and lied next to him on the grass.
“So… I’m guessing that was a Maverick.” She said.
“Yeah… I guess so.”
“And they outnumbered about 11 billion people 3 to 1,” She continued. “That’s… Scary.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for saving me, by the way,” She said, sitting up. Hamilton sat up with her.
“No problem. Thanks for saving me too. Should we keep moving? If there was one of them around here, that could mean there’s more.”
“Alright then, let’s go.”
The two stood up, and kept walking, leaving the Maverick’s body behind. The head of the Maverick suddenly shook, and it’s vivid red eyes shot open. They searched around, then and focused on it’s prey, walking ever so closer to their demise.

* * *

The sun was setting in front of the duo, guiding them forward. They had been walking for 2 days after their first Maverick encounter, and had close encounters with 2 more. They were both worn and tired, and their supplies were getting dangerously low. They were now traveling on a field of dry green-yellow grass, and the sunlight burned their skin. Soon, they came to an eerie sight: A broken head made from rock sat next to a tree, it’s eyes closed. The ancient statue seemed to represent a world that was lost, and it stared up at the sky, questioning the heavens for what they had done. They were close to the the land of the Giants: Hamilton could feel it.

As they passed the eerie statue, Hamilton couldn’t help feeling motivated and surprised. He made a silent vow to avenge the world that it lived in, and he was shocked that the old man was actually wasn’t crazy. While they were walking, Gris had to constantly stop and rest: her wounds from the first Maverick encounter were still fresh, and wouldn’t stop bleeding even with bandages.
“Come on, Gris,” Hamilton said, as she curled up onto the grass for the 5th time now. “We need to keep going.”
Gris only moaned in reply.
“Gris…” Hamilton said, his eyes filled with distress. His friend clearly couldn’t take much more of this.
“Hamilton,” Gris said, sitting up. “This is hopeless.”

What?!

“I’m sorry,” She said. “I should’ve never gotten you into this mess.”
Rage bubbled up in Hamilton’s throat. How could she give up now, when they were so close?!
“Are you serious?! Gris, this was your idea! I didn’t almost get killed 3 times for you to give up!”
“I know!” She screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. “But I didn’t know it would be like this! When we fought that first Maverick, that’s when I knew it was hopeless. We’re kids, Hamilton, we can’t shut down the Mavericks! They killed almost everybody in the human race!”
Hamilton stared at his friend. He’d never seen her so upset: Usually she hid her emotions behind a wall of playfulness and strength. Now that they had crumbled, Hamilton desperately wanted to help her. But she had crossed the line, and now he was going to die because she wanted to play hero.

It scared him that he didn’t care.

Suddenly, the smell of motor oil filled his nostrils. He looked up, and over the hill with the broken head, a pack of Mavericks streamed down the side. Their mouths frothed with black liquid, their eyes leaving red trails in the dying sunlight.
“Gris!” Hamilton said urgently, grabbing her hand and hauling her up. “We need to go!”

The two sprinted across the field, the Mavericks high on their trail. Gris’s stomach hurt more than ever now, and her eyes were blurry with tears. Hamilton was practically dragging her along, and her legs were sprinting as fast as they could carry her. As they rose above another hill, the land of the Giants came to view: Colossal statues of people made of marble reflected sunlight. Most of them didn’t have heads, but the ones that did were all staring down at the building in the center of it all: A bunker made of black metal. There was an open door on the bunker, and it led down to stairs enveloped in darkness.
“We’re almost there!” Hamilton said. “We ---”
His words were drowned out as Gris’s hand slipped out of his. She fell to the ground, a pain like never before piercing her stomach. She looked up to see Hamilton whip around and try to reach for her hand. He hesitated, then sprinted away. Gris stared in despair as her friend disappeared over the hill and to the bunker. She wanted to call his name, but before she could, the Mavericks were upon her.

Hamilton bolted inside the bunker’s door, and found a button inside. He slammed his hand on it, and the door slammed down, covering him in darkness. He sat on the ground, wheezing for air, and wondered if he had made the right choice. His friend was dead, and he had never told her how he felt. Her last memories of him would be him yelling at her. But if he would’ve went back to help her, they might both be dead. He decided that whatever the outcome of of the choice was, he was going to avenge his friend, and the broken head statue. He walked down the steps, and farther into the bunker. He soon walked into a large room, totally enveloped in darkness. The stench motor oil hung in the air, making Hamilton anxious: That meant Mavericks were nearby. In the distance, a single computer sat in the room, it’s screen like a bullet of light in the endless darkness. He sprinted towards it, and immediately picked up the mouse when he got there. The computer’s desktop was filled with files, but one on the center of the screen was labeled ‘Kill Code: Mavericks’. Hamilton quickly opened it, and navigated through the different documents with instructions, and soon came upon one that read

ONLY IN EMERGENCY:
DELETE ALL FILES FOR QUICK SHUT-DOWN

Hamilton quickly selected all of the files, and was about to press the key to delete them.
“For Gris.” He said.
Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him, and he flew into the air, landing hard 5 feet from the computer.
A gigantic claw stepped from the darkness, illuminated by the computer screen, and a groan blasted throughout the room. A head lowered, with bright red eyes, staring directly at Hamilton.

A giant Maverick.
The Alpha Maverick.

The Alpha Maverick lashed out at Hamilton with it’s claw, just barely missing him as he rolled out of the way. He bolted up and sprinted for the computer, but the Alpha Maverick blocked his path. It screeched a ear-piercing call, causing Hamilton to cover his ears. He felt himself being lifted as the creature picked him up with it’s deadly claws. It dangled him above it’s jaws, oil frothing out, as Hamilton flailed to get loose.
“I’m sorry Gris!” He cried, “I wasn’t strong enough!”

Suddenly, the Alpha Maverick’s eyes went dull. It’s mouth slammed shut and it released Hamilton, causing him to fall to the ground. He stared up in awe as the Alpha Maverick groaned, then fell to the floor, lifeless. He whipped around to the computer, and saw a figure standing over it, a Maverick by it’s side.

“Gris!” Hamilton said, running over. “You’re okay!”
She looked up, her face pail. Her shirt was covered in blood. “‘Okay’ is a bit of an overstatement.”
Hamilton hugged his friend, despite the blood. “I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it, man.” She said. “I was being a buttmunch, anyway.”
Suddenly, Hamilton noticed the Maverick sitting beside them, and backed away. For whatever reason, it’s eyes were green, and it wasn’t attacking them.
“So… What’s up with him?” Hamilton asked.
“Oh,” Gris said, pointing at the machine. “This is Matty. I think he’s totally immune to the virus, because he attacked all of the other Mavericks that tried to kill me. I found his file, and spared it from being deleted. That’s why he’s not shut down.”
“So… you’re going to keep Matty the Maverick?”
“Yeah!” Gris said, smiling. “What did the old man say they were? Pets!, He’s my pet Maverick.”

The three walked out of the bunker. By now, the sky was a blanket of stars, and the statues towered above them, sparkling in the starlight.
“Hey Gris?” Hamilton said, shuffling uncomfortably.
“Yeah?” She said, petting Matty.
“I love you.”
“Okay, I love you too. You’re a good friend.”
Hamilton almost threw up.
“No, not like friend love, I mean I love you!”
Gris laughed. “Yeah, I know, I was just messing with you.”
“Wait…” Hamilton paused. “You knew? How?”
“Hamilton, you’re not very good at keeping secrets. I’ve known you for 2 years, and you think I haven’t noticed when you stare at me?”
Hamilton’s face grew hot. “Oh. Sorry.”
Gris chuckled. “It’s fine. I love you too. Like, love you.”


As the two walked over the hills, the wind blew once again. It blew past the Valley of Metal and through the village of Oshatha. It blew past the bodies of the machines that had ravaged the Earth. It blew past the broken head statue, which opened it’s eyes for the first time in 10,000 years, it’s wish fulfilled. Most importantly, it stopped when it hit a boy and a girl, walking hand in hand. They thought they saw one last Maverick on the hills, standing with it’s red eyes fixed on them. They closed, and it’s head dipped in respect. Before they could look, the Maverick was gone: It was gone a long time ago.


But that was before their time.