Project Ignite (Mira and Wade)

Submitted into Contest #86 in response to: Set your story at a park during a spring festival.... view prompt

16 comments

Science Fiction Fiction

I'm gonna start doing two characters at a time, because there are what, thirteen of you? Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Toodles!



Sulien, Lighterdome.

Project Ignite, day three.

Ember, Mira. Female. Age: 14. Threat level: 0.2.

Retrieving patient in six hours...

__________________

Tears welled in Mira’s pale blue eyes.

Her raven black hair fell in her face as she watched her parents’ grieved faces.

Her oldest brother, Fallon, was in the hospital, his heart beat so slow.

His face, so still.

Where did his smile go? Where was his strong arms around her?

He was always the best brother, the kindest. His deep dimples appeared when Mira greeted him. He was nineteen; she was fourteen. So far in age, but so close together.

Now there was nothing she could do but wait and pray he lived.

Mira wrapped her arms around herself. She rarely ever said a word, always kept to herself. Her parents watched as she turned and left the house. They knew where she was going.

Mira’s tender heart ached, her eyes shut.

Her fingers curled, nails dug into her skin.

She willed herself to believe her brother would live.

With sickness, you never can tell.

Only hope.

In the park, among the trees, Mira wept. The sky was dark, matching her mood. She pulled her dark jean jacket around her to shut out the chilly wind. She rocked and cried, soaking the knees of her cargo pants.

When she reached her breaking point, her breath rattling on her chest and her eyes sore, a sound broke the grieved silence. A helicopter. Mira ignored it, it was not something worth paying attention to.

Sobbing.

Silence.

Then, the helicopter so loud, it drowned out Mira’s thought and roared in her ears.

She felt like screaming. She only wanted a moment of peace, of solitude. She glanced up and frowned. The helicopter was hovering low, there was someone leaning out of the door and looking straight at Mira.

She got to her feet, feeling shaken and began to leave. The wind kicked up behind her, whipping her long hair around her strong, freckled face. The whirling thumping of the helicopter roared so loud, Mira shrieked and covered her ears. She whipped around and her eyes stretched wide.

The helicopter had landed.

Mira watched in fearful wonder as two men stepped from the helicopter. Any wonder quickly disappeared as she realized they were holding handguns and their eyes were fixed on her. Mira quickly turned back around and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. She heard a grunt of frustration behind her and the thump of booted feet against the wet grass.

Rain fell.

Her heart, once aching, now pounding.

Her face, wet with tears, now broke out in a cold sweat.

She stopped running.

Faced her pursuers.

She watched their masked faces grow closer, her eyes narrowed.

As the men came close enough, Mira spun and her foot shot out, slamming into one man’s chest. His breath rushed out of him and he stumbled backwards, his handgun fell to the floor. However, defending herself put Mira off balance. She had fallen into the dirt and was now at the mercy of two angry men. She squeezed her eyes shut, but they snapped back open as pain lanced through her upper leg.

Her eyes fell shut and she knew no more.

____________

Retrieval successful.

Note: minor injuries conflicted due to patient defending herself.

____________



_______________

Sulien, Lighterdome.

Project Ignite, day four.

Edwards, Wade Valentina. Female. Age: 17. Threat level: 0.

Retrieving patient in two hours...

________________

Wade stood on the beach, the wind tugged at her ocean-toned shirt. Sand clung to the bottom of her blue leggings. There was a wide smile on her sun-darkened face.

She loved the beach and she spend most of her time there.

Her home stood on the hill behind her, her parents and two sisters were out and Wade finally had free time.

The waves swept against her ankles and she waded deeper, soaking her leggings and the hem of her long t-shirt. She didn’t mind. In fact, she enjoyed it.

She went deeper, gasping a little as she cold water struck her skin. Her shirt suctioned to her skin. Wade smiled. She had never minded the cold.

She swam deeper into the ocean; the waves lapping against her chin. Wade coughed as it swarmed into her mouth. She spat the water out and continued out further.

Wade dove under the waves, her eyes open, watching the little fish whirl away from her intruding silhouette. She remembered the first time she saw the ocean as the water swirled around her lithe figure.

Her father held her five-year-old hand. The two of them stared out into the roaring ocean. They had just moved there and Wade’s parents insisted she knew how to swim as soon as they moved there. They wanted no risk of drowning in the crashing waves and sucking riptide.

Wade was afraid. She liked water, but she had always just sat on the shore, digging on the sand until her back was sunburned. Her parents never forced her to learn to swim, but it was different when she turned five and they moved.

Now she and her father stood on the beach, their toes scrunched in the warm sand, the wind tugging their swimsuits. “Ready?” her father asked. Young Wade shook her head, but stepped forward anyway.

The water lapped against her ankles.

Against her knees.

Her hips.

Her chest.

Her breath hiccuped from the cold.

Her father smiled down on her. “Remember what I said?”

She nodded and lowered herself entirely into the water, Her father placed a strong hand beneath her stomach, keeping her afloat.

Stroke, stroke. She held her breath. She wasn’t going anywhere yet, but her father said; “I’m going to let you go, okay? Just try to stay up.”

He let go.

She sunk.

__________

Retrieval in action...

__________

He lifted her back out, spluttering and coughing.

She cried.

He held her.

“Remember,” he told her. “Always stay calm in danger. If you panic, you can’t think rationally and things will only get worse. When in danger, what do you do?”

Young Wade hiccuped and wiped her nose. “stay calm.” she whispered. Stay calm.

Wade snapped back to the present as she heard the roar of a helicopter. She smiled. She liked helicopters. She squinted in the bright sun, lifting one dripping hand from the water to shade her eyes.

Her storm-grey eyes widened; the helicopter was so low; she felt like she could have touched it. She ducked under the water as it came to a stop over her head. Beneath the water, her heart pounded wildly. She watched the dark shape of the helicopter hover above the water. Were they looking for something? Was it the police?

Then, with a surge of realization, Wade swam back to the top. It was probably the coast guard. She smiled at her own stupidity as her head broke the surface.

Wade waved to the helicopter, eyes searching for the Coast guard logo. When she didn’t see it, she frowned. Someone leaned out, there was a mask over their face. They held something in their hand, but Wade couldn’t see it properly. She squinted, shading her eyes again. She began to say something, but a whistling interrupted her.

Wade blinked rapidly as she felt a sting in her shoulder. There was a black-feathered dart pinning her shirt, embedded in her skin. Her muscles relaxed and she felt a surge of panic as she slipped under the waves. Just before her eyes went black, she saw someone hit the water and a hand reaching for her. Then, oblivion.

___________

Retrieval successful.

___________


featured in this story: Me as Mira and Antman as Wade.

March 22, 2021 21:44

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16 comments

Jay DMer
12:01 Mar 25, 2021

Ah my! Another great Project Ignite story!!

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Felicity Anne
21:21 Mar 24, 2021

Hello!! Will you help us get rid of downvoting? Click here to sign our petition!! :) http://chng.it/Y8pTpNJG

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Creed .
21:27 Mar 24, 2021

Of course!

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Felicity Anne
23:02 Mar 25, 2021

Tysm!!

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18:31 Mar 24, 2021

I just read all three in a row and omggggggggggggggggg this series, these characters, everything is amazingggggggggg great job Bucky!

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AntMan 🐜
12:44 Mar 24, 2021

😁😁😁😁😁I'm LOVING these stories right now! 😱🤓😅😁😁🤩🤩 OMB Wade is just great! 😁

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Amara Tillington
00:59 Mar 24, 2021

... NOPENOPE NOPE I NEED MORE Thank you for the like!

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Cookie Carla🍪
13:37 Mar 23, 2021

Noodles!!! Can you read my second most recent story "Restart Button" and give a little feedback on it?? Also read my bio if you haven't already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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13:19 Mar 23, 2021

Love it! Great job, as always. I can't wait for the next one!

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Phoebe DeNeve
02:46 Mar 23, 2021

Whoa, cool story. Can't wait for the others!

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TJ Squared
23:53 Mar 22, 2021

wow, another great work! I'm starting to wonder who the men in black are :))))))) you are keeping me on the edge of my seat :)))

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23:37 Mar 22, 2021

What an incredibly interesting way to present a story. There is obviously more to come. I hope you won't mind if I make some suggestions that I think would 'tighten' up your piece. Mira had fallen into the dirt before the dart pierced her. When she was shot with the dart she fell to the ground again. Do you read your work out loud to yourself. Sometimes words have more 'musicality' if said a slightly different way. I'm thinking here of 'green and blue shirt'. I would have written that as 'blue and green'. In my childhood 'blue and green sho...

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Sunny 🌼
02:39 Apr 11, 2021

I'm slowly becoming obsessed with all these characters...

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Hiya! You filled out my form, and I'm gonna submit your story under the woodlands creature one, is that okay?

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Creed .
15:14 Mar 23, 2021

Yep.

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