Pod 5- Evie Johnston

The first pod had been found two years ago, by a young child. It was found at the edge of a farm in Wyoming, buried under a tree. That pod was number eight. A few months later, number seven was discovered by a man in Southern California, and after that; number six in Maine. But when that first mysterious capsule was found in Sundance, Wyoming, our world was never to be the same.

“My name is Evie Johnston. I’ve found pod number five.” I stare at the blinking red light in front of me, showing that the camera was recording. I hold up the cool metal capsule in my hands, showing the camera with shaking hands. My throat blocks up, and I struggle to say the next sentence. “My name is Evie Cameron Johnston, I am seventeen years old, and I have the ability to fly.”

I nodded, an uneasy shudder, then reached forward and turned off the camera on its three-legged tripod. I still stared at the lens, where I could dimly see my own reflection, fractured and strange.

The pod in my hands weighed heavily. It was a metallic object roughly the size of a shoebox and shaped like a large bullet. It appears to be a container, because it rattles if you shake it. But there is no obvious way to open it. On the side, a number five is engraved upon it. And on my palm, a five is engraved, cut into my skin with fire.

When I found this anathema, this cursed capsule, it was exactly one week ago. The day was cool and drizzly- my kind of perfect day. The air was misty and wavered through the trees on vaporous wings. I was walking through the park in my neighborhood- the perfect park, set on a large plot of land and interspersed with trees and handcrafted benches, not to mention the giant playground that usually echoed with the shouts of excited children. But not that day. That day the fog had pushed everyone back inside their houses where it was bright and happy and warm. It seemed I was the only one in the world outside, as all the houses stood still and stoic around me.

Pulling on my leash, barking at me to hurry up, was my family’s dog Linda. I let go of her leash and she bounded ahead, barking with excitement. I jogged a bit to catch up, feeling the chilliness of the fall air biting my legs and clawing at my uncovered ears. I lifted up the hood of my coat and smiled a bit as my breath left a trail in the air. Winter was coming. Linda was digging a hole next to a tree.

“What’re you doing, Lin?” I asked her in a high-pitched voice. Linda glanced at me with dirt smudged on her nose. She continued digging a small hole, using her nose and paws to excavate the soft soil. Too late, I noticed she was making a mess in the middle of a garden, as a bulb and some grass flew up from the hole. Linda wagged her tail, and looked very cute, and I didn’t actually care that much so I let her carry on as I stood up and stretched my arms. Somewhere else, a dog barked and a man’s voice yelled at it. The park was still very peaceful and quiet, though. That was soon to change.

Linda gave a whine and I knelt down. “What is it, Lin?” I looked into the surprisingly deep hole she’d made. I could see a gleam of metal at the bottom. “Woah- what’d you find?”

I talked to Lin a lot. Dogs are very good to talk to when there’s no one around. I dug a little bit with my hands, not minding the dirt that became lodged underneath my fingernails. The soil was incredibly easy to scoop out, and soon I had uncovered the entire box. I lifted it out, brushing dirt off of it. Linda backed away from the box, growling menacingly at it. She apparently didn’t like the smell or look of it, and I wasn’t sure I did either. I looked the box over in my hands, apprehensive. A faint rattling sound emitted from it when I gave it a gentle shake. And then I found it, on one side. A number five engraved into it.

My hand brushed over the number on the box, and suddenly, a searing pain shot through my arm. I screamed and tried to let go of the container, but my hand stuck to it as if it was magnetized. I could tell the number was heating up. It was glowing a flaming red on my hand. It was tearing off my skin. Lin was barking and growling, backing away from me. I felt tears come to my eyes. The pain, the burning in my hand seemed to reach a climax. It felt as if someone was cutting into my palm with a burning knife. The mist seemed to no be longer cooling the air around me, but burning it and filling it with fire. Suddenly, my grip was able to loosen. The capsule fell out of my hand to the ground, and so did I. The final things I was aware of before I fell unconscious was the beating of my heart, the searing in my clenched palm, and Linda licking my face with a slobbery tongue, clearing away my fiery tears.

The next thing I knew was darkness. 

(a/n- This is a first little peek at an idea for a new story I have. Please feel free to criticize! I'm new to this website, and hopefully, after I get some reviews on this, I'll try reviewing someone's work myself. Thank you!)