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Post by Lady Laiin on May 7, 2012 12:59:44 GMT -8
General thread for your inquires about my Wayfinders project.
Setting:
In the far future, humanity is crushed under the iron boot of a dictatorial regime. One man has a plan to undo it all - but he might just make it worse.
When Kaylee Fearn stumbles into Stanley Mcbride's attempt to go back in time and save his father, she accidently triggers an error that lands them in December of 1941 with no hope of escape. Stanley and Kaylee decide to make the best of their situation, and together with the artificial intelligence Alfred, they deduce a plan to create a better future: and it starts with warning the Americans about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
After convincing President Roosevelt of their authenticity, they manage to get the Americans to put their fleet to sea, ready to fight the Japanese attack force. But Alfred produces a cryptic warning as the battle is joined - the results will, if anything, be even worse than history.
Stanley attempts to save the American fleet, but ultimately can't protect the vital aircraft carriers. With American naval power shattered, Stanley, Alfred and Kaylee must work together to bring the United States and other Allied powers to an industrial standard capable of overcoming the gap.
Before the other time travelers make the Japanese invincible, that is.
-L
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JoanK
Respected Citizen
BOOM. Headshot
Posts: 85
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Post by JoanK on May 9, 2012 9:28:05 GMT -8
Certainly interesting.
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Post by Lady Laiin on May 10, 2012 22:09:23 GMT -8
A little taste of the project's second chapter.
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Kaylee sat bolt upright in bed, just barely containing an explosive shriek. She put a hand over her chest, feeling her heart pounding, sweat raining from her hair and across her face. Remembered horror ran through her veins, and she raised her hands to check she still had all her fingers.
He was removing them one at a time, Kaylee remembered, shuddering. Cutting them off with a knife, then using an iron to cauterize the wound, all while singing a nursery rhyme. Every two fingers he would pause and ask if I was ready to talk yet, but I was gagged and couldn’t respond, so he’d move on to the next fingers.
She shivered and raised her knees, hugging them tightly. Then whenever I screamed, the monster told me that if I would just answer his questions I wouldn’t have to deal with any of this – but he never pulled that disgusting gag from my mouth, no matter how I cried.
It was typical for her nightmares of Dictariat captivity. Kaylee didn’t remember all that had happened before then, save for an incident where she was frozen in a block of ice save for her head, naked. While she was freezing cold, the torturer was applying a blowtorch to her face, humming cheerfully while she shrieked.
Kaylee buried her face in her hands. I should just kill myself now. They’ll find me eventually, and then my dreams will all look rosy and cheerful. No one can outrun or fight the Dictariat – and I’m sure they need me alive. It doesn’t matter how far I run or where I hide, they’ll be certain I have knowledge about the Rebellion. I’m probably Public Enemy Number One, with a huge reward for my capture.
Slowly, Kaylee slipped out of bed. The other five women she shared the cabin with didn’t notice – they were dead asleep, what with the hard labor they’d done all day. They weren’t plagued by nightmares of knives and fire.
Quickly, Kaylee threw away her nightclothes and slipped her clothes on. She didn’t know why, per se, but she had an urge to leave – to never come back.
I’ll go to that compound, she told herself as she fitted her foot into a boot. She paused.
Yes, she finally decided. I’ll go there and see what it is. It certainly can’t hurt – I won’t get too close to it, and it’ll be daylight very soon. Then I’ll go past it toward Germany.
Kaylee put her other boot on, then stood up and stretched. The other women would be stirring within the next half an hour, and Kaylee intended to be long gone from the village by the time anyone would miss her.
She picked up the tiny satchel with her belongings. There wasn’t much in it – just a little food, a canteen of hoarded water, and two or three strange items Kaylee had found in her travels. Some reminded her of the past – others were simply nice.
She stepped out of the cabin, fumbling for something in the bag. Slowly, Kaylee withdrew a packet of pre-War cigarettes. She lifted one to her lips, then began hunting for her lighter.
Kaylee had never liked smoking, and had little patience for others who’d smoked. But that was before the nightmares had started tormenting her. By now, it was a habit – a routine. A smoke or two to settle her nerves after the horrendous dreams – to help her gather herself and reenter the world at large.
Kaylee lit the cigarette and breathed deeply, fighting an urge to cough. She blew the smoke out, running her free hand through her hair.
I should leave now, she thought. I can’t linger.
But Kaylee instead took a second pull on the cigarette, contemplating sitting down next to the cabin to finish it.
“I tell you, I ain’t heard of no Adams.”
Kaylee froze at Andrew’s voice. The man sounded like he was just on the other side of the cabin. She narrowed her eyes and listened.
“She may be using an alias,” a deeper voice replied. “Has anyone new come to this town recently?”
“Well, there is this one woman,” Andrew said. Kaylee nearly swore. “Who?” the other man inquired.
“She calls herself ‘Kaylee Fearn’ – I thought that was a weird name, but lots of people have weird names so I thought it didn’t matter. She hunts, pulls her weight, but doesn’t really hang out with the community or seem to want to be a part of the town.”
“What does she look like?” the man asked. There was a sound like a mechanical shifting.
Dictariat Enforcers, Kaylee thought with a burst of sudden pure dread. Wearing power armored suits. Looking for me.
“She’s like five foot six, with black hair and these weird pale green eyes.” Andrew sounded almost scared. “She lives in that cabin there.”
Kaylee’s heart stopped beating.
“Thank you,” the Enforcer replied. There came a single footstep.
Around the cabin stepped a man. He was wearing dark blue armored plate, whirring and humming with his every move. He didn’t have a helmet, for reasons Kaylee couldn’t determine, and his soul-chilling blue eyes were very visible. He had a railgun carbine held nonchalantly in one hand.
His eyes landed on Kaylee.
“Well, that was easy!” he called aloud, reaching for her arm with his free hand. Kaylee felt a wave of terror course through her. Then a sudden burning resolve.
If they want me, they’re going to have to work for it.
Her hand flew forward, jamming the lit cigarette into the Enforcer’s eye. He dropped his carbine, completely caught off-guard, and howled, his free hand grabbing for Kaylee’s wrist.
But she had abandoned the man, leaving him to collapse against the cabin. She turned away and bolted through the village streets, running as fast as her legs could carry her.
-L
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