The Beginning of Pangaea

Ring the bells, strum guitars, bang on drums. I hope you enjoy this post.

I probably haven't been writing as much as I'd like to, but there are definitely exciting ideas in the brewing. And ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to invite you to read the first pages of Pangaea*. I know it's not much, but hopefully it will give you an atmosphere for the world I'm creating. As you will see, it seems a lot like our own world to begin with, but by the time the first chapter ends, I believe many people will be quite surprised.

______________________________________________

Chapter 1: The Doctor

The alarm clock went off at precisely 5am, like it always did. Cass ignored the ringing, using his right hand to search for a pillow instead. Stupid, he thought, remembering that for the past three hours his face had been buried in the feather-filled sack. Then, after waiting for a few more seconds, it had become unbearable. He grudgingly smashed the clock against the wall with his pillow, sacrificing sleep for good. But it had to be done eventually.

Cass was not known for late arrivals. The hospital had never seen such a devoted doctor in all of its 80 years of existence. His previous night had been filled with every kind of paperwork imaginable, but that had never slowed him down. A real cup of coffee goes a long way, he liked to tell his friends whenever they expressed concern, and yet today seemed different. Breathing in deeply, he got up to look in the bathroom mirror.

Staring back at him from the glass was a fearless sort of man. His square-like attributes were intimidating to say the least. He was admired for his stand against the pures, as they were called. Ever since his father had died, he had sworn allegiance to the rebel cause, studying medicine all his life. But people kept dying. And the blame was certainly never placed upon him. Even as Cass himself had administered the drug, there was never room for lawsuits. After all, all patients and their families had been notified on every possible risk. They had chosen their own graves.

“Do you remember their faces?” his psychiatrist's voice echoed in his head as he shaved.

“You mean...”

“The faces of the patients who lost their lives, Cass”

“I didn't....no. I didn't kill them. I...Why would you say I-”

“Cass! I didn't say you had killed them! Do you remember the faces of the people that died?”

“Oh...I thought...yes. All of them. Why do you ask?”

“Because I would like you to concentrate on them for a while. Now if you would kindly close your eyes”.

Cass had obeyed him, but a little hesitantly.

“Focus, Cassius. Picture all of them in your head”

“All at once?”

“Whatever suits you”.

Cassius had tried his best to bring them all back. The thought of dozens of people running around in a park played in his head like a movie. A young boy slurping down his milkshake, a pregnant woman waving to her husband on a ferris wheel.

“Ok...Now what?”

“Make them blow up” the psychiatrist's cold voice hissed.

“Excuse me?” Cass opened his eyes.

“You heard me, Cassius. Now execute the order. Imagine a bomb explode in the midst of all those innocent people” he finished whispering: “they're all dead anyway”.

Cassius had done as he was told. He had certainly learned how to ignore guilt by now. And finally, after years, all the haunting faces had disappeared. If people were to be saved, there was no room in his mind for past casualties. Someone was knocking on the door.

“Just a second!” he yelled, rushing to shave off the last bit of hair on his neck. Then, throwing on the first shirt he could find, Cassius ran toward the door as it was fiercely knocked on again from the other side. Who would need him at 5:30 in the morning?

“Are you Dr. Aeschylus?” a short, slightly overweight old man inquired.

“Depends on who's asking”, Cassius replied suspiciously.

“Toren. Toren Lexley. I am sorry to disturb you, sir. But this is an emergency. They told me I could find you here”.

“What kind of emergency?”

“It's my daughter. She was coming back home and some sort of animal attacked her”.

“What do you mean 'some sort of animal'? This isn't the jungle!”

“We live near the zoo, sir. Have you not read the news lately?”

Cassius remembered yesterday's headline before muttering an unpleasant “great”.

“Are you not coming, then?” asked the man called Toren because Cassius had turned away from him and was now going through his drawers.

“Not without this,” he said, returning to the door and holding up a handgun. He smiled.

“Good Heavens, sir. What kind of doctor are you?”

“The prepared kind”.

______________________________________________

That will be all for now, folks!

*This is a very early draft in production. Changes can and most likely will be made to the final text. However, these changes should not affect the story.