Darwin

The pale crescent moon rested its tired frame against the tall abbey that stood on the last patch of earth. A large flock of birds flew by before settling noisily into one of the last trees that had managed to survive the catastrophe. Few humans milled around, keeping watch of their precious abbey that would go down in history.

A hint of light revealed a group of filthy men, dressed in black and armed with shovels and picks. They scurried into the abbey but retreated quickly once a low clang of a bell alerted the inhabitants of the intruders.

“Get in the boat.” Eli hissed across at his men. If they got caught, they'd be brutally murdered. This had been an idiotic mission to embark upon.

One of the men - James - raised his hand hesitantly. Ignoring him, Eli scooped up a handful of fresh soil in his hand, smelling its purity before stashing it into a pouch and leaping into the boat, urging the men to start rowing.

“What did you want?” he asked James roughly, pushing the younger male to the side and seizing his oar.

“There's a break that's starting to appear in the wood.” James replied quietly.

Eli swore, exerting his frustration upon the oar. “Once we get back, I'll need you to attach some muslin onto the area, and then secure it with a piece of waterproofed oak.”

James nodded swiftly, disappearing underneath the deck of the small boat.

After a few hours, they beheld their home, a wooden structure suspended over a wharf that had been built well over hundreds of years ago. It had been retouched but the large housing still swayed ominously with the wind.

“Elliot Madden!” a shriek sounded from the second floor. Looking up, Eli glimpsed his sister, red-faced and terrifying, making her way down to where he was standing. The rest of the crew made excuses, dispersing into their own rooms, unwilling to face the Madden sister in her rage.

“Yes?” he smiled tiredly, hoping to disguise his quaking feet. “I have a present for you.”

She glared at him, fuming angrily. “You were supposed to sit this one out. You're injured.”

He shut his eyes, took a deep breath and started rummaging in his bag, hoping that he'd be able to withstand his sister's violent temper. Removing the pouch with the soil in it, he reverently handed it to her. Looking at him with suspicion, she took it slowly before loosening the ribbon on the top. Her eyes grew wider as she leant in to get a deeper whiff of the fertile earth. “You're an idiot, but you're an absolute miracle.”

“Thank you,” he exhaled, relieved at her sudden change of mood.

A beep sounded and they jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Andrea, the Madden sister, chuckled at her skittishness, extracting her communicator from her pocket but as she scanned the contents of the message she'd received, her face turned white and a look of horror passed across her face. A hand went up to cover up her mouth and her eyes quickly filled with tears.

“What?” Eli urged impatiently. “Andrea, tell me what's wrong?”

“The third fleet, the group that left after you…” she trailed off, referring to her communicator indecisively. “They've been captured. And the abbey-goers have given us a ransom.”

“Let me see,” he demanded, snatching the device from her trembling hands. There was a short message followed by a series of pictures. Within those images, he recognised his childhood friend, Zach, lying across a wooden board, his body mutilated with injuries.

His face crumpled in sudden anger. “We need to rescue them.”

 x  x  x

There were only about three hundred Australians in the housing. The rest had either all died, or become traitors. It had all started when the continental plates had begun to crumble away, forcing many nations to flee to their allies whose lands were still intact. The whole world had held its breath, knowing that the Earth was doomed. Scientists, befuddled with this strange phenomenon - the entire process defying their whole scientific theory, started their research anew.  Soil samples were taken, the crumbling pieces of land tested yet these advanced scientists couldn't understand what was causing this. Instead, they managed to deduce the places that would be safe from this upheaval of the Earth. There was only one.

The Abbey.

Conditions started to worsen, people started to get frantic. The place that was deemed safe was not big enough to host billions of people; it could house two hundred at the most. Whilst many floundered around, despairing on what they would do - the Australians decided to think for themselves, building structures atop others that had been constructed upon water and didn't touch the land which ensured that the architecture and people remained safe.

All the animals that had resided on the earth had seemed to sense the change that was happening long before the people detected it. They'd adapted, being able to survive in the sea without any land support.

Eventually the land collapsed, leaving many humans residing in boats until food ran out. Water was hard to get by too but not as difficult as shelter. The most common way that people would die was due to the lack of coverage from the unforgiving sun and the harsh winds.

But the abbey-goers endured. So did the nations who had found a permanent dwelling and were independent to hunt their own food.

Thus began the war.

x x x

Darwin's theory of natural selection states that only the strongest survive due to the adaptations that Mother Nature had provided them with through evolution.

That's what had happened, Eli thought to himself as he aggressively yelled out orders to get the boats ready, during the war - all the weak humans had been murdered. Now there was only a seldom handful of mankind left on the planet. And soon they wouldn't exist any longer either.

“Don't rush into this without thinking!” Andrea warned Eli, worry etched on her face. “You're important to this colony."

“I have to,' he replied grimly. “I'll be back after I show those fools who’s in power.”

She nodded, stepping back, her mouth pursued in an attempt to hold back tears. “Take care, brother.”

And then he was gone again.

This was for school. I think it was a thousand word limit, hm. I'd like to write a novel on this, actually although I might leave that for NaNoWriMo.

Idon'tknow. Sometimes, I get really embarrassed by what I write and I compare my work to everyone else. Which I shouldn't do.

Hey, by the way - I'm thinking of writing some Artemis Fowl fanfictions... I just need to remember that amusing plot line. It would most definitely be a oneshot, however.

Allons-y!