THE LAST QUIET WORLD - by Pen Kiel

<img alt="" src="/media/inline_insight_image/file_000000007068720cb302a47e0bb1ca10.png"/> Episode OneBuried Things Don’t Sleep------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The world didn’t end loudly.No fire. No collapsing skies. No final scream.It just went quiet.Not the kind of quiet that lets you rest, but the kind that presses in on you. The kind that makes you feel like something is missing, even if you can’t remember what.Seventeen years later, the silence still hadn’t lifted.Ayo dug carefully, brushing sand aside with his fingers.The wind dragged grit across the ground and into his eyes, but he didn’t stop. He had learned not to. Out here, stopping usually meant going home empty, or not going home at all.His scanner buzzed weakly in his hand.“Unstable signal detected… corrupted… origin unknown.”Ayo frowned and tapped the side of it.“Yeah. That clears things up.”The screen flickered, then steadied.Same result.He sighed and went back to digging.At first, it felt like nothing. Just more buried scrap.Then his fingers hit something smoother.He paused.Carefully, he brushed more sand away.A hand.Not human.Not fully machine either.Ayo froze.“Okay… no,” he muttered. “No, that’s… no.”He should have walked away.Instead, he leaned closer.The fingers twitched.Ayo jerked back, heart slamming against his ribs.“What the…”The eyes snapped open.He stumbled, nearly losing his footing.Then the voice came.Not from the thing.From inside his head.“Ayo Dambuza.”His breath caught.He pressed his hands against his ears like that might help.“Stop. Who is that?”“You carry it.”The words felt heavy. Like they didn’t belong to him.“I don’t carry anything,” Ayo said quickly. “You’ve got the wrong person.”For a moment, nothing happened.Then the thing’s chest slowly opened.Not like metal breaking apart.More like something peeling back.Inside, a thin silver shard pulsed faintly.Ayo stared at it.“Take it,” the voice said.He swallowed.“This is a bad idea.”Still, his hand moved.He picked up the shard.Nothing.Just wind. Sand. His breathing.Then something shifted.Subtle. But wrong.“Why does it feel…”“Now.”He hesitated.Then pressed the shard to the base of his neck.For half a second, nothing happened.Then everything broke.Light flooded his vision. His body locked. A scream tore out of him before he could stop it.And then everything went black.When Ayo woke, his face was pressed into the dirt.He coughed and pushed himself up, blinking hard.His head pounded.“What… what just happened?”He reached back, fingers searching the base of his neck.No shard.No wound.Nothing.Ayo sat up slowly.Something felt off.The air sounded sharper. The wind louder. Even his own breathing felt too clear.He stood, unsteady.Something moved on the horizon.Ayo squinted.At first, it looked like heat distortion.Then it shifted again.Closer.Not walking.Skipping.Like something was cutting through space instead of moving across it.Ayo’s stomach dropped.“…no.”He stepped back.The shape flickered forward again.Closer.Too fast.“They sent a Cleaner,” he whispered.And then he ran.The ground cracked beneath his boots as he sprinted.His lungs burned almost immediately, but he didn’t slow down.Behind him, nothing.No footsteps. No sound.That was worse.He risked a glance back.Big mistake.The thing was closer now.Humanoid, but wrong. Its edges shimmered, unstable, like it couldn’t decide what shape to hold.Ayo pushed harder.“Come on… come on…”The ground dipped suddenly. He stumbled, catching himself just before falling.His foot slammed against something buried.A second later, the ground behind him exploded.Heat slammed into his back as dust and debris shot into the air.The Cleaner flickered, its form distorting for just a second.Ayo didn’t wait.He dropped into a trench and pressed himself flat against the ground.Don’t move.Don’t breathe.His heart pounded so loudly he was sure it could hear it.One second.Two.Three…“You always this lucky?”Ayo’s eyes snapped open.He turned sharply.A girl stood at the edge of the trench, looking down at him.Calm. Steady.Like none of this surprised her.“Who…”“You want to live?” she asked.Ayo blinked.“…yeah?”She held out her hand.“Then move.”They ran.The tunnels were tight, barely wide enough to move through. Dirt shook loose from the ceiling as they passed.Ayo struggled to keep up.“Wait… slow down…”“If it finds us, you’re dead,” she said without looking back.“Great,” he muttered. “Good to know.”She slowed slightly, glancing over her shoulder.Her eyes moved over him quickly.Not curious.Measuring.“You activated something,” she said.Ayo hesitated.“…I didn’t mean to.”“They never do.”That didn’t make him feel better.“Who are you?” he asked.No answer.They kept moving.“Feels like something I should know,” he added.She stopped suddenly.Ayo nearly ran into her.She turned.“Nyera.”Ayo nodded once.“Ayo.”A brief pause.Something in her expression shifted.Just a little.Like she already knew that.They reached the structure just before sunset.Ayo slowed, staring up at it.Half buried. Massive.Most of it looked dead.But not all of it.Something about the place felt… awake.“What is this?” he asked quietly.Nyera stepped forward.“Somewhere the Accord tried to erase.”She brushed sand off a dark panel and pressed her palm against it.Nothing happened at first.Then a low hum started.Faint blue light spread across the surface.Ayo felt something tighten in his chest.Not fear.Recognition.“…I’ve been here before,” he said.Nyera turned sharply.“No,” she said. “You haven’t.”Ayo shook his head slowly.“…not like this. But I know it.”The door groaned as it began to open.Cold air rushed out.Nyera hesitated for a brief second.Then stepped inside.Ayo followed.Behind them, the light faded.And the door closed.------------------------------------------------To be continued..... Next Episode 2.....------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If this world pulled you in… it’s only just beginning.What do you think Ayo just activated? And who really is Nyera? Drop your thoughts in the comments...your theories matter. I’ll be reading them.If you enjoyed Episode One, don’t forget to like and share so Episode Two drops for more people to discover.All rights reserved.(AI-assisted writing support used in the development of this episode.)

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