All The Young Mon By RH Coronado Part 1 From the journal of Paul Matsu: So when did it begin? It was October in the year 2002. It seems so long ago now but it's not. When I close my eyes, I feel like I'm outdoors. I can see the blue sky, the trees and people. All the sounds in the air. But then I open my eyes. And it hits you. It hits you like a ton of bricks. Gone. They are all gone. The Past: "Alright, class, settle down," Mrs. Sugi said as she leaned on her desk. "Please settle down." She turned to the young boy who was standing in front of the class. He had a piece of paper in his hand. "Paul," she said to the boy. "Go ahead and finish your report." "Yes, ma'am," Paul said. "After the Second World War, most of the planet was devastated. Tens of millions were dead and half the pokemon population was gone. The world was then divided in two: the Free Zone and the Red Zone. Our country is the protector of the Free Zone while the Others rule the Red Zone. Since that time, both sides have been close to declaring another world war. Although some countries have been seized by the Red Zone, such as the People's Republic of Korea in the 1950s and New Vietnam in the 1960s, President K along with his father and uncles have kept the Free Zone clear of the Others' influence. One day, all of the countries under the Red Zone will be free. The Free Zone has been strong for the past 60 years and will do so for another." The class cheered and clapped. Mrs. Sugi smiled. So did Paul. "Very good, Paul," Mrs. Sugi said. "You get an A." "Thank you, sensei," Paul said, still smiling. Just then the school bell rang. Students scrambled to get their books and belongings. "Class, remember," Mrs. Sugi said as the students started to file out. "I need your permissions slips for the trip to New York on by Friday. We'll be visiting all the museums, the Statue and if time permits, the Trade Center. See you tomorrow. "Paul, don't you get tired of getting good grades all the time?" Joe Yanagiba asked as he and Paul were standing in front of their lockers. "No, I don't," Paul answered as he dug through his locker. "You should follow my example." "What example?" Johne Tokiwa asked as she stood behind the two best friends. "Yeah, what your girlfriend said," Joe added. Paul stopped. He looked at Johne and then at Joe. "Why do you guys always gang up on me?" he asked. They all started to laugh. Paul slammed his locker shut and the three made their way down the hall. "Say, my brother has the new Nirvana CD," Joe said as the trio walked out the main doors of the school. "You still listen to those guys?" Paul asked, his left hand holding Johne's right hand. "Sure. Unlike some other groups, those guys stay honest. At least I'm not like my dad. Remember how he was when the Beatles did those reunion concerts 10 years back? He counted all 20 years for the four of them to get back together. Man. He really loves that old music of his." "Nirvana will be old one day," Johne said with a smirk. "Never," Joe responded. "You know," Paul started as the three friends walked down the street towards their home, "when I started researching for that report, I didn't realize how much was lost after the war. Especially the pokemon. So many died during the five years of fighting." "That's so sad," Johne said with teary eyes. "All those poor pokemon. Having no trainers to protect them. It really is so sad." Just then, the three friends heard a loud explosion. There was a noise that sounded like jumper cables being ripped from a car battery. They could see smoke coming from the horizon in front of them. "It's coming from the park," Paul said. The trio took off running until they reached the park's edge. They walked through some bushes and trees to the area from where the smoke originated. "A pokemon battle," Joe said in a whisper. The Red Zone (the eastern side of the world): There were many things Serge did not understand. Why was the government so intrigued by the strange black hole in the sky? All these uniformed men with their big machines and laser guns. He first saw the black hole a few days ago. Serge just thought it was some trick of light and shadow, hanging in the nighttime sky. But the sun came up and it was still there. Was this some new Free Zone weapon? Is that why the government is here? Could this be some sort of sneak attack? Serge did not agree with this assumption his neighbors gave him. There was something else behind this. And it was more than likely a bad omen. The Moon (controlled by the Free Zone): The space station was quiet. The space shuttle was heading back to Earth, having already made its last pick-up. Only the humming of the cleaning robots could be heard. The station was empty of humans. The robot guards maintained their posts. Without warning, the space station went up in flames, with a blast no one could hear even if they wanted to. As fast as the flames started, they were gone. The airless rubble revealed a being all in black. And that being looked up into the starry sky. The Earth hung there like a jewel on a chain. To be continued...