Valley of the lost
Hours turned into days, and although the numbers started to dwindle, some people still arrived to search months later. Some arrived with dogs, others with drones and others relied on their eyes, hands and feet to search, but the mystery remained. A year later the little girl was still lost. Elsewhere, hundreds of miles away, authorities and the public have given up and yet another child will remain lost for ever.
Worldwide the numbers are rising; 101 000; 102 000; 103 000…. Children disappearing without a trace, one minute they are here and the next they are gone…for ever.
A pandemic had hit the world and people are sheltering in place trying to keep themselves and their children safe, careful to venture outside for the much needed Vitamin D only when there is no one nearby, yet the children are still disappearing. A mother turned to call their dog only to find her daughter missing when she turned back. A father ventured ten paces into the shrubs in their yard to retrieve a stray ball but when he called out to his son to catch the ball there was no answer.
Children had gone missing for as long as humanity existed, but never before at this rate and never before under these or similar circumstances over such a short period of time… one year, 12 months or 365 days and 104 000 children had disappeared, not to be found despite extensive searches.
Little boys and little girls, all between the ages of 5 and 10… mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and grandparents are grieving and sometimes in the quiet of the night one can hear the wailing of a desperate family member.
All sorts of theories had been offered; maybe a satanic cult, maybe a group of pedophiles, maybe parents are going crazy being cooped up with their children all day, maybe the stress of financial difficulties as result of the pandemic and job losses are pushing families over the edge. Regardless of the opinions of numerous scientists and psychologists, police and the best forensic investigators, not a single clue could be found to prove any of these theories, at least not on these particular cases. Burdened further by other cases involving runaways, familial abductions, human trafficking and gross murders of innocent children, it was not only the local police departments who were stretched to their limits but also special forces and Interpol. Overall the crime rate with regards to other crimes not involving children were rising and to make matters worse the numbers in trained personnel were dwindling, because no one was immune to or spared from the effects of the pandemic or, for that matter, crime. The world was becoming a messy place and in places the scenery could be mistaken for that from a science fiction film.
On a long forgotten island the sun was just rising on the first day of a new year. The island’s existence had long been forgotten. Many years ago the authorities banned the public from visiting the island after experiments on animals had gone horribly wrong. The public were informed that the animals on the island were all riddled with numerous diseases and that a visit to the island would likely result in terrible suffering. Even after a fire broke out on the island years ago, a fire which could be seen for miles, authorities declared that there was no guarantee that the fire destroyed all the sick animals. As years passed people forgot about the details of the warnings and started their own conspiracy theories and spread stories of the super natural sort, but eventually there were only a handful of people who still cared. Every now and then a passenger ship sailing outside of the no-go zone around the island will catch a glimpse of it on a clear day, but of course no one cared because the people on board were on holiday to busy having fun and the staff too busy making sure that they are having fun.
Over the past year ocean traffic had decreased and no one had reason to think about the island. As droplets of dew shimmered in the first rays of the sun, the excited voices of children grew louder and louder until a soft siren sounded in the distance. Had anyone been close enough they would have heard the clutter of crockery and cutlery, a sign that breakfast was being served. Had they stuck around long enough they would have seen the children emerging from the large dining hall and running towards a playground where they climbed over things, shrieking with delight as they were pushed on swings by their friends or conjured up new games to play.
Had someone investigated further they would have heard another soft siren, seen the children gather in a big hall and heard the voice of a large man with a thick beard addressing the children in a deep but soft voice.
“Fear not my children, you are the ones whom He had chosen. Once the world had destroyed itself, you will go back into the world. You will inherit everything that was left behind. You will inherit a new earth.”
Copy right
L.Lexow