Winnie was kicked. Hmm? He was kicked again.

“Winnie. Wake up; the fire is out.” The voice said. It was Astro, the older of the twin duo that he lived with. The young boys were practically raised by Winnie and his best friend, Honey. The four of them have been together for years. Ever since the meteor showers the world has split, continents breaking down and floating away to create hundreds of islands. Each was colonized by the last people who lived there.

“All right mate I’m coming,” Winnie said, moving from his sleeping spot. A few feet away from him was Honey keeping watch. They didn’t talk much but they certainly knew their way around here- here being the junk island.

It was a place like most others, the waste of ‘before’ affecting ‘now’. The trash would glide along the waters and form together, like reeds. It was just one of the new islands.

Scientists left from the ‘falling’ all became too scared to continue living on water like everyone else- so they went to the sky in hopes of making ‘tomorrow’. They created drones that could hold islands hundreds of miles into the sky, creating dead zones on the water where they once rested.

“Winnie vamos, es fría.” Cosmo complained, his small voice muffled by the scarf hung around his neck. It was still cold from water-not yet warmed up by the early summer air.

“I’m coming, hold your horses.”

“What’s a ‘horses’?”

“Horse.”

“Well, then what’s a horse?”

“A big work animal that people from before would use.”

“Oh.”

Curiosity isn’t a good thing in this world. Honey tended to argue that curiosity is what made humans, well humans. But if you were to ask anyone else you meet, they would all say the same thing,

“Curiosity is for those in the clouds.” 

Winnie flipped a log into the dying fire. His weak arms not strong enough to fully lift it. It was a fault that they all suffered from- the malnutrition that everyone on earth faced was most likely the biggest challenge that people face now.

By now the sun had risen higher and indicated that it was time for breakfast. It was the same every day. Fish. Fish all day, fish all night. Honey would go on hour-long trips around the island trying to find any kind of fruit. It must be easier than one might think since they always manage to find some. The young child was a ‘herbivore’, a word that they had found in the old books from before. Winnie was the one who could read it to them.

Astro came around with three fishing rods and handed them out. Honey left for their daily fruit hunt, so now it was time to find breakfast for the boys. It tended to be a long process that the twins tended to get too bored with. But now was the time for the three of them to head down to the underground river. It’s a small canal under an elevated island that was filled with colorful stones and gems that shined when the light bounced off of the water.

It's a calm ride over there. The three of them got there rather quickly- the wind and seas were just right to the point where little paddling was needed. The large hole in the earth echoed as they paddled lightly into the small underground canal. Even if you weren’t quiet you could still hear the small water droplets hitting the water below. Few people knew about this place- it was on the same side as the other folks that lived on junk island. They were merciless- convinced that the reason that the falling happened was because the gods were unsatisfied with the growth of humanity and that the gods wanted us to stay content with what we had instead of what we wanted. They now sacrifice those people who they classify to be uncontent. It is funny to those who truly think about it. . . In a weird and twisted way. Those who used to say they would die for a creator now say they would kill to undo what has been created.

“Winnie, I’m aburrido, can we go home?” Astro complained, he wasn’t one to enjoy fishing.

“Mhm mhm.” Cosmo agreed, it was rare to ever hear or see them disagree about anything. The twins were always on the same side.

“No, not yet. We still need to catch something.” Winnie was also tired but he knew he had to continue. The four of them couldn’t continue to go hungry. They would surely die of starvation before anything else.

“Esto apesta. ¿Por qué no podemos simplemente irnos? Nosotros podemos volver nosotros mis-” Astro was cut off by a sharp whistle flowing through from the front of the canal. The whistling stopped when the mysterious person’s raft was not even six feet away. What was that? Winnie thought hastily.

“‘Ello?” Winnie called out, his voice shaky and broken towards the end.

“Oh my, is someone there?” The voice called back. It sounded mature and rough, like a man who’s been smoking since he was a teen.

“Y-yes, but we’ll leave! Don’t worry, we’ll get out of your hair in a second!” Before Winnie could even pick the paddle back up the voice spoke back up again.

“Oh no, you don’t have to go,” the voice said, paddling closer, “I can’t let my breakfast escape me that easily.”

The man took one large stride and he was now planted on the boy’s raft. Winnie with his paddle lifted in a defensive position went to hit the man, but his effort was useless from the man's opposing strength. Oh god! Oh god! Oh god! It was the end, he thought. But that was until he heard footsteps above him.

The footsteps were from someone small. Honey! Above them was a ledge that one could walk on, if they didn’t fear falling and drowning. But there was Honey, finding the stalactite that was directly above the man. Come on Honey! Hurry up! Ple- Winnie’s thoughts were cut off by a scream, not the scream of the man but the scream of Cosmo. The small boy was grabbed by the man who was now stepping off of the raft and back into his own. But the man stopped, and slowly looked up. The droplets had stopped. The stalactite was falling. The man knew it and he quickly pulled Cosmo near him.

“No!”