Oil Stones: The City in the Middle of the Sea
Daniel breathed in like he hadn't taken a breath in hours. It sounded harsh, and painful. He coughed blood and vomit; which just barely missed the man that saved his life. Daniel's chest and ribs hurt, and he knew why almost instantly. He was soaking wet, and badly beaten and bruised.
The man looked over Daniel, now, with a giant smile on his face; almost from ear to ear. “Well you're definitely alive, friend.” He said, in a very Russian accent, “My name is Lev.”
Daniel just laid, and tried to catch his breath. He clenched his sides, and grunted in slight pain. He forced himself to sit up, and look around. He saw water, a lot of water. He looked in the opposite direction, and saw the same thing: Ocean. He was sitting on a solid concrete road.
“Where am I?” Daniel said, making a noise and reaching for his side. Lev frowned.
“Oh no. I must have cracked your rib, please forgive me. You came up on a half-sunken life raft, it's amazing you're still alive, man.” Lev replied, “Oh, um, welcome to Oil Stones. The city in the middle of the sea.”
Daniel looked down the road he was sitting on in both directions. The road stretched out a very long way, and there were large buildings on each side of him. Daniel smirked, “A city? In the sea? Impossible...”
“You'd think so,” Lev replied, “But you're American.”
“What does that mean?” Daniel snapped.
“It means you don't know what the USSR can do. These steel poles go hundreds of feet underwater, and hold up an entire oil city.” Lev said, proud.
Daniel laughed, “Oil? There's no oil left in the ground!”
Lev shook his head, “Like I said. You're American.” Lev reached out, and grabbed Daniel's hand. He helped him to his feet. Daniel, again, went for his side. “It'll heal, we've got doctors don't worry.”
“Why am I here?” Daniel asked, hoping for answers.
Lev examined Daniel up and down, and said, “By the looks of it, I'd say you're a pilot in the Resource War.” Daniel was wearing an olive jumpsuit, with patches decorating his chest. “Did you come from the coast?”
Daniel shook his head, “The Hell if I know... Wait, you're a [censored] commie. Why didn't you just let me die?”
“I'm not apart of the Soviet Army, uh, what's your name?” Lev said.
“Daniel White.” He looked down at a patch on his jumpsuit, “Apparently that's Sergeant Daniel White.”
“Well!” Lev said loudly, “Sergeant Daniel White, I welcome you to Oil Stones. I promised you a doctor, yes? I know one that will hear an American.” Lev kept the smile on his face the whole time.
Daniel shook his head, then sighed, “What am I doing here?” He said to himself. Daniel heard radio static, and looked at Lev. Lev frowned, and faced away from Daniel. He spoke into the radio on his shoulder.
“What do you mean you lost contact with the coast?” He listened to the other side of the radio, “I found someone who may have come from that direction. He's suffering a bit of amnesia at the moment, he might remember and tell us what happened; if he came from the coast.” There was another pause, “No, he's American.”
Radio silence.
Lev looked at Daniel, “Come on. I helped you, now you can help me and remember where you came from."
Lev escorted Daniel to a nearby car. It wasn't American, so Daniel had no idea what kind of vehicle it was. It was pretty much a box with wheels, though. Lev sped down the road, the lost connection must have been important.
Daniel looked out the window, still trying to remember anything that happened. He couldn't see land anywhere; only water. He noticed machines pumping Oil from the ground, and couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone thought there was none left in the Earth. That was the whole point of the Resource War, after all. He figured that was the reason he was flying around the Soviet Union. Daniel started to remember something. He told Lev, "I was a pilot, uh, I think. Of a big, big plane. I don't know what kind it was. The memory is kind of vague, y'know? We were definitely flying over your country... What's the date, Lev?"
"It's October. The 23rd." Lev replied. The date rung a few bells in Daniel's mind. But he couldn't remember what was so special about it...