2042: The fires of hell

A world where global warming wins

By: Elijah Hockley

Side note:
This was inspired by the wildfires in Canada. I hope everyone there was safe and that their
homes were safe or, if not, they found a new place to stay. This book is about a little boy in the
year 2042, fighting to survive various disasters such as wildfires and floods. Please enjoy!
 Chapter 1
Aiden wakes up, grabs a cup of coffee and his slingshot before heading down the tree house
elevator to start his day. While he was testing his aim with pumpkins on sticks, the wind picked
up and it began to feel a bit humid. As he looked around, he saw a large mass of water tossing
around. A hurricane. He rushed back to his tree house, making sure it was securely tied to the
branches and trunk of the tree before hopping in and slamming the door shut. He had been
through hurricanes before, and from what he knew, he was safe.
“As long as I still have-” he opened his fridge door to find it empty. He went to check his
basket of fruits, veggies and the rest, but it only had a few rotten apples. He sat down on his
couch and sighed and turned on the radio.
“....and this is catastrophic,” The reporter said. “Few buildings remain and people are
having trouble finding shelter from the hurricane, as it seems to be an earthquake helping out.
This could lead to a-”. At this point, Aiden had stopped listening. “Could it be…. No it is just a
double disaster, I am fine.” He focused back on the radio and all he heard was static. His blood
ran cold. He gathered his few things, but as he reached the door, he was thrown out the tree
house and got pulled under water. He struggled to get back to the surface but when he did, he
got on a collapsed tree house wall and began floating away. Gasping for air, he had realized it
was also starting to rain.
He Knew what was happening, what he calls an “Armageddon”.
“Well, as long as there is no-” he couldn’t get the thought out before seeing a large wind
spiral form. “Of course.” He was picked up into the air and spun around a few times before
getting thrown through the air. When he landed, he got the wind knocked out of him and
probably a rib or two. He was trying to catch his breath when he saw another large wave, the
second in the tsunami. He stood up, trying to grab onto something that could float, but the wave
slammed into him and he fell unconscious as he was dragged back under.
When he woke up, he was laying on a bed in what seemed to be a torn up hospital.
“How long?” He said in a raspy voice. He coughed, which hurt his chest, and a nurse
walked up next to him. “About a day.” she said. “Welcome to 2042.” Aiden clears his throat and
says in his normal voice,
“What happened after… that?” “Most around here didn't survive. Those that did were
forced to rebuild. Some chose not to rebuild, thinking it best to just roam and steal.” After a
moment of silence, the nurse stood and left the room. Aiden stood and looked around and there
were multiple people lying in beds. One had huge bruises covering his body. Another had a
slingshot next to him which a nurse took. The man looked horrible with a big burn on his leg and
lots of scratches covering his body.
Aiden sat back down and took a rest. When he woke up though, the hospital was abandoned
and an alarm was blaring. He saw that the man was still laying in the bed, so he grabbed him
and dragged him out the door. He saw a large wall of water in the distance and lifted the man
onto his shoulders and began to run. After a few seconds, he curled around the man as the
wave hit. When he landed, he was in the middle of the woods, ten feet away from the man. He
leaned the man against a tree and headed off.
 Chapter 2
He walked for quite a while, a few hours, and it grew dark as he approached a broken down, old
city.