Adara frowned as she traveled. The wind blew against her plane. Twenty important passengers were on the plane with her. Each one was renowned for their knowledge of history and the Earth.
Crackles of rain washed away the ash the meteor caused. In America, the ash wasn’t as bad as in Greece. You could still see some glimpses of light. Here, near the top of the clouds, Adara could still barely see the sky.
The meteor impact (called Zeus) mostly happened in Svilengrad which is situated at the border of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey; though the biggest of the impact happened in Greece. Zeus was half the size of the Chicxulub crater which was rumored to be the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.
Yet, with this amazing discovery, came losses that haunt dreams. Millions died and millions more were injured. Adara hoped none of the dead were her family.
“Ada?” Her mentor, Dr. Sophia Angelis, asked. Her eyebrows were scrunched up in worry.
“Yeah?” Adara said, her frown still on her face.
“Stop moping around - not everything was destroyed.”
“But my childhood home is gone! My ghonís are probably dead!”
“You don’t know that,” Sophia said calmly. Her eyes showed anticipation for what is to come.
“They haven’t called me since Zeus!” Adara growled.
“Just - calm down. We’ll be there soon and you’ll get your answer then.”
They sat in worried silence for the rest of the trip. Ada was reading the downloaded books on her phone when the pilot announced everyone to put on their seatbelts.
“Máma? Babás?” Ada said once she went into the entrance of the airport. Two people were in front of her, each holding back tears with big smiles.
“Kóri!” Her mom said, going in for a hug. Tears etched on the side of Adara’s eyes as she hugged back.
“Máma, I thought you were dead!”
“No, no, kóri. We were just injured so we couldn’t contact you,” Her dad replied in his wheelchair.
“What about my adhérfia?” Ada asked for her siblings, “Why aren’t they here?”
“Alec can’t talk anymore while Hadley and Padma are fine - just a few burns from the blast,” Her mom said, her tears finally falling down.
“Alec isn’t able to talk anymore?” Ada said in shock.
“He was under some rocks and it damaged his vocal cords-”
“We need to teach him sign language,” Her mom interrupted.
“But we have no idea where to start and how,” Her dad continued.
“I know a little, I can help!”
“Adara!” Someone called out from behind.
“What is it, Dallas?” Ada sighed. Though he was her best friend, he can be annoying.
“You told me I could meet your Da and Ma,” Dallas said. His accent makes the words difficult to hear.
“Ah, yeah. Mána, Babás, this is my friend Dallas Blair.”
“I’m fae Edinburgh,” He said, “That’s where my accent is from.”
“That’s in the UK, right? I think Ada told us about you,” Her mom said hesitantly, not wanting to offend him.
“Awe, you didn’t have to, Ada,” Dallas said, bumping shoulders with Adara.
“Dallas, we are going soon!” Dallas’ mentor yelled out.
“Haud yer wheesht! I’m talking to Ada’s parents!” Dallas turned around and yelled back.
“You can talk to them later!” The mentor said.
“Fine, fine,” Dallas looked back, “Sorry, but I have to go.”
“Let’s meet back up at the site.”
“Aye, let’s do that.”
“Máma, Babás, I probably have to go now too,” Ada said back to her parents.
“It’s fine, kóri. It’s just good to see you again,” Her dad said, hugging her one more time.
“Love you both, tell the others that I love them too!”
“We will!” Her mom and dad said.
With that, she left, skipping towards her own mentor.
–
Adara admired her old home in the car. Though the surroundings were rubble, hope still shined in each person’s eyes. They picked up the debris as often as they could while also helping each other.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this much kindness,” Ada said to her fellow passenger.
“Yeah, the people we surround ourselves with are usually ruder? Impatient?” Sophia tried to find the right word.
“Inconsiderate?” Ada said with a grin.
“Ah, yes! That!”
“Anyway, when we arrive, I want to go to the bottom of the crater,” Ada changed the subject.
“No! Why would you want to go down!?” Sophia asked.
“I need to,- I feel like something is just waiting to be discovered right behind the surface,” She said, tapping her foot on the bottom of the car excitedly.
“I refuse!” Sophia exclaimed.
“I’ll be safe if I have rope!”
“Fine, I’ll think about it.”
“Okay, you can go,” Sophia said as soon as they arrived, “but only if we can put a tracker on you too.”
“Yes!”
“If you don’t find anything, come right up - and don’t leave the rope!”
Ada hummed happily in response, not really listening to her anymore.
Some might think she was crazy. Maybe she was, but she knew whatever she discovered down there would change all they’ve known. If it’s bad or not, that’s what she’s going to find out.
A hole opened up beneath her as she dug into the ground with the aforementioned rope attached. She tugged on the rope to show the others that she wanted to go deeper. They slowly let her down to the hole, showing they’ll allow it.
What she found in the hole was nothing she’s ever heard of. Beneath the crust - almost to the mantle of the Earth, were giant skyscrapers as far as the eye could see! Each made from a substance she didn’t know at the time. The rope that kept her from falling to her death slowly let go once she reached the dirt like ground.
She stomped on the ground, getting a feel for how to walk on it. It was slightly bouncy but stable. A smile graced Adara’s face as she collected samples of the ground.
After that was done, she started to explore this hidden city. The skyscrapers made her feel like an ant in a field of giants. She took out her phone to take pictures of it, before forgetting that her internet connection would be bad. Yet, to her surprise, her phone still worked and she went to call her superiors.
“Sophia, you can’t believe what I found!” She said.
“What did you find? How are you getting a connection from down there?” Sophia asked.
“No idea, but it might have to do with how I found something that would change our whole perception of the world,” Ada said.
“What did you find?” She asked.
“Humongous skyscraper, everywhere! The temperature is also very cozy - nothing like I expected.”
“Wait, what? Stay there, I’m going to bring some others down to you.”
“Yessir!”
With that, the call ended and boredom began. She laid down on the floor and looked up. Adara paused what she was doing and realized it was bright. Not an intense darkness. There was nothing that emitted light around, but it seemed like the sun was shining down!
Adara’s phone interrupted her thoughts with a catchy toon.
“Soph?” She asked.
“The scientists are almost there, Ada.”
“What’s their ETA?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Sophia said.
“Okay,” She said, hanging up.
Some colors from Greece.
Chairs and tables!
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