Nothing to Lose, but Everything to Gain

The planet that Clark lives on is full of the worst of humanity to the point where its official name is The Gutter. People are at each other’s throat, the innocent are rooted out and taken advantage of, and nothing is illegal as long as it pleases a certain group. With Clark’s wife on her death bed back on earth, he has to deliver a special crystal that will save her life. These crystals are farmed from the planet’s core and the main reason it got so popular back in the day before it become the most dangerous planet in the known universe. These crystals can heal any injury and disease so if you keep using them, you’ll be immortal, but that’s not what Clark or his wife want. They just want to live until old age then die peacefully together. She’s everything to him so he risked his life to find this crystal, obtain it, and now he has to escape the planet which is easier said than done.
            It’s a stormy night, the most dangerous time to be out. Clark waits in his small house and watches the storm outside in fear and anxiety. He stares at the dark city for hours until he sees something. His eyes catch figures that approach him after each lightning strike so he takes what’s necessary and exits the back door in a hurry only to slow down a few blocks when a lightning strike shows the shadows of others around the corner. The entire city’s electrical system seems to be down for tonight, probably due to the people that are chasing Clark. The only light source Clark can use are the lightning strikes to see the shadows people after him. He can’t risk being seen by them as they have contacts that allow them to see in the dark. Every step has to be precise, the direction he’s going in has to be where he has to go but it has to be safe, and he has to be completely aware of his surroundings. It’s like they’re funneling him to where they want him to go if they don’t bump into him. Clark figures this out and cuts through a large house for a shortcut. In it, he hears bloodcurdling screams coming from the basement and he finds one of the most horrifying “attractions” of the planet. There’s a planet exclusive website that tons of people visit to tell the creators of it what they want done to their next kidnapped victim and it all happens live for their enjoyment. Clark witnesses a large spear-like object being forced into the hands and feet of the latest victim. The spear split the victim’s arms and legs in two and the screams and sight is unbearable. Unfortunately, Clark can’t do anything about scenes like this until he gets off the planet.
            He exits the other side of the building and gets another few blocks closer to the off-planet shipyard with the gruesome scene still in his head which reminds him of the one time he saw himself in the mirror after a terrible accident. His pursuers are now on the rooftops and walls of the building, crawling all over it, hunting him more fiercely than before. Clark runs through the adjacent buildings for cover. He checks his detailed map to see the exits and entrances of each building to plan the fastest and best route. An explosion is made on a blimp airship and it crashes into the city. Tons of people scattered to scavenge its treasures and they take out bodies of people. These people have been put into permanent comas but are still alive and used as sex objects to those who prefer real people over androids or dolls. This gives Clark a good distraction to get some distant ahead of his enemies though he can’t stop remembering the past. The accident mentioned previously was with him being in a crashed ship with his family. He shakes off the pains of the past and keeps moving forward.
            Several ships fly in to scavenge the destroyed ship and take back what was theirs so Clark goes down to the underground transport center for cover. It’s not operating like the rest of the city, but this is the only path Clark can go down. He hears other people walking down the stairs so he hurries down the subway tunnels. There are only a few paths he can take here with a few emergency exits which may already be watched. There’s no light Clark can take advantage of so he can only listen to the sounds of footsteps, breathing, and whispering to tell him where not to go as his eyes adjust to the darkness. Go left, go right, hide, climb the ladder to the upper scaffolding, climb back down. Just like before, he has to be precise about everything he does with every action correct and every step moving him forward or out of danger. He can’t stop now. There’s too much at stake for him and those on this planet. His wife’s family was the one who adopted him after his family died. The horrifying scars and injuries done to Clark’s face made him look like a monster, but they saw him as a poor child who needed help and now Clark was about to return the favor.
            He finally exits the subway and immediately gets caught by surrounding enemies. They bring him down to his knees and are about to abduct him but they are suddenly under fire by warring factions which gives Clark the chance to make the final run to the off-planet ship field. Buildings explode around him, people are vaporized, and absolute chaos erupts on a planet drenched in violence and malice. As he finally arrives at the airfield, he checks to see if he still has the special crystal then takes a ship off the planet.

            His journey is finally over as he arrives on earth and his wife’s house. He places the crystal into a slot in his wife’s medical pod and it completely heals her. The two smile and embrace. Before celebrating, Clark, his wife, and her family take the crystal in the machine and put in into another device and activate it. They then turn on the TV and watch the planet Clark escaped from blow up from the inside. Now no one can suffer from that horrible planet and Clark and his wife can be together for a while longer.

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