The year was 2257. It has been over 150 years now since the Great Asteroid Storm that decimated the Earth over a five-year period. Scientists and astronomers could not figure out where it came from and why it lasted for so long, but when it finally ended, over half the earth's population had been killed either from the asteroids or from the nuclear fallout from the destroyed power plants around the world.  

 Evangeline put her hand on the small, golden, half-heart-shaped locket that hung around her neck and thought back to the day she found it in an abandoned little house on the outskirts of the great marsh. She had taken refuge there when a sudden mudstorm came up and that is when she found the locket around the neck of a small skeleton clinging to her mother. As she opened the clasp, a small data chip fell into her hand, and a small portrait inside it of a little girl. As she held it in her hand, she noticed it was only half a heart and another half to it when she looked at the data chip. She reached into the small leather bag that hung from her side, brought for a small data reader, and inserted the chip into it. The little data reader came to life when she inserted the chip and after some small beeps, a small holographic image appeared which looked like a map of the old city which lay in the forbidden desert. Then a series of numbers and letters appeared which looked like coordinates and then a note: Go to the following coordinates and you shall find the answer to which all seek. Then the data-reader went silent except for the coordinates to where to go. That was three weeks ago and now Eva had managed to gather all the supplies she needed for her trip, then she looked at the map one more time and hopped onto her windspeeder.  

Combustion engines have become outdated and now they rely more on wind and solar power. There was a strong breeze today, when she released the brake, the speeder jumped to life as the wind filled its sails and the speeder started to travel across the dunes of the forbidden desert towards the old city. Eva figured she should get there in a couple of days if the wind kept up and she kept her batteries fully charged. There were not very many people around this area and most people stayed close to one of the four capital cities around the shattered earth.  

There were two cities in the north around the Arctic Circle and two more in the south around the south pole in the Antarctic cause they were the only habitable areas on the planet after the asteroid storm. Scientists figured that the magnetic poles forced the asteroids to remain in a belt around the center of the earth which forced everyone north or south where the survivors began building these cities.  

The great marsh that bordered the forbidden desert was formed when the radiation from the destroyed power plants caused a greenhouse effect which then caused the violent storms of rain and acid rain which lasted for a couple of years and then returned to the marshlands every couple of years.  

 

Eva was an artifact hunter and visited many ruined cities, and the marshlands were by far the worst part of her journey so far. After she entered the coordinates into the navigation computer on her scooter, she laid back and touched the golden heart around her neck and thought to herself, where are you taking me, what is your secret and why did you choose me? There must have been many other relic hunters or travelers who have been through that very building, but they never found or seen it. How could that be? Why did you choose me? The Forbidden Desert got its name from all the creatures or mutants that roam these forsaken lands from the fallout, and everyone was warned to stay away after a couple of travelers went to explore the forbidden desert and never returned.  

Eva was awakened by the nav computer when it started to beep as they closed in on the coordinates that were on the data-chip and Eva touched the locket that was around her neck as if to make certain that this was real and not a dream. “Where have you led me to?” she whispered to herself when she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye, and she quickly grabbed her spear and turned around. Dawn was quickly approaching as the sky lit up crimson red as the sun peaked above the horizon, lighting up the haze that covered the desert. Shadows were appearing all around, and Eva could not see what was tracking her, she slowly climbed down from her speeder looking around, when a sound from behind, made her drop down and roll away, and as she looked up a little girl was standing above her. Eva slowly got to her knees, noticing the other half of the locket around the child's neck, she reached for the locket when the little girl turned and ran towards one of the destroyed buildings vanishing inside. Eva slowly got up to her feet and scratched her head wondering what that was all about or if she was just hallucinating. She then gathered her gear, hid her speeder in one of the buildings, and then went the way the little girl had run. She cannot be real, can she? I have not seen another person for months, then out of nowhere, this little girl shows up in this forsaken place. She cannot be real! Eva said to herself.  

When she got to the place where the little girl vanished, she noticed a small opening on the floor and with the tip of her spear she managed to pry the cover up big enough for her to see inside and she noticed another corridor, then she fell back on her behind. I am chasing a damn hallucination, am I going nuts? She mumbled to herself as she sat next to the opening. Eva managed to get the cover up enough to squeeze through and then lit a small torch she had, then slowly made her way down the corridor which ended up in an enormous room with many ancient computers and equipment. She hit the jackpot, this stuff is worth a fortune she thought, but that is not why she is here, and she continued to look around for the little girl when she noticed a light coming from a nearby room and went over to investigate it. A small crack in the ceiling was letting the sunlight creep through and on the ground where it was shining, there was a small glimmer. Eva slowly went over where the glimmer was and brushed away the sand revealing a small skeleton with a locket around her neck. She carefully reached down and unclasped the chain, removing the locket, trying not to disturb the little girl's remains.  

 

Eva then left the small room as the small ray of light vanished, sitting in one of the old chairs, looking at the locket she had just recovered, then looked around the vast room with all the equipment. What was this place? She asked herself as she reached up and removed the locket from around her neck and opened it and was shocked at what she had seen. The little girl that she was following, that led her here was the same one as the portrait in the locket, but who was she? Eva then examined the other locket and noticed that it did not open and then she put both pieces together when a small light appeared as the pieces seemed to meld together and in the far corner of the room one of the old computers came to life. Eva did not know what to think of this, how is this possible? These machines have not been working for hundreds of years and now, this. Eva walked over to the computer and in front of it was a small heart-shaped indent and a message on the screen, if you want to change the world place the heart in the indentation.