By Eric Zhu543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UKRBtGJvs
Chapter 1
I looked at today’s ration box: just bugs. From twenty magazines worth of five-millimeter ammunition, and there it was: the thing I had been looking for half my life: a radio transmitter. The rebels had congratulated me on the last raid, even though I thought it was not worth it because I was too tired from it, and when work came the next morning, I was too tired to be much use and was whipped. The lashes are still marked on my skin, and even though the blood had been cleaned up, I still felt like I was on fire. I checked the radio transmitter. It was old, maybe 20 years old, but I could finally talk without being traced. I smiled. Matthew had a receiver, so I could tell him when we were raiding. It was 12:00 PM already. I took out a bug. “A bug is a small creature that was bred to be nutritious, and delicious; enjoy! “ I grimaced as I bit into the hard shell, wishing that we had the other ration which was mystery meat that no one knew was inside. Somehow they were able to mass produce it, even though we never worked on farms, but a change of policies had made us eating a mixture of protein-infused cockroach, with steroids so they could exploit us better.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2yXSvbCCKD
Chapter 2
October 2036, the Trillion Dollar Milestone was when a man by the name of Sean Grey had fabricated a statistic that the rich people of the world (the top 0.1%) controlled $10000 for every $1 every other person had. If unrest was a fire, this was a spark. Even though some politicians, businessmen, and scientists tried to convince people this was false, people were slaves to the opinion they believed in. Everyone could not change their opinion, and the situation stalled. Eventually, someone made the first move. The “privileged” people eventually started to make lives harder for people their floor was built on. Except for Sean Grey, a politician who had to resign vice presidency from unknown reasons. Inside the sound-proofed walls of the White House, it had been discovered that Sean Grey was planning on a mutiny and a renouncement of western government. Sean was suspected of something after the mysterious assassinations of many of his political opponents, although he was no longer as suspicious after a thorough investigation showed nothing, except a connection with a mysterious man named Michael Truman.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSKAVq0AfL
Chapter 3
We were locked and loaded. Matthew, Ron and I were in tight body armor with the best rifles we had. We got in a truck, an old rusted pickup that might have once been red, and got ready for our raid. A few weeks ago, we finally discovered why rebel spies were reporting that people are dying from raiders, even though we never killed anyone. Sean Grey and his men were televising fake encounters with us, and purposely killing real people to see who would start to doubt them, then hang them in public places. Our goal was to get in, get out, and destroy the building. In secret, I admired the way they ran. Cutthroat power that led to full control and happiness of its citizens. I closed my eyes and felt the comfortable rumble of our truck and the murmuring of Matthew and Ron. It was funny how I was most relaxed when we were just headed out for a raid.
Chapter 4
December 2038. “It is time for a revolution. For too long the undeserving landlord class had been starving us of what we needed. Obviously, we have food, but we have to have more. Not at all is it fair that people could be born in a mansion or a dumpster. We tried everything else-protesting, trying to explain, but these people were nothing but farm animals-walking in circles, never stopping to think that they could stand up for themselves. The richest person in the world makes 300000 times a normal person’s wage, and we think we are a just society? In this cage, people starve just to give people things they do not need. So many people die every day, suffering in unimaginable circumstances. United, we will accomplish more than ever sought out to be possible. Open your eyes! We can fight this oppression!”-Sean Grey, Fight against Oppression speech, following Trillion dollar milestone. The match that lit the fire.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRGthqiDvH
Chapter 5
“Wake up James!” I realized how little I heard my own name James. A gateway leading to my old life. All I could remember was that I was wealthy, and had made something. Ron whispered in my ear, his hot breath made me jolt awake, and took the night vision goggles he handed me. When I turned them on, pitch dark became an ugly green world. Then we saw it. It was hard to imagine that so much horror, death, and destruction came from such a typical building. It was relatively small and hidden by the forest. It was a cold night, but I was sweating under my body armor. We got out of the truck and entered the building. My heart was pounding harder, as we walked through to the building in complete silence. I concentrated as I did before every raid. I closed my eyes for a second checked my gun for a final time, and went over the plan in my head. I planted a silent charge on the metal door. Ten seconds later, we were inside. Ron had already hacked the cameras, so guards had been posted everywhere. We silently took them out one by one. My heartbeat grew louder. I took a deep breath and reloaded. My hands were trembling, as I shot a guard in the heart, and more of the ground turned bright crimson. Twenty minutes later, we were in the main generator room. We emptied 20 pounds of equipment and primed the bomb. Suddenly, a squad of 30 soldiers showed up from all sides. Experience took over immediately, adrenaline flowing through my veins. I threw a smoke grenade, and I bolted out the room, Ron and Matthew running with me. We thought we were fine, but these soldiers were no amateurs. Ron took a shot to the back of the head and slumped immediately. Matthew got shot, but he lasted longer. Right before he died, he yelled: “Wait! I’m not with him! I swear!” He pointed his gun at me but got shot anyway. These soldiers were merciless. I was still fine, and I was slightly outrunning them because I had the lighter equipment. I felt a bullet dig into my back. I staggered for a second, and then I kept running. “I couldn’t keep this up,” I thought. My eyes we getting heavier.The green world I saw was getting smaller, and my legs were giving out under me. The bomb exploded.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ory8Azo4U
Chapter 6543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4DLXSaLko
In November 2039, the economy of America was collapsing. Following the establishment of communism, everyone was given a job and told just to work as much as they could, and they would get as much as they needed. Because so many people worked together, they suddenly noticed that everyone was getting different amounts of things, drastically different. This hierarchy sparked anger for the people on the bottom of this chain, and as a result, they grew lazy, selfish, and needy. Soon it became:” work for as little as you can get away with, and get as much as possible. It was not economically viable to support all these people. Soon, resources dwindled, especially human labour. There was little government left in the country, but they decided that trading out their current resources for necessary paraphernalia would be the only choice. Liberated under one front: desperation, the people slowly got back their basic needs, until suddenly trade embargos started spreading around like a disease because of America’s inability to produce enough to trade out. The situation got worse. Charities tried to help but unlike other undeveloped countries, there were no people eagerly willing to work, and everywhere was war-torn. Charities withdrew, knowing the situation was helpless. The few resources they had were behind locked doors. Instead of capitalism, where everybody but some people were nothing, in a communism everyone was nothing. Thus, equality. A term that is more a curse than a blessing. A Utopia that floats in an ocean of blood. A policy that requires genocide to enforce, and even then it will not work. The promise of perfection.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacPo90l4XX
Chapter 7
When I woke up, I was in a prison. I was behind hard, cold metal bars. I shivered. Everything had been taken away from me, both mentally and physically. I was in a thin white jumpsuit and underwear. A few hours later, some young guards with assault rifles, batons,pepper spray, and tasers came to take me. They were apparently amateurs, the way they were handling me. I was insulted, so I decided to play with my luck “Hey! You!” The guards looked at me as I yelled in their ear “Yes, you! Where did they go!” They looked at me as if I were joking. I tried to pull his taser out of his pocket and silently cursed under my breath as he suddenly moved. “At least he didn’t notice me,” I thought. Ron had been in this situation before. What had he done? Then I realized. I clenched my stomach and tried my best to pretend to choke. I doubled over, whether it was from laughter or pretend pain. Had they bought it? I could hear people clearing the way and heard people coming down the hall. I looked up, risking my coverage, but curiosity bested me. I slowly stiffened out and waited. There it was-doctors. A young man in a white lab coat, thin grey glasses, and a needle. “He was young,” I thought. Could I do this to someone that was so innocent looking? I took the thought out of my head. He was with the enemy, and this was the only thing I could do. I was listening for a word; I would know it when I heard it. Propofol- a drug used to produce mentally induced comas when there was a traumatic brain injury. When I heard it, and I saw a man loading it into a shot, I used all my strength and lunged at the man-he flew back and would not be getting up. I smashed the shot on the floor, making the propofol instantly react to the suddenly hot air, immediately vaporizing into a gas. The surrounding people who inhaled it all fell suddenly. I held my breath until I got out of the cloud. Adrenaline was coursing through me. I clubbed a guard with his baton-he yelled in pain, reeling back and falling over. An alarm rang-blaring loudly, and a riot had started. “What happened next?”I thought.” I took advantage of the riot and stole a taser from behind a running guard. All the prisoners focused on getting revenge on the people they had grudges on, and the guards were all focused on keeping that from happening. I tasered a guard from the back and took his rifle, and took a shot at another guard. It bounced harmlessly off his riot control shield. He had to think of something. Quick. I suddenly had an idea. I bolted towards him and right before he took a shot, I dived down and grabbed the riot shield, purposely avoiding the hole that had been carved for the gun when he shot. He tried to sneak his pistol around his riot shield but before he could shoot he let his guard down. I took advantage of this and jumped, using his riot shield as a support as I landed my feet on his hands. They immediately gave away. As I was falling, I wrapped my arms around his neck and took him down with me. I had been expecting it. He hadn’t. He lay on the floor, unconscious. I decided against taking the riot shield and sprinted down the hall, not pausing to take a break.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWKywmL6aJ
Chapter 8
In early December 2039, following the collapse of the American economy from the trade embargos from other nations, America was plunged into anarchy. Martial law was declared, and America waged an all-out war for the limited resources (oil mainly). The previously poor communists were split into two groups, with one percent fleeing to scattered islands in the atlantic after realizing the atrocities they had committed, and 99 percent staying and fighting, eventually winning the war against the previously enslaved middle and upper class. When the war had finished, the formerly wealthy people used the last of their remaining influence to establish underground homes, relying on hydroponics to eat, and as a result, starving, and having to resort to desperate measures to produce food. Eventually, the people hiding in the islands cautiously found the people living underground, and enslaved those people. The “communism” was running out of food. As a result, the leadership looked desperately, and the restrained underground moved up to strictly designated places cleared out by the rebels. The food was then exported. The rebels secretly told the slaves to raid the facilities at night and steal the resources, wanting the more powerful slaves under their control.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQtASeNaNp
Chapter 9
I had to stop. I had been sprinting for a minute, and I was finally out of the complex. I looked at my options: I couldn’t go back, I would look suspicious if I showed up after an attack, so I had one option:join the rebels, people dedicated to toppling the situation that was currently existent. The only reason I had not fully joined them was that I thought they would have enslaved us all if they had been faced with the same situation, but what choice did I have now? I would probably be welcomed with open arms, as I had been a raider for them for as long as I can remember. I entered the building and saw a cheery, corpulent man sitting at the desk. He seemed not to be working by his interest of what was on his screen. “James Walther,” I said. A camera scanned my eyes, and I was allowed in. I walked down a polished marble corridor, and stopped at a sign saying:”recruitment” and entered the room. It was unlocked. I saw a woman in a black suit, with black eyes, full of nothingness. She radiated power and had a creepy smile on her face. She turned to me slowly. ”Welcome. I see you finally chose commitment”. I tried to keep calm. “Not really, just desperate.” She put a file in my hands and turned away to read something. I read it.” Lucky you! Welcome to operation Ares. To be honest,this is not going to be easy. Anyway, we have decided to destroy this world. On June 6, 2040, you will help us exterminate the current government. Along with this, we will stop supplying them with any resources. I closed the file and looked at the woman. She turned around and smiled as if to say:“Yes, you read right.”543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NmepCYR9J
Chapter 10
It was it. At 8AM, the rebels stopped exporting resources, and started fighting. I was fitted with new gear: axes, flares, a communication system, double layered bulletproof vests, masks, better night vision goggles, and better guns. I also got another set of people to work with. But nothing kept me from being scared to death, as I was assigned to the hardest mission of my life. The rebels had decided that I was fit for the biggest part of this operation: breaking into Sean Grey’s mansion. The place was almost impenetrable, on a seperate island, with only one entrance, a rebar, kevlar, and titanium reinforced gate. The walls and gate were so strong, that a 6500 degree acetylene torch could not cut through it. The entire place was covered in sensors and alarms, with an intricate security system. We could only delay them temporarily, and once. The plan was to drop from a stealth bomber to the top of the building. We would then work our way down to capture, and probably put down Sean Grey. We also had a small camouflaged boat with three men waiting if Sean attempted an escape. We all were willing to die for this. There were three people with me. Andrew, George, and Henry.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRo63ITOXFO
Chapter 11
Andrew was young, and energetic. George was more—interesting. He fiddled all day with spare parts and small machines, and like to talk. And talk. And never stop. Henry was a very religious man. He was extremely quiet, and spent most of the ride to the island praying or with his nose in the bible. His arms were covered in gnarly scars. He looked as if he was dead already. As we reached the island, my heart sank. Guards covered the place, fully kitted out. They were no joking matter. Razor wire covered the walls, with guards covering every vantage point, angle, and place. The only thing in a fifty-mile radius they could not shoot was Sean Grey. If we weren’t in a stealth bomber, we would probably be at the bottom of the ocean. I swallowed down that thought as the pilot said something. The jet’s engine was so quiet that we could hear his whispers.”we’re going to jump in thirty seconds”, and pointed to a countdown on a screen. I took a deep breath and got up with everyone else. This was one of the most dangerous parts of the mission. When the countdown got to zero, I hurled myself out of the door, following Henry. We all went out properly, and dropped towards the mansion. Now all we could do is pray they did not see us, because if they did, we were outpositioned and outnumbered. We waited and waited. It seemed like an eternity before we were a few hundred meters above the place, and deployed clear plastic parachutes that slowed their descent enough so that they didn’t get hurt. A second too late of a deployment would kill any of us. We had already memorized the mansion’s layout so we immediately knew where to go. We ran as fast as we can, our movements as one. We had to get as far as we could before the sensors reactivated and found us. Almost immediately we found guards. Henry quickly shot a man before he could say something into his radio. We doing well, when we stumbled on our problem. We were running at full speed when Andrew abruptly stopped and we stopped with him. He pointed to something, and we all squinted at a piece of string—a wire. George whispered something into the communications system: “I’ll handle this.” He took a malicious looking knife and started cutting through the wire. At this point, everything went wrong. The sensors went up again and sirens started blaring. Within seconds we were being attacked from all sides. We had to cut the wire and get out. George took a shot to the chest. The bullet bounced of harmlessly. Now they knew we had bulletproof vests on. For some reason, for a second all fire stopped. Then I realized what was happening.”They’re switching to stronger weapons!”I shouted, but I was too late. A second later a bullet dug itself into Andrew, and then exploded leaving a large hole in the first layer of his vest. He was not hurt but was sent reeling backward, skimming the wire, which drew blood. He screamed in pain, and fainted. At that point, we all dove down and held our breath. I just barely reached Andrew and started cauterizing the wound, when I realized that they had stopped firing. I cursed under my breath as I realized what they were about to do. On all sides concrete walls were being lowered, making a small room. We were trapped. “Everybody back off” yelled George. He took out a mysterious sphere shaped object, and I immediately knew what it was. Everyone did. He planted it while we got to the other side of the room. “If we do this, every guard will know this isn’t a diversion and come towards us”. I said. But it was the only way out of here. I watched George bolt back to the other side of the room, and then it happened. A deafening roar came from the other side of the room, quickly turning into a glowing orange inferno engulfing anything near it. Every guard in the building would be on its way here now. We took advantage of the only thing we had going for us: surprise. We sprinted down the corridor to Sean Grey’s room. Henry, in the front, stumbled over another wire, and fell down. There wasn’t time to save him. Only me and George. We tried jumping the wire, but George’s foot got stuck. I barely made it over, and I still grazed the wire, which made blood spill out of my left leg. Ignoring the searing pain, I neared my destination. A bullet dug into my back, propelling me forward, and I stumbled but I didn’t fall. I was there. I bashed the door with the axe, and the door gave away surprisingly easily. I jumped in, and took the most important shot of my life. It hit. My work was done, and I put myself to sleep.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmXZQ1P1te
