Everyone knows the story of our planet's destruction. It is one of the first things taught to students at the Education Center. They tell us this to motivate us to stay in line and follow the rules. Like we actually need this reminder. Everyone is terrified of screwing up again because, if we do, we have no where else to go.
Our planet was destroyed because of a disagreement between two very powerful people; the leaders of the United States and North Korea. While times between the two countries had been rough since the 20th century, the unstable relationship got even worse as the decades went on. An arms race began between the two countries around 2030. The two countries built weapons of unbelievable strength. A meeting was set up between the two countries for a possible solution in 2071. Although no one knows what happened for sure, it is said to have ended with both leaders being boiling mad. As soon as they had returned to their countries, they gave the order that destroyed the world. Within 48 hours of the gathering over 100 nuclear weapons were launched. These attacks targeted the largest cities in both countries, like New York, Los Angeles, Chongjin, and Hamhung. These weapons of mass destruction did their jobs excellently. By the end of those two days, both countries populations were diminished to almost nothing. To this day the total number of lives lost during those attacks is unknown.
Back in those days, they still used fossil fuels to power everything. This put them at an even bigger disadvantage. A key substance inside their power source was Black Carbon. When this burns, it rises into the atmosphere. The amount burned had a devastating effect. When the black carbon rose, it ate away at the ozone layer. This decreased the UV protection making the sunlight deadly. Even being outside for 5 minutes put you at risk for extreme sunburn or skin cancer. The carbon also absorbed some of the sun’s heat causing the temperature of earth’s surface to drop. This caused essential crops to die. Many more lives were lost because of starvation.
At this point, Governments were collapsing and losing all control. Crimes were being committed everywhere you looked. Scientist estimate that more than 75% of the world's population died within a month of those attacks. This is when the idea for domes was created. Scientists designed safe areas where humanity would be allowed to survive. Inside, it would be like living before, without worry about radiation, freezing, starvation. At least one dome was placed in each country to preserve what little people were left. There was one flaw with the domes. That is there capacity limit. Only 1,000 people per dome. This made getting inside the domes almost impossible. Governments selected the people they found useful. Everyone else was left outside to die.
Once the lucky ones had settled into the dome, they started over. They established a new time period called A.P. or After Peace. This was in honor an era with no fighting, no destruction, and no death. Everyone worked hard to follow the new number one rule, no conflict. But, people are not expected, so, as expected, there were some problems. This is when H-774, also known as the Happy Pill, was put into use. The pill does exactly what you would think, it makes people happy. This has gotten rid of all conflict in the dome. Without it, the government says we would have destroyed each other years ago.
But, of course, when you forget to take the pill, it doesn’t do it’s job. No one has ever forgot, or at least, not that I know of. Until me. This morning was chaotic, and somehow, I forgot to take it. How could I be so senseless? What if I fight with someone? Or get angry? That’s what they did before. They fought with everyone all the time.
So far, I have managed not to do anything too crazy. I haven’t fought with anyone, yelled or anything. But I did forget to smile. Everyone smiles all the time because of the pill. It’s supposed to make everyone seem approachable and open.
If anything bad is going to happen, it will be now. I’ve spent most of my day at the Education Center. This is where students, ages 4-17, learn the things needed for later in life. This is the place where your future career is decided based on the skills shown in the classroom. To ensure that all essential jobs are filled, the government decides who does what. While at the Center, no one is allowed to socialize because it is a distraction.
I hung back and waited for the other students to clear the building. Hopefully, when I leave, everyone will be long gone. As long as I get home and take the pill, it will be like none of this had ever happened. I will be fine and no one will ever know about this.
I wait about ten minutes, then step out of the building and scan the area. Please let everyone be gone. Outside the building is a small courtyard, which to my disappointment, is not empty. In the middle, by a statue of some scientist, were my friends Winter and Everest. They were laughing at something like always. The three of us had been inseparable since first year. Everest is what most people consider a techie, someone very smart and a little strange. He definitely looked the part. He is pretty short and always had his dark hair combed back. Corrective lenses, a digital lense that helps eyesight, hang over his eyes. Winter looked very different than most of the brown-haired population. Her hair is blonde, like threads of gold.
When the heavy door to the center slams behind me, the two of them turn in my direction. Their faces burst into large smiles, then they run towards the Center. I’m greeted with laughing and warm hugs.
“Hey Azalea!” Winter says after pulling away. “Let’s go do something really fun!”
No! I have to get home. If I go do something with them I could slip up. What if I get angry at one of them?
“Let’s go for a walk in District 1!” Everest cheers.
The Dome was separated into four areas called Districts. District 1 is for the upper class. All of the politicians and doctors live and work in this District. The District is the prettiest with the best plant life and architecture. Everest is from this District. His father is second in command. Districts 2 and 3 are for the middle class. I am from 2 and the Education Center is located in District 3. Not much is different between the two. The last District, District 4, is for the poor. Many call this the Dirty District. This District is full of the different people. The ones that the government didn’t find useful, so they were given jobs to serve the upper classes. No one ever visits this District. This is Winter’s District.
“Do we have to? Everyone there is stuck up.” I complain. It’s the truth. The people of District 1 always look down on everyone else.
Both of my friends stopped and stared at me like what I had said was a terrible thing..
“Aza, why did you say that? That is so mean!” Winter says in a quiet voice. All of her normal happiness was replaced by shock.
“And that’s my family,” Everest says, also in a hushed tone. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strangely.”
“I, uh, I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” I smile in an attempt to cover my lie. Why did I say that? Saying something rude will get me caught. Act happy and act nice, I tell myself. “Forget what I said. We can go to District 1.”
“Yay,” Winter shouts in her usual happy tone. Then, she skips ahead towards the rich District. Everest runs after laughing loudly. I sigh in relief. That could have been a disaster. How much longer can I keep this up?
I hang back from my friends as they run around giggling. Looking around, I’ve noticed that everything is different. Colors seem duller, as if the life was sucked out of them. All the buildings look like they are in terrible condition, but, normally they look brand new. Also, I’ve noticed the bad smells. We passed an alley, which is something else invisible to those on the pill. Why don’t we notice these things? Are we just so happy in our own world that we don’t notice the bad things around us?
I glance down the alley. What is even back there? It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. The first thing I see is a trash container. There is something else that I can’t quite make out. I step closer and squint my eyes. I may never see something like this again. In the dark shadows, two larger figures stood. Then, I heard them yelling.
"You should have stayed out of this! You and your people don't belong here. And now I have to clean up your mess." Yelled one of the men in the alley. Yelling? No one ever yells. Not since the pill. Unless, he isn't…
“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” the same man says in a quieter voice. The guy then reached inside his coat and pulled something out. From my angle, I couldn't see anything, but I imagine it's not good. Then, there was a large bang. The second man, who hadn't said anything, fell to the ground. All I could hear was screaming. My own screaming. The man turned to me and stared for a moment. His face was hidden by the dark, but I knew he was surprised that his horrible act had been noticed. Did he think that no one would hear or see him? Then, he turned in the opposite direction and ran off.
"Aza?" Winter's voice says quietly. "What are you doing?" She was staring at me like I was crazy.
"Lo-Look o-over there." I say. My voice sounds shaky and very quiet. She turns in the direction I pointed and then looks back at me with a weird look.
"That's just a wall, Aza. Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should see a doctor." She says in a concerned tone.
"No!" I yell. "Someone was just killed! Can't you see that man's body over there? Didn’t you hear the bang?" I am yelling now. Just a wall? What is she thinking?
"Aza, people don't get killed. We only die from old age. Stop making things up!" Ever said trying to laugh everything off, but he couldn’t hide the fear in his voice. "Let's just keep walking.”
"I'm not making this up! Why can't you see it? The body is right there!" I yell again. Why can't they see it?
“Azalea, please stop it,” Winter complains. “Why are you being so loud? There is nothing there.”
“Because someone just died!” I continue to yell. Why are they being like this? Can they honestly not see it? I look around the street and see everyone who was out staring in this direction. They see the body, right? No, they are staring at me, the one who was yelling. The one who forgot their pill.815Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrAbGd0udE
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