by P K Stadnyk
It was getting hot in there and I felt like running out of air but I had to wait. What if I would pull the blanket down to get some air and he would stand next to the window. The trip would be over. I waited patiently for so long that I was in doubt if he really was getting out today. Finally, my patience was rewarded, and he started the engine. I heard other cars behind us.
We drove for very long and it was still quiet outside, and every time I took a peek, I saw the trees outside the window. Maybe it felt long for me because I didn’t have a watch and was sitting in the dark under this blanket with nothing to do. Finally, we stopped, and when I thought we were at the destination, I heard the same guy who turned us around before.
“Pass?”
“There it is. Is everything alright?”
“We had someone trying to get in this morning. We had to open fire. Be careful. Open the road!” I heard noises from outside and we were off again.
It took about two hours before I heard the city noises, but they were different from what I expected. I expected to hear car noises, streets full of traffic, people rushing everywhere shouting on their phones… From the sounds coming to my ears, I didn’t really want to look outside. It reminded me of something. However, my curiosity was stronger, as always. I looked outside.
The city didn’t look as pretty as I remembered seeing it in pictures and when we first arrived. Now it looked out of colors and was full of people screaming at each other or shouting slogans with the protesting crowd. The police were everywhere, fighting the hooligans and others. I never saw police taking such an advantage of their guns, teargas, and sticks. They hit the crowd as it was coming toward them. Bottles, bricks, stones, and other heavy stuff were flying above police heads. It didn’t even look like this crowd was keeping together. They were fighting even among themselves. Lots of people were injured, but it didn’t stop them from vandalizing everything. Some buildings were on fire. I saw one young guy, about 20 probably, lying on the ground and police were kicking and hitting him. Blood was coming from his head, but they didn’t stop. Then they dragged him and threw him in the back of a big police van. On the other side of the street, I saw a policeman being pulled down on the ground and hit in the head with a bottle. The police were losing this fight. I remembered seeing New York’s building s as a place for big ad screens. Instead of showing ads, there was news everywhere. Some man was sitting in a nice and clean room asking people to remain calm and go home. His voice or face didn’t let any feelings out. Other screens showed different parts of the world with similar situations. On one of the screens, I saw the reporter being attacked and the camera falling on the ground. It was still filming this total chaos, showing hundreds if not thousands of feet running toward it before it got crushed. Nobody listened. It looked like wild animals were let out of their cages fighting for food running after their victims: police, firefighters, or themselves.
Some of these wild people ran into our car and tried to break the glass but soon were shot by someone from the cars behind, which only made the rest angry. At least, it kept them away from us.
I saw some car coming speeding against the crowds on the street. It looked like they were trying to move out of this madness. The car was filled with their stuff. The family of four were pulled out of the car and left on the street with nothing, only because they tried to avoid hitting someone. Their kids were crying, but their father didn’t have a choice; the mob was stronger and had guns. They wouldn’t stop and could shoot the kids. They broke the front window with a big wrench. The police ran to them and tried to help them, but soon, they were pulled away by the enraged crowd. I was so glad I didn’t come here with Mom. Who knows if we would have ever gotten back? Probably not.
I didn’t seen any more cars on the streets. I saw some buses that were vandalized and deserted, some lying on their sides still with the lights on. Somehow as long as the lights were on, these angry people were fighting. I don’t think anybody, without seeing it, would believe that people could get so low to that state of mind.
Ben drove for some time and stopped in front of a big building that looked like a museum. It was very strongly secured with three rows of soldiers all around it. There was even a tank. I don’t think they have used it, but it worked for keeping the crowds away. The crowd here were even angrier. On the street opposite was building was a body. It looked like somebody had jumped or was thrown from a building’s roof. I couldn’t recognize if the body was that of a man or woman. It was too damaged. Ben got out and went into this “museum,” showing his pass to everybody. People from the cars behind stayed inside. I had some time to look around. The windows were tinted, so I could get out of the blanket a little bit more.
A smaller crowd was standing not far away. It was calmer, and the police didn’t mind them. A guy was standing in front with a microphone reading something from a big book. Others were standing around him repeating his words holding boards with phrases from the Bible. Other wrote, “Get ready, the end is close, it’s not too late, get back to God while you still have a time. Only he can help you and bring you peace. Only with him you can be truly happy!” There weren’t many of them, and some of other were laughing at them and throwing bottles at their heads.
Ben was soon coming back with a few big bags from shopping, I guess. I hoped he wasn’t going to put them on the back seat but, thankfully, the trunk was enough. When he was getting back into the car, a woman with two little boys pulled his sleeve.
“Please sir, help us. We haven’t got any money left. Everything is so expensive, we can’t even afford bread. Nobody is trying to help us. Are they waiting for us to just die? Do you know how much bread costs? Last time we paid and got only half. That’s what was left in the shop. Please, if not for me, then for my kids.” She cried.
Ben turned away to the car and gave her some food.
“Thank you, sir. Thank you!” She took the bag, gave some food to the kids, and had some herself. I don’t think they chewed it, but just swallowed it. They had to have been hungry for days.
We were driving back home, and the horror was still at its peak. On the way, Ben stopped, got out of the car, exchanged envelopes with a strange guy standing next to where a phone booth used to stand but was now on the ground now. They were both looking over their shoulders. Then we were on our way again and arrived safely at home. He later distributed all the bought stuff to everybody who was on the list but not the envelope. That was in inside the pocket of his coat. I wasn’t sure if Ben was a humabot too. They were so hard to recognize.
When I came back, I found that my cabin fever was gone, and I definitely wasn’t going for another trip any time soon. There was nothing to see. It only filled me with anger at the people responsible for all this. Was there a place on Earth where it was nice, quiet, and people didn’t try to kill each other for a piece of food or money? How did we get to this state? I remember the world celebrating the best economy year, not long ago. However, there were more unemployed people every day. Paradox.
I didn’t tell anybody about the trip. That would just make them upset, especially Mom. And I think Dad already knew how bad it was. I got bored from playing with Ruby; she was winning all the time now. I caught her once on playing online when I went outside and returned. Dad fixed the connection but only for games. There was no chance of going on websites or browsing. And there were fewer players online every day…
CHAPTER 31 - PLASTIC, SCHOOL AND THE END
I couldn’t stop seeing the faces of those people and the pain in their eyes. I had to keep myself busy not to think about it. I studied a lot and knew the whole map from my wall in few days. I had problem with the numbers and couldn’t remember how big and old each of the planets was, but knew the rest of the facts. Anyway, I don’t think anyone knew it for sure, right? Did someone ever measured them or saw all of them? It was just words in books and Internet learning. What if there were ten or twelve planets in our Solar System? Who had a right to call Pluto a “dwarf planet”? It wa
s still a planet, right? I had to go there and see for myself. I could imagine people’s faces if I told them there were twenty or fifty planets and we all believed in lies. After some time, even that didn’t help, so I decided to hang out with friends. I called them all and, surprisingly, they all agreed to go outside and play some football.
In half an hour, we were outside our house and playing. Alvin was getting better, at least he was laughing now, but, in a moment, he would be crying again. It lasted shorter every time and he had hope that it would soon stop.
I ran into the bushes to get the ball and found that a branch was broken. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the branch wasn’t real inside. It was made of plastic. What was going on? I checked, broke another and another. This was madness. It wasn’t even real!
“Max, what are you doing? Where is the ball? If you need to take a leak, then just give us the ball,” said William.
“I’ll be back in few minutes,” I ran home and looked for my dad. Was the house made from plastic instead of wood and stone? Was anything in here real?
“Dad, I need to talk with you,” I said maybe too loudly. He was with Mom. She put her head up and listened.
“What’s wrong? Why are you shouting?” he asked.
“Did you know that everything around here isn’t real? I mean alive?” His face clouded with anger. I never saw him like that. He turned behind to see if Mom were listening.
“Shhh… Shut up! There’s no need for Mom to know that! What were you thinking?!”
“It’s okay, John. I knew it,” she said quietly.
“You did?! How?”
“But Max is not quite correct. Not everything is plastic. The flowers are real. Some of the trees are fake but only because the forest needs to be dense if it’s supposed to hide us. But they’re good cover and smell and feel like a real trees. Stop looking at me like that, John. I’m not stupid.”
“I…eh…okay…sorry Max… but your mom is right.”
“Are the vegetables and fruits real, or are we eating plastic or something?” That made them laugh.
“I assure you they’re real, but if you don’t believe me, you can go and check for yourself. They’re grown quickly in the back garden behind your mom’s garden.”
I went there. I found a big garden with all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Gardeners were injecting and spraying them with something.
“What are you doing with them?” I asked one of the gardeners.
“We give them steroids so they grow faster, healthier, and richer in vitamins.”
“Is that safe for us to eat?”
“It definitely is. Want a carrot?”
“No, thanks.”
“We also bake our own bread and have our own meat. An apple, maybe?”
“Where do you get the animals from?”
“They’re in there,” he said, pointing at a little gate at the end of the garden where cabbage was growing. I went there and found a farm with animals. How could I not find this place? I walked so many times around and didn’t find it. I remembered that I left my friends, but they weren’t there when I got back.
One day, I was awakened by noises in the house. Everybody was running around, but before I had a chance to ask what was going on, they were already gone. I went outside, looking for my parents and noticed that all the soldiers who normally were standing like trees were gone too. It looked to me as if somebody had cut the trees out. I got used to them so much, I wasn’t paying attention to them until they were gone.
I heard shouting coming from the house and ran in there as fast as I could. I found Mom throwing things at Dad and his boss who got us into this place. They stopped when they saw me. Dad was standing with his head down.
“Hi, Max. How are you doing? Did you like your room and toys?” asked Dad’s boss. He was dressed in the same suit as before with a cigar in his mouth.
“Yes, I did. Thanks.”
“Did you learn a lot? Would you like to go to a special school for astronauts?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is there no other way?” asked Mom.
“I’m afraid not. All schools have been closed or vanished. We need to care for kids who are still normal and want to achieve something. That way, we can help them, ourselves, and save the future, especially when they have such special hobbies like Max and his friends. You’ll be very useful someday. Your friends will go to school with you, too.
I didn’t realize at first what he meant by “going to school.” Was it in the garden somewhere too? I was being showed so many new places in here that I wouldn’t be surprised if that were in there too.
“In a few months, you’ll go. We’ll come for you.” After that promise, he left the house. His last sentence sounded like a threat, sending a shiver down my body. Mom was standing with resignation on her face.
“Don’t worry, Anna. It’s for his good. I’m sure he’ll make us very proud. He wouldn’t get this chance anywhere else.” Mom shook her head but agreed quietly.
Later I got a call from Oliver, who was very excited about the school, and he was already getting ready for it. He wanted to be the best in there. I also received advice that I should do the same. I wasn’t going to. I didn’t even want to go there. Nobody asked me. Were my parents going with me? I didn’t like it at all. Unfortunately, I was left without a choice much earlier than planned.
Somehow, somebody found out about our location and broke the blockade in the road. I was sure somebody gave them the details because it just looked like the end of the road. Nobody would get out of the car and checked if it wasn’t a thin wall or a real tree, right? That’s how real it looked. Anyway, a massive angry crowd broke through the wall and were running toward our home, destroying everything in their way.
Helicopters had been sent for us and we didn’t have much time for packing. Why would they attack us? We didn’t have anything to do with the outside world. What did they want from us? I didn’t see Ben anywhere and got a strange feeling that he had something to do with it. We packed our things very quickly and helicopters were already landing in front of the house. I could already hear the roars of furious crowds. I was pushed into a military helicopter with some others. I couldn’t see my parents anywhere. I started to panic. The helicopter didn’t wait for anybody else. It just took off. I saw my parents down there trying to get to the helicopter and the crowd getting to them, then I heard the shots. I started to cry and wanted to jump out but they didn’t let me. Somebody was holding me back. I saw another helicopter behind us and felt a push that shook the helicopter. They blew up all of our houses and the area around them in a radius of a few kilometers together with all those people. I didn’t care about them anymore. They deserved it. I was glad they died and burned, but it didn’t save my parents and didn’t stop the pain inside that was tearing me apart.
If I had known that my parents would die so young, I would have spent every day of all these years with them. I was 10 when my childhood ended that day. That was the beginning of the nightmare, but I was awake…
CHAPTER 32 - BACK TO REALITY
I was still sitting on the floor in darkness and silence. Where did they take us? What did they do to us? I couldn’t remember that. Not yet.
I looked around and I noticed that my eyes were getting used to the darkness and I could see the shadows of things. Soon I was able to recognize what was what and even more. I wasn’t sure if I could see in the dark or if the light were on. I had to get out of here, but how? The glass was unbreakable and the door was closed. No way out.
I tried to look around and find some more clues but there weren’t any. I looked outside the window and I thought I could see a shadow. Suddenly, the door opened lazily with a squealing noise as though it hadn’t been used for a very long time.
I wasn’t sure if I should go out or not. I wasn’t sure if the door opened from the outside or if I had touched something by accident. Maybe they opened every day at this time? Or maybe not. The shadow from the out
side was gone. My stomach was rumbling and it was getting stronger. I was starving and there was no sign of food anywhere. There was only one way to find out about the door and to find food: get out. But it was so dark.
Very slowly and carefully I stepped to the door. My body wasn’t at full strength yet and the red flashing lights on the walls everywhere couldn’t mean anything good. It was usually a warning to stay away!
As before, I could see pretty much everything in the dark, which was quite thick. I wondered how it worked, since I knew it was impossible to see unless you had a flashlight. I noticed the weak lights flashing from some of the other rooms.
When I was finally out of “my” room, I found myself in a long corridor that led to other corridors. It looked like a labyrinth already. Everything around me looked like the aftermath of a battle. Lamps were hanging on frayed cables, walls were covered in blood stains, and furniture was turned upside down or broken. Somebody even managed to pull a toilet seat from the floor.
The floor was slippery with strangely colored liquid or water. It reached my ankles and caused me to walk even slower. I didn’t want to get myself covered in it, whatever it was. I tried to reach the other room on the left to mine to see if anybody was in there. Finally, I made it inside. The room was absolutely devastated as if somebody had been looking for something in a hurry or got very angry and was throwing stuff around the room. I noticed something big on the floor half covered in that water. Its shape looked too familiar. I turned it on its back with my foot. What was it? Its shape looked humanlike but the rest wasn’t even close to it. Maybe it was lying too long in the water. It was dressed in a long coat. I remembered it had to be blue and there were always names on it. This one probably had a name on it once, but the metal was completely damaged and I couldn’t read even one letter from it. I started to think if I should go back and wait for somebody to turn up, if anybody were alive. I looked around the room but didn’t find anything useful. Everything that I could make use of had been taken. The same was in other rooms on this corridor. I didn’t find any more bodies. I thought I saw parts of them in the water but I didn’t check and tried not to think about it.
