Black Box 86ed

by Kjelland, Andrew

  “Hel.... hello?” No answer. The sound of the last working light above me snaps in and out sending the room into near darkness and back again finally sputtering out. Jesus, what is going on? Is this a joke? Or have I just been sent to hell? A light from the back room just beyond the grill and around the corner begins to sputter in and out. As if beckoning me to follow. I pass the deep fryers the familiar feeling of the humid, grease drenched air filling my clothes and hair. Turning the corner the light finally dying out followed immediately by a crrreeeaakk. The back door to the garbage dumpster lists open, a sliver of yellow light coming from the other side. Soft near silent cries flow through the opening. “Ah, hello?” Only the soft continuous cries broken by deep struggling breaths. “I'm really sorry about this but can you tell me what is going on?” I ask walking towards the cracked door, still no response. Just shallow rapid breaths mix with the wind whipping through the crack in the door. The only thing breaking the silence, as I slowly open the door. The yellow light from the McDans sign fills my face randomly blinking in and out casting everything in short lived shadows. Something catching my eye while I look to the sign. Huh, the stars. It’s odd; it looks like shooting stars, well with actual stars. Slowly each and every star in the sky take their own turn to fall away. The florescent light strobes strongly grabbing my attention. I look to where the cries are coming from. I see two people, about twenty feet down the sidewalk from me. A guy and a girl barely moving embraced in one another. His entire upper body convulsing as he almost silently sobs into the girls shoulder. Her hand slowly moving up and down his back.

  “It’s ok, its ok I’m here,” she says softly to him.

  “Hey, I’m so sorry for interrupting but can you help me?” I ask as I slowly start to walk towards them. Once again I’m ignored. The light flickering between footsteps as I approach.

  “Why, why didn't I just go with them? They would still be alive if I had just gone with them.”

  “You don't know that for all you know you could have died with them. Then what would I do?” She asks in response. He adjusts his arms pulling her closer to him. The light goes out this time and doesn't come back. I continue towards them now just feet away.

  “Hello?” I ask once more, now close enough to touch them. Suddenly the light comes back. Instantly I recognize them. Well I recognize us. Grace holding me as I bury my face into her shoulder. Tears soaking into her shirt. The light flickers again into convulsions like a strobe light till it goes out.

  Chapter…

  “Will, WILL!”

  My head snaps up with a pop and a terrible crick in my neck from being in the same position for so long. “What? Where am I?” I ask as light through the window blinds me.

  “Ha you are currently in casa de Grace,” she smiles handing me a cup of tea. Nonchalantly I maneuver said cup to cover my extreme case of morning wood. She smiles, “and ya, you’re lucky I’m not a lumber jack” she winks.

  My cheeks flush. “Ah, puberty is tuff on all of us.” I respond

  She laughs.

  “Thanks again for coming over last night, you probably didn’t half to. God I brushed my teeth twice this morning and I can’t get the taste out of my mouth. Did we eat last night or something?”

  “What, you don’t remember?”

  “Honestly I can’t even remember you coming here last night, I hope I wasn’t too much of a handful.”

  “I would say you were more of a plateful.”

  “O, sorry, how about I make you breakfast for all the trouble. If you want me to that is.”

  “Uhm I should probably go home for a little bit, need to shower and all that good stuff.”

  “O, ok.” she stares out the window stirring her tea. “You doing anything tonight?”

  You, I think to myself quickly throwing the idea away for the sake of getting rid of my mini man of steel.

  “Um no plans at the moment.”

  “We’ll you should call me later, I don’t work and I don’t have any plans.”

  “Ok I think I could do that.” I tell her as I nonchalantly maneuver my appendage from its current upright position to a, ahh well I guess downward facing dog. Standing I sip my tea and place it on the table. “I’ll call you in a few hours sound good?” She nods as I head out the door and drive home.

  CHAPTER…

  It’s a typical morning. I’m back home with a coffee in one hand and menthol in the other, sitting on my dilapidated concrete front steps. It’s quite peaceful, as always. With the sound of cars on the interstate off in the distance and plenty of birds welcoming me good morning. The sun is rising just over the house across the street. It’s blinding but I’ve never minded it. I feel the warmth on my face as I sip my way too strong for any normal human being coffee and take a drag off my cigarette. These five minutes every day are what life is all about. No cares, no worries, no wondering which college to apply to, or what I want to major in. Starting my 401 k is the last thing on my mind and I’m completely ok with that. I think it’s called Zen? Maybe? Whatever it is I need to call Marlboro and sell them this moment of my life as an ad. “Marlboro Zen, because you’re probably going to get cancer anyways, why not enjoy it?” Or how about “truly not giving a shit, because you’re worth it.” It sounds all right but would that be plagiarizing those over the top, buy our product or be ugly makeup commercials? My mind instantly flashes to the ridiculous acne cream commercials. Always having the girl with the most perfect skin pretending to wash her face with the expression that she just had the best sex of her life. We all know it’s a bunch of crap. Five years from now all those girls so use to being the face of sex that they’ll get surgery after surgery. Paying thousands for Botox and liposuction. Their dreams filled with needles full of their own asses getting pumped into their lips until the day they die. The people who survive and can still recognize them won’t know if they should be buried or recycled. I never understood how we can be the apex of evolution, the pinnacle of creation and still be so stupid. We’ve fought hunger, disease, ourselves, hell lions, tigers, and bears (O, my!) and yet we want to head to the nearest toilet and throw up our lunch the second our thighs touch. I guess evolution favors the vain.

  The neighborhood is near empty. Not even someone’s annoying kids running around screaming. I do hear voices though. Huh… odd it sounds like a loud speaker. I look down the street to see what looks like an ice cream truck made by the FBI. As it gets closer I’m able to make out the words.

  “This is a public service announcement, all U.S citizens must travel to Union Station by the end of the week in order to receive your United States citizenship badge also known as freedom stars. All ages are required. This is a mandatory duty of every American, and immigrant legal or non legal. The train to union station will be free of charge. That is all.”

  What the hell was that? I think as the van slowly rolls down the street, its message slowly fading. I take the last drag off my cigarette and stomp it out on the stairs. I stand up and stretch, the sun warming my entire body, I turn and head straight for the TV. Turning on CNN I am instantly greeted with raw footage and the headline, “Rebel terrorist control most of Oakland area, parts of other major cities.” I turn the volume up as a woman way to beautiful to have just gotten the job on her merits comes on the screen.

  “In a wild escalation of events the once peaceful occupy movement has made major inroad in taking control of many major U.S Cities. These cities include New York, St. Louis, Saint Paul MN, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. With the latter mostly due to an uprising not seem to be aligned with any particular movement, but more of a large scale riot saturated with shootings and lootings. The U.S Military has expressed great concern in not only evacuating people from the region but has also implemented a labeling of citizens. Asking them to go to the nearest safe metro area or mobile center and apply for a freedom star. Now these stars are more or less the stars from the United States flag and will show the military you are not apart of this
apparent uprising and have not denounced the United States as the official ruling body. We are also getting word that the government has ordered every person within fifty miles of any major metro area in order to protect citizens while fighting to maintain control over these urban areas. Now our latest statistics have shown that the most aggressive or terroristic forces’ numbers have swelled to 150,000 strong mostly comprised of men as young as fourteen to even the elderly. Most of their success can be attributed to the fact that the military cannot tell the difference between these rebel terrorist and civilians. We are quite certain that the freedom star program is directed at not only solving this problem but also to get a better idea of the size of the force they are fighting. Now this is all preliminary information and everything we are reporting is subject to change but we will keep you updated to the best of our abilities.”

  Holy shit, terrorists? Are they really calling them terrorists? And now everyone has to get a star so they don’t gun us down. I rummage through my pockets for my keys as my phone starts to vibrate on my coffee table. I walk over, its Grace.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey did a van go by your place this morning?” She asks.

  “Ya isn’t that crazy? I guess we better get to Union Station if we don’t want to get shot.”

  We both laugh at the ridiculous idea. “I know right, it feels like everything is getting so real.”

  “Well we both don’t work today you just wanna go get em?” I ask, “They said the train was free and I wouldn’t mind hanging around Chicago for a bit.”

  “Ya that sounds great, but we have to ride the Farris wheel on navy pier though, you promised me weeks ago.”

  “God dam it what do you not understand about me being afraid of heights? Doctors even have a name for it so it has to be a serious condition.”

  “O bullshit a promise is a promise and I don’t care if you start to cry on me we have to go”.

  “AAHHH fine,” I say thanking God that she can’t see the stupid big smile on my face. I love arguing with her. I don’t know why.

  “We should walk through cause I just rolled a joint and its beautiful outside and I just want to ok?”

  “Ha ok,” I say.

  “Meet at my house and take the side roads?”

  “Sounds good, I’ll be there in a little bit.”

  “Haha, fine just hurry up the train gets here in an hour.”

  “Ok I’m leaving now.” I hang up the phone, grabbing my keys I head outside. As soon as I leave my front door I notice something strange across the street. There are police cars and even an FBI vans parked all along the side of the street. I look to the house they are parked in front of. One police officer comes out holding my neighbors shot gun. I look to the house to my right as police exit holding a handgun in what looks to be an evidence bag. I sit down on my front steps and watch. The neighbor is arguing with the cops.

  “I bought that legally, you have no right to take my firearm.”

  “Sir, we are under orders to confiscate all registered firearms.”

  “That is against the law, you can’t do this!”

  “I’m sorry sir these are direct orders if you have a problem please take it up with your congressman.”

  The police get in their cars and take off down the street. I walk over to my neighbor.

  “What was that about?”

  “I don’t know, they said they are taking all the registered firearms off the streets. Something to do with the protests, I guess they’re worried.”

  “Damn that’s pretty intense.”

  “It’s bullshit, totally against the law. The whole reason for the second amendment is for times like these. And when it happens they just say screw it and break the constitution.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Well looks like I have to go buy a gun off the grid. If they think I’m a threat when I do it legally I suppose I’ll have to do it illegally and they will sure as hell have a threat.” “I won’t be without my protection.”

  “Well good luck with that. But if you ask me you’ll probably just get your gun back when the protests are over.”

  “Ya we’ll see. Well I got to go, I’ll talk to you later.” He walks to his car peeling out and down the street.

  I hop into my car. Normally something like that would send me to my computer to see the outrage play out, but it I’m about to have the most important day of my life.

  I pull out of my driveway and head down the street. About five police cars are at another house down the block. Dam I didn’t know there we so many guns in my neighborhood.

  Stopping at the end of my street I tune the radio to 93x the rock station. Expecting to hear the same five or six songs that apparently comprise the entirety of my local radio station’s song library, I’m surprised to hear what is clearly Obama.

  “It is with great remorse to inform the American public that for the first time in our history martial law has been implemented. Now let me be clear. This is a very limited in scope and objective policy. Those whom are not taking part in these once peaceful, now violent protests will most likely not notice much of a change in your day to day lives.”

  I sit in front of the stop sign at the end of my block just listening. “To put it simply, if you are fighting in our city streets. If you believe to be a war with the United States of America. If you attack those whom we have been put in place to protect us, you will be the ones to feel and understand this implementation of policy. I will not stand for all out war on the streets of some of our major cities. This is not a proper way to discuss policy, and we will not allow the actions of a minority of people to highjack the day to day lives of the average American. With that being said along with the implementation of martial law I have also suspended the right to habeas corpus when it comes to acts against the United States. If you are arrested for acts in any way related to this so called uprising, detainment without trial has been authorized. Resistance in any way towards these policies, whether it be refusing a stop and frisk, will be met with strong and swift punishment. Let’s get this straight, the quicker our streets are safe, the quicker our laws and lives will return to normal.”

  Two black trucks go racing by lights and sirens blaring. They must be going eighty in a thirty. I peel out trying to stay up with them, but not to obviously. I’ve gone a block and they’re already three ahead of me. They tear down into a subdivision. I follow, slowing so I don’t look suspicious. About halfway down the street a total of six black vans and a few cop cars scatter the street and front yard of a blue and beige two story house.

  I’m about half a block away but I can already see a police officer laying in a sizable pool of blood behind his SUV parked in the driveway. Another cop laying on the cement next to him not moving. A man over a loud speaker yells to who’s ever in the house.

  “I repeat, come out with your hands up. If you do not want to be shot come out with your hands showing.”

  The man looking out the second story window yells something back, but I’m too far away to hear.

  “We can work this out, come out with your hands showing. If the policeman dies you will face charges which are punishable by death.”

  The man fires a round at the SUV in his driveway. Several people, I guess they would be FBI agents take shelter behind their cars. One of them sees me. He gets the attention of his partners as a few of them turn and jog over to me. I hit the car in reverse and take off out of the neighborhood.

  I’m about two blocks away from the liquor store when police lights flash in my rear view mirror. Fuck, can I get in trouble for follow police cars? There’s no way they could know that you followed them Will, just say you were visiting a friend. Good that’s good, I think to myself. The police officer and his partner get out of the car, I fumble looking for my auto insurance. Taking to either side of my car, he taps my window. He’s tall with a stern look on his face, his brow furrowed over his aviators. I start to roll i
t down, and before it’s even down half way.

  “Sir, can I have you step out of the vehicle.”

  “Uhh ya sure” I tell him. Fuck, fuck, fuck, I’m going to jail. “What seems to be the problem ossifer?” ...Shit

  “This is purely procedural, we will be checking yourself and your vehicle for weapons, drugs, or anything else illegal.”

  In an instant I search the car in my mind, besides the loose pot seed here and there I should be fine, I left all my weed at home.

  “Uhm not to be argumentative but don’t you have to have some kind of reason to do that.”