Z.A.T.O.S. NATION

This is a story that I am in the process of writing so I apologize for improper grammar and stuff like that. I also apologize if this story is extremely cheesy.

I hated my mask some days, I couldn't show people if I was happy, the microphone that I had translated my words into seventy different languages except for basic human emotions. The mask impaired my eating enough that to eat I had to take my mask off which secluded me to my room alone afraid of people seeing who I truly was. I felt like a monster but that is why I made my mask the shape it was, I was afraid of gas masks which is why I made it, I made something so powerful with something I so afraid of it made a message to anyone who thought that I was weak.

As I looked upon my world, the world that had once boasted of its great power and economy. Their boastfulness is what killed them. So I took their power from them and divided it on the inside and outside. I even got the people power over their world, so that they would all be satisfied
I was so happy to see what I had worked so hard and that took so long to achieve was finally exceeding my dreams. I said that I was different from the other world I boasted about it, proud of my ingenuity. I never thought that it would end, I thought it would last forever.

As I watched the world pass me in a blur. I saw the world that I loved so much and tried so hard to raise end silently as if I had put it to bed. I couldn't help but laugh at myself thinking that I had actually tried to change their world and everybody in it.
They came bursting through the door and immediately jumped me as if I were a rag doll. " Get on the ground!!!" They yelled "That wasn't truly necessary," I said calmly as they beat me with their hands and feet for no reason while another one put cuffs on me "I left the door unlocked for you guys on purpose so that you wouldn't need to tear my antique door down. But what would be the fun of having a battering ram if you couldn't use it..."
"Shut up!" The officer yelled as he hauled me off the floor he then yelled in my face as he told me my rights and hauled me off the ground, he tried to shove me into a flashing police car. I didn't even take a step before I passed out from the blood loss. So to wake me up they beat me more. Minutes past they finally realized that I wasn't going to get up, they threw me inside one of their cars.
It's funny how people can change from loving you to killing you so quickly. The dreams that I had brought before them they loved, and the ideas that they had brought to me I loved too. But this is what happens when you have an entire world try and make decisions for themselves, they smack you right across the face and spit upon the greatest ideas that were based upon the people. But they don't care, we as humans are selfish and society has always repeats itself over and over again.

I smile as I think about this in my dreams and I hear a lady say, "he just woken up." I hear rushing towards me and a needle is stabbed through my arm. "There that should hold him off for a while..." I hear as the world fades into a blur. I'm awoken by a familiar voice he's not talking to me, but turns as he sees me stirring. I don't have my mask on for some reason I was on an oxygen tank. "Bout time you woke up, it's bin days." The voice spoke to me like I was garbage. Didn't he know who I was the nerve the... Then I remembered what had happened just a few hours ago. So I decided to open my eyes and face the reality that had destroyed my dreams. He welcomed by lifting my mask off my face and sent a blow to jaw I spat out a molar and blood, he laughed at me as if he thought I was some joke.
"So ex president Michael Timothy Garrison is that how you usually say hi to guy." I said slyly with a devilish smile on my face"who kicked your government right out of this ..." He cut me off as he sent another blow to my jaw. "I am guessing by the facial expression on your face and the strength in your punches that your giving me that either a) your a girl or b) that your really mad..." This time he grabbed a blunt object and started beating my head with it. I laughed. "Wow this is fun, but I think that we can all agree here that you'll fit in just fine in category a)." I heard someone behind Michael snicker. "Shut up." Roared Michael as he smacked his body guard," whoa man!" Whack, I feel pain on the side of my head but I keep talking. "The guys just trying to have a little fun," whack again this time I feel something hot run down the side of my head," looks like you never leaned how to have a little ..." Then the world that I lived in went black.
I heard a voice screaming at me I looked around to see who it was coming from although I couldn't look around because my sight was blocked by some blindfold, I then realized that the screaming was coming from me. I was yelling there were people around me looking at me as if I were crazy and like I wasn't the man who changed history. I was in so much pain I couldn't bare it. Michael was at my side and told the doctor something "give him another one." "I can't he'll die..." He cut the doctor off " just do it." "Why don't you broadcast this historical event." I said blindly "so that everyone can see the man that you truly are, and how much you don't care for anyone's life." I said, then ex-president Michael leaned in really close to me and whispered in my ear, "If I didn't so much care about a persons life you wouldn't be alive today." He left laughing as I felt darkness envelope me again.
To my astonishment I woke up, I was actually living still I tried to move. Pain shot through me and I sent out a little toot to try and hide my pain. Attempting to move made me regret living, even the slightest movements of muscles almost made me unconscious. Still I prevailed as I tried to open my eyes. After what had felt was hours I managed to open my lids just a crack, as an attempt to see my surroundings. I saw a grey concrete wall in front of me didn't dare look around for fear of ex-president Michael and his henchmen. I was still breathing I felt the light compression of a breathing mask. I felt extremely tired afterwards from the effort of opening my eyes, so I shut them and went to sleep.
I woke up with a kick to my spine. "President Michael wants to see you." They laughed as they beat me for pure pleasure, they kicked off my breathing mask. They had to drag me around because of my broken legs that had not been tended to so they looked sideways. I was sat in a chair and was cuffed to it including my ankles for some stupid reason.
"Good of you to come to my feast. Come eat." He spread his hands toward the plate in front of me. I sat but did not eat, "You know since the day I met you, really deep, like really deep down in my heart I actually viewed you as a good friend.
He was interested, "Please eat and let us talk more about this." I could have accepted his offer as he tried to extend a friendly gesture, but instead I didn't. "You're food is like poison it may not be, but I would rather die than eat with you." I said it with pure disgust in my voice and I spat on the food in front of me. "Fine then have it your way. "
Michael snapped his fingers and a waitress came scurrying out. She walked towards Michael with great reluctance, she reached forward and grabbed his plate and suddenly turned and tried to scurry away, but before she could get far enough away he grabbed her wrist and she dropped the plate, he twisted her towards him. "See this young lady?" She was crying now. "She is useless." He let go of her wrist and pointed to the ground to tell her to stay, she did as she was told. He grabbed a steak knife that lay on the table the girl looked mortified and tried to run but Michael was too fast for her and he stabbed her right in the skull. Her body hung limp as her body was suspended by the steak knife, he tilted the knife and she fell to the ground with a sickening dull thump. I was disgusted by it. I screamed in rage at the inhumanity, while Michael laughed and laughed his stupid laugh. "How dare you!" I screamed. He looked at me with a look of deception" Do you know how your wife died?" I was taken aback by the question "She died of a heart attack, why?""Is that what the doctors told you?" He stopped laughing nodded snapped his fingers and I had a blow to my neck with what felt like a bat. The last thing I remember was ex-president Michael laughing.
I woke up again in the l grey room again which was Arctic cold. I knew I couldn't stay here, if I did, I would die but the first step was to attempt to stand up. I struggled to move at least my finger tips I thought I had lost the ability to move them. I focused all my energy on just trying to move them and then they twitched. I screamed in pain as I found out that unfortunately my nerves still felt pain. I struggled to stay conscious as I tried to move my fingers. I got to moving my wrist before the pain was so excruciating that I passed out once again.
When I woke up again I was still alone, the pain had subsided momentarily so I decided that I should try moving again. I tried moving my wrist and found that it was moving freely with minimal pain. I decided to try to move my arm, again having to concentrate on just my arm I moved it slightly and couldn't do any more. I was still conscious because there was no pain I assumed that the medication that they had given me had worn off. As I lay there I couldn't help but think of my wife and when she died. It was a Thursday we decided to go to an outdoor cafe that afternoon, I looked at her beautiful face and I remembered the day we got married she held her dads hand as they walked down that church aisle, she was just so beautiful. She ordered a cappuccino with skim milk. She picked up her drink and was about to take a sip but she dropped her drink and it smashed on the cobblestone. She grabbed at her chest thinking that she could rip her heart out and I just sat there shaking I fumbled with my phone and dialled 911. When we got to the ER I sat in the waiting room as the doctors did there magic. A man that sat beside me said he was waiting here because his wife was giving birth to there first kid, the man left minutes later to go see his new kid. I sat there for hours and when the doctors came out of her room there faces were grim. So she walked down that same aisle her father holding her hand once so proudly before. She was just twenty four. I lye there facing that stupid wall thinking about that day, I could have fallen asleep but chose other wise due to the fact that Michael's henchmen might come and beat me to get up again. So I lye there gathering up enough energy to try and move another limb, I repeated this same process until I was able to move every limb. After what had felt like days of lying on the cold hard concrete floor I had enough energy to try and lift my body up to a position that would be more comfortable. I talked to my brain to talk to my elbow to slide in closer to my chest. I told my brain to tell my shoulder to twist at the same time my collar bone lifted my chest weight. They did as they were told and I still surprisingly had enough energy to attempt another movement. I then asked my brain to tell my spine to twist and lift my upper body weight to a sitting position. They also did so defiantly not wanting to move. But I did it I was able to sit up and put my back against the cold hard wall and finally gave in to my exhaustion and fell asleep.
I awoke hours later as I heard guards approaching they turned the corner and stepped toward my cell they seemed to be surprised to see me actually sitting up. "Get up!" he yelled, I twisted my body toward the wall and tried to lift myself, I trembled by the effort it felt like a thousand pounds of my body weight were being lifted. The guards did nothing but stare at me, I hoped that it was in pity. When I just lye there in pure exhaustion they instead of beating me to try again they lifted me up off the ground and carried me out of my cell and carried me through the hallways that were lit by strips of fluorescent lighting. I felt cared for that actually someone cared about my well being, until I found out that I wasn't leaving. They carried me up some marble steps that looked so grand they could surpass the stairs to heaven. As we ascended the stairs I could hear what I thought were angels cheering I at that moment presumed that I was dead. I was led to a balcony at the top of the stairs still thinking of how I could have possibly have fallen asleep to my death. We stood there at the inside of the great arch that hung over the small balcony. I decided to ask one of the guards he was huge but looked like a teddy bear on the inside. "Am I dead?" I asked plainly enough it was a simple question. "I told him that you weren't crazy, I guess I was definitely wrong." I than realized that I was not at all dead and why I was being carried. There was a wave from the other end of the balcony we moved forward and I saw the hand of Ex-president Michael the crowd in response yelled boos to him he wore a flat smile not happy to be here. I stepped out and I signalled to the guards to put me down. They did so and I stood on my feet leaning on one of the great high peers I moved one leg with little effort than the next until I stood next to the podium in front of thousands of people. The podium was occupied by none other than Ex-president Michael he stood there with authority. He looked at me with the slightest expression of relief then it vanished to a look of hate. "I give you Zebedia!" He roared forcefully, the crowd responded in a wave of applause. He stepped aside and looking at me motioned his hand to the podium, showing that the stage was mine. I walked a few steps to the podium and stood there looking at thousands upon thousands of people. I could see a gasp in everyone's faces the way I stood I looked defeated. I wasn't I was happy to see all these people.
I opened my mouth and everybody in the crowd joined in.
"For my people,
For my country,
For the people of my country,
For my brothers,
For my sisters,
We shall create a nation for us all.
Z.A.T.O.S. NATION
The crowd erupted into applause, I had to hold back a tear.
I heard someone scream in the crowd and I then was hit in the back of the head. I fell and hit the ground hard I heard screaming but I just saw a boot being aimed at my head. It made contact with my nose and that shattered, he kicked me again this time breaking my jaw. His next kick looked like he was trying to aim for my throat killing me instantly. He moved his foot back and kicked forward, I pissed my pants. But before his boot could make contact with my throat it fell and this behemoth of a man was now down and being beaten up by what looked to me as a throng of kids. I was lifted off the ground and I was carried away from the scene. I then saw before the stairs blocked my view Ex-president Michael have a gun against his head, he looked back at me and laughed, as I came out of view I still heard him laughing and then the gun going off. I didn't know who carried me I had lost my air mask and I was struggling to breathe. I was carried out to a truck that stood idling I was placed in the back and then a bunch of armed men jumped on too. "Where am"... A man cut me off "Shh you have to stop talking blood is filling your lungs we need to get you to a hospital." He looked about twenty buff as hell. "Am I safe?" "Yes. Now sleep." But I couldn't I just lye there sitting feeling an odd pain in my chest which was slightly growing worse every minute. I started having troubles breathing we drifted down a street and sped along.
They finally realized that I needed to breathe badly and decided to stop at a pharmacy to get me an oxygen tank after they bought it, hooked it up and placed the mask over my mouth I was just about to pass out. They started the truck up again and we were off to the hospital. I looked at one of the men in the back with me.
"Why?"
"Because we needed you. President Michael
When we arrived at the hospital things were starting to get fuzzy. A doctor walked toward us "Who is this?" The man that talked to me previously talked to the doctor, he must be the leader I thought.
"This is Father Zebadia." "I can't help him President Michael's orders." The man screamed "PRESIDENT MICHAEL IS DEAD!" Many people in the lobby turned their heads in there eyes I could see a small spark of hope that radiated through the crowd. The doctor responded quietly. "Okay let's get this man into the operating room." I was put on a bed and wheeled me around through endless amounts of doors and hallways all looking to sanitary. When we finally got to the operation room I was starting to couch up blood, the doctor said it was from a shard of something that pierced something in my lung an now the bleeding was not stopping. I had my temporary mask removed and another mask placed on my face, in a few minutes I fell asleep and they started the operation.
I was dreaming that I was in my house petting mittens who was on my lap, I was watching TV when the reporter a woman in a black jacket on the news team looked directly at me and started coming out of the TV screen. I just sat there she walked towards me and thrust her hand around my throat choking me.
I dreamt that I was dying.

In the O.R. They got to the punctured lung and spilled blood all over the place. I had lost a lot of it, my heart beat was slowing down to almost nothing and the operators were starting to get scared, but held their

I struggled to get out of her grip, but she had me pinned to my chair and then she slipped on the floor with her heels, I don't know why spy woman wear high heels.

The operation turned they started sowing up the punctured lung and the hole.

I kicked her in the stomach, I had a flash of guilt my mother had always told me never to hit a woman. This was my mistake when I was distracted she kicked me in the jaw and I went down.

They were almost done patching up the hole when it broke the stitches and blood poured out, they got thicker strings and attempted to sow me up again.

I turned my head around and she had her heel coming towards my head I rolled my body away and kicked with my leg and aimed for her ankles. She fell on her back and I shot up and kicked her in the stomach over and over again.

They started sowing my chest up.

I kept kicking her, I just kept on going. I couldn't stop kicking her she stopped resisting, I kept on kicking her. She looked as if she wasn't breathing. I kept on kicking her. I was crying.

They put blood from a donor into me to replenish all of the blood that I had lost.

I kept on kicking her.
.
They cleaned up the O.R. And hauled me to a room where I could recover.

I kept on kicking her.

They placed a breathing mask on me and left me to sleep.

When I finally stopped she lay there sprawled out on the floor dead her body lifeless and still. I wondering where Mittens went too, needing the comfort of another animal, I looked around and yet could not find her. I turned to where the dead woman lay, lying on top of the dead woman in black lay the white Mittens.

I woke up in the hospital looking up at the white sanitary looking ceiling, I looked around my room and found a window I saw the base of trees which meant that I was probably on the 1st or 2nd floor. I all of a sudden got terrified where was my mask? I touched my face only to be blocked by smooth cold metal, I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned my head around and saw a note on a little bed side drawer it read.

The operation was a success. Hope you recover soon.
-Dr. Peter Davis.

I just lay there my dream still vivid, it didn't make sense at all. I just stared at the blank sanitary white ceiling and the window beside me, thinking about my dreams.
Nobody tried killing me today it was quite, it smelled and felt like a hospital but didn't sound like one. I was surprised by now there was no sounds of people shuffling in their slippers going flisk flisk . I expected at least someone to come bursting through the fire doors at the end of the hall and come running into my room and stab me with something but nothing happened no sounds came from anywhere, except my breathing and my heart pumping inside me and on the monitor. So I just decided to lye there, for weeks alone no one visited me not even the doctor or any nurse when I was awake, but I saw that my IV fluids were always replaced and that the bandages wrapped around my chest we're fresh, most times I would find a tray of food on my portable table still warm. I tried to fake my sleep at times to see if this was all a cruel joke, but found I could not keep myself from drifting off into sleep. This went on for days upon days with no change I started getting paranoid at the prison I knew that someone was always there watching me but here I was alone, at least I felt alone. I was going insane I couldn't stay here another day, I decided to try and get up. I found I had no difficulty getting up this time which gave me a sense of relief that there were people trying to help me in this world, I was in a hospital gown that was put on the wrong way that I had a cold breeze flowing through the front of my body. I put on a pair of slippers and I went to the front door with my heart monitor in hand. I walked out of the room that I had been staying in for what felt like years to see the world again. The world met me with complete silence, it was so quiet that I could hear the echo of my heart rate monitor through the hallway. I walked towards the front desk of the ward that I was staying in to look for people thinking that I would maybe find somebody. But there was no one there, the computers were gone and every shelf and drawer appeared to be completely empty. I was shocked where had every one gone to? I wondered. All the anxiety and doubt that I thought I had been relieved of was coming back my heart started to flutter with every step I took, I started to become panicked started rushing through rooms to see if I could find anyone. I held back tears I couldn't handle it anymore. I found no one in my ward so I attempted to opened the heavy fire doors but found them locked, my heart sank to the ground...
I gave up I fell against the door and sat down and cried there was no one I was trapped alone.
I sat there just a few seconds and I heard the sound of a baby crying echoing through the hall, I lifted my head relieved to hear another human being. I got up and started walking as fast as I could to try and get to the sound. I walked into a room that the sound appeared to be coming from. I turned into this room and saw mo one but still heard the crying of the baby, I looked around for it looking under the bed, in the bathroom, in the closet but found the baby was not there. The last place I decided to play look was at the television, I turned my head slowly to look at the screen and there was a moving picture of a newly born baby crying. This was set up no television was on through out my stay and to turn on the tv someone had to turn it on with their own hands.
The excitement of someone else in this empty world diminished almost immediately into pure hatred.
I heard sarcastic applauding coming closer and heavy set foot steps, I presumed that it was someone who was obese. It turned into the room that I was standing in and looked at me, to my horror I saw Ex-president Michael living and standing in front of me.
"How?..." I was shocked, I saw him get a bullet through his head, I saw him fall to the ground dead. He just laughed "You actually thought you had won you actually thought that America would fall that easily? Idiot!"
I slumped into a chair behind me and sat there shocked by utter amazement at being tricked so easily. I sputtered out sounds out of my mouth trying to form words but with no luck. "I had you in here for five years! You didn't do anything! Hahahaha!" He laughed maliciously with his big burly deep laugh that seemed to shake the room. "Why?" I finally managed to say, he stopped laughing and looked at me curious "What did ya say?" I felt more powerful "I said, Why?" I looked at him straight in the eyes and saw a fire sparked by me just looking at him. "Why? Because when your around people you have power, that scares me. But taking the people away from you drowns your powers and your dam pride!" I put my head down stood there smiling under my breath "Take away my pride? Go ahead take it all away. You may have taken away the people away from me, but I took away your power!" He looked at me taken aback by the words. I had the advantage so I continued "If you didn't see on the news that there is a riot outside of the White House and is much to violent and there are to many people to be just actors, if you had power you would stop the madness outside." He walked toward me not in an aggressive way but curious, and bewildered expression, I stepped aside to let him view the scene that was unfolding on the screen. A news reporter dominated the screen behind her stood the White House outside its fence were throngs of angry people who carried signs with my symbol. I turned to face the man, " You may crush me, you may kill me, but you can never get rid of me, I will stain your shoe with my blood and my brothers and sisters will topple you to the ground." He stood there appalled by the scene. "How?" The man that had once looked so large and immortal now appeared broken and small. "It truly is fundamentally simple. What have you done for the people?" "Lots." He said defensively, I had weakened him, so I continued my onslaught. "Have the whole of the people benefited from you being in power?" "Yes! I changed the the government to a diplomacy." He was now getting agitated, frustrated and was looking for a way to get it out, I smiled I was getting close. "If you are the power then why don't I just get rid of you?" He turned toward me looking desperate to see if his back fire had worked. "Even if you killed me, the people would not lose the power but would ultimately fuel them to revolt against YOU!" He looked as if I had just beaten up a child with my words.
I looked at him but couldn't, the pain that I saw inside of his eyes was to much for me to handle. He walked out of the room silently as if he was finished talking to me. I should have followed him but didn't, I heard a fire escape door open and then close seconds later. I heard the sound of glass shattering and hitting the ground. I ran to a window to see where the glass had shattered. I looked out the window and saw glass on the ground I looked up but could not see the higher floors, I turned around to go and investigate. Seconds later I heard a whistling noise that appeared to be coming from outside, I thought nothing of it. Until I heard a soft dull thump and what sounded like a lot of bones breaking. I froze in place and didn't dare look back at the window knowing who just landed on the lawn. When I finally mustered enough courage I started walking away my whole body was shaking I don't remember the events that happened after I had walked out of that room, I don't remember the vacant lot that the hospital was built upon in the middle of nowhere. I don't remember walking miles to find another single human being. I don't remember the excitement and the parties that followed after I was placed back in power. The only thing I remembered through those weeks was the girls name of whom I met when I was looking for civilization, her name was Hope.
She was gorgeous, with dirty blonde hair, which she tied back with a pony tail. She had piercing blue eyes that if you stared into them to long would stab you if you got on her bad side. When I met her it was the first person I had seen in years other than the late Michael Garrison, she lived twenty miles away from the hospital and about a hundred or so miles from the nearest town. She said after a few days of utter silence and just looking at each other she admitted that if she was ever to see me that she was to report me to president Michael. "Why didn't you then?" I asked concerned by her kindness. "Because when I saw you shaking in your hospital gown and pathetic slippers I felt pity for you. Plus I saw you take off your mask in your room and I thought you were cute." She said as she bit the inside of her lip. "Thanks." I said awkwardly attempting to scratch my head but my mask was in the way and it made her laugh, which made her more beautiful. I stayed there for just a few days recuperating from what she implied as "no woman sickness" I retorted but she would have none of it, we had a grand old time. But most of the time I just wanted to talk, we'd cuddle on her couch in front of her fireplace. We would talk about each other's past and what we saw in the future, she was always more optimistic than I was. I believed that I would get back in office but so many people would hate me that I would just retire without anyone even going to change my mind.
I knew I had to leave but didn't want to, she looked so much like my wife, I asked her to come with me but she refused. I walked one hundred and fifteen miles to the nearest town it took me a week. I could have taken a car that Hope wanted me to use but I took down the offer, this was something I had to do, so I grabbed a sleeping bag, a tent, a lighter, newspapers, a backpack, and some food and water. I set out before dawn thinking that Hope was still asleep I quietly made myself some breakfast and made her one too, but she woke up before I could leave and I gave up the decision to leave without saying goodbye. We had breakfast together and I said I had to leave she said she knew, I took off my mask and we kissed for quite some time and I put my mask back on anI left out the door, I dared a look back to see her in the doorway waving at me I waved pathetically back at her and continued on.
It was a gruelling hike to town, first two days we're cold and very slow I realized that I didn't have any such thing as stamina. I kept on thinking about Hope, on the third day I heard a person scream from behind me, I turned around to see her, she ran towards me and I looked at her. When she reached me I looked at her sideways "Why?" I asked "Well the house got really quiet after you left and I didn't want to live alone for the rest of my life so here I am." "O." I replied and turned towards my destination and walked on she was appalled by that she just stood there "What do you mean 'O'?" "Nothing." I turned around to face her "Come here." I said and opened my arms, she ran to me with all of her strength we hugged for a while and she started sobbing "I missed you I don't want to ever forget you. " I said that it would all be okay we walked on some time later in silence. I was warmer those other five days, she brought more food and a thicker sleeping bag for the both of us I was more than grateful. When we finally arrived in town- which was more like a few houses and a gas station that sold everything and a café- we walked into the café to the shock of the whole town -which had about thirty people- they just stared at me in pure disbelief. A man came up to me "I thought you were dead?" I looked at him "I feel dead." I heard a kid whisper to his mother "Who is that man? Has he com to hurt us?" She replied "No honey he's come to save us, and his name is Father Zebadia." I walked to an empty booth seat and sat down Hope did the same and sat across from me. I pretended that no one was staring at me a waitress came by and asked if I wanted coffee I said yes. Hope looked at me in shock, "Are you sure?" I nodded at her, a few minutes later the coffee came. I raised my hands to my mask and unfastened it, it did a little whir of a sound of tiny hydraulics decompressing. The back piece of my mask detached and I slipped it off and lay it on the table. Their we're gasps and awe. "Do not photograph me do not video tape me. For I have given you the opportunity to see me, the real me. The man behind the mask."
When I was placed back in power I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing his eyes, people say you appear to age much faster when you become a leader of a country. I feel old, so old.