Chapter 6

A Chapter by Amy Skye

Cress reflects on a time before the rehab center, and questions her accomplice.

Cress

I sat and watched a gleam of the red break lights flickering off the dust as we made our way out of the Anifa compound. I saw the lights of the rehab center fade in the distance and sink under the horizon. After about an hour or so, the truck began to slow down and stop, the guard got down and came around to the back of the vehicle,

“Come on, you can come up front with me now,” he said, I got down, still unable to see anything around us, but I could smell the air. The sweet fresh air filled my lounges as I inhaled. Walking around the truck, I got into the passenger side, and we began our journey again.

“How far are we going?” I asked finally,

“I am going to be dropping you off about five hours from here, you’ll have to trek the remaining hour yourself.” He said, eyes locked on the road.

“Drop me off?” I said confused, “Anna said you guys would keep me safe.”

“Yea well, plans change,” he snapped, “look, it isn’t part of the plan, but neither was leaving without Anna, so I have to go back.” Silence filled the cab for a moment.

“She told me that her family did something to me when I was put in the Vat.” I poked, he nodded,

“Yea, I don’t know exactly what, she would never tell me, out of fear.” He began, “But, she did tell me that, whatever they did, she knew it would fall on her when you finally came out, to keep you safe. And when Anifa founds out, you need to be gone.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” I replied, “If what they are saying is true, it is not like they can hurt me, or kill me. I’m,” I paused for a moment, unable to get the word out. He looked over at me for a moment. “I mean I can’t die.”

“From what I can tell, it isn’t about you, it’s about what’s inside of you. Something that would guarantee that Anifa wouldn’t get what they are really after.”

“But if her family worked for Anifa why would they do that?” I questioned,

“Anna stems from a line of freewill activists, they never wanted to do Anifa’s bidding, but had no choice. And when they were assigned the new project they took it into there own power to make a change. But Anna would never tell me what they did.” He paused, “Sometimes I think she didn’t even know herself.”

“So that is Anna’s reason for getting me out, what’s yours?” I poked,

“I love her, and I would do anything for her. Even risking my life to protect a stranger.” He glanced over at me for a moment, “That’s why I cant leave her there. If they find out she was behind it all, they will kill her, and they won’t think twice about it.”

We kept driving along in silence, it seemed like we would never get there. I stared blankly out the window into the black night that lay beyond. Thinking deeply about the life that lay before me, and the one I was leaving behind.

. . .

160 years earlier….

First came the illness, that swept the nations. A selective disease that prayed on the old and weak. If your system was strong enough to survive it, you would spend the next few months in a government enforced quarantine, with nationwide lock downs soon to follow. Thirty million people lost their jobs and the economy never recovered. Protests and riots then ensued, burning down buildings and destroying whole cities. The president, locking himself away during the worst of it, chose to see the cries for help as criminal acts and demanded the implementation of nationwide martial law. Finally, with the military holding the entirety of the country at gun point, the citizens were forced to endure mandated vaccines, encrypting us all with an alphanumeric code embedded into our systems.

I was fourteen years old when my code became my new name, at least as far as the government was concerned. All the while, while our backs were turned from the global climate disintegration, Anifa was born. Claiming to be a salvation at the time and leader in the search for sustainability, people rallied behind them. My family included. Don’t get me wrong, the mask they wore would have made many follow suit, after the government made it clear they didn’t care about the people anymore. So we all united behind someone who did, or at least we thought. It was almost a year later, that Anifa began implementing the Home Workforce Program. Offering citizens a free home and job if they agreed to help in the “search for sustainability”. After our arrival at the rehab center, it became very clear that Anifa was indeed the new government. If you refused participation into the new program, lets just say you were better off dead. When the first set of nonparticipants were brought in, they were immediately sent into Project R, never to be seen again. Everyone else who evaded Anifa’s grasp were deemed radicals, and spent the rest of their lives running from the new government. Those of us inside the rehab center, soon became very well acquainted with the idea of a fascist dictatorship society.

My parents, choosing to have hope in the entirety of human kind, died with that same mentality. I wasn’t as convinced. A part of me always felt that something was off with Anifa’s agenda, but of course I never knew what lies they held just under the surface.

As I was lost in my thoughts, the truck began to slow and stop completely.

“This is your stop.” Said the guard, “There is a small town about an hour west of here. Get there, and stay hidden. We should be back in about a day or so to pick you up.” He handed me a pack with rations and water and I jumped down onto the cracked paved road.

“Thanks,” I stopped, “I never got your name.” I said holding the door open.

“Tim.” He said,

“Thanks, Tim”, I said closing the door. I watched as the truck turned and sped away into the night. With a sigh I began my hour-long trek into the unknown road that lay ahead of me.

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