Chapter 2: Dreaming of The Circle

Previously in "Anonymous": After attending a man's proposal for a government to take control, the man talked to another man about punishing killers/ 'rule breakers', to take charge - to lead..

Today has been a day of change, triggered by the man’s proposal for a government; for order. With a lot on my mind, I lay in my tent to get some shuteye, but first I drag the two dead bodies even further away as their stench reaches my tent.

I dream. I dream of a plan to bring fear. To make the people see me as a leader. It’s a hard task as everyone already lives in fear. But how can I bring more fear to me? I think.

 

I’m in the Circle, making my way to the center stone. I know I’m up here for a speech, but I don’t know what to say. So I don’t say anything at all. Instead I find someone in the crowd to kill. Someone breaking one of the four rules, but the Circle is surprisingly well-behaved and there’s no one that needs punishing today.

After about a minute of just standing here, it’s a full house. I need to think of something to say. I need to say something fast. An impatient man in the crowd speaks up, “Well,” he says, “aren’t you going to entertain us?”

It’s not until I open my mouth I realize that by standing here, I’ve become nothing more than trollbait. Just like the man from yesterday’s ‘show’… I’ll end up dead.

I speak anyway; it’s too late to hold back. “It has come to my attention that our society is corrupt to a point that is near apocalyptic,” I pause expecting an interruption, but the crowd listens. “We need rules. We can’t just be selfish and have whatever we want. Do whatever we want. No, we need to do what’s right if we don’t want to live in fear.”

A man in the audience speaks up, “And what will happen if we were to break one of these rules?” His urge to counter me makes me furious. And it’s then that I realize that anyone here could be a killer. Anyone here needs punishing. But I hold my grip and don’t kill anyone just yet.

“You die,” I reply.

“Oh, and that’ll solve all our fears, won’t it?” he retorts sarcastically. “We get killed if we break a rule. Well, we don’t need your stupid rules… Kill him.”

Two women get up on the stone and pull out knives. This is it, I think. But then I remember. Fear. I have a blade in my pocket from yesterday’s kill. I pull it out and duck as the women go in for the kill. They stab each other in the breast and then drop their knives. I dodge them as they fall to the ground.

The man yells, “You’re no better than us! Who do you think you are?”

“I’m the one person that makes any sense. The one person that has empathy,” I answer.

A crowd of people run onto the stone, but I don’t run. I don’t fear them. Instead, I spin with my knife held out at shoulder-length, slitting the throats of my attackers. A man with a bow and arrow arrives at the circle. He glares and aims the tip of the arrow at me, then shoots.

Before the arrow has a chance to hit me, a man falls on top of me from above.

 

I wake up in a collapsed tent with a man on top. It was a dream, I think. Pushing him off, I realize he didn’t actually jump on top of me, but he fell. His body is limp, suggesting he might have been killed or at least knocked unconscious. There’s a killer on the loose and I must stop him, I think. I must be a hero.

There’s a shriek of fear coming from the woods. I run into the woods, dodging trees that cut through my path, and I yell the first rule, “No killing! No killing!”

I spot the man with a knife, as he kneels down on a woman’s shoulders.

“Help,” she screams.

I run over to the man and slit his throat before he has the chance to talk. I look down at the woman I’ve saved and walk off, modestly rather than heroically.

It’s hard to be arrogant when you know you’ve become what you hate; a killer. But I know I’m doing the right thing. I know I can change the world if I come into power. If we have names. If we have rules.

It’s not until I get back to my deformed tent that I think back to the dream I had. I remember what I have to say and I remember that I need to be cautious. I remember that people will kill me - or at least want to. I remember that no one will be in my favor. I remember that I need to do it no matter what, because life isn’t worth living in the state it’s in now.

When the sundial strikes noon, I will make my speech and I will change the world.

Author's Note

Rough draft of chapter 2. I'm currently working on draft #2 with more descriptive language. I'll write maybe 1 or 2 more chapters. I don't plan to make this the length of a novel, but more of a short story.

Reviews

[nostal]

Why does this chapter feel a bit rushed?
And the narrator's thoughts are perplexing at times. Why does he keep changing his mind? It's just so quick. There needs to be more credibility.

Once again, good penning though.

[compositionc]

This one was surprising. Brilliant. It's short, but effective. The entire idea is brilliant. The first chapter was epic, this one...is like the apocalypse! This society is insane, much like ours'. They're trying to kill him, so he kills them? Reminds me of this little quote I found: "We kill someone who kills to prove killing is wrong."

He's trying to scare them into thinking he's their leader, much like a dictator. Will he take charge in the end? God, who knows? When everyone can be anyone, there is bound to be chaos, and it's already here. Someone is trying to fix that, and at the same time, take charge. He sounds a little corrupt.

[Joe Shetina]

It's sort of a strange mixture of every dystopic novel I've ever read and then some. The first chapter shocked me, then this one just blew me the hell away. So good.

[halflives]

Again, another "wow". I mean, WOW this book is amazing! The detail and the plain insanity of this society shocks you. When someone tries to share their opnion, they rush at him and try to kill him? That's just, well, insane. Then again, I suppose where no one is anyone, it really doesn't matter who lives and who dies to the person who's killing them.

This is a shockingly great chapter, as in the entire book as well. It's a brilliant idea, and I'm very much looking forward to reading more.