by Cully Barr
There was a time when people were smart; where people could believe in a God without doubts. Of course times used to be simpler; we used to survive solely from the one shirt we had on our backs and the food we could muster up from the ground. But the present time turned into an old future and humanity had destroyed the world with new technology.
It’s always the same; you hear about an apocalypse and think it’s going to come from a zombie plague, God’s angels raining down, or even the Mayan calendar finally ending. They made movies to predict how the world would finally end and how the survivors would find some cure or resolution for a better life. They told us a greater force would bring annihilation on the world and end us all.
They were all wrong.
The only thing we never could predict was that the greater force to come and destroy our way of life was, as a matter of fact, us. Undeniably the worst mistake humanity made was the continuing of technology. We were starving for new toys to play with, so desperate for something better that we became violent.
“Burn down the White House,” they wailed. The crowds came out of shadows like death and torched the emerald green grass of the White House. The fire spread and even more Molotov cocktails were thrown.
They called it great fun, but an elderly man got very stupid and broke his fiery flame-thrower across his head causing a flood of deaths that poured down the crowd with torturing screams. Mothers of newborn children, fathers of guilty sons, daughters to negligent parents, and even my son all died that day.
The Antigens, that’s what we called them. They were the organization that destroyed millions. A group of millions around the globe that were against the rebels; us. We were the ones that would not dare to fight with the Antigens; we were helping people and we were the rebels.
“Jeffrey, Antigens are coming for their money, we are short of 47 dollars and we have no source to get it from. What are we going to do? We are at the bottom limit of our agreement with the packs and they want their firearms. They are going to kill us if don’t have what they want by the time they need it,” Maria said hysterically.
“Okay, okay. Calm down. When do they come?” I asked her hesitantly.
“In four days. We don’t have long.” Maria spoke with a profound fear in her heart.
“Tell the town to pack up and get ready, we are leaving now.” I said as I grabbed my tools; being the town’s doctor and mayor I had a right to keep my people safe. I couldn’t keep my son safe, but I could try to keep the town safe. There were only 400 people in the town; it wouldn’t be that difficult to get them all out in four days. Every time we negotiated with the packs and the Antigens they gave us supplies: food, medicine, water, and transportation. They were strict with how they let us use it, but we were allowed to leave within a curfew.
The Antigens and packs started working together after the war broke out. We were not surprised how easily the other ones were defeated. There were outnumbered by too many to count and were also outsmarted.
The Antigens started the war; they refused to be controlled by a government that was corrupted. I really couldn’t blame them, the government really was shit; they were so far corrupted that they started hurting people in a physical way. The Antigens expected everyone to follow them, when some of us rejected they destroyed us. They kept the able to work for themselves and they killed everyone else. They viciously killed women children and fathers; they destroyed the ones who always fought back.
So being rebels, it was our time to actually fight back; we had enough means to keep us alive. And if we died we would die with the right intentions. I believe that people forget how to feel; their intentions of being human are clouded and foggy and the only person to have emotions is the one who dies first.
I want to die; ever since my son died I have had an empty shell of a soul in my body. It feels like my heart's still beating in my chest but my body is unfathomable to believe in an actual hope and I am unknown of what love is anymore.
“Get in the vans. Load the trucks with our supplies. We have twenty minutes.” I wailed towards the trainees and the veterans. We had so many vehicles; but still not enough to load all the men and women.
The town council voted and declared that we leave behind the sick and elderly. I was against the decision so strongly I threatened to resign my position as the only doctor in town.
“Jeff, there are too many people to look out for, they are dying anyway and we if they come and we get into a war then they will die. Its better this way, they won’t have to suffer.”
“They were some of the first people to colonize our town, they are some of the first people to father our generation and they will suffer with the longing knowledge that their fucking children left them to rot in a town of isolation.” I left and resigned my duties of health keeper. They, however, did not change their minds.
We started driving, we were heading down a path that could lead to all our deaths; God I hope so. I am so pissed off at life that I forget I am somewhat leading this organization.
We made our mark; 4000 acres of forest and a huge wall protecting it. This was sacred ground; after the Antigens took over they declared this land to be untouchable. There is no way to get or get out. So they thought. I was on the board of building when this project started; I made a secret door that could fit our trucks into it.
“Guys this way.” I said as I turned the wheel of the semi. And there it was under the thick brush of about 100 trees and vines. So completely concealed it made my heart jump to actually think we accomplished a mission. It took about an hour or so but we found the little path I made in between the trees. It seemed so convenient how all this worked out the way it did.
I opened the 40 year old door and could smell the thick pine and spruce. The maple filled my nostrils with such delight that I laughed; it was the first time I laughed since my son died.
And then we see it and I am amazed; it was all gone.
What did I smell? How could this be? Where are the trees and the hope? Where is the fucking love we were supposed to discover?
Everything was demolished as if someone dropped a bomb on the place. I was crying and weeping and sobbing. This was supposed to be my resolution, my hope, and my future.
I have let down my son and everyone around me, I have destroyed the sanctity of my existence and everything I have ever loved is complete dust.
I shout out to the heavens in a rage of horror and pain. The gun in my pocket was heavy and very friendly. The sound of the gun cocking made me laugh and I sent a bullet through my soul and ended my suffering.