UNWINNER
A parody of Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Once upon a time, there was a civil war. Not about anything worthy to have a war over like Nuclear weapons or something. It was about abortion. The war became cruel and violent so everyone came to a sloppy and poorly put together compromise to end this conflict.
THE BILL OF LIFE
Under the bill of life, abortion is banned. Forget about the hardships of pregnancy or the fact that rapes still happen! NO ABORTIONS! EVER! In the place of abortion, you can have your child unwound! What's unwinding you ask? It's a simple non-consensual full body donation signed by the ever so lovin' parents to get you out of the picture. Why would this be better that abortion? Simple, you're still "Alive" when it happens! So it's all legit under the eyes of God. Cool beans! It's part of the bible to give to those that don't have! So the Bill of life is passed without a hitch ending the abortion war and pleasing everyone! Except all the rape victims and children.
Chapter 1 – Wound up
Our story begins with our pal Connor. He's a risk-loving unruly teenager! He loves to live on the edge of life and do dangerous things like sit on the edge of bridges. Unfortunately, his parents don't care for this type of behavior. Instead of taking him to a psychologist or some sort of help, they sign an unwind order behind his back. Connor figures it out though. It was all clear last week. Dad had an announcement at the dinner table.
"We're going to the Bahamas!" Announced dad as he pulled out an envelope of tickets and placed it in the middle of the table.
"Awesome! I can't wait to play some steel drums!" Exclaimed connor's kid brother.
Connor sifted though the paper "Hey, there's only three tickets here…"
"Oh…" Dad said. "Well…" He could see his father hesitate for the smallest instance. In that instance Connor realized that there wasn't a ticket for him. There would only be an unwind order to rip him to pieces. Sure enough his worst fear was a fact. Afew minutes of sifting though paperwork and he found it a yellow piece of paper. The Unwind order. It was time to go.
Meanwhile, Levi was having a birthday party. Not a regular party, but a tithing party. It's like a birthday, a funeral and a funeral reception all wrapped into one. Levi is what they call a "Tithe" or a child specifically made to be unwound from the very beginning. They're raised in tip-top shape so their precious organs pay top dollar in the organ marketplace. Levi is having a good time. But there's something nagging him in the back of his head. He brushes it off as a small childish need. He's above that now. He's thirteen and ready to help the world the way they taught him.
In another part of town, Risa is a talented member of a State Home, which is basically a dog pound for children. She's being told her grades and talent haven't been up to snuff and that the state homes have been receiving cut after cut. So the State Homes in turn have to make their own cuts. At this time, they have to let Risa go. They can't care for her anymore and apparently letting her out on the street is more inhumane than unwinding her. So they're having her unwound.
The morning after, Risa is loaded onto a bus to Harvest camp, Levi is also headed his way there in his ceremonial Tithing Porshe and Connor is running from cops. The three are about to collide.