Running wasn't enough.
It was like trying to out run the sunlight; more were approaching at a steady rate. I fell as a tremor shook the earth, everything was either thrown in the opposite direction or violently shifted from one side to another, a chandelier above me came crashing down and I had to let it pass right throw me before I continued to run. A blur crossed my path with such speed that I was thrown backwards by its momentum, then someone caught me and wrapped their massive arms around me, it was the same guy that had tried to catch me before, it was the same guy who was squeezing the life out of me I passed through his arms a second time and instead of confronting him I decided in a split second that it was better to run than waste time. Just as I turned around, a charge of energy went through me, an energy that was like electricity on fire; and just like that the world went black.
One week later…
We found another pocket of resistance that had tried to escape us after they had stolen a supply truck to our facilities, of course we had to apprehend them, the law had forbidden all acts of crime and for good reason. We cannot have a Utopia with the evils of the resistance in it, luckily most of them were mutants that were recruited; they had tried to run and fight us; they didn't see that we were there to liberate them from that awful place that they call the "gutter" even the name sounds bitter on my tongue. These were people that just needed to see the real good of the Zion's ways, sometimes violence and sacrifice is necessary for the greater good. Killing and kidnapping family members and friends seemed to be the only way to make them cooperate and once we put the Nano chip in their necks they could feel the relief the Zion so righteously gave them and they became one of us. I look down from the second floor of the New Zion Skyscraper, and I see our citizens all walking around in the sunlight enjoying the spring that the Zion had created, children laughing and playing sitting and talking peacefully with their parents; people going about their daily routine greeting each other and having conversations. Peach trees blossoming and milk white lilies in every pond; this was Utopia. Why are there so many people that choose to fight this harmony? Something catches my eye immediately I put my phone to my ear and alert the lower authorities that someone was violating the tenth law in our constitution. They responded immediately and found the perpetrator, a girl had climbed a peach tree; and now she is picking the flowers. They grabbed her and she screamed, two held her arms as one of our mutant recruits threw a ball of atomic electricity completely obliterating her leaving nothing behind, they retrieved a new daughter for the parents and they accepted her lovingly. Much better, this is how a Utopia was maintained, isolate the problem and resolve it, but always make sure that everyone is happy and they were, I walked away.
"Well done, agent Shade, you have never failed to keep our peace in balance." The executive of the New Zion authority division said.
"It is only a pleasure and honour to serve our country to the best of my ability, sir." I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming satisfaction build up within me, the executive was impressed with me.
"And that you do that quite well, which is why you will no longer be needed at your current post." My heart dropped, he was going to relieve me from my duties.
"Because I feel that no one but you deserves the open seat at the executive table when I announce that you will have the position of high superior, are you promoting me, sir? I couldn't believe, I wouldn't dare to believe it, he gave a knowing grin.
"Yes agent Shade, the direct post beneath mine that guarantees you the right to become the next executive should I step down from my title." I almost had an out of body experience where I would be looking at this scene in disbelief, I wanted to give the man a hug but that was out of protocol.
"I promise you sir that I will do my best to not fail, or disappoint you."
"I know you won't and please, no sir any more you can call me Mr Hiram.
"Everything is falling into place, David, can you imagine what this could do for me!? I will be working with one of the best executives of our department."
"Yes I heard you the first time, this is really important to you and it means a lot to me that you're happy."
"Happy? This is the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"And what am I, the second?" He teased, she gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Another kiss." He asked and I smiled at him, my typical David.
"Not tonight, you are going to wear me out before tomorrow when I start my new job."
"Well there's one part that I like about that sentence." He said, with a laugh, I pulled him back by his hair.
"Later okay!?" He grinned at me and lied down on his back.
"Okay, but …"
"But nothing, sleep!" And the lights went off, David is an easy sleeper and he was out like a candle, the whole day just kept on racing in my mind starting over and over again like a scene in a movie that was stuck in repeat. Slowly but surely I could feel my eyelids become heavy from sleep and I shut them.
I was running through a dark and musty smelling building, I could feel myself panic from the emanate danger that was hot on my heels. I ran through walls to avoid it whatever it was that was chasing me; where was I going and what was my goal, was I lost? Someone lunged at me and wrestled me to the ground, nearly twenty laws were being broken here and now. I should stop and apprehend the criminal, but my gut told me to not let go of whatever control in this situation, so phased through his arms and hit him as hard as possible breaking another law. As I was running I thought of turning around and apologising, this was not the behaviour of a soon to be high superior, but once again the urge of survival had overcome my diplomacy and all of a sudden the earth began to tremble. The ground shook and many objects were flying from one side of the room to another, keep going Shadow Cat, Shadow Cat? Was I referring to myself as Shadow Cat, what was even a Shadow Cat? There was a creaking noise and I looked up allowing the chandelier that had fallen above me to pass through my body as I carried on running; all of a sudden a blur crossed my path, so fast that the momentum of it sent me flying backwards into the arms of the same man I had escaped from. He was squeezing the living daylight out of me and I phased through his arms again ready to kick him in the nut sack, but instead I turned around to run and a charge of red hot energy passed through my chest. I sat bolt up in my bed, I had broken out into a cold sweat.
"Cathy, is everything okay?" David asked me sitting up immediately.
"No David, everything is not okay."
"Tell every agent of every subdivision that we are widening the net around the gutters. I want every mutant recruited by no less than the end of next week. No more wasting time by being complacent, if they are looking for trouble then we will either find a solution or isolate the problem and resolve it it completely." I told my PA, my dream had opened my eyes we were being too content within perfecting our Utopia when we failed to finish off what was trying to unravel the system. He sent a group call to every individual within the New Zion division, when he put his phone away he turned to me I acknowledged the fact that he wanted questions and I nodded in approval.
"Why are we taking such aggressive action, high superior?"
"We have been trying to defend our people and our land from those who wish to ruin our Utopia. Yet they still find ways to resist the peace we offer them and in doing so they have harmed many people, theirs and ours. They wish to overthrow the Zion and without the Zion there will be anarchy, chaos, crimes will infest our society and ruin it, these people of the gutters with their unity, democracy and free choice. History has shown us what these things have done, they preserve sexual abuse and murders, thefts, abortions, capitalism and communism, domestic violence, peer pressure, pollution and poaching and still the people of the gutters try to force these ideologies on us. They must be removed from New Zion forever." I could feel my anger reaching a boiling crescendo, but I stopped composed myself.
"Do you see agent Sanchez, it's what best for New Zion and Utopia. The world will be a better place without the gutters."
"And what about the other corners of resistence?"
"Then we will remove them from the picture as well, it what's best for the grand design. Do you agree agent Sanchez?" I asked with one eyebrow up, softly staring him down, he let the subject go and nodded.
"Yes, High Superior, it is in the best interest of New Zion."
"Good, you can go now and carry on with you duties, but angent Sanchez."
"Yes High Superior?"
"This conversation stays between us."
"Yes High Superior." And I politely waved him away, yes I am going to do well as High Superior and one day they will be calling me the executive. First, every non mutant will have to be killed or held captive to smoke the mutants out and then we'll catch them. If the government was over thrown they they'd try to take the law into their own hands and be universal heroes; and what if saving the world wouldn't be good enough they could take over the world and exploit it. So what if a few humans had to die, this is for the greater good… the lesser of two evils. They say better the devil you know than the devil you don't, but the Zion isn't the devil it could be a god.
