That was one the closest I had been to death. When together, me and Marcus wreaked havoc. We used to blow bins up, make artworks across the walls and prank the guards. As we grew older, our 'attacks' became more serious. If only we knew when to stop.
Chester, Pennsylvania, 11:00 4th March 2037
I sat on my bed, eyeing the KPA troops that marched by the house. They were most likely looking for the 'artists' responsible for last night's disturbance near the Central Hall. And I knew who was. Me and my partner in crime, Marcus. I heard no news on anyone being caught, so it was relieving to know that he had not been caught. But that only made my worries worse, because we weren't the only ones there. Little Tom had been there too, and we both knew that if given the chance, he would squeal on us, reveal our identities, and before we knew it, we'd be lined up before the firing squad.
I cursed silently and punched my pillow as if it was the little snitch himself. I knew he hadn't done anything yet, but it was only a matter of time. And the wait for the inevitable was infuriating. Every second was painful, and my heart was constantly beating faster than ever. I was brought out of my thoughts when there was a knock at the front door. I looked down through my window and almost gasped when I saw three KPA. Two were normal soldiers, but the one in front looked like a captain, by the rank markings on his uniform and a red beret, while the grunts had helmets and fabric covering their faces. And I recognized the captain. They all had white on their armor, and the word Police on their black vests.
"Good evening, sir" his mother's voice hit my ears, and I felt my heart stop as the captain invited himself inside. I watched the door, expecting him to march up those stairs, handgun in one hand, and cuffs in another. That was if he didn't plan on killing me on the spot.
There was some voices downstairs. They were obviously speaking quietly to avoid me from eavesdropping on them.
"Jason! Can you please come down?" my mother called up the stairs. I knew what that meant. I was caught. I tried to keep on a blank face as I stepped carefully down the creaking stairs, every step making me cringe, to find his mother and the captain down the stairs, sitting around the table in the kitchen. His father was at work, and he caught a glimpse of the two guards waiting outside the kitchen.
"Yes mom?" I asked nonchalantly, being as polite as I ever was.
"You remember . He has some questions for you."
"Indeed, I do." He stood from his chair, standing tall before me. He looked muscular, but that was an illusion created by the padding of his uniform. His hazel eyes stared deep into mine, and in them, I saw hate and determination. In the past, I had crossed him, but I was too young to be executed. Now, he had his chance to kill me. But he had to prove it was me first. Though I guessed that Little Tom had told him all he needed.
"Where were you last night?" he demanded. Just as I thought. He always was one of those guys who always go straight to questions. I thought my answer over before sending it his way.
"I was asleep. Had a long day." He sneered, but only enough for me to notice, and it faded as quickly as it appeared. There was a long silence as he watched him closely.
"Do you know who may be willing to act against us?" He smiled deviously, as if he knew the truth already. But I guessed he didn't, so for now, I was safe. But I didn't lower my guard.
"No" I plainly answered. He studied me closely for a long while, expecting me to break under his stare, then he turned away.
"Very well. We will leave you to the rest of your day. Thank you for your time." And with that, he left. Once I heard the door close, I sighed with relief. That was a big mistake, because when I started for the stairs, my view was blocked by a very cranky woman. I gulped, staring into her eyes of despair and darkness. That was a look that made my heart stop, and not in a good way. I thought I would have a panic attack right there in front of her.
"H-hi mom" I stuttered. She said nothing, and her hand flicked up in a swift movement. The next second, she was pulling me by my ear and forcing me down onto the chair. If she had rope, she would have added that to the scene too. Around my waist and chest. My stomach tightened as her mouth began to move.
"What. Did. You. Do?" I forced an innocent smile, and restrained my lips from quivering. My attempt failed, for her look was too much. My legs wobbled, and my hands gripped the sides of my seat tightly, refusing to let go.
"N-nothing! I didn't do anything!" I tried to talk myself out of it, but I knew she bought not a single word. She knew how my mind worked, and had a suspicion that I had something to do with last night. And she was right. She knew she was right. The next thing she did was the worst thing she could do to me.
"Please, stop! For your own sake!" she cried, hugging me tightly. I already felt the guilt rushing through me. It was her best weapon against me. And it always worked. I couldn't help myself as the words came from my mouth.
"I will" I promised. I wonder now if that promise was worth it.
That evening, we came to the town rally. Every evening, the town was called together for announcements. Min stood atop the stage, with two other officers on either side of him. If not for their faces not being covered, you would assume they were clones.
I stood towards the back of the rally, with my parents by my left. On my right, Marcus stood. He had no parents, and lived with his older brother. I was certain that he was towards the front.
"People of Chester. It has come to my attention that there are some who wish to disturb the peace that we hold! As of now, patrols shall come by every house until these vandals are found!" I felt a pang as the words reached my ears. Marcus flinched in the corner of my eye. He was bound to be among the suspects, and most probably already had a visit from the captain himself. "Go on with your normal duties! For anyone with information on them, we ask you to come forward with it! For those who do, they shall receive two weeks of work-free rations!" There were murmurs throughout the crowd. Excited and greedy whispers. If I knew anyone in this town, they were mostly desperate, and would most likely give up their own neighbor for an extra day of rations.
"There goes the neighborhood" Marcus joked. He was now by my side, leaning close to me. "You been visited?" I checked to see if my parents were listening. I was in the clear since their attention was completely on the stage.
"Yes" I whispered back. "Don't worry. I told him nothing."
"Same here. Although, my brother did questioned me after. He doesn't know. Yet."
"My mother suspects me, but she does not know either." I looked past some people in front of me to find Little Tom. He was on an angle so I could see his giddy grin. "Let's just hope that Tom doesn't do anything stupid." Marcus growled like an animal at the mention of the name.
"He's always been a little snitch" he muttered accusingly. "It's only a matter of time before he shows off his true colours." I nodded my head, agreeing with him. Our biggest worry was that little bastard. One word was all he had to say, and we would be dead men walking. We had already dug our graves too deep. And he would be the one to put us in them.
"As well as the vandals, there has been another incident." Hyun Min motioned with his right hand, and two grunts brought an older man, his hands bound in cuffs.
There was a muffled cry not too far from me. I didn't look, for I knew who it was, just as I knew who their prisoner was. The prisoner was one of the farmers, and the person who had cried out was his sister. From the captain's face, he had not heard her sudden cry.
"This man was caught stealing from the bakery three days ago. He was caught by " he added, gesturing to one of the soldiers holding the thief. "This robbery is his last, for he has done many. And we all know the punishment." As he spoke, he drew his pistol and aimed it towards his head. As he finished, he squeezed the trigger without hesitation. He had no mercy, and I saw no remorse or regret as the farmer's blood was spilled.
I couldn't get the image of today's from my head. The way the bullet propelled itself through the air before drilling through his skull, then exiting through the other side, blood following in its wake. Then the loud cry of sadness from the farmer's sister. It took three KPA personnel to restrain her from throwing a hit at the captain. Luckily for her, he was in a merciful mood and gave her a warning, followed by a backhand across her face. If that man was anything, he was cruel. That was the one word I would use to describe him. In addition to that, he was very demanding and did anything to impress his superiors. He had led several raids across the USA, and had been responsible for at least three hundred deaths alone. Today was the third execution this month by him, and the fourth altogether. The one not by him was by a firing squad, since it was from multiple people. I could swear that he actually enjoyed the executions. He was present for every one of them, and led all of them as well. As soon as the rally had finished, I had rushed home, with Marcus following me. My parents took their time, and didn't act very suspicious of us.
Marcus paced back and forth across the foot of my bed, and I laid there, staring up at the white ceiling fan as it slowly spun. It was somewhat hypnotizing, and I could not take my eyes from it.
"This is useless. It's only a matter of time before-"
"Keep your voice down!" I hissed at him and quickly looked at the door. No one came through, kicking it down, so we were lucky. Both my parents were inside, somewhere downstairs. But who knew if they were right outside that one barrier.
"Sorry." He sighed, then sat himself down just beyond my feet. "We should have run away when we had the chance." It had always been his plan to run away from this cursed place. I had always disagreed with it, knowing my parents would never come with us. But now the idea didn't seem so bad. I put on a frown, my mind fighting itself on whether we should. It started to hurt my head, and so I sat up and gave it a shake to clear my mind.
"What are we going to do, Mark?" I asked, using his nickname. He shrugged, holding a hand to his face. There was a heavy sigh, making sound like the room was breathing, then he lifted his head up, with a grin.
"We get rid of the evidence." My brows knitted into a confused look. "We get rid of Tom." My eyes looked about ready to pop out. I knew what he meant. He was talking about murder.
"No, we can't! That would get us into more trouble!" His grin didn't disappear. I knew I hadn't convinced otherwise. But I had to try. "Think about his family! Think about our families!"
"They'll be fine. But if we don't, they might get arrested for harboring criminals. For harboring us. Then we'll all be in the shit." So that's what we were then. Criminals. I didn't want to think of it that, but it was far too late for that. Because it was the truth. If we were...no, when we were caught, it would be the firing squad for us both.
"If we go with your dumb plan, they'll be in even more trouble! We'll all d-" I halted my words when I looked out the window. I was frozen with fear. Marcus gave me a weird look, then followed my gaze.
"Shit!" he exclaimed. I would have done the same if I wasn't petrified by fear. Because coming up the path was a squad of five soldiers, one being a captain. And in each hand was a pair of cuffs. We had waited too long. Then we heard it, at the front door as it echoed through the house. The knock of death.
We were led to the platform in front of City Hall. The cuffs were cold against my skin on my wrists. I had surrendered myself when they came without a fuss, but Marcus had put up a fight, and he was bruised from top to bottom. Even his nose was bleeding. From where I kneeled, I spotted my mother crying. I felt her pain and could feel tears of my own. But I managed to send a reassuring smile towards them. Marcus's brother was standing towards the back, shrouded in the night's darkness.
"People of Chester! The vandals have been found!" the captain announced, presenting us the crowd. There was no cheering from the townspeople. "And the one we shall congratulate...is Thomas Lyons!" He stepped forward, looking proud as if he had just become the richest man ever. Marcus started struggling against his captors, shouting curses and swears at the snitch. I only glared at him.
"You bastard!" Someone yelled. I knew the voice belonged to Marcus's brother.
"He is a hero to the KPA, and is the perfect aspect of a citizen of the KPA" Hyun Min praised him, ignoring the remarks against him. I knew he didn't mean a word of it. He just wanted to watch our heads get blown off.
"Traitor!" Another voice shouted.
"And now, we all know the punishment. And these traitors shall be dealt with!" With a nod, two guards came to our fronts, holding rifles to their shoulders and having them angled down at us. "Fire!" That was the last I heard, before the big bang.
