The Awakening

Alex opened his eyes as he looked up at the cross in his single bedroom house. "God, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive what I am about to do." he whispered, clutching the small case in his hands then walked into the kitchen towards the island. He pressed the latch underneath the countertop to open the door that lead to a secret basement underneath. He made sure the door behind him was fully closed as he descended down the steps.

Once he made it to the bottom, he looked up to see a familiar sight he had gotten used to in the last fourteen years. There in the hospital bed, resting peacefully without the use of medical equipment to keep her alive, is Carrie White. She looked so frail and innocent just lying there unbothered and unhurt by this cruel world. There was a strong part of him that didn't want to wake her up to this horrific reality, but he squashed it down for the sake of humanity.

He took a deep breath then stepped forward with the small case in his hands. "God give me strength."

He gently set the small case down on the table before he slowly opened it to reveal a syringe filled with adrenaline. He removed the safety cap from the needle before pushing the plunger slightly to get the air out until the liquid squirted from the tip. He turned to the girl in bed, her youthful appearance never changed in the slightest after a decade. He held the syringe firmly in his right hand as he inched closer to her, ready to, hopefully, awaken her from her comatose state.

"I hope you're not too angry for this." Alex said to the sleeping girl. Raising the needle over her chest, he stabbed the needle through her flesh and pushed on the plunger to inject the adrenaline into her heart.

Carrie's eyes shot open with a deep gasp as Alex pulled the needle out of her chest. He backed away to give her space as she shot up in bed, gasping and looking around her in shock until her eyes settled on Alex.

The two stared at each other until the male broke the silence, "Good morning."

Those two words snapped her out of her reverie as she shot her hand out in front of her. The wind knocked out of Alex as he flew across the room and was pinned to the wall by her power. "Right...Wrong thing to say." he groaned as Carrie floated out of bed like Dracula rising from his coffin and levitated over to him.

"Who are you? What have you done to me?" Carrie demanded in a fearful tone as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

"Let me explain." Alex began with a sigh, "I know you didn't want to wake up after everything that happened. But there are things you need to know about the world you're in right now."

"What are you talking about?" Carrie questioned, her face filled with confusion.

"Carrie..." he gulped nervously before he told her the truth, "...you've been asleep for fourteen years."

Carrie's eyes popped out of her skull as she registered what this man just said to her. "What...?" she breathed out quietly as she slowly lowered Alex back to the floor. Alex stumbled before he righted himself. "Maybe we should sit down for this next part..."

It took the next three hours to give Carrie the full update of what has happened since she fell into her coma. The young girl sat by the table in shock at what she just heard, at what these people had done to the faith she so desperately clung to in dark times. But to hear that an entire nation has been violently subjected by evil men who would dare twist the meaning of God for their own means have left her sickened beyond anything.

"Here, you'll need this." Alex said as he gave her tea which she gratefully drank, but only in tiny sips to soothe her unsettled stomach.

"Fourteen years..." Carrie began, still unable to believe that she is in the future.

"Yeah. You'd think time travel would be a blast, but it's not. It's Hell created by Christianity." Alex bitterly and sadly stated.

"How could God allow such evil to destroy His good name?" Carrie said with genuine sadness as she began to grasp the reality she just entered.

"I wish I had the right answer for that. If there even is a God anymore, I don't think He'll ever forgive such acts done in His name." Alex commented as he took a drink from his wine bottle, something he had done since the beginning of the end.

"All to solve the fertility problem?" Carrie shook her head in disbelief, "Such cruelty, one that should never be done while envoking the word of God to justify their means."

"Unfortunately for them they only blame the infertility on women, when in actuality it is the men that are sterile. But they hide behind their own lies to the point where even they believe them to be true." Alex said with a tired sigh, "It's getting worse every day. More and more Handmaids are created, more humans turned into breeding stock. Every second they are losing hope...losing their humanity. I've interacted with more dead bodies than I did with real people. Honestly, death is much preferable at this point, if only to grant them the mercy God would have wanted for them."

Carrie closed her eyes tightly at the pain that bloomed in her chest. "Why?" she breathed in as she glared at him, "Why am I still alive? Why did you awaken me to this nightmare?" she demanded, barely containing her anger.

Alex stared at her with pity and sympathy. "I don't know how exactly, but I know my reasons. If I pronounced you alive then you would have been sent to a place far worse than what you've been through for your powers. But by declaring you dead, you were safe. I kept you hidden from the rest of the world because I felt that if you could bring destruction to your enemies, then maybe you can be our salvation should the moment arise." He leaned forward with a hopeful pleading expression, "And it has Carrie. We need your help."

"Me?" Carrie exclaimed.

"Yes, you." Alex said, looking much older than he originally is.

"But I've killed people. Innocent people." Carrie explained as memories of what happened that night, that felt like yesterday, came to her mind.

"You were pushed, deceived, hurt, beaten to the point where it became too much." Alex said with sympathy after seeing the horrific x-rays that detailed a multitude of remodeled fractures to her skeleton from years of systematic abuse. "The ones who were responsible for that night are dead. Those that survived...I can't say for sure in this hellish regime. But that's the past, this is now. We need your help." he was practically begging her at this point.

Carrie stared at the older man who was tormented everyday by the atrocities he is forced to see and be a part of every single day. She gulped, doubt filling her heart as she recalled the screams and terror from that night fourteen years ago. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I'll lose control and do something far worse than what happened at prom." she said, hating herself for her cowardice and for killing helpless people.

Alex's shoulders dropped before he got up from the table and walked over to the corner where boxes were stacked up. He picked one up and carried it over to the table. He placed a hand on the flat dust covered cardboard, "I know you suffered a great deal at the hands of others. I won't dispute that. But in here-" he tapped the box, "-are people who have suffered in the last four years since Gilead was established. Those who are dead were murdered without their names. The ones struggling just to stay alive, they are lost without their identities, their humanity." he paused, "Every day, they are losing hope. I don't know where your power came from, but I believe that if God does still love us as the Bible says, then maybe He sent you to be our last hope."

Carrie watched him as he stepped away. "Best you eat your sandwich. No matter what you choose as your destiny, you will need your strength." he said before he went back upstairs to get some sleep.

Carrie was left alone in the basement with the box Alex left for her. For a long time, she stared at the box before she opened it with her delicate hands. Inside were pictures and documents of Handmaids, many of them looked scared, some-if not most-were mutilated beyond recognition. Her heart bled as she read their profiles, the families they had, the children that were stolen from them. When she finished with that box, she went into the corner and carried out two more with her powers. With every file she pulled out, the more tears fell from her eyes.

By the first sunlight, Alex came back downstairs holding a breakfast tray. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, but I went with my gut and I hope you like... ham." he slowed down as he saw files, pictures and documents floating around the room. "Whoa." he said to himself as he spotted Carries sitting cross-legged on the bed as she read the files that floated in front of her.

"Carrie?" the girl in question looked up from the latest document. Alex did not expect to see tears streaming down her youthful face. She was silent as she stared at him until she opened her mouth to speak, "All these women...they're all from one district." she stated with a cracked.

Alex nodded solemnly, "This is only a small percentage compared to the rest of Gilead."

Carrie turned back to the pieces of papers in front of her with a sad expression. "I suffered seventeen years by the hands of my mother and my peers. No one wanted to help me." she paused, "I won't let the same fate befall them anymore."

Alex's eyes widened, "You're saying..."

"I'll help them, but I am still unsure about my own abilities, fore I fear what my power will do should I lose control once again." Carrie said, doubtful but brave enough to want to save the people from Gilead. "I have no wish to take a life, whether they are good or evil. But I will do everything in my power to stop them, even at the cost of my own life." Carrie vowed, making the decision that would alter the course of history.