"However [political parties] may
now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and
things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled
men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for
themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines
which have lifted them to unjust dominion."
George Washington, Farewell Address |
Saturday, September 17, 1796
The year was 2016, the year all the
madness began. It started with two of the worst candidates to ever run for
president. Then, strange clown sightings, a movie blockbuster called “The
Cleanse”, more police brutality, more government corruption than ever before, and
a country so divided, that diplomacy wasn’t working out.
It
all began when a lying, murderous woman made her way to the final two of the
2016 election. Her opponent was an equally sickening man; it was mind-blowing
just how far he had made it, or either of them for that matter. There was a
statistic that around 70% of the country wanted neither of them. Somehow, most
boiled it down to voting for the lesser of the two evils. That was America’s
first problem. In the same year, there were these strange clown sightings; at
first it started off as one or two psychos dressed as clowns who had lured a
few kids into the woods and killed them. But it spawned into a viral trend. Most
were pranks, but some took it to the extreme and were out for blood. This
turned into what we have today: clown cults. They are large gangs of clowns;
their only real motive was to kill. These twisted fucks were hardly human
anymore… but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Back in 2013, a movie came out called
“The Cleanse”. A movie where, for one night a year, all crime was legal. Of
course, the main plot of the movie and its sequels were to weed out the poor,
while the rich stayed safe. I personally enjoyed them, just some horror movie
fun. But some started to panic that this was the future. I always thought it
could never happen. The government would never turn that much on its own
people. But that all changed once the election year was over and Lady President
took over the White House.
A
corporate shill in the commander-in-chief position was the first event that
started America’s downhill spiral. Once elected, our taxes went through the
roof—she did the exact opposite of what she said she would do. She lowered the
minimum wage and our healthcare was now more unaffordable than ever. Her
running mate basically gave her the win; he would say the most disgusting
things to intentionally lose support. Although it never came to light, most
speculated that, since the two use to be friends, the entire election was
rigged. I did my part; I tried to vote for the right guy before it came down to
these two. But, the whole thing was blatantly set in her favor. I figured the
worst we had to do was wait it out for four years…I was wrong.
People started to get
angry. Most didn’t want her as president to begin with, so people started to
riot. The cities were a hellhole to live in with our president destroying
people’s lives. There were so many homeless on the streets, nothing was
affordable anymore. It came to light they were using our cell phones against
us, spying on us, listening to us, and even watching us through them. When the
people tried to rally, they were met with police brutality to the most extreme,
some even being slaughtered in the streets. It was clear this wasn’t going to
be resolved easily.
To weed
some of these poor, rebellious souls out, the president decided it was time for
a “Cleanse” of her own. It only took a year for her to begin the first American
Massacre. On November 5th, 2017, America’s first annual Cleanse was “celebrated.”
It was basically straight out of the movies. There was so much destruction; it
was hard to want to stay alive after the things I’d been through that night.
Luckily for me and my family, we lived out in the country, the cities had it
the worst. Don’t get me wrong we had a few twisted fucks come around, but me and
my own fended them off.
The movies weren’t half
as bad as what reality was. The cleanse took out a quarter of our population,
at least. The damage was so brutal, it was nearly impossible for some to
rebuild. The president didn’t care about that. She only wanted to destroy all
who opposed her, trying to take out the people that once made this country
great. Somehow though, we managed as people, as Americans, to rally together
and put together our own “government,” if you will. We had a leader, Lieutenant
Bruce Woods of the U.S. Military. He put together a small army of his own: partially
made up of soldiers willing to take this country back, but mostly made up of
regular citizens who had to stand up now. The problem was that our government
had a much bigger army, called the Coalition. It was no longer about conservatives
or liberals, Democrats or Republicans. It was much bigger now, it was about
freedom.
It’s funny thinking back now to being on
Facebook, arguing with someone on the other end of the country, pitting
something as stupid as a “liberal” against a “conservative”, but that’s how the
government always manipulated us through the media. We were sheep, and they put us exactly where
they wanted us. They would have us arguing about a flag from the past, whether
a celebrity would stand for the national anthem or not, and even about what
bathrooms someone was supposed to use. Looking back now, I can’t believe how
many fell for this; hell, that even included me at times. But eventually, after
another year or so, came America’s second Civil War.
Bruce Woods led us, the Freedom Marchers—although
there was no official name, that’s kind of what I called them—against the
Coalition. Their group was mostly made up of bad cops and law enforcement,
soldiers just following orders, and a whole lot of bad men who were paid very
well to do one job…kill. Keep in mind, after the Cleanse, we lost many of those
who would have been on our side. Senior citizens and parents with children were
also unable to fight, and that too limited our fighting numbers. Everyone hoped
for a miracle, hoped that once again in history, the good side would win…but we
didn’t. Side by side, we lost that war; I almost lost my life a few times
fighting in it. I only survived because I wasn’t on the front lines. But after
the loss, all hell broke loose. George Orwell tried to warn us in “1984”, but
we didn’t listen. After the war, there was no America left. All the cities and
towns were nothing but chaos, some burned to the ground, while innocent blood was
shed everywhere. This was America’s apocalypse. I hate saying it, but senior
citizens too old to defend themselves and parents trying to protect their young
were the biggest group to be taken out first. I lost my grandparents, aunts and
uncles, and countless friends. To be honest, I’m not sure where some are,
whether it be dead or alive. Most of my cousins had to fight in the war, while some
were lost in the cleanse.
My brother and I made our
way back to our parents’ home as fast we could. I was lucky enough that my
immediate family has survived this long: My brother, his wife, their six-year-old
daughter, and three-year-old son; my sister, her husband, their seven-year-old
son, and four-year-old daughter; and both of my parents. But, the worst part
for me was that my girlfriend and I were separated when all the madness
started. She was staying at her mom’s house not far away from where my family
was all staying together during the war. But once chaos ensued, they were
driven out in the opposite direction. Cell towers were destroyed and turned
off, there was no communication anymore. Our president had alienated all the other
countries; nobody was intervening, as though they were happy to watch us suffer
and burn ourselves to the ground. I had no way to find her, and America was
nothing but a battle ground now. To leave your homes and walk the streets was
certain death. If the Coalition didn’t get you, then those fucking clowns might.
* * * * * * * *
The
year was 2019 now. In the matter of three years, we went from working our jobs,
living in our homes, and being with loved ones, to now being all cramped in a three-bedroom
house. My family all stayed together in my parents’ home; it was the safest option,
nestled out in the woods. It’s not too long of a drive from the nearest town,
but far enough to keep us isolated. The problem now was, the more populated
areas were nearly bled dry, and the Coalition was expanding out, searching for
the rest of us “cockroaches”, as they liked to call the rest of the survivors.
California was the only place untouched. Unfortunately, we weren’t welcome
there, that was where the president and all the rest of the rich percentage of
the American people were living. It was heavily guarded, nobody was getting in.
Canada and Mexico had both built walls to keep us out, which was ironic
considering there used to be a moron claiming he would build a wall to keep them out of America.
My
brother and I had been home for a few days now. It was late autumn time in
upstate NY, so everyone in the house was wearing some layers of clothing to
keep warm. The kids were so bored these days; they couldn’t make much noise
considering our lives were at threat every day. They all sat around, hoping for
something fun to happen. I always felt torn apart inside looking at them like
this, knowing they would never grow up with normal lives. They wouldn’t reach
high school, they wouldn’t go on first dates, or get to go to things such as
prom or graduation. It saddened me to know this; my nieces and nephews deserved
so much more out of life. But, thanks to corporate America, they were stuck
being outcasts and rebels and not even being able to comprehend it.
My dad came in from
outside. “Hey you’re up,” he said looking at me, and handed me the rifle in his
hand. It was my turn to go on watch and guard the perimeter. Luckily, before
Lady President was elected, my dad already had a bad feeling about things and
was stocked up on ammunition and unperishable foods for at least a year. He
made a smart move, and it was keeping us alive.
I took the gun and went on my shift; we all
took turns doing this. Growing up, my dad trained us to hunt and shoot, which
came in handy these days. But shooting people? This was new; although we were
accustomed to surviving by any means necessary, it never got easier. All that
was on my mind right now though, was if I’d ever see my girlfriend again. I was
coming up with a plan to go and try to find her, that was the only way. But I’d
have to go alone; I hated leaving my family a person short. They probably
wouldn’t willingly let me leave, so I’d have to sneak away. That night I had
come up with the idea that I’d go. I knew there was a chance I’d never see them
again, and that was almost too much to bear… but I couldn’t just let her go,
never to know what had become of her, she meant too much to me.
Later
that evening, we all sat around the small living room with candles among us. There
was no longer electricity, which took some getting used too. I often pondered
how much I missed simple things like running water or television. My brother
and brother-in-law were cleaning guns in one corner of the room. My sister was
reading a book, she did that often these days. My mom and sister-in-law were
over talking about sewing, trying to remain happy in the face of the
apocalypse, while dad was out on watch again.
The kids were all sitting
in front of me on the floor trying to play a board game to advance for them,
starting to get agitated with one another. They were on each other like glue
every day. My dad had taught them to always stick together constantly. But they
were just kids and they could only handle this world so much, hell we barely
could. I saw this and I noticed the sad look on their parents’ faces when they
did too, because there wasn’t much they could do. So, I decided to take the reins
here. I said “Hey guys, you know that Thanksgiving is in a few weeks, right,”
leaning closer to their little faces, “What’s tanksgiving?” said the youngest
three-year-old, having trouble with the words. All of us adults immediately
looked at each other with sad faces, forgetting this little guy didn’t even
know what a real Thanksgiving was, and might never with this new world. I
pulled back my sad face and faked a smile, “Well it’s where we get a big turkey
and tons of other food, and we all eat and be thankful for what we have.” He
looked very happy with the thought of all that food, I then slightly frowned
knowing we’d be lucky to have any of it, especially a turkey. “I love thanksgiving!
I like makin’ the cutout turkeys wid my hands,” said my four-year-old niece,
showing me her hands. “And we all have so much to be thankful for,” my mom interjected,
listening from across the room; she was always getting emotional in this new
world, but who could blame her? “And you know what’s after that, right?
Christmas!” I said enthusiastically. The other adults smiling because they see
the joy on their kids’ faces with that said. “Yeah but Santa prolly won’t visit
no more,” said the oldest of them looking sad. “Nonsense!” I said, “Of course
he will and you know what, even if he can’t bring much, Christmas is still just
as great without the gifts”. The kids were all smiling, knowing some holiday
cheer could still be spread. “Could we maybe put a tree up?” said my
six-year-old niece shyly, looking down. “A tree? Of course, we can!” I said,
“and we can decorate it with all of grandma and grandpa’s old decorations. They
have to be around here somewhere. Then we can sing Christmas songs, and maybe
whip up some cookies!” The kids were all getting excited now. “But first I need
you guys to do the family a favor and make plenty of decorations. We’re gonna
need lots, okay?” I said giving them a mission. They all had serious faces now,
and started going towards their crafts, one thing we could still provide them
in this world.
“Hey jingle bells, you’re up” said my dad, who
must’ve just gotten in, “Alrighty scrooge” I said, taking the gun. My dad
wasn’t in high spirits these days, I knew it was mostly due to all this stress
and to all the suffering and loss that we all had to bear witness to. My mom
got up first though and hugged me, “That was a nice thing you did for the kids,”
she said gesturing to them; they all looked happy talking about Christmas and
coloring trees and Santa Clauses on paper. “Be safe out there. I love you,” she
said. She was usually this way at night when we went out, knowing how dangerous
it was. I said the same back and went out into the night, gun in hand.
I
knew once this shift was up and my brother-in-law took over, I was set to sneak
off. I felt horrible leaving them, but on my own I could be quick and agile,
and easily hide out while in search of her. I was walking the perimeter in the
woods now; we had a line we knew to stay on, the house still in site but far
enough out to run back and prepare for danger if it was to arrive. We all went
through drills weekly to prepare for this, and those of us who went on watch
were becoming experts in walking quietly through the woods and seeing into the
night. Actually, I loved the fall nights: the moon was brightly shining, and
the stars were out. I often found myself looking up and praying to god that we
all would make it through this alive—there had to be a light at the end of all
this. A crunch of a stick interrupted my thoughts. I raised the gun up and
crouched down, peering around… I heard it again. I then saw a small rabbit,
walking around nearby, twitching his nose, also on alert. But he crunched again,
so I knew it was him. Had he been bigger, maybe I’d try for some food and get him.
But he was a young fellow and I didn’t have the heart, so I let him be. Also,
we tried not to shoot often as to not attract any unwanted attention. Usually
bow hunting was the way to go for food hunting. I got back up but then
immediately heard a high-pitched, scary, crazy laugh, seemingly straight out of
a horror movie. The rabbit took off, and I crouched back down, looking around
for the source of the laughter. I then saw one of those clown fucks.
He was all bloody and grotesque
looking, whacking away at weeds with a machete. It was weird they were this far
out, but it happened sometimes. I looked around for more, as they often traveled
in groups. He was far enough away that I didn’t think he had seen the house
yet. I couldn’t believe the clown craze of 2016 turned into what seemed like a
disease. People becoming these monsters, almost turning into the clown demons
they dressed as, no humanity anymore. He walked along laughing more, I was
aimed and ready to shoot, but then I saw four more a lagging behind him. “Shit,”
I whispered to myself lowering my gun, knowing I couldn’t handle them all. It
was a good call I didn’t shoot, because not far behind the group was a small
army of them.
The
psychos were all over like a mad circus, cutting down everything in their path.
Obviously, they were getting more recruits these days. I lowered down onto my
stomach to hide in the weeds from them, hoping they wouldn’t see me. Everything
in the woods was lit up by the bright moon tonight. They barely held
conversations, they were just laughing and singing out of tune mostly. My heart
was in my throat; this was the most danger to ever get this close to home. I
couldn’t imagine what would happen if they went to the house, what they’d do to
my family. But then the worst thing could’ve happened: one pointed in the
house’s direction and started running towards it and laughing. The rest started
following, probably fifty plus clowns were headed that way now. I started to
panic, almost everyone I loved was in there, I shot up from the ground and took
aim. I shot one of them in the back. The big bang made the forest go silent. I
stood there not knowing what to do, the gun could only fire so many bullets.
The clown I hit fell, not moving; the rest of them, every single one, stopped
and looked at me. Their faces all painted as scary as could be, holding knives
or axes for weapons—most didn’t use guns. I took off away from the house,
knowing I could lead them away. It appeared they were all following; maybe this
would work to save them, even if it might kill me in the process as weapons
were being thrown my way. I noticed after the shot, the candlelight in the house
immediately went out. They knew if I fired we had real danger at hand. I
sprinted through the dark woods, a fucking clown army behind me, acting as if
they had a hunt at hand. I was running out of breath now, slowing down. I then
slipped and fell into a ditch. They were gaining fast though, I knew I had to
continue, but I slightly tweaked my leg. I noticed behind me was a small
drainage pipe—just big enough for me to climb in—shrouded by the ditch. I
wormed my way in, knowing this may be my only hope. It seemed to be working as
they all jumped over the ditch, and kept going, laughing and screaming like the
maniacs they were. I thought this would pass, but then out of nowhere, a new
sound was heard: the sound of machine guns.
The
guns were so loud I had to cover my ears, as I watched the clowns falling dead into
the ditch in front of me, sprayed with bullets. The only army to have artillery
like that was the Coalition. I heard a man yell, Light ‘em up boys!” The firing
continued until many of the remaining clowns retreated, even they weren’t going
to take these guys on. The Coalition hated the clowns as much as they hated us Freedom
Marchers. The woods were quieter now, I
only heard footsteps and what sounded like a few diesel trucks. I had hoped
they’d pass, but my body went numb when I heard, “Alright boy, you can come on
out, we know yer down there.” I didn’t know what to do; should I just stay? I
would love to keep going into the pipe, but I couldn’t fit anymore through the
tapering tunnel. “Come out now, ‘fore we throw a grenade down there!” the same
voice yelled. I had no choice. I wiggled out and slowly rose from the ditch,
stepping over dead clowns. I raised my hands in the air, the gun in one hand. I
then saw a huge group of men from the Coalition; these men were wearing black
bullet proof vests, and most were quite large. Mind you, these men were
actually fed properly. They had weapons of every kind and running vehicles, on the
back of the trucks were confederate flags waving in the wind next to the Coalition
flag, sporting their symbol of Lady President giving the salute.
The man who spoke to me
stepped forward smiling, “Well, hello boy,” he said. He sounded as if he was
from the south. I nodded not knowing what to say. “What, you can’t speak?” he
said, getting in my face now. “Hello,” I said back now scared for my life,
these were the worst of the worst one could run into. “Where you from?” he said
walking around me, sizing me up. “Put yer hands down, it’s alright,” he said.
Before I could answer he grabbed my gun away and I put my hands down. “I’m just
a lone traveler, looking for food and what not,” I lied back to him. “Really? A
lone traveler, with nothin’ but a gun? No other clothes, no food, no supplies,
nothin’?” he said, seeing through me. I nodded anyway, not ever giving up my
family. It was dawn now, and the sky was brightening up. “I think yer lyin’,
boy,” he said up in my face. His breath wreaked of cigarettes, and smelled like
he hadn’t brushed in a year. He was a much bigger man than I; he had a gray and
black beard with short gray hair. He had some faded tattoos on his arms. “Nope,
that’s the truth,” I said, not looking him in the eyes but looking straight ahead
past him. “Ya hear that?” he said looking back at his boys, “That’s the truth
and there’s nothin’ more to it,” some of them smiling and chuckling at my
expense. He then lit a cigarette, and blew the smoke directly into my face; my
eyes watered, it was putrid. “Ya know boy, we prolly have a bad reputation to
you countryfolk out here,” he went on and blew more smoke in my face after
another puff. “But we ain’t so bad,” he continued. “You help us, we help you… Now
I’m gonna ask you one more time where yer from and if you lie again…well, if
you lie there’s gonna be consequences,” he said, threating me. I was so scared
that my legs wanted to give out, but I knew I had to pull it together for my
family. “Where. Are. You. From?” he said back slowly in my face. “I’m not from
around here,” I said again, I was going to add more, but he then grabbed me
threw me down the ground, my back in pain. He got on top of me, his massive
body having too much weight for me to move. He took the cigarette out of his
mouth and put the lit end near my neck where skin was exposed, “I said where
you from!?” he yelled; the heat was tremendous. I struggled to get away but I
couldn’t move. He put it closer and closer since I wasn’t answering, until he
dug it into my neck, it was so hot, I screamed out in pain.
Not one of them batted an eye; this was everyday
life for them, their job. Then another one of them came up to us out of the
woods behind us where I had come from. “Sir, it looks like not far out is a
small house, probably inhabited,” the man said. My eyes got wider than they
already were, the man on top of me saw the expression on my face. “Well maybe
that answers our question,” he said smiling. He got up and dragged me up too,
my neck in tremendous pain, marked with a huge burn now. “You lil’ fuck,” he
said shoving me in front of him. “Yer gonna lead us to them, and watch every
member of yer family, or whoever the fuck they, are die,” he said pushing me to
the ground again. I landed on my knees, tears in my eyes, was this really the
end?
