I finally worked my way to the top. My years of training have paid off. I’ve studied the ways the masters taught, using them as necessary to dole out justice. No one knows who I am, but that’s the beauty of it. My fame is in being unknown. My might is unparalleled in my circle, and I exude confidence in every tactic I use. Whoever decides to cross me will lose everything. I am an anonymous assassin, omnisciently operating my organization to topple tyrannical totems of the world wide web. I am a hacker, working tirelessly to end anyone who believes they can buy their way out of their monstrous crimes. I’m a digital shadow, ready to leak the secrets of the unjust. I will not rest until the world is free of oppression.
I am not who I’m supposed to be But I’ll be her eventually I’ll use all my might And continue to fight Until the day I am finally free
I know not what the future holds But if I may be so bold I’ll work on myself Put my fears on a shelf Won’t stop until I break the mold
I was born incorrect I see it as a defect An X and a Y Is the reason I cry When I see what the mirror reflects
But I shiver when I think about The life I will surely live out When my brain and frame match These hands doubters can catch I’ll be done with all this self doubt
My hopes higher than Everest I know I will never rest The version of me That I’ve yet to see Is the one I consider the best
And through all the misery and pain Whether or not my fears remain I still do predict My frowns I’ll evict When I’m never a “man” again
There’s a house in Virginia that no one knows about. It’s the headquarters of a secret government agency. Only the employees know of it, and no one can leave the agency out of fear that everyone they know will be erased from history. It’s a realistic fear; the agency has shown it can wipe the minds of the whole planet when it wants to. The agency’s name is unknown to anyone under a certain clearance, and even the senior members don’t know everything. The only person that knows the truths is the leader: Vic. Vic is the only part of his name anyone knows. Wilbert, a new recruit, found this peculiar, and was curious. His curiosity may soon be his ruin. The agency’s handbook mentions the meeting spot for operations, which is on the other end of the building. Wilbert decides to take his chances, but he soon runs into barriers. The most prominent one: each doorway across the building needs a higher clearance. He decides that day to gain anything he needs. He works his fingers nearly to nubs night after night for five years. Eventually, Wilbert works his way to the second highest clearance. After all those years, Wilbert has lost a few marbles. He’s seen so many atrocities, and his new goal is to shut this place down. The night of his promotion, he stabs his boss to steal his clearance card. He knows he’ll get to where he needs to. He takes out his phone and begins streaming to his home computer, which is a skill he learned working for the agency. He sneaks in on a meeting, which is nearly done. Vic himself is speaking at the podium, which is only dimly lit. Wilbert films the meeting fully from where he sees it, including Vic. There was a lot of incriminating evidence in this video, and Wilbert gets home and posts it to several sites, including both factual and fictional sites. The video, overnight, goes viral. Unfortunately for Wilbert, that means the agency is after him. Vic, outraged over the loss of the agency’s anonymity, screams on all of the agency’s intercoms “Hunt down the traitor, and bring them back to me alive!” Wilbert has been running for a year now, and he’s not sure there’s anywhere else to go.
As the flame pierces the dark of the basement of this old, forgotten castle, I yearn for an answer. What is making that noise? I have been woken up every night since I walked into this castle I’m renting for the week. Why does the noise wait until I’m about to fall fast asleep? Why can’t it simply wait five more minutes so I can ignore it? I know the listing said not to go into the basement, but I honestly would rather lose my security deposit than one more second of sleep. I originally found torches in the basement to be a bit overkill, but I can see how well it fits the aesthetic! If this noise would just go away, I’d probably give this place a five star review. I can hear the sound keep getting louder and louder, until I can finally make out the type of sound. It sounds like metal slamming against stone, but there are also scratching noises that follow. I couldn’t hear the scratches from upstairs, but they sound quite rapid. The closer I get, the more intense and layered the sounds get. All I could hear at first was a loud “BOOM!”, but now I can even hear some whining. Those definitely sound like dogs! I run down the hallway towards the whimpering. When I walk in, I am appalled. There are at least fifty dogs down here, amongst other animals. Some are utterly emaciated, while others are ill-proportioned. There are possibly hundreds of animals in this cellar! I try to call the local police, but I can’t get any service down here. I decide to leave the house to try. Once I make it outside, I call the police. “Hi! I’m staying at this castle out in Brookesville. Can you send someone over? There’s a lot of animals here being treated cruelly!” The operator responds “The castle in Brookesville… Harrison Castle?” “That’s the one!” “There will be a squadron there shortly, ma’am!” I thank the dispatcher and decide to grab my belongings and leave as soon as the police get here. I run to my room to pack my stuff when the door closes and locks behind me. I knew I was in danger immediately, so I tried any exit I can find. There’s bars on all the windows, anchored to the bricks. I grabbed my sturdiest suitcase and tried to break the bars. For a building that’s stood for over a thousand years, the construction is surprisingly sturdy. Without warning I faint, waking in a cage of my own with a collar around my neck. The tag says “Subject #A353”, but the material feels foreign. It glows in the dark room, allowing me to see just slightly past arm’s length. When I try to remove the collar, I feel a pain everywhere I can only describe as “needle skin.” Pushing my face into the bars of the cage, I use it to look around as much as I can see. I can see the edges of what looks like more cages, but I can’t tell what’s in them. The air is silent, almost mind-numbingly silent. There’s this weird lock on the front of the cage, but touching it sends an intense burning to my hand. Without any other options, I try to go to sleep, but I am awakened with sounds once again. This time, I can hear what they are. They’re other humans! I can’t end up here forever; I’d rather die trying. With a quick pull, I yank on the tag on the collar, breaking it off. Is the collar safe now? I tug on it to find that it isn’t, so I try jamming the tag into the lock. There’s a small spark, but both are still functioning. I keep trying. Eventually, the tag gets brighter, melting the lock in the process. My reflexes finally catch up, and all the blisters start to form on my hand. It’s intense, but I think I can manage. The newfound brilliance of the tag illuminates more of the room, revealing many animal skeletons, each in a cage. I find many eating utensils on the floor, deciding to touch it with a spoon. The two metals fused, making a knife from this super hot tag. I’m gonna make it out of here…
I rounded the corner and was greeted by the warming sight of the Copperhead Bar. My favorite bar, but I could’ve swore it closed down. I walk in to see friends that have long since passed on, and I start to panic. I run up to my wife, who died of lung cancer two years ago. She’s belting out her favorite hits on the karaoke stage like she used to. My best friend that was hit by a drunk driver is in the front row, and she’s cheering my wife on. I run to her and ask “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!? AM I DEAD?! WHY ARE ALL THE PEOPLE I MISS THE MOST HERE?!” She pauses for a moment, and she turns to me. “Hun, this is a vision. It’s predestined that you’ll meet us again, so long as you remain on the right path.” I start to calm down, hearing her words and letting them set in with full weight. “You’re having this dream to give you a hint as to what you need to do to get here. I can’t tell you exactly, or you won’t be allowed here, but I can give you vague guidance. It’s spirit rules or something I don’t know.” I start to laugh. She always was an odd one. My wife finishes her set and gives me a hug. She starts to tell me the same thing my friend told me, but I explain I know this. My friend explains “you must do some more positive things. Make the world better, be your true self, and forgive your antagonizers. It’s time, hun.” I wake up, knowing exactly what to do. I quit my job, take my savings, and put it all into my animal shelter plan from 10 years ago. The shelter can house well over 3000 animals of all kinds. It’s like a zoo, but the animals get better care and more wide open spaces. I call my parents and set up dinner. We end up talking for hours, and we all feel we understand each other better. After all this, I take some of my profits from the shelter and put into becoming my real self: a proud woman, no longer hiding my femininity from the world. I don’t know how long I have left, but I’m going to keep pumping positivity into the world until my final breath. For the first time in my life, I’m truly awake.
I think I just met the happiest person in the world! Their smile brights up the room. It’s jarring the jolts and jabs of joy others feel in their presence. Their sense of humor is unmatched, finding beauty and hilarity in any joke you could imagine. Their words are careful and concise, constructed to convince against sorrow. Supernaturally sunny, endless exuberance, and always advantageous to anyone around! I have yet to meet a person who disagrees.
A bright sunny day going for a drive, the last thing I expected was this. As I passed the coffee shop on the corner, I see a 10 car pileup surrounded by pedestrians fighting each other. The sky is darkened artificially by a blimp flying over. The bodies start to pile up as more and more people file from homes and businesses alike to continue this war on our once-peaceful city’s streets. I stay locked in, knowing I’ll fall if I leave. Finally, after about 20 minutes, I decide to try and drive away. Much to my dismay, I’m already boxed in. Great. I decide to look up to the sky where the blimp rests and see shadows fall from the bottom. As they hit the ground, I see that they’re weapons. All the citizens grab their tools of destruction and continue the merciless slaughter. Once I see the shotput take out my windshield, I know I have no choice but to engage in combat. The baseball bat I keep in my car for protection finally comes in handy. I grab items along the way to add to my array. I look up to the sky, now lit in letters the size of busses that gather to spell the one word that seals our fate. “Survive.”
