The land of the free and the home of the brave.** **What a bunch of bullcrap. We have no freedom anymore. We have the intelligence to make our own choices, but the ever-knowing eye will dictate every action of our lives. Every action anyone takes is monitored and reviewed by a series of AI machines, deciding whether or not what we did was right or wrong. Instead of people choosing their own lives, FAITH now controls ours. And that is something I hold no faith in.  Just as the twenty-first century started, so did the world's downfall. In 2001 the Patriot Act was enacted, laying the foundation for FAITH. Crime started to rise around 2050, and by 2200, crime had risen by almost eighty percent. In 2217 the government had enough of it, and a group called FAITH stepped in to do the work. They amended the Patriot Act, making it so government officials could access almost every part of a person's life in an instant, mainly through technology, and do whatever they want to it. This doesn’t violate the fourth amendment, because the FAITH Patriot Act bypasses that. Now, in 2243, crime has dropped rapidly, and in the next fifty years, the crime rate will be back to how it was. All thanks to FAITH.  All of this monitoring is done through technology, so one may wonder why we cannot boycott it. Yet the government makes almost everything in life revolve around the use of technology, making it impossible to avoid it. If one avoids technology for a day and an NSL isn’t recorded on you, then the administration officers will come after you and make you use technology. NSL’s are letters that the government gets which tell them what you’re doing online. Most people send in hundreds each day. We are all prisoners in a terrain of technology.  School is a schlack. That’s slang for a doozy if you don’t know. I try so hard to get good grades, and yet they seem to evade me just as much as a happy life. I have a good lot of friends though. It’s hard not to when you’re six foot five and stronger than most of the other kids. Yet for all of the friends I have, most of them just use me and are jorkers. Those are like phonies. You see, my father is a government worker who helps enforce FAITH, while my mother is a lawyer trying to dissipate it. Even with the little freedoms we have, the first amendment still exists, meaning that people like my mother can still use legal methods to fight back. However, people like Autumn’s parents can’t.  Her parents are part of the movement against FAITH and the laws that have changed America. They are part of a secret society called Lilah. That is the name of the ground because Lilah was the girl who started it all back in 2219, two years after the amendments were passed. She fought for twelve years to stop the program that was stalking, terrorizing, and irrationally killing people. She was killed in 2231 because of her illegal actions. Her bravery has inspired many. Anyone who follows in Lilah’s footsteps may be considered heroic to some, but are just paving the way to their graves.  I decided to sit down on my couch and turn on the television. This television is holographic and shows the images in a lifelike form, but I like to keep it small so I can see all of the action. The television doesn’t have much action, though, as all forms of inspiring or reality television shows have dissipated. What remains are news channels and documentaries of how FAITH has saved America or other programs rewriting history that our ancestors have already written.  The newscaster on screen is currently describing a new building which is being designed in New York City which will have one of the new antennas which all buildings will soon have. These antennas help give wifi to people and all and serve to collect all transmissions, but since the government changes, have allowed for the widespread collection of information around a fifteen mile radius. These were first created in 2235, and have been slowly added to every building in major cities. It is the easiest and most efficient way for the government to control us. Suddenly an image flashes on the screen. It is a short video, which plays on the chime of every hour of every day. It is of the Statue of Liberty, a sign that is everything but. The statue now wears a button shirt with a golden patch below the right shoulder, written on it the same message it screams every hour of the day.  “You are all under the impression of FAITH. You are all under the watch of the United States of America’s Government. You must obey our laws, or you shall be punished. No one is above the law. No one can hide from the law. No one can beat the law.” The statue goes away, and the newscaster quickly continues his message about the building. Just a few seconds later he moves onto his next segment, where he is discussing the case of a criminal named Mat Donovan, a man who murdered a group of three women in an alley in Florida, but was terminated by an administration officer just four seconds later. The body of Donovan was burned with a lighter from the officer's pocket.  Three loud knocks are then heard on my door. I bound up from the couch and moved towards the doorway. I swung open the door and saw Autumn Silverstein staring back at me. She is far shorter than me and her wavy white hair flows in the wind. Unlike me, she does well in school, but her friend count is far lower than my own. Having white hair is unusual for a sixteen year old like her, and many people at school bully her for it. Further, she is very judgemental of everyone else, making it even harder for anyone to like her. I don’t even like her. Nevertheless, she is my English tutor, not by choice but by the force of our teacher, and we have become _friendly _throughout our sessions. However, I planned for no study session and she carried no notes or materials. All she had with her are puffy eyes and a box of tissues. “They’re dead,” she tells me. “My parents were killed by the administration.” I let her into my house, and just as I shut the door, she collapses onto the floor and sobs. I just watch. There is nothing I can do to help. Her parents found the end they knew was coming for them. I do find some comedy, even, in how she only revealed her feelings once I shut the door. It is as if she thinks that keeps people from watching.  That’s funny. Someone is always watching.

Alone again in my room Running a 2k In a month without training Parents are disappointed And second helpings have gone

The doctor says I need to gain 20 pounds, seems a lot But my parents agree I’ve agreed but I just want to lose more

Blacking out Diet Coke Physics lab scales 5 years of this A lifetime to go

Sertraline sickness Paying off my debt Propranolol prayers Reading manuals on recovery Ignoring the advice

I’ve gone a year or two Gained no more The statics getting quiet I’ve forgotten before Heart beat slowing to drumming pace

It’ll be over soon don’t worry My hands are turning cold This is overdue The end of everything It’ll be over soon don’t worry

Sorry going straight for the depressing content again 💀 will be posting more varied stuff soon just thought I’d post a few short things and they happen to be like this

It was made for cleaning. Cleaning your clothes to be exact.

Put a little on your stained white t-shirt and BAM! The stain is gone. Your t-shirt’s good as new.

“It’s good,” they said. “Buy some,” they said. “Keep it in your house,” they said.

“Tell that to my suicidal brother,” I should have said.

(Now I know this says “something” but I’m going to make it “someone” if that even makes sense)

(Still the prompt! Ish… lol 😆)

Meds Wash it down Make it go away Calm down Put the blade away My mind screams I only wanted to help people In my younger days I wanted to be a police officer Or a detective Playing cops and robbers I wanted to grow up to help the world Funny how that ships a sail When you wake up realizing You’re a Cannibal Always have been Just been tucked away Hiding in a safe place For one day when It decides to crawl out Plague my mind Plague my eyes I wanted to be a police officer But now I’m standing staring at him My little brother Knife in hand Almost killed a pregnant woman Her boyfriend And my parents too My cousin was there Who knew? Forgot about her until now But so what? I held a knife crazed expression I wasn’t terrified I wasn’t nervous or nauseous I was just worried I’d get caught Damn how heartless But I don’t care anymore I’d do it again But uncertainty is too powerful I’m too young to go to jail Due to miscalculations Oh well I guess I’ll have to wait A little longer Cops and robbers I wonder how often They wanted to switch roles Funny I wanted To Be A Police Officer

Bang bang bang. The lights were off. All cells closed. We knew the drill. We were on lockdown. I rolled another cigarette and settled in for another night of spades. What else was there. No use getting upset about shit you couldn’t control. And how you handled yourself in here was how you survived in here.

When I opened the door to our cottage, I was relieved to see my little sister has yet to turn into a lifeless corpse. She laid there just as steadily as I left her, under a thin white sheet on her fragile bed, silently fighting for each breath she took.

“I’m back, just like I promised I’d be.” I sat atop the stool beside her bed, and placed her aching hand into my own.

If she had the strength to smile, I know she would have. It’s been weeks since I returned, far too long a time to go without seeing a familiar face.

Just like her body, her darkening eyes seemed to carry more weight with each passing minute. No one this young should ever feel this sick.

“Look at what I bought from the village. It’s something to make you feel better.” I whisper.

From behind my back, I reveal something once forbidden to us, purchased from a town we were warned away from by our mother.

A blue aurora shone from the mystical flower I held in my hand before her.

And when she saw it, a ping of sorrowfulness overtook her expression, because she knew the price to pay for using such a gift—the taking of one life to save another.

A random life unimportant to me. Her sickness and my worries would be cast onto another.

No life was worth more than hers. I knew it. Her heart was too young, too innocent, and too beautiful.

But I saw it in her eyes. She would never take the blue flower I held in my hands. She already decided that no life was worth less than hers, and that’s what made her all the more beautiful.

I’m mortified by you Darling You made me hurt And everyone saw Emotions I try to keep so Hidden From this frosty world Yet if you said the world I’d let you Mortify me over and over again Until finally you get sick of my beaten and crippled soul Because Darling I adore you

She hid in the closet from a man that wore an apology and hated herself for the tears that fell there.

She sat on the couch with a monster who wore a man and hated herself for trembling there.

She looked upon a friend who became a monster and never looked again.

She sat and hid, she spoke and grinned, but never did she ever look again.

I breathed in the crisp, warm summer air. These nights were the best for clearing your head after a hard day. As I walked I took note of the eerily quiet of the town around me, it was always quiet at night, but this was a different quiet. There were no animals or bugs. Just silence.

I took a few more steps before something fell at my feet. Cautiously, I bent down and picked it up. It appeared to be a book of some sort. I looked up to try to see where it fell from, there was nothing there, but it couldn't have just fallen from the sky, right?

I studied the strange book for a moment, it had a leather cover and looked very old. The pages were blank. I stood up and looked around trying to see if maybe someone was nearby but there was nobody there except me. Confused I placed the strange book in my bag and decided to head home.

I sat at my desk staring blankly at this mysterious book for hours trying to figure out what it was and why it just seemingly fell from the sky. I opened the book and started at the blank pages, all of a sudden as if planned just for me, words started forming on the pages.

“What the-” I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Words were forming right before my eyes, like magic. This was something straight out of a movie. I looked around, almost expecting to see hidden cameras or something revealing a crazy joke, but nothing. This was happening. I read the pages;

If you are reading this, the book has chosen you. In this journal, you may write your wishes for yourself or others, but be forewarned, for what you write may come with unforeseen consequences. If you wish to relinquish the journal, you may simply place it back at the location in which you found it, and it will choose someone else.

“Wishes? Like a genie?” I felt stupid as the words left my lips.

This book would grant my wishes. Any wishes, there were no rules. I could write anything I wanted. Or I could not. I could put the book back where I found it and never look back. Nothing in this world was free, certainly I wouldn't be able to just wish for anything with no repercussions. After all, the book did say there may be consequences to the wishes. Was it worth it? I needed to think. I left the journal safely on my desk and decided to start fresh in the morning.

The next morning I picked the journal up and checked the pages, partly to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and partly to make sure I had read it correctly. It was all there, as clear as day. It was mine now and I decided I was going to use it. Part of me didn't even truly believe it would even work, but a bigger part of me wanted to at least give it a shot.

I picked up my pen and flipped to a blank page. I needed to be mindful of my wording since I wasn't sure about the consequences of my wishes. I wasn't sure what to wish for, so I started with something simple. I started writing and the words just started flowing, it was like this journal was made for me. I stared at the page after I finished writing just waiting for something to happen. Maybe it wasn't instant? I put the journal back in my desk drawer and tried to start my day. I guess I would wait and see what happens.

I headed toward a small diner I went to every morning for coffee, as thoughts of the journal raced around in my head. That's when I saw it, sitting on the bar of the diner, folded three times and placed under a salt shaker was a fifty dollar bill. I picked it up and raced back to my apartment grabbing the journal and flipping to the page I had written on. It was right there in my handwriting;

I wish to find a fifty-dollar bill at Wolf Pack Diner, neatly folded three times and placed under a salt shaker on the bar.

It happened exactly as I had written it. I couldn't believe it. I tucked the journal into my bag and left my apartment again. My wish worked, but what else could I wish for? I was lost in my thoughts as I crossed the street, not seeing the car coming, it swerved to miss me and plowed right into another person waiting at the crosswalk. They fell instantly to the ground. People rushed to the scene but it was too late.

I stood there frozen in disbelief. The word consequences popped up in my mind. Was this because of the wish? Did I cause this? I shook my head. There was no way, it was just a freak coincidence, it had to be, but I needed to find out for sure. I slipped down a small alleyway and pulled out the journal. I remembered hearing a story on the news a few days ago about someone who had recently robbed a store and made off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. They were still looking for them. I started writing;

I wish for the person who robbed that store I saw on the news to immediately go to the police department and turn themselves in, also bringing with them the merchandise they stole and handing it over.

I closed the journal and headed back to the diner to watch the news to see if my wish came true. No sooner than I arrived the story went live, the news announcer was telling the miraculous story about how a man had just walked into the police station carrying stolen merchandise and turned himself in for the crime. The journal worked again. But, like before it came with a price.

Almost right on cue, the diner owner let out a sudden gasp grabbing his chest, and fell to the ground, dead from a heart attack. My wish, although intended to help, had caused harm and death to innocent people. The consequence the journal had warned me about, was an innocent life for each wish I made.

I sat there staring at the journal, was it worth it? Killing innocent people just to get what I want? Even if it was used for good. Would the good deed outweigh the price of an innocent life?

If I can’t help anyone, How am I supposed to be cheery? It makes me feel helpless