ENDTIMES:Short Story By Sole

Endtimes
By SoleMySole

The modern state facility was decked in the new urban design everybody was raving about. Well almost everyone. Some were none too happy with the facility or the new modern conveniences of life and technology, cross-dressed with the scriptures, a rather older fabric, and something that was clearly reality.
Joey was brought about quickly, the guards elevating his arms in such a strain that they were on the verge of breaking. Every few steps he could even hear his shoulders. It was a grinding noise that sounded as if there were dislocation of both of his shoulder blades in progress.
"Get in you." The guard pushed a button on the wall to their right, and pushed him toward the now opening "swish" doors. The swish doors were created from a similar fashion like that on a sci-fi movie, although these had to be opened by pushing a button that read the bearing guard's badge. The only ones that could open the inner sanctum were the guards. Even the warden and the doctors had to be escorted by these special inner guards. And with the title of special, the person had a higher salary bracket as well. The aura of servitude hung in the air and the guards always did what they were told to do and that included killing people. They would keep all that they saw and heard and would keep the knowledge a secret even to death because their souls were sealed. It was already a warm party, but it was about to get a lot hotter.
Joey's own momentum plus the healthy push from the guard, sent him tumbling and stumbling in a room that was entirely too small. There was a little window however, all the way at the top. But the only way that Joey could see out of it was when he was on his tippie toes. And the view sucked. Moby Dick. There was a bunch of red paint splotched artistically along the inner sanctum wall, painted in what looked to Joey like the size of a 20 foot mural. Joey wasn't really impressed though. The painter (whoever he or she was), was very random in Joey's book, using different rust brown colors, in a sporadic fashion. Just ugly brown here folks, and over here we have uglier brown. He could also make out about four different cell swish doors that undoubtedly held other temporary residents like Joey.
He could hear someone screaming, but the sound was far away. He went to the vent, and listened to the central air sing it's lulling song. He sat there on his bunk with his head resting on the bunk. He was enjoying the breeze immensely and he started to nod off to sleep. He shook his head and then he heard a heart wrenching scream. Someone was crying, "Oh, GOD!" Then it was just a long wailing, and Joey thought that he could actually hear the victim's teeth grinding, as well as his heart berating along and running the current pace. It altogether seemed wrong. His heart was beating much, much too fast. Damn! Joey could hear many things through the vent. Everything was amplified and Joey had to move away from the vent and he almost welcomed the different listening level. He had to get out of here. Those bastards were going to do something to him...something bad. That is, if he didn't try something first. But what could he do. He was powerless against the guards.
He had to urinate so he did it in the dirtiest toilet he had ever seen, and there were bugs and roaches nesting in it. It also had old feces and toilet paper crammed up inside the bottom, which also seemed to have a larger visitor then the bugs in the toilet at the current moment. But this thing was much bigger and furrier. Whether a mouse or a rat, Joey didn't care to look, so he just pissed all over the damn thing, and it was only then that he eventually opened his eyes. You see, shortly after pissing on said there fellow, the little guy had the gall to run up Joey's bare leg a little, and jump off him, using him for a launch pad to safety. Feeling the claws on his leg helped Joey find his sense of sight and he wanted to sock that little rat right in the cushca. As he was sure that they all had. Cushcas. That's plural for cushca.
He looked down at his track leg, and saw little red dots of injustice running up his thigh like a ladder. The little dude was gone, and had disappeared around the corner. He looked around at the surrounding, closing walls and Joey had to think about what to do. Joey flushed the toilet and everything went down the drain and actual clean water flowed into the toilet. He turned the little bathroom sink handles for hot and cold water and they both worked properly. Joey splashed his face and hair with water. He felt overheated and he paced back and forth through the narrow confines of his cell, his mind picked up and he started praying. It was fervent prayer that many people only wish they could feel comfortable doing. For Joey there was no problem, and it was only natural. He always turned to God for everything and especially situations like these, desperate situations. Even praying during trivial moments in his life, was a normal occurrence. Like waiting at a stop light and taking a dump, while singing in the shower, or even watching television.
At lunch time a guard brought in lunch on a tray, and the tray reminded Joey of school lunches. But that was later, after the guard had left and the food got cold. While the guard was there, Joey's lips were moving in rapid conversing fashion, and his eyes were closed, and the guard got the heebie-jeebies because Joey didn't even seem to be aware of anything in his surrounding environment.
Officer Tomlin left the cell quicker then he would have thought, but only because the guy's trance was freaking him out. Two hours later when Joey was done with his praying, he noticed how horrible cold pasta tasted to him. He ate the meal with thankfulness, glad not be starving and to have a roof over his head. He thought of Andrea and his heart fluttered like a kite. But these were desperate nervous quivers, and they stung Joey deep down, every second that he was there.
After eating and relieving himself over the previous cesspool, Joey went to his cot and laid back and closed his eyes. His pillow was hard and flat, and when he rested his head upon it, he could feel several pointy shapes trying to push through the thin pillow cover. Nevertheless, his eyes closed involuntarily, and he fell quickly to sleep. He dreamed about some of what got him here, and some about Andrea, but mostly about horrible things yet to happen.

A Week Ago

Joey was running through the woods and it was a clear day. The birds were flying, the baby squirrels crying, and most of all there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Joey could hear his feet tapping out their own rhythm, as he sprinted toward town, toward excitement. He reached into his pocket and could feel his stun gun. That pocket was sown just for this very thing, and he was happy that Aunt Greta had sown it on for him. All plastic parts and all that was needed was a battery, something he could get anywhere, with or without a sign. Excitement bubbled in him like champagne bubbling out of a bottle. He was soaring along and going a good clip, his long brown hair flapping in the wind. That was what most people remembered was his beautiful long hair. "Oh, marvelous. Such long hair." his Aunt Greta would say. When he was still a boy she would tilt little Joey's chin so that he would be looking right at her. And she would tell him he was beautiful, and he was blessed. Often times, tears would roll down her dirtied cheeks, and create clear cut trails along her face. And she would weep at him, and he never knew if she was crying sad or crying happy, because sometimes momma said, people can cry both.
He was nearing the beginning of the district, and his insides tickled with all the excitement that he knew only he was feeling. There was a thrill here, and he was going to be in it. He was going to do something brash and uncouth, and he couldn't wait for the perfect moment. The anticipation was greater now then any past Christmas's. The excitement was the biggest thrill that life had to offer in Joey's book (besides God). He walked up to this house and looked it over with his peripheral vision, in a non-chalet manner so as not to attract unwanted attention.
He steadily walked on, then crossed the street, and started on the next block, his eyes still scanning everything. He was good at it too, scanning everything, and would remember most of what he had seen. His brain was so close to photogenic and he had no idea as to that talent's name. All he knew was that it helped him out all the time. He also had premonitions of trouble. He couldn't describe the feeling other then that somewhere around him; something was going to happen that wasn't good.
Right then Joey had one of those feelings and he glanced around in fervent nervous quirks of his neck, now looking very suspicious but no where near his prize. Then he heard them before seeing them. Their dog was barking, and growling, and pulling them along, straining the leather rawhide leash that held him. The boogiedog of the 21st century, the good old rotweilers, had set up a precedent to everyone by now, and people rarely talked about the trained killers. The boogiedogs had started their own legend and even were admitted into the dictionaries. Boogiedogs could use certain scents much better then the average stinking man, and the boogiedogs were cloned in with a hound's smell, which made them especially dangerous. He had to move then because it was time.
Joey ran toward the corner and disappeared around it. The guards must not have seen him at all, otherwise there would have been shouting. There would probably be bullets flying as well. The boogiedog was still barking however, and straining to lead the guards to Joey. With a certain command the boogiedogs were trained to seek out anybody it saw or smelled if commanded to. The guards also followed this same basic principle, as did others even without boogiedogs; the authority of which strained toward the semi-quarantined districts, and along the streets, using and abusing that decree and many other policies. Toward anyone whether suspicious or not, you only had to be spotted. Then it was the microchip, and Joey would rather kill himself, ensuring a hot spot in hell, rather then taking it, and accepting it, and being damned forever in a hotter spot. But he couldn't think about any of that right then.
Joey ran down a side street and quickly made it to the end, and then high tailed it around the next corner. He could hear the dog barking then, but it was faint. He could hear the guards yelling commands at the dogs, and soon thereafter the dogs quieted down. Either that or Joey had already put enough distance between them. He slowed down and started walking, letting his air supply replenish quickly. He had barely broken a sweat from that last run, and he inhaled in deeply, pounding his chest lightly with a closed fist. Yeah, Joey thought, thank God for all the practice. If I hadn't been so completely obsessed with running, I would have been a doggie from hell biscuit!
The houses along this new street were rather shanty and shabby, and looked like they had been built by a seventh grader during Shop class periods. It reminded Joey of El Paso, Texas. Along the national Border Wall (twice the size of the Great Wall of China, and now the largest in the world), you could walk along it and look at the difference in houses. On the Mexican side (there were so few survivors left), the houses were shanty like these ones, mere remnants of what was. Along the American side were the giant skyscrapers, equipped with five hundred floors now. Joey was reminded of the houses he had seen when he had first come into the district. They were large and plentiful and it was a complete suburbia. City block after city block he walked through.
He headed toward the city crossing several streets where gangs patrolled, always seeming to elude the guards. Of course the truth was every single one of the guards could be bribed, as long as it never came to the attention of two guards at the same time or more. You see, every guard was obligated to report any bribe offers, and the bribers would be executed. But if the guard did in fact, withhold that information, everything was dismissed and there were no repercussions.
{-}

Joey watched from his cell as they carried out a rebellious religious fanatic who wouldn't take the sign. He found this out by listening to the chit chat that made up Joey’s new community of social brothers and sisters. Two guards dragged the fighting man Jacobs by his elbows. Each guard got his own elbow to twist when he wanted to. Jacobs must've been getting twisted pretty hard because his screaming didn't seem to lighten up any, and he even threw in swear words in between screams, about what he was going to do to them later if they didn't ease up any. This rude insolent behavior was very unfitting or so the guards thought and acted upon by twisting even harder.
The guards flung Jacobs toward the mural, and the truth about the mural hit Joey like a ton of bricks, and he stare in horrified shock as the guards raised their guns and sprayed a quick succession of bullets at Jacobs. Jacobs was screaming and he went down to his knees, his head half blown off, and his brains like a glob of slime were sliding down to his shoulders, and the other prisoners were yelling and shouting, to put him out of his misery, to shoot him those bastards, and Jacobs wasn't screaming now, but whining and making strange, childlike, drawling noises. Then, after a few more seconds, the guards raised their weapons in unison and shot off another rapid succession, and finally Jacobs was silent. There was a plop as Jacobs's body hit the floor and a slap when one of the guards gave the other one a high-five. Laughing, they headed for the door that led out of the cellblock, and prisoners were threatening those bastards and screaming at them now, but the noise fell on the guards’ deaf ears. The door slammed shut and then they were gone.
The noise was almost unbearable as people were screaming and shouting, as if there was a competition to see who could be the loudest as well as whose eardrum would blow a gasket first. Joey went to his cot and lay down. The women who were in some cells were screaming shrilly, sounding like the evil little tramps that they probably were. He covered his ears with his hands, trying to block out the noise as best as possible. Soon though the sounds died down, and then it was all just your everyday grumblefest. Well I'm hungry. Or, I wish they'd let me use a telephone. Or even, Get down you!
Joey said a quiet prayer and soon he was fast asleep, and dreaming about Andrea.
{-}

"Arise and shine sleeping dog." The guard Tomlin said gruffly. It seemed that he always spoke gruffly, like a drunken Popeye. "You've got company, Grub." Joey was rolled over on his cot. A woman was pushed into the room by another guard. She had long curly red hair, with shoulders that seemed to encourage her breasts points to show they could protrude. She was tall and the reasons were her two long legs. She was very beautiful, and Joey thought that she was extremely lucky to be sharing a cell with him and not one the other mojos here in cell block six. In here with him whose thoughts tended toward that of Andrea and heaven, she was quite safe.
Joey looked over at her after the guard had left and she was looking at him. Their eyes locked for two seconds and then she swiftly came over to the cots and crawled up to the second story cot bunk and stretched out across it without saying a word. Soon she was asleep and Joey just sat there and listened for a while to her steady breathing. Soon his own eyelids grew heavy and he closed them. His sleeping exhalations finally matched hers and Joey once again dreamed about Andrea. If only he knew what was happening to Andrea right then. Sleep would have been the furthest thing from his mind and heartbreak the closest.

Andrea had decided that she too, would go to the district, and had made up her mind about it ten minutes after Joey left. She and Joey were a fighting couple, always putting the gloves on and going a few rounds daily. Joey was more the daddy and good husband type and one of the most boring people Andrea had ever met. She didn't know why the hell she was still with him for. She was much too wild for his blood. If only he knew the truth, and to how much time he was wasting on her. But she didn't care. She never had.
Joey never even suspected the truth about Andrea, and she thought that she was an excellent actress. Her goal in life was to become a movie star, a famous actress. Then she could have good looking guys fill her holes all day long. She was a whore. She knew what she was but didn't care. She used her body to give her pleasure, and to get whatever else she wanted from men. Catch 22 was she was a sixteen year old girl without the sign. She didn't have the sign because of her messed up parents. The public had a title for her parents- religious freaks. She even had a t-shirt that one of the district civilians had given her. It said on the back, "Twenty dead religious freaks, a damn good start" She kept it well hidden from her putz of a father and her clitz of a mother, along with a few other choice habits. Habits her dada would've tore her a new one had he known. But she was a good actress with him too. Even her mother was a pushover, likewise walked on and pushed over ever since Andrea's twelfth birthday.
She had gotten Joey hooked by giving him some of cherry red, a cheap trick that she acquired by playing a cheap trick in the district. The john was an ugly fat Chinese man, who shuddered when he climaxed all over her face, and showered her with his sweat and piss. Of course, he paid extra for that little fetish of his. He was a makeup artist for an actor that did bagel commercials by day, and screwed boggiedogs by internet at night, and he had all kinds of fake blood packets. He was a one time customer for Andrea, because he didn't have anything else she wanted. From that time on she had to watch out for him because he was always trying to get some more of that young sugar pie.
Anyway, she used a blood packet the first time she had sex with Joey, claiming that he was her first. Joey and his family didn't have the sign either, but they were well to do in Andrea's book, and she wanted a steady sugar daddy, also someone she could abuse. Joey was it. That timid, insecure, wannabe man was just something to pass the time with to her, and he had fallen head over heals in love with her. She didn't care about his love, but she acted like it meant the world to her. His love, humph! Thank goodness she was a good actress.
She skipped along, and soon she was in the downtown quadrant of the district. Here the people were packed together like sardines, and a place that was easy to be conspicuous.
{-}

It was here that everyone accepted the government as it was. It was here that the government rewarded the people rather then fought them. There was no hunger here in the downtown quadrant, as least none that were actually citizens. The government practically threw food and jobs and all the other securities at the people, and it was all because of the sign.
The sign started back when the bible was first written, prophesized by John the visionary. In the 1990's the prototype chip was shown in colorful splendor, in a lovely black glossy finish. The little microchip was a picture that was included in with the article. The article surmised that the chip could be mass produced when the time came that such technology was required. The government made it their top priority twenty years later. There were too many muggings, and hold ups. Then there were the drug wars to think about. If money could become obsolete then all that power was gone. What then? The microchip. It made sense. Both ways. Because the bible was still talking about what was going to happen, and it was happening. And now, even the government was calling the shots. Of course you could say that made Mr. Smith the problem. That essential one man government was very much the one who had the final say so of the sign. But people were at first calling the chip the bodypocket, or privacy. The younger generation liked the word "stash". Hey man you got any money left? I don't know, let me check my stash.
But soon arguments broke out and the Christians were revolting. There was nothing peaceful about some of them, attacking cops and other government squad unit members in their getaway hit-and-run attempts. During this time period even some of the non Christians got into trouble. You see, after reading the bible through because of curiosity toward the Christians, some non-Christians also tried to leave. They too were killed like the Christians. Those without the sign were the enemy, and the knowledge was passed around to everyone like wild brushfire. Everyone knew that everyone knew as well, and there were no surprises there. The law was essentially emanating from the cars, houses, roads and the occasional streetlight. Like waves of emanating sound waves traveling the great fluid surf of the sky, everyone knew.
That those without the sign were fair game, and the word ‘fair’ was geared more toward the government's cruelty. The government always seemed to win as well. It was of course, overbalanced because of the latest weapons and technology at hand whenever it was needed. Sometimes the Christians would be sent over to the holding cells for voluntary placement of the sign, other times shot on the spot. It wasn't murder if it was a Christian, and Mr. Smith was rather slick in exactly the word quality and verbiage that everyone received from his frequent speeches. Sometimes they would be made sport of, and the games could last for nights. The tangled web of deceit and treachery spread throughout the Christian hideouts. The soldiers of the government used their advanced infrared technology to track the subordinates. Yes the armies of the world looked at the Christians as subordinates or underlings. It seemed that the beast was telling them these lies. But they were buying it fish, line, and sinker. They always bought it.
{-}

As Joey rolled over, he grunted in his sleep and Stella smiled up at the ceiling. They hadn't said diddly to each other pretty much since she was placed there. Maybe that was why Joey seemed like a nice kind of guy, because he didn't voice his thoughts or opinions at her to disable or lower her defense, in order to pursue other bestial gains. The animal would show itself from within, because as far as Stella knew, all men had this animalistic behavior. She was sure that her behind was partially responsible. It was a lovely butt really; the kind of rear the more you looked at it the better it looked. It wasn't a good attribute in have in a place like this.
He grunted below her and she heard him rolling over and shifting on the bed. Hmm, she thought, he must be having a dream. I wonder what kind of dream he could be having in a place like this. He would probably dream where he was far away from here.
In fact he really was dreaming of a faraway place. He was in a field and there where tulips everywhere. They were many different sizes and colors. Occasionally there was a sunflower sprouting out through the tulips. Joey looked down and saw that he was barefooted. His feet were as clean as if he had just stepped out of a hot shower. He was wearing a white gown that hung about him like a bathrobe. It looked like a gown because the only way that Joey could have dressed in it was by slipping it over his head. There was a worn leather belt which was tied around his waste. The ends hung out like the antennae of a caterpillar. He heard a rustling noise. It was the sound of water pouring over and into more water. He looked around and noticed in the distance there was a clump of palm trees blowing. There were different kinds of flowers underneath the trees. Here to; even as he watched he saw sunflowers sprouting up from the other flowers and around the trees. The flowers were of unspeakable beauty, and colors that he couldn’t even describe. He had never seen anything quite so beautiful. He started walking toward the trees and yet he knew he wasn’t really walking and none of this was really real. His feet didn’t feel any weight, any pressure. He felt as if he was floating over the ground. But whenever he looked down he saw that he really was stepping, his feet on the other hand didn’t feel anything. As he glided along he glanced to his right. There in the cloudless sky, was a lonely dove. As the dove flew along Joey felt a breeze blow across his face. He heard the running water more clearly now too. He reached the trees and saw that the earth slipped down into a steep hill. As he looked down the hill he saw two doves. They were perched under a huge sycamore tree. The branches of the sycamore tree descended all the way down to the ground. There were olives growing from the branches, and the branches being overburdened, weighed the fruit down to the ground. It was dark under the tree and as Joey started to walk down the hill, he walked around the strange tree. As he got to the bottom of the hill the noise of the water was sounding more and more like the ocean. Waves splashing upon waves. There were tulips growing everywhere and palm trees here and there, with sunflowers sprouting up through everything for as far as Joey could see. He reached a patch of palm trees and had to push some sunflowers out of his path. He almost stepped on three doves which were all pecking at the ground. Strangely he rose over them and continued down the hill. He soon arrived into a bigger patch of palm trees and the wind blew much stronger across his entire body. The breeze snaked up his robe and was not unpleasant. Here, there were four doves perched on the blowing palms of four trees. He walked around the trees and five more doves flew out from among the flowers. Once around the sunflowers, the world opened up in all of its splendor. There at the bottom of the hill was the explanation of the water sounds. There were gentle waves breaking upon the whitest sand that Joey had ever seen. There were six doves swimming in the water along the shore. One of the doves ducked down into the water and came up with a fish. It tipped it’s head in a quick jerk and the fish flipped around in midair and then landed in the water. The other doves went for the fish and shared in the endeavor until the fish was devoured. There was a bridge standing in front of him. The bridge went on a steep incline and went for as far as the eye could see, outward over the ocean. The bridge had a reason for Joey and he stepped onto it. As he gazed into the far horizon he noticed clouds forming over the water, and the clouds were massing together quickly.

“Get up!” The world swam in front of him. All the water, the bridge, the doves, everything started to swim. The light from the world started to dim. He started to feel consciousness slipping into view. The real world now swam into focus, as if under a giant water microscope. Someone was moving Joey; he could feel a hand on his shoulder. Somebody was shaking him. It was the girl.
“Wake up. We have to go downstairs for breakfast.”
“You go for breakfast. I am fasting.” Joey rolled back over and closed his eyes.
“Suit yourself.” Stella turned and walked out of the cell. All of the cellblock doors were open and there was a great mass of people walking together toward the cafeteria. Joey started to hear the running water again and consciousness faded into nothingness.

Joey found himself back in the same dream. There was the bridge which he stood on yet didn’t feel. The water below him sparkled in the lake and the sun shone brightly from above. He started walking and noticed that along the lake’s surface tulips were springing out from the water. There was an occasional sunflower springing up as well. As Joey walked he noticed the bridge had changed. Either that or he hadn’t seen it right the very first time that he laid eyes on it. There was now a handrail on either side of the bridge and the end of the bridge couldn’t be seen because it moved up into the clouds and appeared as if it was one giant onramp. He moved on and found it was easy to keep a steady pace. He wasn’t getting worn down like he would have if given the chance to do the real thing. He wasn’t breathing hard and his muscles didn’t ache. He looked down now and barely saw the tulips and sunflowers poking through the water. All he saw was the water itself, and it was glittering and the sun caressed its many ripples and waves. The sand could be seen too, as he looked behind him. It looked like one big fluorescent light shining on him and at feeling this sensation where he would normally be woozy he was now energized and moved upward with increased vigorousness. The bridge continued to move upward and the clouds were fast approaching. Huge, thick, misty clouds filled this part of Joey’s sky and he could hear chirping. He was almost to the clouds when seven doves flew out leaving behind a cloud churned funnel. The doves flew over Joey’s head and continued on their own itinerary. Every dove that Joey had seen was pure white. Speaking of white here were the clouds and they enveloped him. All he could see now was white. He almost felt as if he was trapped in some limbo dimension. Here to serve out eternity in nothingness. The bridge however kept going and he was hearing a new sound of water. It was a rushing sound and as he moved forward the noise grew stronger. The clouds started to thin out and then he saw a giant waterfall. The bridge handrails parted and apparently a detour off the bridge was there. It led along the side of the waterfall and then behind it. He chose this detour rather then continuing on walking the everlasting bridge. This detour was only two feet across and there were no handrails. As he walked he looked down past where he stood and couldn’t see anything except for clouds. The wind streaked across his face now as he approached the waterfall. The waterfall was about twenty feet wide and fell from twenty feet above. The water didn’t appear to go anywhere as it disappeared into the clouds.
“But the ocean is down there. How can that be?” His voice resonated and echoed as if spoken in an empty room. Then he realized that truthfully he couldn’t see the ocean. He assumed it was still down there because he had seen much of the lake upon coming down to the bottom of the hill. But then the bridge had changed. He looked forward again and continued walking the curved and narrow passage. He could see behind the waterfall now. There was a cave directly behind the waterfall. As Joey approached now behind the waterfall, he stopped and looked at it. Inside the falling water were torrents of fish. Hundreds of fish. They fell with the waterfall and disappeared with the water into the clouds. They were everywhere. He turned around and went inside the cave. It was dark and as he moved further back into the cave the darker it got. The little light that did shed into the cave from the waterfall front faded about four feet in. Joey now had to hold his hands out and move forward slowly. About fifteen feet behind was the entrance to the cave and as Joey took a couple more steps he stopped abruptly. Directly in front of him a guttural voice spoke in a single hissing fragment.
“You’re MINE!” Joey was frozen. He couldn’t move. His legs weren’t cooperating. Not until the second time. “MINE-aaaaaa!” Joey felt hot breath then and his body at last responded to his urging brain. He turned around and ran for the waterfall. The light became brighter the closer to it that he ran. Behind him he could feel hot breath blast against his back. He ran faster. He was almost to the waterfall when he felt something scratch his shoulder. He was at the waterfall and didn’t have time to turn. He knew the thing was right behind him. He jumped. He was falling. As he fell he turned and saw a monstrous reptile. It had scales and red eyes. There were horns protruding from it’s scalp. It had jumped right after Joey. Joey muttered Lord under his breath and the waterfall formed a giant hand. The hand had snaked out of the water and snatched the reptile from midair. There was a deep voice then which spoke.
“You CAN’T have HIM!” The fist holding the entire reptile sucked back into the waterfall as quick as it came, taking the reptile with it, and then the clouds enveloped Joey and he was still falling. The world was surrounded by white clouds, but then they were dimming and Joey was still falling, praying as he fell. But he never landed.

Joey opened his eyes and there was darkness. That feeling of falling was gone and Joey was lying down. He felt underneath his head and felt the flat sorry excuse for a pillow that always stayed on his cot. He could hear voices further down the cell block and realized that he had miserably returned to hell on earth.

He lay there for a time, and realized to his shock that he was panting. Panting like he was running he was, and further realized that in the dream he had been running from the reptile. As he laid there on his cot, his breath came back to regular breathing. Aside from occasional snickers or yelling, all was quiet. He was able to hear his roommate’s breathing. It was steady and up to beat and sounded dreamlike, and Joey didn’t know if he could go back to sleep.
There was a loud buzzing sound, and Joey now associated it with the main door that led into the cellblock opening. The lights in the entire cellblock turned on and Joey could hear a gruff voice saying to open 7A. There was a swish and Joey’s swish door opened up. There were two guards there and they both held taser billy clubs. Strapped to the side of either one’s waist were semi-automatic weapons with the capabilities of changing from live fire to rubber bullets. The clips held 40 shots and were easily interchangeable.
“Let’s go you. The magistrate would like to see you.”
“Yeah, it’s your lucky night.”
Joey looked back at the red head and apparently she had wakened. Their eyes locked into place and what was nothing but a few seconds suddenly stretched into what seemed minutes. Time seemed to slow down. During this duration Joey could see the precarious situation that she was in. He wished no one else had to bear the helplessness that he felt except for himself. A tear rolled down his cheek and the girl looked alarmed and worried, and then the guards were pulling on him and telling him to move along. Joey did as instructed, and started to be led away. The swish doors closed behind them and they were on their way. There was a guard in front of him and one behind him. The one behind him had drawn his weapon and was cradling it with crossed arms. They moved down the cellblock and some people were whistling and others were stomping their feet while most of the responses were nothing but silence and cold stares. People seem immune against a lot of wrongs unless the wrongs were being done to themselves. The guard in the front pushed a button and spoke into a speakerbox.
“Open cell door C. Verification 201a.”
There was that loud buzzing sound again and they walked out of the cellblock. They moved down a long dimly lit hall with barred windows along one side and the wall on the other. There was a barred door at the end of the hallway, with adjoining hallways to the left and the right. The guard scanned a magnetic locater with his badge and the door clanked open. They turned to the right and went past several doors and stopped shortly afterward, at a door to their right. The guard in the front swiped another magnetic locater with his badge and the door swished open.
Inside was a long table, across the room. There were people sitting behind the table and there was one lone chair sitting across from them. Joey was led to this chair and forced to sit down by both accompanying guards. One of the guards pushed a button on the side of the chair and straps sprung out from the chair and latched onto Joey’s wrists and his ankles. Helpless, Joey waited for the hearing to begin. There were men and women sitting there talking, and they all wore black robes slightly different then that which a judge would wear. It doesn’t matter what they are wearing. I’d know what they are even if they weren’t wearing anything. Joey thought miserably.
He could hear people talking behind him but he couldn’t see them. He closed his eyes and started to pray.
“Don’t do that!” One of the judges had seen Joey close his eyes and upon seeing that had to put a halt to his actions. “Don’t you dare pray! This hearing will now come to order.” Joey still prayed with his eyes now opened. The mind was a place that Joey could take refuge and no one could take from him.
“We convene today, hence day 336 of our Lord and sovereign world leader, Mr. Smith. Sitting before us here today is subject Joey Pelmet. Let’s begin.”
A dark haired lady to right of the panel shuffled her papers and then stood up. “You have not freely taken the microchip. May I ask why?” All eyes were on Joey and Joey continued praying, his speech was gone from him. There was silence and a clock on the wall was tick tocking. Joey started praying for Andrea.
“Mr. Pelmet, you have been asked a question. You will reply or face the consequences.”
He spoke rather then fight them. “I am a Christian and a believer. I will not bow down to the beast.”
“Do you really wish us to believe that Mr. Smith is the beast? Just because of a few similarities inside your scriptures?”
“I know this is a mute talk so I will not say anything else.”
“You WILL take the chip, whether you like it or not. We’ve come up with a new plan in which we are implementing. You’re gonna love it. Give us just a moment.”
There was a low rumbling sound then as the entire end of the room, from the table to the wall started to rotate. The judges were revolving with the end of the room and soon they were completely out of sight. The room now appeared to end right where Joey was sitting at and go no further. There were voices behind him. There was also laughter. A couple of minutes went by and this gave Joey time to pray again. All he could do was pray, given the precarious situation that he was in and because they had not allowed any literature into the complex, he wasn’t able to read his bible. He prayed for his family and Andrea. The room rotated again starting with the wall which was closest to Joey. The panel of judges reappeared along with the long table that separated him from them. After a moment an old man at the far right end of the table spoke.
“Joey Pelmet? We the judges and jury, find you guilty of Christianity and negligence of taking the microchip. Because of the negligence to willingly take the chip, and fighting everything that it stands for, you are guilty of high treason. Based on these circumstances, we are forced to sentence you to death. Tomorrow morning you will be woken early. We have devised a plan for the likes of you. Granted you are one of the first ones to receive our gift, but there will be others. There are always others. After our little plan is put into effect, tomorrow you will be executed.”
“This counsel is adjourned.” The man directly in front of Joey said. Joey’s mind swam in different directions. The straps released from his wrists and ankles. The guards helped him up to his feet by performing arm bars on either of Joey’s arms. If he hadn’t stood up then his shoulders would have been dislocated. They led him out and back the same way that he had previously come with the guards.

Back at the cell, the redhead was sitting on her top cot. Joey crouched in between the bunk beds and lay down on his cot. He laid there for a moment and then his eyes started watering. His grief was more deeply felt then he had ever felt before. He saw himself being buried. Strangely, he couldn’t picture his own parents there. Instead he pictured heavily armed guards walking a perimeter around his gravestone. There were no flowers and the sun wasn’t shining. There was a strange noise that escaped his lips in an alien sort of way, and his heart fluttered then. Some people call it a double beat, but Joey felt like it was more blood pumping through his heart and his heart not working any harder. The tears were streaming down now, and he turned his face into the pillow and moaned. He caught his breath in a convulsive sort of way. He thought back again to before. Back when they had caught him.

He had come to a sort of flea market. There were people everywhere and Joey had soon mingled with them. There were people of all different types selling their wares. There was black market activity as well. This included buying, selling, and trading items without the use of the microchip. There were still the same ten dollar bills and twenties and fifties and hundred dollar bills floating around and in full use. The reason why this was so, was because in order to read a microchip, one had to have in possession a microchip reader, with a display to pull up a person’s information. These machines were a lot more common among all shop owners and government officials, because they were relatively cheap. But the people selling things at this market were your normal everyday Joes and the products ranged from weapons to jewelry, from fruit to vegetables. There were people who were using the machines at the market, but until the next bill was passed (the one about making these machines free) currency was still currency and Joey felt at home.
There were people of every shape and size massed at the market. People of every nationality and race mingled and went to and fro, finding wares to buy. There were also world authority agents walking among the people. These officers were everywhere and enforced peace throughout the city and outward throughout the world. They were paid well for their services and the position was considered an honorary one among most of the citizens.
Joey reached into his pocket and felt the twenty dollar bill that he had wadded into a little ball. In his left pocked he kept his stun gun in case of emergencies. In his backpack that he carried was room for a lot of canned goods. Canned foods tended not to spoil, and he and his family had lived off canned foods for a little more then a year. They were from the hills, about ten miles out and lived in a hunting cabin that was no more then twelve by fourteen feet across. There was a giant loft that covered the whole length of the ceiling. Joey slept upstairs in that loft and his room comprised of no furniture and little more in possession other then a bag filled with clothes and his blankets and pillow. There was no running water and no electricity, and his family used a living well that was nearby and sprouted from a wedge of rocky terrain, whenever they needed any water. There were candles used during every short night because of not having electricity and Joey was now used to getting up with the birds when the sun came out. He read his bible everyday and he spoke in tongues and believed in angelic and demonic activity. Every Tuesday night his whole family met at a nearby believer’s house. Other believers from the surrounding area also went to this house. They all had one thing in common; they believed in Christ and didn’t believe in the microchip. They had faith that the way was Christ and not of the world power. In Revelations they saw the way the world really was and knew they didn’t have a lot of time. They would have bible studies and they would be eating homemade cheese and drinking non pasteurized milk. When they sang it was all the classic hymns and a lot of new ones too. There was laughter there, and there were tears.
Joey lived for Tuesdays. It was still a couple of days away. This was Sunday, and tomorrow there wouldn’t be a market like this and Joey needed to feed his family. His father had a bad knee that prevented him from making the venture into town.
He wasn’t at the market for very long. He purchased certain foods that he knew didn’t have to be refrigerated. As he moved through the parking lot on his way back home, he heard someone speak behind him.
“Excuse me.” Joey turned to stare right in the eyes of a world authority agent.
Joey asked, “Is there something wrong officer?”
“No, nothing wrong. We are performing a routine check on customers that come here. It kills the crime rate.” The officer took another step closer. Joey turned a little and reached into his pocket.
“I just purchased some food. It is in my bag.”
“Oh. Can I see?”
“Sure.” Joey pulled his hand out of his pocket and removed the bag from around his shoulders and set it on the ground. He unzipped it and peeled the top part of the bag away from the bottom. The guard removed a billy club from his waist belt, and started poking through the canned goods. After looking for a time the guard seemed satisfied about the bag and the contents there of and then asked Joey if he could see his microchip
Joey reached into his pocket again and gripped the welcoming shape of the stun gun. He pulled it out quickly and brought it up to the man’s neck. The officer had seen the arm snaking toward him and he was in the process of getting his gun pointed at Joey. But Joey was too quick. He pushed the little black button on the side and bluish electricity bounced out and the man stiffened up until Joey released the button and then the officer fell over. Joey quickly zipped his back and started to run. He could hear people shouting and apparently there had been a witness to the occasion.
As he reached the end of the block, he ran into an apartment complex. He could hear two way radios and angry voices blasting out. He couldn’t hear what exactly was being said but he turned into the apartments to get away from all of that. There were children playing in the hallway and mailbox area. There were residents checking their mail. Joey eased past all of them and went through the fire escape and exit stairs door and then started walking down the steps to the lower level.
Down below there was a single rusty door. When Joey opened it there was a metallic clanking sound that emanated from the door. He stepped into a dimly lit hallway. He went for a short distance when the wall gave way to an enormous basement. The basement was held up by giant pillars that sprouted from the concrete ground. He moved through the basement until he reached the other side and hid behind a pillar on the far side of the basement. He waited. The silence was heavy. Joey pulled his stun gun out. He heard his own heart beating away at his chest.
CLANK! The door opening and Joey heard the sounds of animals breathing roughly, and a voice speaking to other people.
“Come on! He’s in here!” Oh God no. No. Here they came.
“We’ve got him!”
“They’ve got his scent.” Well of course they have it. I am the only one recently to come through here. Damn! Of all the lousy hiding places, Joey thought absently. He could hear the boogie dogs well now. There were three or four of them and they were coming right to him. Joey knew that if they reached him he was a dead man. It hurt for him to do it because it was accepting defeat, but he had to do it anyway.
“I’m in here! Please don’t let them hurt me!” Joey talked to the wall but was heard by the officers of the world law. The peace-on-earth-makers. There was a loud whistling noise and Joey could hear them still coming. The whistling intensified and only then did the dogs sound like they were moving away from him. If the dogs had traveled one more second in the wrong direction, that would have been it for Joey and there wouldn’t have been anymore tale to tell.

“So what is your issue anyway?”
“Issue? What are you talking about” Joey stepped away from his bunk to look directly at the redhead. This woman had gall.
“Yes. Why are you here?” she asked.
“Because I am a Christian and I won’t take the mark. I am just glad nobody else I know is going through any of this.” Joey looked away from her, the sorrow wracking his ribs. “My girlfriend is probably worried sick about me. They all are.”
“Who is your girlfriend?”
“Andrea Winslow” he said and looked back at her. Upon hearing the name she acted as if she’d just consumed twelve cups of coffee and instantaneously benefited from it.
“No way? Not Andrea. I know Andrea!”
“Where do you know her from?” asked Joey.
“Well- I know her from high school. And I’ve seen her on the streets.” The redhead looked away from Joey and Joey could sense something that was wrong or that she wasn’t telling him.
“What are you not telling me? There is something.” He had sensed from her hesitation that she was hiding something. His hunch paid off.
“She is a whore. She screws around behind your back.”
“Not Andrea.”
“Yes. Andrea. She has always been a whore. Ever since she was thirteen years old.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I’m telling you. We grew up together.”
“What is your name?”
“Stella. What’s your name?” she asked right back.
“Joey. I’m pleased to meet you.” Stella got off her bunk and shook Joey’s hand.
“So why are you here Joey?”
“I couldn’t fide a good enough hiding place.”
“Boogiedogs?”
“Yes.”

It was a long time before Joey could get to sleep that night. He knew that this was the last night he would ever live. He felt that familiar heart tremor from excess blood being pumped through at a roaring rate. His whole knowledge of existence would be wiped away tomorrow, and everything and anything that he ever knew would never be the same. The next time he would see them would be in heaven and they would be of different forms and shapes and life on planet earth would seem like a far stretch. Nothing would be the same. After thinking about the deep things in life and the great abundance of it, and having it all go away forever, he fell asleep during mid thought. He didn’t dream at all and if he was to have dreamed, it more than likely would’ve turned out to be a nightmare.

“Rise and shine holy man.” Joey woke to a slap in the face. He jerked awake from it and looked into the eyes of a guard who raised his billy club. The guard brought the club down and whacked Joey in the ribs real hard with it. Another guard that Joey hadn’t seen pulled him out of bed by his hair. One of them produced a rope with a noose and hooked it around Joey’s neck. He jerked him up to his feet and Joey was led away through the now familiar hallways.

“Bring him in here!” The guard behind Joey shoved him into the room. Joey stumbled and fell to the floor. He was scooped up by more arm locks and dragged across the floor to a chair that looked incredibly familiar. They lifted him up and set him on the chair and positioned his arms and feet in the proper position. A guard pushed the little button on the side of the chair and the straps came out and slapped around his wrists and ankles. Joey looked around helplessly and heard approaching footsteps. He heard the voice before seeing the face as the mysterious person introduced himself.
“Are you prepared for our little surprise?” Just then the stranger stepped into view. It was one of the judges. “Do you have any idea what my job is like?” He asked this without looking right at Joey, but rather, at anything but Joey. He paced about and used his hands a lot. He was balding and wore glasses. He had broad shoulders and walked with a spring in his step.
“I get to be judge jury and executioner. The only downside is having to deal with believers like you.” This time he looked right at Joey and Joey could feel the hate pour from this man. “So I have devised a plan. After reading your Revelations scripture I have found the perfect work around. You see I am a problem solver and solving problems is what I do the best. How does a person get justified? This question pondered me for a long time. By being a martyr. When I kill somebody, it is rather quick and painless. But then other people believe that the person killed is in a better spot. This heaven of yours. Well, I have come up with a way to stop you believers from going to this place for all eternity.” He walked away from Joey and Joey heard a squeaking noise. The judge came back pushing a cart. On it was an electrical machine that looked like a giant microscope. A long handle hung from the side of the machine and there were gears there as well. Next to the machine was a cellophane bag with a microchip in it.
The mark of the beast! No! Joey’s mind raced and he tried to move and couldn’t. The straps held him firmly in placed and there was no give.
“Grab him!” The judge spoke firmly at the two guards that were on either side of him. The guards both grabbed a hold of his right arm. The larger of the two guards rolled his long sleeve up on his arm. With his other hand he wrenched Joey’s hand open. The judge screwed four screws that were located on either corner of the table and anchored it into the floor. With the table implanted into the floor he moved behind the chair and it rolled relatively easy due to the large casters on the bottom of each of it’s legs. He pushed it toward the table until Joey’s hand was centered in between the large extended arms that form a arch shape outward, not unlike a crab would have in the design of it’s pinchers. The judge then started to turn the long handle on the side and the machine’s own pinchers started to clamp down toward his hand. After the pinchers were almost penetrating, the judge stopped and grabbed the cellophane bag. He ripped it open with his teeth and spit the bite of plastic that was in his mouth, to the floor in an overdramatic sort of way. He turned back to Joey and there was a grin on his face.
“Are you ready? It won’t be long now.” He reached into the bag and pulled out the little microchip. The microchip was a tiny piece of machinery that allowed the new world order to govern strictly over the people. The judge sat it on the point of the bottom pincher and the microchip slid into place. As the tip of the pincher pierced the microchip, the microchip transformed in shape like a robot and folded inward on itself to a perfect extension of the pincher. The judge laughed at Joey and spit in his face. He walked around the table to the handle and started turning the clamp.
“Well Joey. You are about to see why this was only a prototype and one that was tested only on monkeys at that.” The pinchers bit into the center of his palm. On the other side of his hand he could feel the other pincher busting through his skin and his veins. It then was sliding in between his bones. His bones were moved over and forced into a position that wasn’t meant to be. There was a small snapping sound as one of them gave way under the pressure. Joey screamed. The pinchers continued to pierce his hand and Joey could see the blood pooling in the palm of his hand and he knew then that the mark was already into place. The pinchers met at the halfway point and by being pressed from a different angle the microchip folded back to the position it was when residing in the cellophane bag. This process tore the muscle around the microchip extensively. The pinchers released their hold upon his hand slowly because the Judge was taking his time rotating the clamp in the opposite direction then before.
When the clamp was completely removed, Joey had not finished screaming. The pain was excruciating and his vision blurred to a reddish tint in front of him. He was dizzy. The room was spinning and he felt warmth spread from the edges of his eyes. The warmth kept spreading, as did the darkness which came behind it. Joey’s head slumped and his chin rested on his chest. The lights had gone out for him.

He was falling. There were clouds all around him. That was until the world burst into view. The ocean was directly below him. There was also a large bridge that descended from the clouds to the land. He recognized this world. It was the world of dreams. He was not afraid of the looming water and welcomed it’s cool caress. As he got closer to impact he saw the beautiful tulips and the sunflowers that were sprouting. They were everywhere and their beauty sucked air that he didn’t need to breath, into his lungs. He hit the water but there wasn’t an impact. Instead it was like falling into a waterbed. He didn’t need to fear sinking or drowning. He laid there on top of the water with the waves descending over his arms and legs. He raised himself up and the water held him and his entire weight. He stood there looking in astonishment as the waves and water now slopped over only his feet. He looked toward shore and started walking. The water held him up and he knew then what it was like when Jesus walked on the water. To live for a moment like this was worth being born in itself. He felt happiness swell up inside him. He continued walking and it didn’t take long until he was on the shore. He turned toward the bridge and started walking toward it. There were plenty of palm trees here. Below them were more tulips and sunflowers growing out of the sand. He reached the bridge and started to the steep ascent. It wasn’t long until he reached the clouds and with it the narrowed vision. He kept to the right side of the bridge and soon he came upon the path that separated from the bridge. He kept walking straight, forever moving upward. He could hear the thing back in the cave, making a low vicious rumbling. He moved on. He couldn’t even see in front of him as the clouds thickened. But he knew that he was on bridge because when he looked down he could see his feet. As he moved along he again felt the sensation as if he was floating along, and he wasn’t even panting even though he had been walking uphill for sometime now.
The clouds began to thin and Joey was able to see further ahead now. There was a street paved in gold. There were houses made from rubies and diamonds and other gems. The roofs were made of sapphires. There were people walking throughout the golden streets. They were all wearing brightly lit white robes that vibrated from the sheer brightness alone, and one had to squint just to stare directly at the people’s robes. There was harp music covering the area and there were twelve doves flying in the air and perched on the branches of the different trees that lined the road. There was freshly cropped winter grass that covered the land where the jewels weren’t. There was a feeling in the air like anything that could happen, would, or already did. The answers were all here. The vibrations in the air could be felt in Joey’s bones. This was right. This was just. This place was paradise. It was God’s country. The sun was out and the clouds were gone and this place called heaven really was up above the clouds. But not in reality. Joey was on a different plain, and he was unaware of reality in every sense of the word.

As Joey lay unconscious and secretly dreaming, his body was being dragged by a piece of rope that wrapped around his body and under his armpits. While he was being pulled, his feet dragged the ground and then some steps, as the two guards who were dragging Joey went downstairs with the green mile man. They dragged him for a time and then stopped. The larger guard, who was doing most of the pulling, flashed his badge at the magnetic locator and the door opened. A little more dragging and Joey’s feet started to twitch.

Joey was walking down the street paved of gold and he was telling the robed citizens good morning and hello, when the sun shone more brightly on his face. He felt the warmth from the sun and saw the sun rise up in front of him like a gigantic orange. The brightness washed over him and kept getting brighter. He could hear a deep voice emanating from the brightness. “It’s what’s in the heart that matters, it’s what’s in the heart that maters, it’s what’s in the-“, and getting brighter all the same. It became too bright and Joey had to shut his eyes. He felt himself in a falling motion and he couldn’t feel his feet or the rest of him for that matter, and he continued to fall.

He came to and the first sense he experienced was a maddening pain in his right hand. His eyes slowly opened up and he found himself in a large room with a wall of bars facing him. There were bleachers behind these bars and people sitting on them. As he looked at the people he noticed Andrea sitting beside an overweight man in his fifties. She leaned over and kissed the man and then turned and smiled at Joey. Their eyes locked and Joey sensed the fullness of betrayal and she smiled wickedly at him. She then whispered something in the fat man’s ear. He nodded and she got up. She walked to a door that was built into the walk and spoke to a guard through the grate. After some hesitation, the guard unlocked the door with his badge and the door swung open.
She walked over to him and looked into his saddened droopy eyes.
“What’s wrong Joey? You act surprised to see me.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here, especially not with another person. Who is that? Your Grandpa?”
“Very funny Joey. No. That is the VIP and I just so happen to be his escort to this event tonight. Later on I’ll let him ride me.”
“How could you do this?! You whore!”
“Bite me Joey. A girl has to do what a girl has to do. At least I am not about to be killed.”
“You are heartless.”
“And you are a dreamer. Look where it has gotten you.”
“I am a believer.”
“A believer of what? Someone who has been dead for two thousand years? No Joey. You can have that belief. I believe what I can see and hear. This is a war Joey and I am not going to be on the losing team.”
“How can you accept the world faith?” His eyes looked down at her hand and he saw that she now had the mark. “How could you get the mark? You are damned.”
“I am damned? Look at yourself in the mirror.”
“They made me get it. I wouldn’t have ever gotten it willingly.”
“I’m tired of talking to you Joey. I just wanted to tell you that they are now giving rewards for you believers who are turned in to the authorities. I need the money. No offense but I turned your parents in this morning. They will be rounded up by noon along with my parents. It pays three grand a person. So thank you Joey. Thank you for helping a girl get on her feet. I owe you one.” She turned and started to walk away.
“God forgive you Andrea. How could you? Lord?!” Tears came to his eyes as he foresaw his parents’ destiny in this place. He felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He gasped for air and the door closing Andrea off from Joey clanged shut.

There was darkness then as the lights went out and a spotlight came on shortly thereafter. It was trained on Joey. The judge that had inserted the chip previously came out of the darkness and appeared at Joey’s side. He pushed a few buttons under the chair arm where a little panel, with it’s own numeric pad, lay. The chair started to moved under Joey. The back and headrest started to lay down, while the lower portion that braced Joey’s legs and feet raised upward. The chair became a lounge chair and then it was a table. His hands and feet were still strapped to the table. The portion of the table on which his head was lying, bottomed out and flipped away by a hinge. It was strapped back and now there was nothing holding his head up.
“The death will be by beheading. Officers please bring in the guillotine.”
Joey was finding it harder to concentrate on anything. He let his head hang as far back as he could so he could see the door at the right angle. The door opened up and an oval shaped machine was rolled into the room. The machine was the height of a full grown man. It looked like a booth and there was a padded circular table top wedged into it. The booth continued in framework and took the deadly shape of a real guillotine. To Joey it looked almost like a giant purse.
They rolled the machine until it was bumped up against the table. Joey now had support for his head as it now rested on the circular table top and he stared up at a giant blade that stretched across most of the width of the guillotine.
Lord remember me. I love you.
“You see Joey, it's not just a chip, but a sign that shows your belief in anything civilized. The society is what it's about, Joey. The people that actually live with one another and have evolved with one another for millions of years. There is greater demand for proof of being, of who you are Joey. As technology advances, we have been forced to advance with it, and to meet the new demands of ourselves and our government. Let us thank the Reverend for his guiding our great world toward the twenty first century, instead of fighting the system like you Joey. You are such a small problem to us Joey. All you are is a little mosquito bite, on the ass of a camel. “You are hardly worth raising an eyebrow for. We can be leisurely with people like you and your father and your mother, because we aren't the ones starving. We aren't the ones running and we aren't the ones hiding. You are the scum of society and I DESPISE you!”
The judge reached into his robe and pulled out an S-shaped dagger. He rammed it into Joey’s chest and through his heart. The judge whispered into his ear, “Here’s how we stop the blood from pumping out too fast during beheading. The heart can’t beat right now, right? So, no mess. Take it easy Joey.” He spoke loudly now to everyone. “Joey you are hereby executed to the best interests of the people… now.” He pushed a button on the side of the guillotine that was causing the machine to turn on and there was a low vibrating noise that rumbled and then continued. “At seven o’clock in the morning of November Second.” He pushed another button and the blade went down.

{The End}