Revolt 2145

        
REVOLT 2145

        
Genevi Engle

     This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is highly coincidental.

© 2014 Genevi Engle. All rights reserved.
                                                                                                     

      Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover art by Genevi Engle.

     To my wife Catrina, who keeps me on this ever going path to success and to my kids; John, Noah and Elizabeth, whom I hope to give stories to tell in their journey of life.

Finally to all of those that have infuriated me with their negative influence on my hobbies and my craft, this story was put together using the anger and frustration you've provided and as a result, you created this monster.

PROLOGUE – MAKING THE MARK

     The leader of a powerful nation, now resting in the comfort of his family. President Steven Holden sat at a large dinner table with his wife and assistant territory leader; Kelly and their daughter Penelope as they enjoyed their family dinner. President Holden's family was in a web of joy, as their family man was able to buy some time. President Holden smiled at his wife as she took a sip of water from her glass. He then looked at his teenage daughter, who was smashing buttons with her thumbs on her cell phone.

     “You gonna give that thing a break?” President Holden asked, watching Penelope tap away on her phone's tiny touchscreen keyboard. Penelope slowly tucked away her phone, looking at her Dad.

     “Sorry” she said with a smile.

The President's maids began walking into the dining room with lavish dish trays in hand. They began to set them down in the center of the dining room table. They lifted the covers from the dishes, revealing a variety of food including steak, potatoes, and greens. The began serving the food onto the family's plate.

     “That speech. You have it all typed up?” Kelly asked.

“Finished the draft. Claire is working on the final draft.” President Holden replied.

“She's still up right now?” Kelly asked.

“Hey, she's only my assistant. If she wants to stay up on it all night, that's her choice.” President Holden replied. “I don't have an issue with dedication of course.”

Gunfire blared out from the front lawn. President Holden's eyes widen.

     “What was that?” Kelly asked, dropping her fork on her plate.

President Holden's tactical security team popped into the room with pistols in hand. The team grabbed the President's family and began escorting them through the halls of the newly refurnished mansion.

     “What's happening out there?!” President Holden asked, alarmed with the chaos.

“We're under attack Mr. President!” one of the security team members replied. “We're looking at twenty armed intruders out on the lawn, semi-automatic weapons!”

     The team and President Holden's family made their way into an armored panic room. One of the team members shut the heavy armored door and the President and his family huddled in the center of the the panic room.

     “Everything is going to be okay, Alright.” President Holden reassured.

“We have two teams in defensive positions. The suspects won't make it far.”

The gunfire outside the panic room grew louder. The intruding gunmen were upon approach, but President Holden was somewhat confident that the gunmen wouldn't be able to penetrate the panic room's walls. The gunfire halted for a moment, then a loud screeching sound came out from behind the walls. Suddenly a beam of light blasted through the wall near the entrance.

     “Guns up!” the security lead shouted, and the President's guards raised their pistols. They stared down the beams, ripping into the walls slowly tearing a rectangular shape into the wall. There was a loud thud as the penetrated wall fell like a heavy, cut out.

Outside the walls where the team pointed their weapons, there was no one there. The President held his family tightly as the lead team member approached the breach slowly. As he came closer, something gripped him in a rear choke hold. The figure stabbed the security lead in the throat and sliced. The lead's dead body slammed to the floor and was dragged out of view. There was nothing now. Just silence. The President's face was drenched in sweat. A canister flew into the panic room. As it hit the ground and rolled into the center of the security team's position and the President's family, the canister began emitting white smoke which began to fill the room, reducing visibility. Suddenly armed assailants stormed into the panic room, appareled in tactical gear and gas masks, and armed with high powered, laser rifles. The armed assailants blasted down each team member, frying them through their armor. Left crouched in the back of the panic room was the President and his family. The President glared at the armed individuals as they gathered in front of the President and his family. The room was full of death and Kelly was shielding Penelope's eyes. The President stood tall.

     “All I did was change the territories for the better. What more do you people want?” President Holden asked .

A short figure in a gas masked stepped in front of the group of gunmen. She pulled her gas mask off, revealing her cut up face and short hair.

     “Your change is bullshit!” the woman said pointing her rifle at President Holden. She blasted the President in the head,  frying President Holden's brains. The President's body slammed on the floor with a startling thud. Kelly shook in fright as the armed woman looked down at her.

     “Selfish fucks!” Kelly shouted. She predicted her death was coming with what position her husband had assumed and the changes that he had made. She new that this was a domestic group of terrorists. Her husband warned this would happen. “Do you know what you just did?! You killed my husband! You killed the President!”

The woman turned around and walked to the exit. “Get rid of them.” she said. “Let's finish this.”

     As the woman walked out of the panic room, she made her way down a long hall and came to a small door at the end. She kicked open the door and revealed a small office.

     “Come out!” the woman shouted.

“You guys aren't going to get far by killing me.” said a woman crawling out from behind a desk. “Spare me the bullshit Claire.” the short woman snapped.

Janice, the armed woman smiled. “If we were going to kill you, you would've been first.” she pointed the rifle at the woman. “Get up!”

The short woman quickly stood up raising her arms. “Don't hurt me.”

“Keep fucking quiet or there will be a hole in your goddamn knee Claire.” Janice threatened.

Claire stepped in front of Janice, keeping her hands up. She gripped Claire by her ponytail and pulled.

“Do one thing stupid, and I'm going to make you wish we kill you!” she shouted, shoving Claire out of the office.

CHAPTER 1 – THE BAD GUY

July 28, 2145.

     The time. 6:49am. It's Wednesday. A gloomy morning. The cell halls were dark and the electronic world clocks were the only thing lighting the halls. In eleven minutes the halls would be lit up, and it would be time for the cell officers to escort us, the prisoners; to the chow hall for breakfast. When I first was put in prison, I was afraid of my damn shadow. The other inmates sent a nervous chill down my spine. Some were massive and their threatening actions were vividly disturbing. I wanted to leave so bad but my past had brought me here, and now after three months of being confined to my tiny cubical of imprisonment, I was finding ways to enjoy my stay until they put me to death. On April 15
th
, 2145 at 11:23, I was convicted of murdering the President of The United Territories and his family. All of the evidence that was cleverly placed, pointed to me and there I was; framed for murder. there I was, in place to die for a crime I had nothing to do with.

     The lights came on, and my cell lit up, revealing my cell-mate; slumped in her rack.

     “Wake up! It's lights!” yelled one of the cell officers. He walked passed my cell, slamming his baton into the cell's protective glass. I watched my cell mate sit up from her bunk.

     “Are they going to let you talk to someone again?” Remy asked.

“They're probably sick of my ass.” I replied referring to how many times I've pleaded my innocence. I know I wasn't the one who shot up the Territory Manor, but they don't. The rage within the community has brought me here with no chance of explaining what they believe were my actions or me even proving my innocence. The first month I was here, I had trouble accepting that but now I was living with it. They were going to execute me and each day, I was becoming closer and closer to accepting that. I could hear the heavy boots clanking on the floor. It was the cell officers in heavy gear, coming here to escort us to the chow hall. The staff here took no chances. These days, there were no penalties or bullshit isolation punishments for starting fights or breaking simple prison rules. The punishment was pain. The protective glass slid to the side and two cell officers entered. Two officers stood outside the cell, guns up; aimed at Remy and I. To them, I was dangerous. I was as deadly as fire. Everyone in this facility knew what my convictions were. I was the talk of the cell blocks butI didn't care. I let them talk. My concern wasn't explaining myself to them. It was explaining myself to the ones who mattered. The ones who had the authority to free me.

     Remy was no angel herself. She was serving a life sentence for 3 counts of murder. Who did she murder? When I first came in here, she told me she had killed her husband and his parents. She had caught him plowing some whore he met at a coffee shop, so when she confronted him, she did the only thing she felt necessary; she chopped his balls off. Then in an act of rage, she found his parents and murdered them. Still until this day she hasn't told me why she spared the whore. I'll probably never know the true ending to that story. The guards wrapped straps around our necks. These straps weren't for decoration, nor were they the latest part of the inmate uniform. They were electrified. Made to keep us bad guys in line. If we fucked up at the slightest, someone pressed a button, and volts would be sent through our bodies until we screamed fucking mercy. If one us tried to make a run for it, they'd fry our brains. It was that simple. I haven't attempted to run. I'm not looking for an early execution and when it comes to choosing between a modernized electric chair and lethal injection, I'll take lethal injection any day.

     The guards walked us into the chow hall, near the tray cart. I grabbed my tray and spoon and continued with the line. I smelled the cheap ham that sat in it's sticky ham juice. The awful tasting eggs which my tongue had memorized. The food was put on my tray and I made my way to the table. Remy sat next to me, while other inmates filled the tables.

     “Three weeks left.” Remy said, digging into her eggs.

“Feels like time is speeding up.” I said. “Before I know it, it'll be the morning of.”

“Are you scared?”

“I don't know what I am.” I replied. “Should I be?”

“You claim you didn't do it, so if you say you're not, than it's a bit odd.” Remy explained.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“Dying for no reason. I mean God knows the truth.” Remy said looking at me. “I mean unless you believe in that type of shit.”

“If God knows the truth, then he'd make me a free woman. He wouldn't be doing this to me.” I said.

“Sometimes bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.”

     An older man in a business suit entered the chow hall. I watched him as he looked hopelessly around the criminal filled, eating area. The man then walked up to one of the cell officers and whispered something to him. The cell officer paused for a moment, then looked around. As his head circled around, his eyes fell upon me and we matched eyes. The cell officer pointed my way and I quickly turned my head.

     “Fuck.” I whispered.

“What?” Remy asked.

“That guy over there.”

“The one coming here?”

I looked up and saw that the man in the suit was making his way to me.

“Claire Dodson?” I heard the man announce.

I slowly looked at the man. “Yeah.”

“I need you to come with me.” he said.

Obviously I had no reason not to go. I couldn't really guess what was it for, unless they were going to off me a bit early. The only thing I'd have to say to that is thanks a fucking lot God for the curve ball. The cell officers put me in handcuffs and escorted me and the old man through the facility.

     “I was expecting you to ask who I am.” the man said.

“Normally I don't get the option, but I really couldn't care much for it at this point.” I replied.

“Well my name is Dr. Erin Labs. I'm a scientist.” he said.

“Labs. Perfect career choice. You did that on purpose?” I asked with a smirk.

“I have a family full of scientists so we carry the name with pride.” Erin replied.

“Well what do you want me for?”

“Once we get to one of the conference rooms, the procedure will be explained, but it's for a government experiment. You were the first one chosen.” Erin explained.

“What are you guys going to do, turn me into a superhero or something?” I laughed.

We came to a door that read “conference room” and stopped. He looked at me with a plain look on his face which diminished my smile.

“It's not that kind of experiment.”

     As I entered the room, there were seven other prisoners lined up in front of the room. Four men and three women. Seated at the conference table were multiple lawyers, observers and random individuals. They were staring at the inmates.

     “Over there with them.” Erin said. I walked over to where the other inmates were standing and stood in line with them. I felt their eyes staring into my soul. One of the few sat at the conference table stood up. He looked young and I can see the nervousness seeping from his body.

     “Good morning ladies and gentlemen.” The man began. “My name is Dr. Winchester and I represent Lovic Industries. The company in charge of building the facility known as Sonne Graol; the prison of the sun.”

I didn't move but the last five words he uttered grabbed me. A prison on the what?!

     “Located on a specially selected section of the sun is a facility built to withstand the temperatures and harmful radiation of the sun. These selected prisoners will be transported to the facility via space vessel.” Dr. Winchester explained.

“How is this going to be arranged. The safety of the personnel piloting the vessel or what about the escorts?” ask one of the men at the table.

“We have a plan for that.” Dr. Winchester said. A smile graced his face. I could tell he was prepared for that question. “We have designed these suits, created with the same materials used to create the facility. They will be administered to the pilot, the escorts and the prisoners.”

“Why the prisoners?” asked a woman at the table.

“The initial arrival calls for the suits. Since we're dealing with death row inmates, their suits will be timed for the length of time on the vessel. After docking within the facility, the suits will deactivate. At that time, the observers will have ten days to record experimental data. The escorts will be there to maintain order for those ten days. Once those ten days are up, the facility's defenses will deactivate and the prisoners will be executed by the nature of the sun.” Dr. Winchester explained.

My eyes circled around the conference table, scanning the looks on everyone's face. I wondered if they were thinking what I was thinking. I mean isn't the death penalty supposed to be painless. To be incinerated by the sun. What the fuck?

     “This uh sounds extremely barbaric. Would the community be ready to accept this?” one of the men at the conference table asked.

“Who said they even had to know?” Dr. Winchester replied. “No more risks of prison breaks. The money saved up to pay for the executions of these inmates can be used for better things.”

I couldn't believe this shit. Set to die on the sun. Who came up with this shit?

After much talk and discussion, the escorts moved us out of the room and into the hall. Before they could walk us back to the retention area, Erin came out of the conference room. I looked his way.

     “You can't send me there.” I whispered to him.

“I don't control who goes there, I just represent the company that built the place.” Erin replied before he walked off.

“This is fucking nuts!” I shouted, watching him leave.