Freedomeers

It gets harder and harder to believe in freedom, but we still have the illusion that freedom can exist. We, the Freedomeers, hear tales of how this land was once free, and to me, it is just fairy tales. I am what is known as a truly free person, and often looked at in awe. My parents fell in love and gave birth naturally. In the cities, one must register and be pre-approved by the State in order to procreate. From the moment someone is born, they have a tax burden of 2.5 Trillion dollars, which must be paid in full, before they have their own rights and privileges. This takes most individuals their entire life to pay, gaining a couple years of freedom when they are too feeble to enjoy or get out of bed. The Freedomeers believe that one should be free from birth. I am viewed as unique, amongst the Freedomeers, but I think of the constant fighting and running as a type of control. My parents fought for freedom, as did their parents. My great-great-great grandparents were known as defectors. They were part of the original Land of Free movement. It was the twenty-second century when the, then United States of America, began to mimic signs of socialism, and wanting to have all of its constituents ruled and had laws in which could imprison someone for years for no reason, under the guise of safety and/or freedom. Neighbors would report on neighbors, and cops became non-existent as they kept getting placed in prison for enforcing laws. Then the military took over, and the citizens had no rights. People were being shot in the street, and families torn apart because of political views. The west coast was constantly on fire, where people left by the millions and moved east. My great-great-great grandparents and a few hundred thousand, of the billion Americans, moved west. They began by building canals and ravines to push water from the oceans and lakes of the north to the south to allow the ground to become saturated. They allowed the fires to continue to burn, and fed the underbrush to the fires that bordered the east lands, becoming known as the Land of the Free, and the State on the opposite side. Creating a clear DO NOT CROSS line.

The world was in chaos, and the United States was quarantined after they began bombing their own citizens. The area previously known as Oregon, in the twenty-fourth century, copper was found. In a world where electricity is required for every facet of life, news of this spread throughout the State. Copper is what started the third civil war. The Freedomeers were not prepared for the lengths at which the State would go, according to my father, and were not prepared for the relentless bombing and targeted land burning. Fast forward two centuries, and we are trying to reach a place called Tejas. We were told that it was close to eleven hundred kilometers from Diego Bay. We started as 150, and became the trip east three days ago. Five of us left early this afternoon to get food, for the troupe. We saw lights from a city the night before and made camp about ten kilometers west.

It is late, and the fire is dwindling and it is that moment right before sleep where one thinks of happier times. I have been with this band of Freedomeers for a week now. The goal is to get to the store house on the outer banks of the river, of the city called Flagstaff, to get some grain to feed us for a month as we travel to Tejas. Our group’s current leader is Max, and he is taking us the “scenic” route as he calls it. The goal tonight is to get to the opposite bank of the river, to where we strip naked, place our clothes and belongings in bags, to keep from getting the grain wet when we get across. The plan is to dress once we cross, load the grain into the bags, and then head back to camp. It is a great plan except our camp is on the other side of the city from the opposite bank, and the grain is sandwiched between the river, the city, and our camp. The plan is, once our pack is full of grain we are to disburse like rats, and make it out of the city on our own. We will be harder to target, as individuals, and one bag of grain is better than no bag for the camp. Max sat on the opposite bank, chuckling, as he said, “The Collective, has always forgotten that part. Individualism, is not a hindrance”.

I am laying here, and as I begin to drift, I hear my mother say to me, from a previous time, “If permission or a license is required, it is not freedom. Be free Marion”. I have replayed this in my mind so many times, that it no longer brings tears, and it just makes me remember her and who she was. A few days later she was dead. My father came in the tent, after burning her body for rest, cried and drank until he could not speak and sat in the corner too lazy to take a pee. The next day, I returned home from fighting lessons and the tent was cleaned, empty of all my father’s things. A note on the make shift table said that he left to be more active in the fight, with a heart shaped locket adjacent to the note. It concluded with “We loved you fiercely, but you’re twenty now, and I cannot be without your mother. Remember us, as we were when we went swimming for your fifteenth circle around the sun celebration”. I clicked the locket open to find a ribbon that my mom found, on that day, she used it to tie her hair back. The locket was silver, and could have been used to feed the family for a month. I was in awe that my father had something so precious. I tied the locket on the ribbon, and secured it around my ankle, and tucked it in my boots, under my sock. I rarely looked at it, but I could feel it there with every step.

I swapped my supper last night for an extra pair of socks, before we left. I knew we would be waiting till midnight, and have to undress to head across the river. The last thing I needed was one of these assholes trying to rip my leg off for the silver. It is tarnished now, but to the trained eye one could tell. I was just on the verge of sleep, when my best mate Crocket lays next to me, and asks me for a smoke. “Damn it, I was almost asleep Crocket!” I rolled over and handed him my hand rolled smokes. He said, “Yhea, I wanted to save you the trouble of being pissed off. We are leaving in five minutes.” He was like that, always making sure that I was taken care of and in the know of what was happening. I often, just zoned out and went through the day to day motions, without really paying attention. Crocket had piercing green eyes with midnight black hair and generally needed a shave. His broad shoulders and height made him desirable to most of the unattached women, and some men. He was as oblivious to them, as I was to my day to day activities. It was a running joke between us. I would tease him about someone flirting with him, and he would tease me about being a robot. No one else, understood but we did.

He stood between me and the rest of the group while I undressed and began getting into the water. I gingerly stepped towards the bank, when Max asked about my socks still being on. Crocket responded, “She’s got delicate feet boss. She brought another pair, and will toss these when we cross”. Crocket was the only other soul that knew about the locket. He also knew about the value. He started stripping suggestively to the chagrin of the rest of the group, and then he fell back into the water with a big splash. We all started laughing. Jasmine, York, Tommy, Max, Crocket and myself began the journey across the river. We secured our bags to an arm, and mostly doggie paddled across. Max was out before anyone else, and dressed. He motioned for York to exit the waters, and get dressed. He pointed him to the store house and whispered “GO!” Jasmine and Tommy followed in much the same way. Then a shot rang out, and Max was face down, partially in the water. Crocket swam over, and Max was dead. I was moving quickly to the bank, and began getting dressed. Crocket moved Max to the banks to try and make it seem as though he was alone, and then started getting dressed. The city started to come alive and we began hearing shouts. We started walking swiftly in the opposite direction of the storehouse to give Jasmine and York time. We need to draw the State away from them, and allow time for their escape.

We rounded the side of the water mill, where there were no lights. Max looks me in the face, “Marion, I really need you to focus. We have to get out of this city.”

“Why can’t we just swim back across to the other side?”

“Once they find Max’s body, they will put boats in the water. They will then find the trail back to the main camp. We need to keep moving to Tejas.”

I blinked away the confusion, and was ready. We had no weapons, and had no idea how big the city was, and it has been a day or two since we last ate. We heard a couple more gun shots, and new that we had to start moving. We were dry, which to the naked eye, we had not just come from the river. I pinned my wet hair under a cap, and Crocket’s short hair was mostly dry. We stepped out from the shadow of the mill and began walking towards the opposite side of the city. The morning sun was beginning to creep up, and soon the city would be bustling with folks heading to the food hall to be scanned by the State, and fed their daily gruel. Gruel does not sound to appeasing but starting your third day of no food, I wouldn’t mind the neck bar code brand, and trillions of debt for a sip. I think Crockett thought the same thing at that moment, but other than the State ran stores there would not be food found anywhere in the city.

Crocket laced my arm around his, as if we were out for a stroll, but it gave me comfort. At least he was with me, and I was not alone. We kept walking. A jeep hovered passed, and then stopped. A military man exited the vehicle and called out to us. I stopped, and crocket turned around and asked what seemed to be the trouble. The general said that the mess hall was the other direction, and that we must be new to the city since we were not walking the right direction. He asked us to get into the vehicle, so that he could deliver us. We obliged, with no other option. As we existed the hover craft, I looked to my left and saw my father scanning citizens necks, and fell to my knees. I caught his attention, and he rushed over, “Marion, is that you my love?” I nearly threw up. Crocket was not sure what was happening but was scared witless by the State guard suddenly at my side. This was the day my fight began.