by Calvin McKee
The Gate
By
Calvin McKee
©2014
All rights reserved
Chapter One
Beep! Beep! Be… “Time to wake up!”
It’s 6:00am and another day of patrols. I’m awake in my condo along with five other guys, a staff sergeant and me. Every day I wake up with a sense of dread. They tell me that before the war it wasn’t like this. Instead of the 5 districts we have now, there were these things called “countries.” I guess the major countries kind of took over and that is how the districts came about.
“Ben. Time to go. Hurry up!” yelled Chaz.
“Sorry,” says Ben, “just writing again.”
I throw on some fatigues and grab my M-5QHZX10 model rifle and ran out the door. Mostly what we do is patrol the docks, the worst work for the lowest class of soldier. The shipments contain imported food and supplies from our allies. At least that is what they tell us. We don’t know for sure. That part isn’t our job. We’re just supposed to do what the government tells us. But what they don’t know could defeat them. But who would want that? We love the government; that’s what we’re taught. Many of the men fulfill their duties fully. I take that back, all of them except me, I suppose. That’s why I’m on dock patrol. Figures.
What I do to break rank is take breaks to write, read or do whatever. I found a great place behind some house with a shed. I haven’t been busted yet, but every once in a while, I notice an older man staring at me through the glass of the main house.
“Martinez, get to work!”
“Okay, okay, Chaz.” But I noticed something was wrong today. The shed door was ajar. I peeked inside to see the old man staring back at me.
“Come in, Ben.”
“How do you know my name?” The man didn’t respond. He just beckoned me in. Before I was all the way inside, he shut the door with his cane.
“I’ve seen what you’ve been doing. Is it not illegal?” I didn’t speak. I just stood there. Instead of him asking me again, he said “don’t worry, I’m not going to turn you in.”
“It is. Illegal, I mean.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
“I don’t really know.”
“Do you love the government?”
I responded, “More than anything.”
“Do you know what you’re moving here?”
“Yeah, I mean, no I guess not really.”
“Okay” he said.
“What day is it?” the old man said.
“The 23rd.”
“One last thing, everything you know will be turned upside-down.”
Chapter Two
I traveled through my day not really sure what I had heard earlier. He must be crazy, I thought, so I continued with my day. The strenuous work making my sweat rain down in buckets. This was the worst work ever. I had to do better than this. So I made up my mind that I couldn’t live like this. I didn’t want to die for something I didn’t believe in.
After this thought, I worked my hardest to impress my predecessors. Later we took the bus back to the condo. Most guys put their belongings down and went to bars and nightclubs. I normally tag along but today was different. I was tired of being nobody. I was going to improve my situation. I tidied up all my things, making my bed and placing everything perfectly. And that’s when I smelled the smoke, followed by the loud wailing of fire engines in the distance. This couldn’t be good, I thought. I looked out the window to see the building engulfed in flames. I ran to the door, touched the handle and realized it was burning hot. Turning around, I ran toward the fire escape. I threw my body into the door and landed on the cool metal stairs. After that, all I remember is running down a couple flights of stairs and seeing a man lying on a step unconscious. I quickly picked him up and continued running down the stairs landing on the bottom with a thud. Then out of nowhere there was an explosion and then everything went black.
I woke up to the smell of antiseptic in the air and a woman taking my temperature. Moments later, I passed out again. When I finally woke up, I could tell that I must have been in one of the local hospitals. It seemed like hours until a doctor came into the room.
“Oh you’re up,” he said.
“Well it seems you suffered a severe concussion.”
That made sense. My head was throbbing.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The building exploded. You carried a man out. You saved his life.”
“Who is the man I helped?” I asked.
“Well, I’ll let you meet him for yourself.”
He opened the door and in walked his truly, Marciusse Rubin, the head of the district. I stared in awe and then he spoke.
“Thank you, son. I was in the area checking out the docks and happened to wander into your camp for the night when I smelled the smoke. I ran outside but must have hit my head on something then blacked out. You were brave. You will go far.”
I said thank you then he left, but something wasn’t right about him but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I decided that it must be nothing and continued to go through the concussion tests the doc was administering. After this I was sent to a replacement condo until further notice. Some of the guys greeted me when I walked in while others continued with their work. I went down to the docks and did my daily routine. For days I did this until one day when I got back to the condo, there was a scrawled note placed on the bed. It read: Ben, meet me at the docks. From, (blank). What was this about I wondered. So I went down to the docks hoping it wasn’t one of the guys pulling my leg but when I arrived, I knew something was up. Standing right in front of me was the old man.
“Hello,” he said, “glad to see you came, Ben.”
“What is your name?” I asked.
“Ah yes,” he responded, ”Introductions should come first. My name is Jarmonious Jacobs. Now come inside.”
I followed not knowing what to expect. ”You wait here, Ben,” he said, ”I’ll go grab some tea.”
I looked around examining all of his photos. One in particular caught my eye. It looked to me like the leader of the district and Jarmonious at some kind of assembly, but that couldn’t be right. But before I had time to ponder over this any further, Jarmonious walked in with tea. He beckoned me to sit in one of the chairs next to the table.
“How are you, Ben?”
“Fine I guess,” I said.
“Well, have you thought about what I said earlier?”
“Sure, I suppose,” I responded.
“Then I guess you’re ready to help.”
“With what exactly?”
He simply said, “freeing the world.”
Chapter Three
“Save the world? What the heck is that supposed to mean? You’re crazy. I don’t even know why I would come here. The guys were right. You are nuts.”
He then responded, “If you only could understand.”
“Oh I understand fine. You know, I could report you for being a traitor,” the words spitting out of my mouth.
“Its more than just an obscene thing I’m saying. It’s so much more,” the old man said.
“Give me one reason to believe you.”
He walked over to the picture I had noticed earlier and sighed. “You see this picture?”
“Yeah.”
He pointed to the person that I originally thought was him and said, “this is me and the man standing next to me is Marciusse Rubin.”
“Really? Why should I believe you?” I spat.
The old man then proceeded to take out a box. He opened it and inside lay the highest of honors – the metal showing him to be general. Nobody said anything for a while.
Then I spoke. “Why do you want to go against the
government?”
“Because I’ve seen in my experience what knowledge can accomplish. It can help. We must give this to the people. It should be a basic human right.”
“But why me? I’m not special. I’m the lowest of the low. I have no authority.”
“Open your eyes,” he said. “What was your answer when I asked you why you were reading? You said ‘for knowledge’ right? It’s not your authority or who you are, it’s what you want.”
I stared at him for what seemed like days and then proceeded to say, “I don’t need that. That’s not what I want to do.” I then put my tea down, stood up, and started to walk briskly out the door. Calling after me he said, “It is what you need. You are the one. You can change the world.”
That echoed in my mind the whole way home. Little did I know that the old man was dead on.
Chapter Four
It’s hard for me to admit I’m wrong, but I am. I have found what they have been doing to us. They feed us fake everything. Everybody here acts robotic and the scariest thing is the answers they give to some of my questions. They don’t feel anything. They don’t have emotions. As crazy as it seems, I think it’s true…I’m going back to the old man right away.
After dinner, I went straight to the old man’s house. When I arrived, I walked in to see the old man setting the table for tea.
“Oh good, you’re here.”
“How did you know I was coming?”
“He didn’t answer. He only continued setting the table.”
“So,” he said, “I guess you realized I was right.”
“Yeah. These people have no emotions. It’s crazy and it’s wrong.”
“Sit” he said. “They are micro-chipped, programmed. They can then be easily manipulated.”
“Then why am I not like that?”
” I don’t know. It puzzles me, too. It is why the world needs you.”
“Well I don’t really know how to save the world.”
” That is how I come in to play. I feel you were brought here to do this so I must train you.”
“When?”
“We start tomorrow at dawn.”
I was there bright and early ready, for my training. He came out of the house carrying a weighted vest and ankle weights. “Put these on,” he said. “Time to run.” And that’s all we did for 5 days straight, increasing the distance each time. He was working me until I passed out. He wouldn’t allow me even a sip of water. On the sixth day, he was standing in a different place in his yard. He spoke. “Today you learn how to control and manipulate people.” He took me out on the street, gathered up a group of people and started telling them that the government would give $1,000,000 to anybody who kills this man. And he pointed at a man and they all attacked.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
“It’s all about giving them something they want and already desire, placing it right in their grasp.” Turning their words around on them also worked. So he had me try and it worked again and again. I was amazed at how easy it was. These people who had no emotion couldn’t tell how wrong this was.
The next couple of days were exhausting. The days were filled with workouts and mental preparation but I still didn’t know what I was supposed to do with my newfound strength and knowledge. But that was about to change.
Chapter Five
“You will go undercover and learn their ways.”
“Whose ways?
“The privileged,” he said. So it was decided. I would go undercover. The next morning I packed up my things to store at the old man’s house. When I arrived, I noticed right away that things would forever be changed, considering the man had on ridiculous clothes. He handed me a pack and told me to change. When I came out, I looked like a person inside the gates with shoes that said “Nike,” a watch, and this thing called a cell phone. It was amazing.
“So this is the plan,” he says, “You just moved here from Lake District. You don’t speak the language well and you’re confused. Just follow what everyone does and you will be fine.” I nodded and then we drove towards the gate to the checkpoint. The man there stopped us and “Mark,” (that was the name the old man was going by) said that he found me wandering, confused, not knowing where to go. And he said that I was from Lake District. The guard wasn’t too happy so he just told me to get out and go inside. I stood there thinking ‘this can’t be.’ It was too easy. So I stood there like an idiot thinking about this until the guard gave me a hard push and I fell though the gate. I looked back one more time before the gate shut and the old man gave me a thumb’s up. At least someone was supporting me.
Chapter Six
I pick myself up and walk through the door to be “purified” as they call it. I was blinded when I walked in by a bright light and then hands started grabbing and pulling me. I started thrashing. I didn’t know what was happening. And then I blacked out. I woke up on a cold metal table to the sound of two people talking.
“What was wrong with this one?”
“Don’t they have a system like this in Lake District?”
“I don’t know. I thought it was a requirement.”
“Whatever. Anyway, this one seems pretty inept. He was blubbering in his sleep.”
Then they noticed I was up. They walked over and proceeded to say they would release me in a little bit and to sit tight. So I did – for about an hour until they let me go with no explanation. So I walked out onto the street. There were giant screens flashing and people hustling and bustling about. Before I had left the old man had given me a strip of paper containing an address where I was supposed to stay – 888 Big Avenue, Apt. 513. I just started to walk and ended up walking for what seemed like hours until I developed the courage to ask someone where to go. I asked a man with a crew cut and black glasses. He had a dog at his side and an odd stick that he was tapping in front of him. He told me the location I wanted was just up the block. He said it was a big building. I then went on to ask him if you could see it from here. He looked at me funny, grunted and walked on. Weird, I thought, and went in the direction he advised. When I arrived at the door, I was greeted warmly. It was almost like someone told them I was coming. They showed me to my apartment where I settled down on my bed and rested wondering what the next day would bring and puzzling over the man I met.
I woke up at 8 am ready to start my day. I went down to the cafe to get breakfast. With the little money I had, I bought a coffee and a bagel. The clerk gave me my change and I began to turn around. Clumsily, I fell, spilling my coffee all over a man and his friends. I started to apologize but they got up and started shoving and hitting me. I thought I was a dead man until a pretty girl came up behind them and took them all out. I mean, she wasted all of them in succession. I stood there in amazement as she grabbed my arm and told me to come with her. Did I mention she was pretty? We continued to walk.
“Those guys are bad news,” she said.
“Yeah, I figured.”
“I can tell you’re not from around here. How about we go to a different café and I tell you what you need to know to survive this place.”
Chapter Seven
We walked into the new cafe and sat down.
“So,” she said, “how’s it going?”
“Fine. Thanks for all that back there.”
“No problem.”
“Yeah, guess that’s how they welcome a new guy around here.”
“Well, I know this is probably going to be hard to soak in but there’s something you need to know about me.”
“I’m not sure I want to know. You sound nervous.”
“I am.”
“So, you’d better just say it.”
“I think I’m your sister.”
“Come again?”
“I believe you are my brother.”
“Impossible. This is nuts. I’m gonna get out of here.”
“Wait, just hear me out. I can prove it. I found a folder of pictures that shows my mom holding a baby, a baby that isn�
�t me. I found one with my mom and you, with your name on the back, from 23 years ago. My mom wasn’t married back then. She was poor, so my theory is that she gave you away to the outside world because she couldn’t afford you.”
She expected me to be confused but I kind of believed her. And even if I wasn’t in any way related, I still found a way into this strange world. So I decided to stay calm, hear her out, and see where this would lead.
“There’s more,” she continued, “we are rich.”
“That’s a pleasant surprise.”
“We’re also the leaders of this country.”
“Okay, that hit me hard.”
Chapter Eight
“Then why didn’t my parents try to find me?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but my theory is mom was scared that my dad would be mad,” she said.
“Okay,” I said, “where do we go from here?”
“We confront her.”
“What?” My heart was racing. “Why?”
“Better to catch her off guard,” my sister responded.
I was so confused. I’d have to come face-to-face with this woman that I don’t even know and who obviously didn’t want me.
“So how about at seven?” she said.
“Shouldn’t we think this through a little more? We still don’t even know for sure that she’s my mother,” I said
“What’s to plan?” she said.
So she stood up, paid our bill, then grabbed my hand and dragged me out. How had all this happened? I had only been there for about five minutes and already I had learned so much. How am I supposed to complete my mission? And what about the old man? It was all so mind-boggling. While my mind was going a mile a minute and I was pondering all of this, I heard her say something about getting me ready – whatever that meant.
She pulled me into an apartment.
“This is my friend’s place, but she’s not home right now so we can get ready here. First we need to change what you’re wearing so you don’t stand out. What did the old man give you? He’s completely out of style.”
“How do you…?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I’m his inside contact.”
I was completely shocked. And when I looked in the mirror, my hair was in the gaudiest fashion I had ever seen.
“You’re ready to go,” she said.