Blood Or Love

Here is another short story for a contest, I think I am going to make this a full length short story. I will probably start from the day she turns 18 and work my way into how her escape plan pans out. For now here's what I submitted to the contest. ENJOY! 

Blood or Love

    I’ve been running from the government for two months-twenty days-and seven hours. The society that we now face is cruel, and has changed drastically since the flood of 2012. I currently live in the central part of the United States; it’s the only area that survived. Not only had the face of the earth changed completely, but our leaders had as well.

The main capital is now located in the central states. The people who live there are known as “The Leaders”. Most other people live in the four cities surrounding the capital. I was one of those people, and they call us “The Followers”. We are a group of middle class citizens who are known to be followers of the government. From day one it is drilled into our heads that our leaders are always right. They claim corruption is no longer an issue, but I think other wise. It’s also my reason for running.

There are more than just “The Leaders” and “The Followers”, every society has them but here it’s a lot worse. “The Rebels”, the ones who want nothing to do with the society and who despise the government. The second you have any signs of becoming like them, a minute later the government is at your door throwing you into the Outskirts. You are thrown into a society where there are no rules, and you live off the wild life, and what-ever scraps are thrown into the dumps on the western side of the Outskirts. There are cameras on every street corner, and people watching them around the clock.

   

Some people like my father want to become part of “The Leaders”; they only allow that if you pass this extremely hard exam. Only one out of every thousandth person to take it will pass. My father was just about to receive his award for becoming one of them, but then I rebelled.

    The cities were great places to live in, they were safe. The only crime that took place was if a rebel slipped past a guard, and it rarely happened. They didn’t scare me. As a child I always wanted to get a feel for what they were like. Finally once I reached eighteen, mom finally allowed me to leave the city and explore on my own.

    Exploring is what got me in trouble, if I hadn’t of met him I’d still be living with my parents. I also wouldn’t be running for my life.

The outskirts were almost jungle like, easy to hide, but hard to run through. When they found out I’d fallen for the wrong side they immediately thought of me as a “Rebel”, so I ran. Now here I am months later running from the government because not only did I fall for the wrong kind, I married the wrong kind. In their book if they aren’t the ones to throw you to the other side, then you shouldn’t be alive.