The Insurrection

Chapter Ten

"This is a call to the soldiers. The fighters, the young, the innocent, the righteous. We've got a little room to grow. Better days are near. Hope is so much stronger than fear." ~ Battle Scars, Paradise Fears

Today is the day.

All the preparation in the past nine months is for this day. It is odd how we put so much effort for long periods, for just one moment. Students study for weeks upon weeks for one test; employees work hours upon hours for one presentation. A lot in life is working and preparing for months and weeks for one moment, one day. But that day is what keeps you going. When a student sees all their studying pay off with an excellent test score, or when an employee sees their hours of hard work come together to deliver a stellar presentation, these results are what makes people think they can do it all over again no matter the stress and pain they have been through to get there.

So, here we are. As ready as we can ever be, to change the future of our lives.

The future of the World.

We have one last session early in the morning to go over everything, and then we start loading up. Mila and her team help us all put on our specialized suits; Nicodemo starts loading our weapons into the invisible hover plane, and Leon sets me up with the comm audio and video circuit we have with the People one last time.

"People of the World, this is it, this is Day Zero. Over the past couple of months, we have taken to the streets and fought for what we believed in, we have risked our lives for exposure, we have grieved our losses, but more importantly, we have shown ourselves to the UniFed. They know us, they hear us, they despise us. Today is the day we have all been waiting for. I ask you all to protest with your signs and posters in front of the UniFed's House at seven in the evening. As you all know, today is the Twentieth of July. Every single Chief of UniFed will be there. We need you to show up and demonstrate in front of the House for the first half-hour of the celebration, and then leave. You all must leave after the half-hour for your own safety. Remember what we are fighting for, remember those we have lost, and fight for them, fight for them one last time."

As I log off the feed, I look up to find all twenty-six members of this movement looking at me, ready for what I am going to say.

"We have come this far with each other's help. We are ready for this. We are the Insurrectors, and we will see this Insurrection through till the end." I nod, "Stay safe, I will see you all on the other side."

I go to the kids' area where I know I will find Alex, and sure enough there he is playing with Dani, and some other boys. When he spots me, he runs over.

"Alan!"

I hugged him tightly, "Hey buddy, I am going to have to go away for a bit, but I will be back alright?"

He looks back at me, "You are going to the UniFed today?" fear and worry flickering in his eyes.

"Yeah bud, for mom and dad, for us, for everyone."

He nods once, a somber look on his young face, "You will be back?" He asks in a small voice.

"I will be back."

"You promise?"

I let out a long breath, "I promise I will be back Alexander." -----------

Taika and Zahra leave to get dressed for the party in the changing room across the hall, while Tau and I change in the room opposite of that.

"I had a wife once," I looked up to find Tau gripping his tie tightly in his hand, "She was sick. It was a brain tumor. We decided to do the surgery even though the odds were against us, but she survived," his eyes were getting glassy and he took a broken breath,