Chaos 76 [COMPLETE]

Chapter 2

Four days earlier

The whole country was panicked. The stores were being bought out, evacuations were taking place, pretty much everyone was preparing for an unlikely apocalypse. Maybe they were right to freak out, but I didn't care. My parents and older sister, Meghan, were pretty much packing up the whole apartment. I didn't see the need for it. New York was like, a bajillion miles away. There's no way the authorities could let the bombings continue all the way to Arizona.

So, bombings...yes, that's why everyone was freaking out. It all started when the president was assassinated last week. Might seem crazy to some reading this, but this wasn't an unusual event. For years the country has been falling apart, which kept American citizens on their feet waiting for the next nuclear fallout or terrorist attack. It also prepared the country for untrustworthy leaders. The Vice President rose to power after the assassination, and suspiciously, the bombings started just a few days later. Seemed like all the insane conspiracy theories online were coming true.

Oh don't even get me started on the internet. In around 2018 when net neutrality died, so did a lot of the beginning articles... nobody had the time or the patience to read them. But when the first presidential assassination occurred, the internet went insane. Apocalyptic thoughts were on everybody's minds and people were digging into history to find events leading up to 'this moment'... whatever that was. All sorts of news articles and conspiracies were being found, even a couple novels about 'our ending days'.

Personally, I thought it was idiocy. From what I could see, the world as we know it, was going to be fine. Mostly the internet was just a bunch of kids in their mid- teens who liked to complain. They didn't know what they were talking about. It seemed like nobody did. Even my parents were sucked into the whole thing. They read one to many news articles and got scared... for no reason! Everyone was just so paranoid for no reason.

Idiots... all of them.

The whole disaster started out in New York as thousands of people were taken captive and bombs destroyed the whole city. It wasn't until New York that the plot was discovered. Apparently, a gigantic organization of terrorists have been planning to take over the country for generations. And their plot was only discovered now? You'd think our government would be on top of this issue long ago. But, no. In fact, most of the government was secretly involved. Nobody knows exactly who, but it's evident that a lot of our leaders had turned their backs on America.

Thankfully, there was another secret organization, called The Citizen Protection Organization (the CPO for short) that had been preparing the country for disaster for years. Their main base was located in San Francisco, and safe houses were hidden all along the west coast. Underground subway systems connected the main base to each state in the country, including Arizona. In fact, Alex's father worked for the company, and helped build the main Arizona base. It was constructed out of the former college, Northern Arizona University, located in a city called Flagstaff. Under the base was a subway station leading to California, where we hoped to find safety. My family's plan was to leave for Flagstaff the next day in order that we might make it to the safe houses in one piece.

Now, back to my story. I hadn't left the apartment in three days, and I couldn't stand being stuck inside for so long. I wanted to get out so badly...anything to get my mind off apocalypse prepping. What frustrated me the most was the fact that today was my last day to spend time with my friends, Jack and London, but there was no way my parents would allow me to leave the house. Especially with so much chaos just outside our front door. How could I manage to not be with my best friends on our last day together? They meant so much to me...but apparently my safety came first. My only hope of seeing them again was if they were able to make it to the same safe house as us. Yes, each of our families were ultimately heading for the same selection safe houses, but what if we couldn't end up in the same one?

I sat in my cramped room and looked through the small window made of synthetic glass. Buildings rose up around our compact home and solar cars crowded the streets. Every square inch of Phoenix was developed and urbanized until there was no room left. Anyone with claustrophobia would never be able to live in the year 2076.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket.

"Hey" It was a text from Jack. "What do you think about sneaking out today?"

I bit my lip and smiled uncontrollably.

I started typing back. "I wish but I would get in so much trouble..."

He texted back almost immediately. "They're only worried about your safety, as long as I get you back home safely, which will happen, then they won't be too mad...right? I mean it might be our last day together."

Our last day together. I pondered that, but still rose the unsaid question "I don't know... what if something bad happens to me while we're gone? What if they're right?"

"I won't let anything bad happen to you. You know that."

It was a perfect example of why I liked him...he was so protective. He said things like that often, but I couldn't help feeling that girlish excitement every teenager gets while texting a boy.

"Yeah, haha, I guess, but is it worth it really? They will be so mad when they find out"

"Uhh yeah! I need to see you again...London does too. She's been begging to see you all weekend long. I can also pick Alex up on the way."

I thought about the points made. "Fine...I will try my best."

"Awesome. We will show up out front around 2."