A Thorned Rose

Episode 1: A Warm Night for Winter

(Author's note: What's written between *** indicates a flashback, and ... indicates a passage of time. Art is by @un_desfibrilador on Instagram)

It was a cold, winter night in Appalachia. 

The winter cold front had just moved through. The snow was falling, the skies were filled with stars, and the Christmas spirit was rising in the countryside.

Or so it would have if it weren't for the 2023 Objective Secularization bill that was passed by the U.N. a month after it took control over the Eastern Coast of the US.

This year, it would be different for you. 

No family would be visiting this year, as they have all been taken to internment camps under President Harris' order to destroy the 'ruling class'.

 Your friends you had known your whole childhood were either dead, imprisoned, or had simply moved west to Free Pacifica, which had seceded and set up a defense line along the Rockies. 

You were the only one left in the east among your circles.

***

The microwave beeps, signifying its completion of your meal. A toasty hot green tea, with some pulled pork and white bread. 

You figured it would be a nice way to celebrate the holidays with some comfort food and an archived copy of your favorite videos from YouTube, before the regional internet infrastructure was either destroyed by the UN or sabotaged by local Anarcho primitivists. 

You hit sit down to hit the power button on your PC.

 A nice one, with midrange specs that could compete with others. What would it be tonight? You pondered as you sipped the piping hot tea.

Ah, I know.

A video, a classic. A video of a great influential leader from the west coast. His name was Mike Liu. A Chinese-American, he had a great voice in uniting all races across his generation, despite being right-winged.

"Bruh sex fart balls" blared from the speaker as Mike made a grammatically incorrect statement, packed chock full of irony. 

You chuckled.

Hard to believe that was three years ago. His memory still felt recent to you. A close friend to you, he was greatly charismatic and talkative in many ways, especially when the conversation came to discussing the feet of women.

A funny guy, you thought.

Just then, you feel a little rumble.

Then a louder rumble.

It feels and sounds like a stampede coming directly towards you. You quickly put down the tea and run to your window facing east.

My God, you gasp.

An Abrams tank is rolling up your street.

Followed by a truck of infantry.

They're painted white, with some symbols you can hardly make out in the snowstorm.

As they get closer, you can identify some inscriptions on the tank's upper glacial plate.

U.N.

Oh God, you thought to yourself. They're coming for me!

After all, Mike Liu was a western icon, and by nature, banned in the UN-controlled eastern US. It just so happened that even though you had disconnected from your local area Intranet, you had probably not covered the mics and wiretaps the government had snuck into your walls a while ago.