The October Amaryllis

Chapter 47 - ????

What if everyone just saw me travel to the future? I'd be screwed. How did I even get here by accident?

I found myself in an alley not too dissimilar to the one in Arcadia and searched for a way out, as I wasn't getting a good feeling about it. I instantly felt like I was being watched by someone or something. Something felt entirely off about this place, yet I couldn't explain exactly what it was. Perhaps, it was the countless propaganda posters all around the area that read DID YOU DO YOUR PART TODAY, CITIZEN? with a picture of what looked like the neighborhood watch guy.

Citizen? Do people matter that little here? Are they just cattle to you?

Two men wearing black and yellow military clothing ambushed me as I stepped forward. I recall their uniforms had a raven patch with a cyborg eye on it. I couldn't see much more as they both grabbed me by the arms.

"Hey, what gives?" I asked as they led me toward somewhere unknown. Whoever these guys were, they clearly didn't like strangers.

"There is no record of you existing in this town; who are you, and what are you doing here?" one guard asked me angrily. I couldn't see his face due to him having a mask on, but I caught the glow of one of his bionic eyes. They looked just like Maynard's.

Okay, stay calm; this will all be over soon.

"My name is Clive Andrews, and I came from Byzantium," I lied.

"False, your records do not match up with what you've been saying," the other cyborg replied.

As they led me across the town, I caught sight of what everything was like, and it wasn't pretty. I saw at least three people get arrested in the middle of the street for seemingly no reason; they put them into these gray vans and drove off into the distance, never to be seen again. These police officers would pounce on their victims like lions to a zebra, and you could tell that they got a sadistic rush out of doing it. I remember hearing one say, "How will you get out of this, little piggie?" As if that wasn't bad enough, I heard screams deep in the distance that sounded like screams of torture. What were they doing to the poor people there? I can only guess...

"What is this place?" I asked, terrified.

"This is Arcadia, but you should know that more than anybody else," the first cyborg replied mockingly.

I did not know this was what Arcadia turned into. Also, the way the first cyborg replied reminds me of Maynard. What happened to that asshole, anyway? Imagine if I met him, nah, I doubt that would happen.

I would soon get the answer to my question as we arrived at some sort of palace. Compared to all the other buildings in the area, it looked shiny and well-cared for and looked as if they had built it hundreds of years ago for some sort of king. It looked like the Palace of Versailles, actually. It was clear some big cheese lived there.

"Go inside and explain to our great leader how you ended up in Arcadia. What he does to you, however, does not concern us," the second cyborg said, laughing maliciously.

Well, it's not like I have a choice.