The Insurrection

Chapter Eight

"Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

We spent the following two weeks attending the protests and rioting right alongside Citizens of the World. We are keeping the fire going until we win back our World. WorldKeepers and Fighters have merged forces to control the crowds, sometimes opening fire on the protestors. But over the past couple of days, some of them have been joining the protests. It was something like the domino effect, one person started the chain, and soon enough, more people had the courage to follow suit. That being said, it hasn't all been easy nor peaceful. The death toll increases by the day, and injuries have skyrocketed. On the bright side, we have fulfilled our goal of bringing down every UniFed building to the ground, they are all mere ashes now. It serves as a symbol, more than anything, that they will no longer have the control they have always had over us. We have one more week remaining before UniFed comes out of its hiding spot and greets its welcome back party.

Taika came up with an idea to take today off and spend some quality time with each other. To take a break and take our mind off everything going on and just enjoy one another's company. I'll be the first to admit that I miss Alex. Sure, I see him every day but I am not really with him. It's odd how your body can be there with someone but your mind and soul aren't. So, I welcomed the idea and we all went out for some fresh air at a secluded river that we drove to with our invisible vehicles. We took two of them, one for the kids and one for us. Nicodemo insisted that he stay behind to watch over everything. I tried to convince him to come with us but he seemed jumpy to go out so I didn't push.

All thirty of us Insurrectors along with fifteen kids that were either children or siblings promised a fun-filled day that ensured we would forget about everything but the present. Sometimes, it's important to remember to live in the now. We can always strive for a better future, for a better life, but if we don't ever take a second to be grateful for what we already have, then we never will.

So we played games, and we shared stories, and we laughed. We pulled strength from each other and kept going. UniFed may have taken everything from us, but the one thing they will never take is our spirit. They will never be able to break our spirits no matter what they do. That is how strong we make each other.

Around sunset, we started turning on our lights and spread some blankets around to lay down on. Dad was telling Alex and me a funny story during one of their missions, and Zahra and Anwar soon joined us and offered us some more details since they were there too. Leon and Taika eventually come along and join the conversation.

I look around me before I ask, "If the World was ours, and UniFed ceased to exist, what would be the first thing you would want to restore?"

Zahra answers first, "That's easy, religion. I would want people to practice their religion freely, without having to hide it or feel ashamed or terrorized for it."

"Palestine," Anwar says next, "I would want to bring back Palestine and all of its displaced people. Along with all the other countries that were ethnically erased off the World map."

"Basic human rights," Taika goes, "Like a rulebook for the whole World to follow and live by so that no one is ever oppressed unjustly again."

"I would want to bring back schools," Leon says, "Everyone should have the right to education without having high connections or wealth. Education might just be what saves us from living in a World like this again if we ever succeed to change it."

I look to dad for his answer, "Human interaction in a society. If we succeed, we would have to learn how to interact with each other. No more 'to each his own' mentality."

"And what about you, Alex?"

He smiles wide at me before saying, "I would want somewhere safe enough for kids like me to dream of a future that we want, not one we are forced to live in."

"Oh, and a rocket so I could go to Space and explore the universe." He adds.

We all laugh at that.

"Alan?" Zahra prompts.

I look up to the stars and imagine a World different from this one. A World that is loving and accepting, with a bright future to look forward to. I shake my head and turn my face away from the stars because it's all just wishful thinking.

"Humanity. I would like to restore humanity."

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We sent the kids back earlier with Zhong to get settled in by bedtime and we headed back ourselves about half an hour later.

It's quiet when we get back to the Insurrectors' HeadQuarters, too quiet. Alarms start going off in my head. Nicodemo stands in the middle of the entrance hallway, face in shock like he's just seen a ghost. Something is so, so wrong.