The Greatest Lie

Ready For Takeoff

 M Corp security was a cushy job for most of those employed. After years of forcing subordination through whatever means necessary, the public had learned to understand their place in the pecking order. In the aftershocks of the great riots, the rich needed protection and M Corp was one of the only private security forces that offered such services. People had gone into survival mode and were willing to do whatever it took to keep food on the table for their families. M Corp was not responsible for enforcing what was left of the laws, but were merely glorified body guards for whoever was willing to pay. With high unemployment always comes more crime. People were not going to just give up on life and starve to death in their houses if they could do something about it. Petty crimes and thefts were rampant as people were forced to break the law to find their next meal or get money for some type of food. People reported these crimes to the increasingly useless police forces, but nothing was ever done to put a stop to people taking things that weren't there. This allowed the criminals to get more brazen as they knew there were no longer any repercussions for the crimes they committed. Laws were not being enforced and people soon took that as permission to begin looting, which some store owners took as an attack against their lives and attempted to fight back. Within a few weeks the stores in almost every major city were either scavenged clean or were forced to shut down in fear of something happening. Delivery trucks stopped their daily stops around the shops and markets as it became too dangerous to drive around with a vehicle loaded with thousands of dollars of merchandise. It only took a couple of these being ambushed and ransacked before the companies halted operations as they were losing more money than they were making.

The plane bounced down the runway and Russell held on for dear life. It was his first time on a plane and this was not the best example of how a plane ride should be. Once their wheels left the ground and they were airborne, Pete and Carl let out a little cheer of celebration. Russell let out an audible sigh as the plane soared up towards the clouds. Looking back, Russell saw Pete kick his feet up, fold his arms over his chest and let his head fall forward. He was settling in for what was going to be a long plane ride, Russell on the other hand was more scared than he had ever been before now that his life was solely in someone else's hands. It wasn't just his new found fear of flying, but he was terrified to find out if these monsters he had been told about were real or just a stupid lie that Pete and Carl had made up. Russell peered out the window and looked down at the shrinking structures as the M Corp complex became a microscopic item from his new vantage point in the air.

The consensus was that the war that was still raging in Europe was the result of the resource grab that had occurred when countries attempted to isolate and protect their own. It had been going on so long that the average person didn't even talk about it anymore. For the first few months of the fighting, it was the focal point of every conversation, every media source, and every online platform. Images of the violence, destruction and loss of life were plastered all over for people to choose sides. The movement lost its popularity as other distractions took center stage in the media, but the fighting never stopped. Only the military leaders of M Corp were left with the truth about the progress, and many of the soldiers on the front line never returned home to tell the truth about what was happening. Even Russell had been told and believed that this was the cause for the start of the war, and it was true that a fight over resources was one of the major contributing factors.

"First time I flew one of these things I was hooked. Flying a plane is one of the best thrills you will ever find in the world. Lucky for you, I've landed every plane I've ever flown. Not every pilot can say that and those that haven't aren't around anymore to tell you about it." Carl joked as he tried to lighten the mood.

Russell gave a fake laugh as he glanced at Carl and then went back to looking out the window.

"It's hard to justify from your position, but M Corp is really trying to do the right thing. I mean, who would really believe that aliens had come to Earth. Imagine what would have happened if they just told everyone that they were here and we had to deal with it. I think keeping it a secret was the only way for them to try and control the situation. One thing people should be more upset with is how quickly the governments just gave up on everyone. Those scared politicians just ran and hid as soon as things started to get messy. Instead of doing what was best for their constituents, they drafted all those people at the start of it and sent them to fight an undefeatable enemy. There's almost an entirely missing generation now that they were sent to slaughter. Such a shame that so many innocent people lost their lives." Carl explained, trying to fill the cabin with some sort of conversation even if Russell was barely engaging.