The Red Dawn

Chapter 1 The Red Flag

Adam Smith woke up to the sound of sirens and explosions. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his phone. It was 6:30 am on February 17th, 2023. The day of the general strike.

He got out of bed and put on his red T-shirt with the logo of the Socialist Party (CWI), the revolutionary organization he had joined a year ago. He grabbed his backpack, which contained some food, water, a first aid kit, and a copy of The Socialist, the party's newspaper.

He went downstairs and saw his parents in the living room, watching the news on TV. They looked worried and scared.

"Adam, are you sure you want to go out today?" his mother asked. "It's very dangerous out there. The police and the army are cracking down on the protesters. There are reports of clashes and casualties all over the country."

"I have to go, mum," Adam said firmly. "This is our chance to change things. To overthrow this rotten system that exploits us and destroys our planet. To fight for a socialist future."

His father sighed and shook his head. "Adam, you're too young to understand what's going on. This is not a revolution, it's a civil war. And it's not between socialism and capitalism, it's between chaos and order."

He pointed at the TV screen, which showed images of burning buildings, barricades, and armed groups in different parts of Britain.

"Look at this madness," he said. "The country is divided into four factions: the Reds, led by your party and supported by all trade unions and left-wing groups; the Blues, led by the Tory government and supported by Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Greens, and all establishment parties; the Royalsists who want to restore monarchy; and then there are these lunatics from far right who call themselves Patriots or Nationalists or whatever."

He paused for a moment and continued.

"And do you know what they all have in common? They all hate each other more than they hate their real enemies: the bankers,the shareholders,the businessmen,the corporations,the multinationals,the billionaires...the ones who really run this country,and who don't care about any of us."

Adam felt a surge of anger in his chest.

"That's not true,dad," he said."The Reds are different.We don't hate anyone.We just want justice,equality,democracy,freedom...We want socialism.And we're not alone.We have millions of people behind us.Workers,youths,women,BAME,LGBTQ+,disabled...all oppressed groups who have suffered under this system for too long.And we have international solidarity too.We have comrades in Ireland,in France,in Germany,in Spain,in Greece,in Italy,in Portugal,in Brazil,in Argentina,in Chile,in Bolivia,in Venezuela,in Cuba,in Mexico,in Canada,in USA...in every continent,every country,every city,every town,every village..."

He stopped when he saw his parents' faces.They looked at him with pity,sadness,and fear.

"Adam,you're living in a fantasy world,"his mother said softly."You've been brainwashed by these extremists.These people don't care about you.They only use you as cannon fodder for their violent agenda.They don't have any solutions for our problems.They only offer slogans,hate,and destruction."

She reached out her hand to touch his cheek,but he pulled away.

"No,mum,you're wrong,"he said."They're not extremists.They're revolutionaries.And they do care about me.They're my friends.My comrades.My family.And they do have solutions for our problems.They offer ideas,hope,and creation.They offer socialism."

He turned around and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"his father asked.

"I'm going to join my comrades at Hyde Park.We're going to march to Parliament Square.We're going to demand that this government resigns.We're going to raise our red flags high.We're going to sing The Internationale.We're going to make history."

He opened the door and stepped outside,into a world on fire.