Perilous

Chapter 1 [edited]

"There aren't very many news reports anymore, it's all been down for a very long time. The old U.S government shut down leaving everyone helpless and trying to survive. There is barley any food, no one is safe unless you have your own. Your own community, home, people. But even then not a soul is secure. No one is allowed in or out of the states, all airlines have been delayed for the time being as an unknown assemblage is trying to kill all involved in the perilous and take over the new U.S. Gov-"

I jot down in my journal until I'd been cut off.

"Darling, Amira, help me with the meat, yeah?" My brother Jamal said.

"Yeah, sure."

The room was terribly quite, the only sounds being heard were Jamal's deep breaths, probably tired from the work he's done. And the knife in my hands as it hit the cutting board cutting through our dinner.

I wanted to ask him about the government: what's going to happen, anything. I longed to know, but he hates speaking of it, even though he somehow knew everything.

"Jamal?" I silently said in hopes he heard me because I knew I wouldn't dare have the courage to ask again.

He didn't look over to me, though I heard his low hum indicating he indeed heard me.

"I-I wanted to ask about the, well, you know per-"

But before I could spit the sentence out, he cut me off.

"No Amira. We already talked about this, just drop the subject will ya? I'll let you know when to worry."

It's always been this way, I never cared to question it but recently as I've seen Jamal get even more stressed, I began to get curious. Curious of it all - how it works, who's after Perilous, why it's been this way for so long. The history, it intrigued me.

I nodded my head at Jamal, quickly escaping his iris' that bore into mine.

Just as we grabbed the plates and brought our food into the living room, the TV flicks on and automatically goes to the news channel all on its own - controlled. Perilous makes announcements only once a month and sometimes not at all to let us know what is happening in the world. To make sure it's them and not just a problem with the small TV, Jamal walks towards the window and carefully looks out to see if this is happening to anyone else in the city.

It is.

He doesn't say a word as he glares at me for the bad yet right timing. He motions for me to take a seat on the rugged couch for us to sit and wait.

It takes a couple of minutes for the connection to work, but when it does, what comes on is something I didn't expect.

Photos of bodies everywhere. Dead bodies everywhere.

The photos change into a live stream video: three men are standing in front of the White House with armed guards standing behind them. I couldn't figure out who the men were, they weren't the usual speakers. One of the men looked as if he's around his 50's, dangerous yet humble. And another one, glasses covering his eyes and a built enough figure to show he wasn't as old as the other man.

Though the one who sincerely caught my attention was the man wearing all black, blonde buzzed hair sitting on his head with dark blue ocean eyes standing in front of a podium with what looks like some hostage kneeling beside of him with a bag over his head.

I would be lying if I said the man wasn't gorgeous, because my god was he. I busted out of his trance when I heard a gun shot coming from the TV. He had shot the hostage right in the head, with no hesitation at all, and I didn't even take notice.

Jamal and I waited for what was next, as if we were right in front of him, silent.

Then a voice rang through my ears, "And this is what happens when you try to take over Perilous." He said through the speaker as he attempted to wipe off some of the blood spilt onto his clothes. As he said this, he looked deeply into the camera his eyes squinting as if he was talking to someone through the screen. I almost felt as if his eyes burnt through mine.

The television shut off completely. I glanced over at Jamal to see his head buried in his hands and when he looked up at me, worry was laced within his eyes.

"Something isn't right. He doesn't just end a live stream this way. He didn't even give us any outside information." Jamal began to pace around the room, forgetting I was in his vicinity.

I didn't understand, I knew some things that went on but Jamal really did his best to keep me out of it. I didn't even know who that man was.

"Jamal, what's the matter? Who was that?" I said as I walked up to him grabbing his forearms so he could look at me, talk to me.

He looked as if he was debating on telling me anything. As if his mind was fighting it but his heart was saying something different.

"Amira, that was Marshall Mathers. Leader of Perilous, the most dangerous man in the world."