Black Tuesday - A Short Story

As Levi stood up from the concrete stairs he was resting on he looked around.  The sun was rising on a Thursday morning and the light reflected off the smudged and dirty windows that we're still intact around the many factory buildings which he resided.  You see Levi isn't a bum or a some weird guy who's been hiding in an abandoned factory oh no he actually use to work here before the fences were put up and the factory eventually shut down.  Most factories did as the great depression lingered on soon it seemed like the world came to a slow stop and everyone did with it.  After years of no improvement soon people became very uneasy and the government soon toppled and people doing as they pleased, everything shut down and two main corporations run for control of North America.  The Felento's and the S.U. or Survivors Union both want to control all of North America but like most stories one believes in one thing and the other doesn't as is the rule for most stories.  Anyways where was I? Ah yes mister Levi you see he disliked both of the corporations and preferred to just stay out of the way, there was plenty of supplies and almost nobody came around until well today, today was the day Levi had to leave forever and find his way in this world on his own because today was the day that the sun wasn't his only companion.  Levi began walking to the fence which lead to the main building which he usually stayed and scowled at the "No help wanted go away!"  Sign still hanging onto the fence after so many years.  Levi pondered why he never removed it but he decided it would serve no purpose then to clear his head a little and he continued to trudge on.  The day was young and Levi as usual had nothing to do so he went to go look for some snacks to pass the time as he had not eaten breakfast yet.  Moving past old crates he soon noticed the silence of the day, no birds, no wind and most of all no people.  Usually Levi heard at least the birds chirp in the early morning hours, not hearing people was usually a good thing but still any sound at this point would have reassured him of the world still alive around him.  The two corporations in which for the most part remained in their own secluded areas within the major cities around the U.S. and Canada, tended not to expand as they of course even with their power, have limited supplies and man power.  Both corporations are run by previous mafia families who hated each other before the collapse but because of it only made the aggression grow and the hatred soon breed into a war in which the poor and unemployed soon became soldiers and workers for a mafia they never thought they would have any correlation with.  Levi before the collapse was actually very well off, he had a nice house in a good neighbourhood and a very well paying job which he maintained up until the factory closed.  In fact he was the manager of the entire damn complex! Hahahahahaha kinda funny to think someone who thought he had everything lost it all in a blink of an eye.  Anyways Levi proceeded into the main factory and cracked open one of the many stacks of boxes he had organized about two weeks before.  Most of the contents had expired of course but he knew that, after searching for the canned food and other non perishables he a few bottles of beer which brought a faint smile to his face.  He proceeded outside and cracked one open using the fence beside him.  He took one swig and as he lowered the bottle from his lips he heard it, the faint sound of an engine in the distance, growing louder by the second.  He paused, motionless, he looked through the rusted fence and saw something he thought he would never have to deal with.  Dropping his beer which shattered as it collided with the asphalt by his feet, he took of sprinting to the back of the compound, bursting through the door he looked around frantically soon remembering he kept his gun underneath his bed.  He ran over pulling out the dusty but reliable handgun he had carried with him since the first world war.  Checking the magazine and blowing off the dust he heard the sound of the old fence gates smashing to the ground and screeching tires coming to a stop.  Running outside and taking cover behind a large stack of empty boxes, Levi peeked out to see who had intruded on his morning.  A group of men stepped out of the cars each carrying weapons and dressed very well.  Two of the cars were black and one red, the men who got out of the black cars opened the doors to the red car which three more men got out of.  Two of the men appeared to be weaponless and the third who was dressed in a very nice red and black suit with a long coat.  He began talking to one of the men in black who had opened his door and him along with two others ran out of view into the compound.  "Look for anyone! We don't know if he's still here but If so I want him brought to me dead or alive!" The red suited man shouted as the others ran off in different directions.  Now Levi knew what was going on and who these men were, he had only hoped he just had more time as all.  Getting up Levi soon ran to another section of the compound.  Turning the corner he came face to face with a man in black wearing a long coat over his suit.  Levi grappled the man knocking him to the ground and tipping over a stack of nearby boxes and containers making a very loud crashing sound which echoed throughout the factory.  Levi fired his gun twice into the mans chest, getting up and running to cover he could hear the shoes of the other men running after him, or was it his heartbeat which seemed to be practically beating in his ears.  Turning around he fired off another round striking one of the men in the leg causing him to collapse in pain.  "Four more" Levi said to himself as he rounded another corner knocking over a bunch of supplies to slow them down.  He then ran into a nearby warehouse which had a second level, slowly making his way up he got into a good vantage point where he could ambush the men if they found him.  Sure enough two of the men slowly walked into the building aiming their guns around the musty and dirty room.  Just as they turned their backs to Levi he peeked and fired hitting the first man in the back of the head causing him to hit the ground hard and his partner to spin around and begin shooting towards the balcony in which Levi was hiding.  Reloading Levi took a deep breath and waited for an opening then popping up he aimed and fired three rounds each missing just barely but still close enough to make the other man jump and take cover.  Shaking, Levi tried to collect himself, he needed to if he wanted to make it out of this.  Levi got up and ran across the balcony as fast as he could, the man firing at him just barely missing as the bullets ricocheted off the metal walls and hand guard.  The man then struggled to reload which is the opening Levi was waiting for and without hesitation stopped and fired off another round which struck the man right in the heart, he collapsed with a loud crash and a pile of empty crates and cardboard boxes fell on top of him.  "What do you mean their dead?!" Felento bellowed angrily at his two guards who had found the bodies of the others and had dragged the man who had been hit in the leg back.  "He's good sir...He's still here he can't leave this is the only exit"  The injured man said still holding his leg in pain.  Felento stared at him and without hesitation drew a revolver from his suit jacket and firing, hitting the injured man right in the head.  "Find him."  Felento said sternly as his two guards nodded and ran off.  "I will get him..." Felento muttered to himself as he pulled a cigar from his pants pocket and lighting it.  Levi had stopped behind some rubble from a damaged wall to catch his breath.  He soon got up and walked slowly still clutching his pistol tightly with both hands.  His tattered vest had grown dirty from the action and his shirt had un-tucked itself as well.  Levi disregarding his looks continued to cross the factory's many buildings and lots looking for the final intruders to his once impenetrable fortress.  As Levi proceeded down a narrow path between two warehouses he quickly ducked as one of the men peaked around the corner and fired at him, Levi shot back forcing the man to hide again, Levi without anywhere to go began running at him in full force.  As he neared the end of the path the man peaked out again but before he could react Levi tackled him and fired his gun multiple times into the mans torso until he stopped moving.  Levi got up only to be kicked back down by the final man, Levi pointed his gun at him and pulled the trigger only to be greeted with the heart dropping click of an empty chamber.  He had gotten to carried away and now this would spell his doom.  The final man instead of firing pistol wiped Levi over the head with his gun and Levi quickly blacked out.  Wen Levi awoke he was on his knees, hands tied behind his back and he could feel a warm trickle of blood still going down his head.  He was outside the walls of his factory, his fortress, his home.  Soon he felt the cold, metal barrel of a gun press against the back of his head.  "Levi I've waited far to long for this moment...You and I both know it would happen one day...you really should have listened to me all those years ago and now look at you, the war hero down on his knees with no where to go."  Felento said mockingly as he pressed the gun harder against Levi's head.  "I payed your debts...what else could you want from me?"  Levi said as he continued to look forward.  "I wanted you to join me and that's it, but you refused my offers and ignored my commands now look at you...was it worth it?"  Felento questioned as he took a puff of his cigar.  "You know what....yeah..it was worth it..."  Levi said confidently to the surprise and displeasure of Felento.  "Fine...I see how it is..."  A tear slid down Felento's cheek as his finger squeezed the trigger.  The last thing Levi ever saw was the now fully risen sun beating down on a new day, which filled his body with warmth and comforted his final thoughts.  With a loud bang which seemed to echo on forever, Levi slumped over as Felento stomped out his cigar.  Soon the cars were collected and the site left empty of supplies.  The last thing there was a small garden with a few flowers still attempting to grow in the soil outside the main office of the factory, and a small wooden grave marker which read.  "Here lies Levi Felento, loving son and honored war veteran, he died the way he lived with courage and confidence."  Now...you might be wondering who I am and how I know all of this, well me being the narrator I suppose I have to but that doesn't mean I'm not important, you see I've played my role in this story along with many other stories in this upside down world.  It's only right that a few have to end with less happy endings.  Sometimes the strongest forces in this world are not the ones you can see, but the ones you can't control.  (This story was designed to be a short story which if I decide to will be continued by other shorts in the same time line, thank you fro reading and feedback is appreciated! :D)