Rebellion

There's Always Hope

There's Always Hope

"Ready?"

"Yea. Two cars. About ten soldiers, three minor elites."

"Ok. And.....go!"

The six of them leaped out of the trees and landed in front of the cars. Mike fired his shot gun through the first elite in his path. He saw Dave run forward drawing his sword and cutting through the first soldier there. Brad and Joe were both cutting through soldiers in the back of the vehicles. Ryan and Tak had guns and were shooting as well. They'd been doing raids like this over the past couple of days as they made their way towards the outskirts of L.A. It was hard to move through the city when everyone was looking for them. Mike shot another soldier and then glanced around before catching up to Dave who had already started running from the scene. They ducked aside into a half-burned house. No one lived there.

"We need a better plan," Dave said wiping the sweat off his head with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"Hold up," Ryan said as the television switched on, "Broadcast."

"Hello people of the nation," President Wakefield's picture appeared up on the screen. It was amazing some guy like him had become president, he was young. "Some of you may already know this but there has been an uprising in L.A. We have the names and faces of these criminals and would like to inform you that if anyone is caught helping one of them, they will be arrested immediately."

"If arrested means killed," Mike snapped as the second familiar face appeared on the screen.

"There is no need to fear. We'll hunt down these rebels and put them in their place. They won't hurt innocent people," Chester said with a smile, "I promise you that we will stop them."

"So no one needs to worry. This whole situation will be under control in a few days. But, if you have any information on where these rebels might be, do not hesitate to tell an official or an elite. They will be able to take care of it."

A hand squeezed his shoulder and he realized he was shaking. He looked back at Dave who was giving him a sad smile.

"I know you hate seeing your family's murderer running free like this, but make sure you think about what you're going to do. You don't want to do something stupid."

Mike turned away, "I know what I'm going to do. I've already thought it through. I'm going to kill him."

"We're going to need some better weapons," Brad said from the other side of the room, "If we want a chance at fighting those elites, we're going to need long range weapons."

"What about a government storage facility?" Tak asked, "There's bound to be one around here somewhere."

"That's also a death trap," Joe said with a frown, "It'll be guarded heavily."

"But it is a good idea," Dave said as he paced the room, "There's probably more than one way in. Maybe we can cause a distraction one way and then get in the door once the patrol leaves."

"Good thinking. Then we can steal the weapons and blow the place up as we run," Mike said.

"Violent much?" Ryan asked with a laugh, "Let's do it."

Dave grinned, "I never thought I'd have fun putting my life in danger. But let's blow this place up!"

"How far away is it?"

"I saw one about five miles outside of L.A," Mike said quietly.

"That means we can make a stop on the way," Dave grinned, "We have one more person to pick up for the ride before we head across the nation."

"Who?"

"Our friend Rob. He's got the rest of our team with him. We have to stop by."

Mike nodded, "Well then lead the way."

Dave began to lead them around the alleys of the city. Mike had to admit that he was with some good guys at least. Dave could navigate and he knew his way around every city. Brad and Joe were good to have as company, they took his mind off of things. But now he couldn't help but think about what was waiting ahead of him. If they destroyed this bunker, then they'd definitely be wanted criminals and then they would have to get to D.C. without dying. And then, they'd have to kill the president without dying. And then finally, they might have some peace. And he could have his way with Chester Bennington. He'd played war games with his brother before. They'd always been the victorious ones. Whenever things looked bad, they would rise up and do something unexpected to beat the villain and then Mike would become the new leader. He'd lead the world just like it should be led.

"Go Jay go!" Mike snickered as they ran across the playground. He and his brother were in the middle of the greatest battle of their lives. They had just escaped imprisonment and were now running through the building as alarms sounded on every side.

"We have to get back!" his seven year old brother yelled to him.

"He's killed my entire family. I have to kill him."

"Wait for another time! We are too weak now!"

They were about to jump onto the playground when Mike turned to run straight into someone. He gasped as he stumbled backwards and landed on the ground.

"Awww, look at this! They're playing make believe!"

"How cute."

The two boys in front of him laughed and the one who looked to be older got in his face.

"Run! Run from the bad guys!" he shouted and Mike shut his eyes before turning his head. That had really hurt his ears. Why were they so mean to him? He hadn't done anything to them.

"Now, if someone really bad had you, you wouldn't get away! Like us!" the boy laughed as he grabbed Mike and dragged him towards the playground. Thankfully, Jason was staying away from this mess. The older boy grabbed his collar and lifted him up. He hung him from the playground by the back of his shirt and then smiled at him.

"You look great like this."

The first punch in the stomach made him gasp. The boy who had to be at least thirteen was punching him over and over in the stomach and chest. And it continued like that until Mike was pretty sure every bone in his body was broken. The two boys grinned at him.

"Try escaping now!"

And then they ran.

It wouldn't happen like that ever again. He wouldn't allow himself to be made that vulnerable. He'd been made to look like a fool in front of his brother. And then he had looked weak in front of Jason before he was killed. He hadn't been able to save any of their lives. He wouldn't let that happen again.

"Rob!"

They'd been walking for at least two hours at a relatively quick pace and they must have arrived at their destination. He looked up as the sun started to set. A guy was standing on the front steps of his house with one hand up in a wave.

"Hurry! I don't want to be seen with you guys!"

They ran up to the house and inside. Mike glanced around and saw plenty of other people walking around or sitting on the furniture.

"Rob, we're going to have to leave. We're heading to D.C."

"Perfect," Rob said with a smile, "We were just waiting on your call."

"Good. Then you won't mind getting an early start say around midnight?"

"Absolutely not. You guys should get some rest before though."

"The tunnels still safe?"

"Yep. Head on down and we'll get going in about four hours."

Dave led them to a back room and then down a flight of steps. Mike sat down against a wall of the tunnels and sighed. He saw Ryan and Tak laying down a little off to his right. Joe and Brad were across from him. Dave walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"A little different than what it was before wasn't it?"

"In this world, I'm in control," Mike said quietly.

"You weren't before?"
"No. I was pushed around and ignored. It won't happen like that anymore."

"No it won't. You're part of the fight that is going to bring the world back to how it used to be. We're going to take down Wakefield and I promise, when we do, you can have Chester Bennington to yourself."

Mike looked over at Dave who was leaning against the wall and looking away, "Are you serious?"

"Yea........I understand why you would want it. He did destroy your family in front of you. He deserves to die."

"Thank you."

"But Mike....."

"What?"

"Just....be careful. Make sure that whatever you do.....make sure you're able to live with yourself. Sometimes torture sounds so much better than it is. Sometimes torture seems like the only answer but it's not."

"Oh it is," Mike growled, "It is the only way for him to go."

Dave nodded and squeezed his shoulder, "Just think about it. You're only twenty years old. If you do something that you can't handle, you'll have to live for a long time knowing that."

Mike nodded but didn't answer. He didn't need to. He already had his answer. He sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall. Soon they'd be attacking the bunker and then going to D.C. He dreamed in color, every night. Every night he watched his brother get shot in the head or he watched himself torture Chester Bennington and it was always what he wanted. He never once felt disgusted with himself in that dream.
He opened his eyes and saw that Dave was moving around. Everyone else was still asleep. He frowned as he watched Dave head down a tunnel to his right. He followed the leader of the Rebellion to a door and then entered. He looked up in shock. It was an amazing room. Photos covered the walls and a map of the stars was all over the ceiling. It was beautiful.

"What is this?" he asked softly. Dave turned around.

"It's just a room that we made. See when everything started going to hell and the government turned against us, we wanted a place to remember the world before us."

Mike looked around at all the photos on the walls. There were just simple shots of neighborhoods, cities, beaches, theme parks, stores, and zoos. And then there were people. He smiled as he looked at them. He saw Dave standing with a woman.

"Was she.....?"

"My wife," Dave said quietly, "As you may have noticed, she's not around anymore."

"What happened?"

"The same thing that happened to you. I was on my way to get to her at her office and I looked up to see elites torching the place. The building crumbled in less than a minute and no one made it out."

"I'm sorry."

"See Mike, I know how you feel because after that moment, I wanted to kill Chester too. Seeing him burn down that building where my wife was killed me. I wanted to do what you said you wanted to do. But I look back on it now and I know I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I caused someone to suffer, even someone as corrupted and evil as him."

Mike looked at him in surprise, "How can you say that? He killed your family."

"I know! And I hate him, Mike! If I saw him, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. But torturing him? That's what they do. That's what the government does. I don't want to be like them. So I won't torture him. But like I said yesterday, I'll let you have him. You do whatever you want. He killed your brother in front of you. You deserve to be the one to decide his fate."

Mike nodded and then continued to look at the pictures. There were so many of them. All the people he'd met had pictures with what looked like family or friends. They were all gone now.

"When you're done, shut the door and lock it. This is the last place that we have that's untouched. We don't want to lose it. I'll meet you upstairs," Dave said. Mike watched him go before turning back to the last few pictures. They were all beautiful. He was about to leave when he saw something that caught his eye. There was a picture of a guy with two little boys. They were both blonde which didn't make sense because the guy with them was a brunette. But he recognized the guy. He swallowed as he saw something he'd never seen before. Chester Bennington was smiling. Genuinely smiling as he put his arms around the two laughing boys. There was a little note underneath the picture and Mike recognized Dave's handwriting. There were some notes on other picture too but this one stood out.

'To remind us that no matter how dark you may seem, there is always a light somewhere inside.'