System Sacrifice

The harsh wind blew across the street scattering old New System pamphlets as Lilly walked home from school. As she walked, she was watching the sky, seeing the great storm clouds above. She was already in a bad mood from school, but now she was going to get rained on and she still didn't have a raincoat. If her parents would just send her stupid brother to one of the ugly little private schools he wanted to go to, they could have enough money for a lousy raincoat. Lilly's parents were always complaining about the cost of sending her and John to the New System School, even though John didn't want to go there.

When her parents got home from work, she would have to talk to them about getting a new rain jacket. Her required daily walking distance was ten miles now, and now to get home from school, she would have to walk through the free districts. All the crazy homeless people lived there and were always trying to tell the people walking through that they were slaves and would end up being killed. Every day, there was a shooting in these districts where the Exterminators would gather three of the most outspoken Drifters and execute them.

Lilly was just hoping that she would miss the execution today. As she was walking through the Free Districts, one of the Drifters walked over to her and grabbed her arm. He started saying crazy things to her and scaring her.

"They're coming for you, everybody will be killed! As soon as you learn what they do, they will find you and kill you and your whole family. It is the next step to their Perfect World! WE HAVE TO STOP THEM!", the man screamed at her. Lilly ran away trying to get away from there as fast as she could. When she finally got back to the house, she would have to find a new way home without going through the free districts. If John still walked with her home from school every day, he would protect her. Nobody messed with John, he was huge and could beat up anybody. He had long scraggly hair that just made him look even tougher, and on top of that, he was insanely fast. She on the other hand was short, skinny, and looked too girlish for anybody to be afraid of her.

She was almost home now and she could see her parents and John standing in the yard looking worried. As soon as she got to them, her parents hurried everyone inside and started talking very fast about even crazier things than the Drifter had.

"They are coming to get us right now! We have done things that have made us targets for New System and they can't risk leaving us alive now. There have already been hundreds of executions of all the Old Rebels. It has been mostly the people from Old Britain, but they kill anyone who has challenged them before. We have to leave now! If you two can get to a bomb shelter you should be safe, there are--"

Their mother never got to finish because at that moment the sound of wood breaking and men yelling drowned out everything else. The door was broken down and a retinue of ten men in body armor and automatic rifles rushed in. Two of them stayed at the door apparently shooting at someone outside. The others grabbed her parents and one started talking,

"You are a threat to the people of New System, as this is the only country in the world, you will have to make the ultimate sacrifice for

the good of all of New system."

"John, Lilly run!" Their mother shouted.

Then she started fighting with the Exterminators holding them off while John and Lilly ran out the door.

Lilly and John raced through the trash cluttered streets, terrified. Lilly was running out of breath, and the Exterminators were catching up. John choked out,

"Over there, look! An old bomb shelter beside that abandoned house."

Lilly didn't need any more encouragement. They dashed for the bomb shelter. John got there first, and he yanked the door up, letting the old smell of dust and mildew waft out into the air. Lilly looked at him, her eyes narrowed.