Missile

"Get up Maria, you're going to be late!" My Mother yelled in my ear, causing me to quickly jump out of bed, but due to the fact that I was ensnared in my sheets I ended up face-planting onto the floor, as she laughed at my misfortune.
"What time is it?" I groaned out as I sat up slowly, carefully untangling my sheets from around my legs so that I wouldn't trip again.
"Half past five, I just wanted you to hear the news and have some breakfast before you left for work."
"Alright thanks Mum." I struggled to say through a yawn.

As my feet pattered down the stairs I could hear the radio playing in the kitchen letting us know what tragedy had befallen us now.
"In breaking news the HMAS Sunset was sunk in the early hours of this morning, 19 kilometres off the coast of South Africa. The ship was carrying wool export to Ireland at the time it was torpedoed. It remains unknown who was behind this viscous attack resulting in the deaths of all 37 members of crew and the loss of thousands of dollars of wool but there has been much speculation as to which nation is firing at us now. Now to Jim with the weather..."
I turned down the volume as I walked to the table, saying to Mum as I sat down;
"I knew that things were bad ... but not this bad. Everyone knows that export is practically nonexistent and that there is basically a total international travel ban in place but torpedoing ships in peaceful waters ... that's new low, even for this dystopia of a world."
"I remember when I was your age, Maria" Mum started, "back then even a blind man could see that things weren't how they were supposed be. Did you know that Trumpica did not start as a dictatorship? That country was originally Capitalist, and it was called the United States of America. Things began to go seriously downhill when Donald Trump was elected as president in 2016. He cut ties with all of the USA's allies and showed off their nuclear weapons as if he were a kid with new toys at school. That as the last straw for Australia. That is what prompted us to build our own nuclear missile. That is the reason that you work at the silo." She gently explained to me as I ate the breakfast she had prepared for me - bacon, poached eggs and toast.

After finishing my breakfast I raced back up to my room, deciding not to have a shower as I would end up soaked anyway with the constant storms we had been having. I rushed to get my uniform on and tie back my dark hair with all of its wild curls, knowing that if I was late again I would suffer some cruel consequence next time we had physical training. Stumbling as I put my shoes on while trying to get down the stairs I managed to make it without falling down and said a rushed goodbye and love you to my mother. Quickly closing the door behind me (and trying to stop it from slamming) I raced to my silver Toyota Corolla, diving into the car head first as soon as I had the door open, hoping to get out off the pouring rain and the harsh, whistling winds before I became soaked to the bone. As I drove along what was once a highway, now covered in pot holes and overgrown with bush, I thought about what my life had been like.

I was born on the 23rd of August 2020 to Caroline Davis, a retired army officer and a trained nurse, and Nathan Davis, a lieutenant in the Australian army who died three months prior to my birth. I loved my mother dearly even though she was always working to support us and was constantly too busy to spend time with me. I had gone through an awkward phase in puberty, and am yet to grow out of it - constantly stumbling and being a generally clumsy person as I continue to get used to the size of my limbs. I went to a public high school and decided when I was fourteen that I wanted to join the army like both of my parents had done, so once I as old enough, sixteen, I quit school and began my training which ended two years ago. And that brings us to where I am now. Australia's first missile and its silo, where I work. If the command is given I could be one of two people who will type the codes and press the button which will trigger the missile to launch. Hopefully that doesn't happen during my shift.