Vermillion Dawn

[0] The Last Memories

I don't remember who I used to be. 

The last memory I have is that of darkness and confusion. I woke up in the dark. Quite literally. I guess a lot happened where my memory was lost because the first thing I was told was that the world had ended. No, I definitely wasn't dreaming. 

A lot of people assumed the apocalypse would bring fire from the sky or zombies from the dead; but it didn't happen like that. It was a gradual process that snuck up on everyone and when they finally realized, it was too late. I'd always known that human nature was cruel and greedy but I never expected things to reach the extent they did. 

It all began when the President, Lorenzo Martini, launched a specialized war program called Anti-Warfare Terrorist Project, or AFTR for short. Engineered to perfection, it was an online weapon with the ability to locate any terrorist group in the country from the eye in the sky. AFTR was meant to be for the people, by the people, and it was intended to protect the world. 

Within the first month of AFTR being online, violence and crime rates fell to an all time low. Elite men were trained and recruited to work for AFTR, with benefits that outmassed any other job within the states. More or less, they did the dirty work for AFTR. Other countries sought to purchase the program and its value reached prices as high as millions of dollars.  

I think it was the greed that finally drove Lorenzo to insanity. Some say it was because he wanted the ultimate power. We might never know. What we do know is that when the protesting began, Lorenzo truly lost his sanity because he was angry with the people. He did not tolerate disobedience and with the most powerful weapon wrapped around his pinky finger, the AFTR program went from eliminating terrorists to becoming the terrorist of the century. 

Riots spread from town to town. Those of the people who still believed there was innocent blood, and killing every man and woman against AFTR was mass murder, they tried to make a stand against the wrong. Slowly, those riots grew violent between the people who disagreed, and then the law enforcement got involved, eventually, the military was called in, but it was already too late. A bloody battleground spread like poison through the country as people killed people, the AFTR program killed people who were against it, and then it all went to hell. 

After the First War, the Ascended Districts were formed. For those who chose, and believed, that the AFTR program was for the greater good, Lorenzo allowed these people to live under a strict law system. Without another governing body, or any authority left against him, Lorenzo had no one to rival him and what he said went; of which he enforced whatever he said with inevitable death by the AFTR program. That seemed to be the answer to every single one of his problems, kill it. 

There are rumors that the Ascended Districts are full of food while the world beyond their walls is starving; but there were also whispers of something much more foul at play. A dangerous game of hide and seek that could end it all, either in blood or victory. 

Even though the country fought itself, there were still groups of people that remained against Lorenzo and they cleverly hid among the people in the Ascended Districts. They were spying from the inside, brewing a plan to eliminate Lorenzo. However, they were sold out before the plans could be completed and that's when the Second War erupted. 

It was the bombs that left Bone Zones across the country; large areas of land that are barren and covered in white ash. No people can survive there and no animals venture across the destruction, therefore the surviving people, who refused to surrender, fled into the hills. High up in the mountains, green grass and living trees existed, which was only a figment of imagination for the people of the Ascended Districts who couldn't see beyond their walls.

These surviving people were not forgotten, unfortunately, and they are hunted by the AFTR program. Lorenzo is still determined to wipe the slate clean and start the country over under his thumb. I am one of those people that he hunts. They call us Arch's because we live a life similar to that of Anarchy. I don't have a problem with it but I never really understood the stories personally. I never experienced the pain and horror that everyone else has. 

I can't remember my past. I don't remember my parents. I can't recall my name, I was dubbed the first name people came up with. From what I'm told, I hit my head pretty hard and I was in a coma for three weeks after a group of Archs found me. I was lucky to be alive. After I was informed of the current situation in the world, I manned up and learned how to defend myself.

It's kill or be killed out there. I wasn't about to play damsel in distress. 

My home is a small camp called Redwood and it is where I find shelter, along with forty other Archs. Redwood is nestled in the shadow of a neighboring mountain, blanketed by thick fog. I rarely see the blue of the sky, even on a good day. I guess we've been able to stay hidden for so long because the moisture of the fog messes with Lorenzo's technology. The AFTR program could have its weaknesses and we used them to our advantage.

It's been four months since I woke up. There is silence from the outside world, as if it just isn't there, and I wonder if we are the only people left outside of the Ascended Districts. The only surviving people. As the sun rises, as do I, because the only thing that matters is staying alive. 

My name is Riley and this is my fight. 

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Thoughts?

I'm going to have a lot of the free time on my hands because of the coronavirus precautions being taken throughout the country. No college, no work...I'm actually pretty happy. I'm really going to enjoy this 14 day closure of the world, even if it is alittle crazy. 

NOTE: I am rewriting this book from my childhood, so I have drafts to work from but I'll be reconstructing the storyline alittle as I go. This might be a slower process, we'll see. 

(Not Edited)