A Mile Underground

The American Dream is a joke so horrible no one can even pretend to laugh at it. It’s more than fair to blame Mr. President for that. Jem doesn't remember when Daniel Wright came into office because she was only four at the time, but she does know that he is anything but “Wright.” Anyway, it’s been ten years and he’s still sitting in the White House with free everything-he-wants. He’s not a president anymore, though. He calls himself President Wright but he falls somewhere between a constitutional monarch and a dictator. He ignores the constitution entirely. That puts him closer to the dictator side of the scale. But Jem none of the things he’s done matter now. The fifty percent poverty rate, the re-uprising of sexism and racism (prompted by a crafty man behind Wright,) and the fact that you’re only “free” if you’re a millionaire don’t matter anymore.

World War III started on March 8th, 2031, when Iran wiped out all of New York with one nuclear bomb. Jem's father once told her that World War III was going to start with Israel, Iran, or China. He was right. First, the U.S. declared war against Iran. It took less than a day for Israel to ally with the U.S. Within a month the old Allied Powers were back together against Iran and China, as well as several other U.S. enemies from past wars. Within two months nuclear weapons were flying left and right. Now, it’s every man for himself.

Jem had been homeless for four years, since her parents died. One day they were home, and the next they were gone. She came home from school that day to find an official government notice on the door, stating; “The inhabitants of this residence are guilty of planning deadly revolts against the state and therefore have been removed from society.” If the government actually knew her parents were guilty of anything, they would have known that they had a daughter. Obviously, they never killed her, but they would have had they known she exists. Jem was only ten at the time, and the only thing she could think to do was pack up and move out, so she did. She learned how to take care of herself on the streets. When the war erupted she had a head start over everyone else.

The government stopped funding the lower class schools as soon as the war started. They said it was because nuclear weapons were so expensive, but everyone who wasn't blinded by wealth knows it was one of Wright’s schemes.

Jem spent the first month and a half living in an empty school. There were about a thousand people staying there, and Jem thought maybe she'd gain something from being surrounded. But then bombs started falling. She never imagined Washington state would be a target in the war. It turns out it had more than seven military bases and Seattle is very popular among the individual terrorist groups who have decided to make World War III their time to make a statement.

With the bombs flying overhead, Jem decided to say goodbye to Tacoma, and head East toward the mountains. She took her mutt, stole a few things from empty houses and deserted stores, and visited her old home one last time. Then, she made her way out of the city, looking back about a hundred times. All there was to see was a legion of burning buildings.