The 3rd Book About Absolutely Anything!

Old short story

(I never really post stuff on here cause I don't really get a lot of ideas anymore, but here have this story we had to write for an assignment, around August last year. We had to write a dystopian story.)

It was a cold, winter's night. Snow fell lightly onto the ground, covering it with its overwhelming white. The house was completely empty, except for the presence of my best friend and I. Huddling close to her, I attempted to keep the both of us warm. It was silent, except for the sound of a cricket chirp and our quiet breathing. Bored, I said something out of the blue.

"Have you ever thought about running away?"

This wasn't completely random. The thought had always been on my mind, but I could never express it freely without the worry of being judged. My parents would punish me for even thinking like that and my teacher would send me to the counselor's office in the hopes of trying to 'fix me'. My best friend was the only person who I could trust and I knew she would understand.

We met when we were kids, I was in the park one day, swinging on a tree, but then I accidentally let go, and just as I was about to land on the floor, this girl came out of nowhere to catch me right on time. She later told me that I shouldn't do anything dangerous like that again and we became best friends soon after. It was almost as if she was sent to me.

Now, I waited for her response, hoping that she would understand how I felt, maybe she even felt the same way as me. But instead, I was met with something different.

"Why would you run away? Everything is perfect the way it is."

My face dropped in response, this was the exact kind of answer I was dreading, "I mean... I guess you're right..."

She smiled at that, but I wasn't finished, "... but what if there's something better than this? Haven't you ever thought about living a life where we didn't have to follow the rules, be perfect, not have our whole futures set out for us."

The more I spoke, the more my best friend's shoulders seem to tense, the more her face seemed to darken, the more her eyes looked away from mine. She listened intently to what I had to say, the things which I've been bottling up for years, finally expressing all my hopes, dreams, everything which I didn't have.

I probably sounded crazy, but it was what I wanted, to be somewhere I wasn't constantly looked down upon, where I didn't have to meet everyone's expectations. I just wanted to be in a place where it was just me and her.

When I finally finished speaking, I tried to read my best friend's expression. She looked like she was deep in thought. I didn't try to push her, so I waited. When she finally spoke, it was in a voice I didn't recognise.

"Subject 163 must be terminated."

It all happened at once.

The lights suddenly went out as my best friend tackled me to the ground. She kept a firm grip on my wrists as I struggled to break out of her grasp. I shakily stuttered, "W-why are you doing this?!" My voice cracked as my eyes began to water.

She replied in a robotic voice, "Subject 163 has broken too many rules. She is no longer needed. She is to be terminated at once."

Letting her words sink in, panic struck as her hand then turned into a sharp knife. I needed to find a way to stall her, "What a-are you.... I thought we were f-friends..."

"I was assigned to keep Subject 163 in line. But she has gone way beyond it and is now a lost cause. She needs to be terminated."

It all came to me. Those times when she scolded me for breaking a rule. Those times when she told me what to do. Those times when I thought she was helping me become someone who everyone would like. But she was only controlling me, she was the one who took away my freedom, the one I needed to run away from.

Then in a single blow she struck me in the chest. I was finally free.