Rebellion

Army

You marched to the beat of the drum, in step with everyone around you. The rifle you carried weighed heavy on your left shoulder. You were one of many; a soldier of the Opposition. How did this happen? You had no idea.

Look down. Look down. Don't look them in the eye.

You hardly dared to make eye contact with those standing above you. No matter which generals were watching, there was always a leader of the Opposition with them.

Look down. Look down. You're standing in your grave.

You knew you were in the wrong place, but you couldn't do much about it. When the Opposition took over, they brought in most of the citizens. Everyone had the choice of either working in the main building, whether it be in the army or not, or they could be taken prisoner. Not to mention the rest of the city who was living in fear. Either way, there was no winning.

"Squad!" The commander called. "Halt!"

You stomped your foot down in time with everyone around you. In the midst of everything that had happened, the organization of the army was the one thing that made it better. It was the only stability you had in your life.

One thing was for sure, no one was their own person in this army. Everyone wore the same uniform, male or female. It was gray with a white undershirt and a black tie. On their heads sat a thin hat that was known as a wedge. The men wore their hair clipped short, and nearly shaved on the sides. The women were not allowed to have short hair; instead they wore it tied back in a tight bun.

"Squad! To the front, salute!"

Almost mindlessly, you did as you were commanded. The whole room was silent, except for the footsteps of the general, who was moving to the front to address the large squadron of soldiers. Every time someone of a high rank talked to the crowd, you got a nervous feeling in your stomach.

"Good evening, soldiers!" The general said. "We had another good day today. However!"

You winced. "Howevers" were never good.

"We still know nothing more about the Defiance," The general continued. "Which means you all need to work harder around here. Find out what you can! ASAP!"

"Correction!"

You recognized the voice, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. All of the sudden, right next to the general, a green glow appeared. As if from nothing, a body materialized. Antisepticeye. You could barely keep the disdain off of your face. The rest of the group murmured in shock. Technically, you weren't supposed to do that, but the general was just as surprised to see Anti as anyone.

In a flash, Anti's body glitched and he appeared on the squadron's level. Your disgust slowly turned to fear as he began to wander around through the rows. Why did you have to be standing at the end?

"We do not want to find these rebels 'as soon as possible'," Anti continued. He wandered through your row, stopping right next to you. "We want to find them immediately."

He stared at you as if challenging you to make a wrong move. You kept your eyes glued the back of the soldier's head in front of you. Anti eventually moved on as he continued his speech, but you barely heard the majority of it. Instead, you slowly let a breath out and tried to calm your heartbeat.

"Long story short," Anti said, teleporting back to where he had come in, "if they're not with us, they're against us. And that goes for all of you too."
  
  
  
Jack dropped to the ground with a thud. He groaned as he got up, thankful that he had gotten away. His back hurt, but he hadn't been seen and that was all that mattered. He hurried across the city, which was turning into a desert wasteland. 

He wasn't sure what had happened; all he knew is that Anti and Dark were in control now--and they were out to get them.  They were known as "The Defiance" according to those in charge, but they wore that name proudly. 

Jack opened to the door to their headquarters. It was mostly underground, but it worked for them. As he descended the ladder, he could see the group hard at work as they waited for his return.

Matt was working on a map, with Stephanie right next to him. In her arms, was their son Ollie. It made them all sad to know that the young child would be brought up in hiding, unless they could find a way to bring down the Oppression.

The same went for Layla and Raphael--Ken's kids. His wife, Mary, usually watched them during the day, but she was one of the best of the group's night scouts--and sniper. Mark sat at a computer, with Amy reading stuff off of a paper for him. It was probably stuff that they had found out from their trip to the government building the night before. 

Nate was the lookout. Despite the fact that their hideout was pretty hidden, they needed Nate to keep an eye out for intruders and for harsh weather that could cause issues for their underground home. Right now, he was tracking the weather.

Bob was the only one to look up from what he was doing when Jack entered the room. "Hey, everybody, Jack's back!"

There was a huge wave of relief that seemed to wash over the group. Everyone sat back from their work.

"How'd it go?" Mark asked.

"Well--" Jack said, setting down his bag, "I'm alive, and I'm here."

"Any sign of Gabby?" Stephanie asked, although she was sure she knew the answer.

Jack's eyes fell, "No. Nothing."

The group stayed quiet, a few of them exchanging glances with each other.

"But I do have the equipment we needed," Jack said, clearing his throat and trying to lighten the mood.

"Awesome," Wade said. "Now Bob and I can fix those weapons."

Jack handed them the bag of stuff. Then he clapped his hands together. "Does anyone need help with anything?"

"Actually, we were just saying that we needed to put Ollie to bed," Matt said.

"Yeah, and Layla, Raphael, and Mary are already asleep," Ken put in.

"In other words," Felix said, putting an arm around Marzia. "We're going to turn in for the night."

Jack smiled, tiredly. "That's probably a good idea."