Totalitarian Stories

Book Two: They encourage, not the realists and the brave, but the gullible and the fragile, those too weak to fight back. They massacre lower and middle-class citizens once every month to control the growing population through a method called Cleansing. They rid of all music except modern pop to eliminate diversity, keeping only one artist from each state in the music industry. They stop anyone from going in or out of the country and kick out all those not born within the now-armed borders. And that's just the beginning of what they call "The Great Reformation," the grand change of the United States government and all of its operations. All because the United Kingdom has turned against the nation and declared war, or so President Nathaniel Carter says. Carter, as the dictator, begins to tell citizens certain things, things that Ryan Tedder and his bandmates, Zach, Eddie, Brent, and Drew, don't actually buy. After all, physicist Niels Bohr once said, "The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy." Along with this chaos, Ryan is trying to deal with the stress of Ramona becoming distant due to her past reappearing, and the new rules and regulations making his career walk on a tightrope. The national anthem may say otherwise, but the United States is no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. Not with the new government. Ryan and the other guys are determined to dig through the lies and find the real reason why. © 2016 by Verona Rohellec. Second installment of the Blooming Passion trilogy. Complete. Mature language. Extreme violence. Sensitive topics. Highest Rank(s) - #1 in Totalitarianism (tag) (nice!), #1 in Ryan Tedder (tag) (yay!), #3 in OneRepublic (tag). Thanks to libellule_ for the AMAZING cover! Another to Kim A. for helping with the trilogy's plot. And a thanks to the dedicated members of the OneRepublic fandom who read and give so much support!

A young teenage girl, haunted by the memories of her father's execution, attempts to escape a cruel regime by night. A solitary woman, abandoned by her husband, inadvertently plays into the cruel hands of 'the state'. In another totalitarian regime a traffic light fixer is dealt with brutally for admiring a sunset. All these characters capture the essence of what it's like to be disempowered and cruelly dehumanised at the hands of a heinous, corrupt power. This sharp collection of pertinent short stories throws an at times uncomfortable light on cruelty, injustice and persecution that is all too relevant today. But ultimately these stories celebrate the strength and determination to survive at all costs, that exists within all of us.

BORN A COMMON SETTLER, Wil shouldn't be able to sift, but he can. He sees emotions in bursts of color and hears thoughts as if they were whispered into his ear. This gift has transformed his life, lifting him from the squalor of a Settler's camp to the Guardian Academy - an elite school where young Sifters train to use their power. But Wil soon learns he will never be accepted by his High Founder classmates. No matter what his accomplishments, they'll always see him as an outsider. A 'Camp Rat' with inferior blood, not worthy of the Guardian name. UNLESS HE CAN PROVE THEM WRONG. Now sixteen and on the verge of graduation, Wil finally has that chance. Somewhere in the frozen Settlement of York, a dangerous mind is on the run. If he can track them down before his classmates do, he'll win more than bragging rights. He might finally earn some respect, maybe even a grudging nod from Astrid Blake - the beautiful but frosty daughter of the most powerful man in Neoden. THE FOX HUNT IS ON. As Wil chases his quarry through the ruins of York, he still believes what he's been taught: that a Guardian's sacred duty is to keep the citizens of Neoden free from evil thoughts. But when he and his classmates are targeted in a deadly terrorist attack, those beliefs start to crumble. Why would the Settlers he's been sent to protect try to kill him? When a voice from the past reaches out to him with an answer, he's forced to face a terrifying possibility: maybe powerful evil still exists in the world. And maybe he's been training to serve it. Author's note: all characters and events described are fictional, and entirely the creative work of Gray Martin. Only the cover art and illustrations were generated with the assistance of AI (Gemini).

Moments before the main character Derva tries to take his own life, he writes to a distant relative, accusing her of driving himself and her grandson to their deaths by supporting the current regime in her home country. First enraged Esther, the distant relative moves on with her life, but being more and more confronted with the regime she eventually joins the rebellion, believing Derva had died. Derva survives his suicide attempt and moves to the regime led country, pushing for things to change. During the story many other characters who're living within the regime are met, like the vice president's daughter and his wife, a teenage girl who's being deported and her grandma who's imprisoned, all painting a picture which destroys the facade so many believe in.

It's 2032 the European Union has united under the flag of the European Commonwealth, divided into three districts. West, Central, and East. Behind a futuristic and prosperous society lurks the shadow of totalitarianism and crime. This is the story of Kyle Walker, a 22-year-old man living in central Europe. He fully embraced the State and its values until one day, his views of his surroundings, his friends and even his identity get questioned in a way not foreseen by him.

The Pack In a society ruled by the iron fist of the Supreme Handler, where purity of blood defines your worth, survival is a daily struggle. The regime, known as The Pack, categorizes its citizens into strict classes, with Pure-Breds at the top and Full Mutts at the very bottom-hunted and eradicated for the mere crime of existing. Adrian, a man who has learned to navigate the treacherous waters of this brutal world, lives a quiet, careful life as a Pure-Mixed. But when a raid leaves his neighbors' apartment ransacked and the air thick with fear, Adrian makes a choice that will change everything. He finds Maddy, a young girl classified as a Full Mutt, hiding in the shadows, and his long-buried protective instincts kick in. Haunted by the loss of his past to the regime's relentless pursuit of purity, Adrian takes a dangerous gamble-he decides to protect Maddy. As they flee from The Hound, a ruthless enforcer with a personal vendetta, Adrian must confront not only the dangers of a society built on blood but also the darkness within himself. Will Adrian find redemption by saving Maddy, or will the unforgiving rules of The Pack crush them both?

It's a miracle they escaped. They'll need more than that to survive. She didn't know the date or the year or the decade, but she knew she had to get out. When Lizzie wakes from her trance inside "the hospital", she sees her one chance to escape, but she soon discovers that she might be the only human left free and alive. As she fights to find out what has happened to her family, she is forced to team up with a teenage boy, a sinister stranger, and some of the monsters she is working against.

In "Whispers of the Forgotten," a young girl named Elara watches her world crumble as her father is drafted to fight in a brutal war. Her mother, pregnant and hopeful, miscarries soon after her husband's departure and never recovers from the loss. Spiraling into despair, she becomes a shadow of her former self, often disappearing and leaving Elara to fend for herself. Elara finds solace in books, particularly those about the 'Forgotten'-people with extraordinary powers who once lived freely. But as the war rages on, the authoritarian government tightens its grip, banning books and erasing any remnants of democracy. Elara discovers that the war is not just about power but about eradicating the very essence of human freedom and knowledge. Determined to fight back, Elara embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth about the Forgotten and reclaim the world her parents once knew. Along the way, she learns that she might possess the very powers the government fears, making her a beacon of hope in a world shrouded in darkness.

Percy Hopkins had done the unspeakable-attempted murder. He gets sent to Harmony Springs Institute for troubled teens. His fate is sealed.

(Updates Every Wednesday) In a world where people with extraordinary abilities are feared, a vast facility known as the Sanctuary has been created to contain and control these powerful individuals. This sprawling city-like prison is governed by the ruthless Magnus, whose motto, "Might makes Right," dictates the brutal hierarchy within. Residents, both good and evil, live under constant surveillance and the threat of death if they attempt to escape, ensured by a lethal implant in their brains. Elina, a compassionate healer with the power to mend wounds with a touch, struggles daily under Magnus's oppressive rule. Despite her invaluable ability, she is treated as little more than a tool, her freedoms heavily restricted. She tends to the wounded and sick, dreaming of a better world but seeing no way to achieve it. Jax, a powerful energy manipulator, captured and forcibly brought to the Sanctuary. Upon his arrival, Jax is immediately targeted by Magnus, who seeks to recruit or destroy any threat to his dominance. Initially reluctant and cynical, Jax's sense of justice is ignited by the suffering he witnesses and his growing bond with Elina. Together, maybe they can challenge Magnus's tyranny.

Maria Kehoe was a ghost worker--- illegally employed--- pulling newly banned books off the shelves at Surrat's Bookshop. But her past seems to be catching up with her, and because she's classified as a 'defective' because of her Asperger Syndrome, if the government catches up with her, she's likely to be sent to a mercy center for termination. But what hope does she have when she isn't even legally considered a person?

you'll have to read to find out...

In the shadowy metropolis of Coal, coal dust settles like a perennial fog, smothering dreams and desires. Every individual trudges through the same, unending daily grind, all passion extinguished by a world seemingly designed to snuff it out. Among them, one soul, weighed down by the oppressive atmosphere, drifts closer to the precipice of understanding. But in Rebirth, enlightenment comes at a price.

It is now 2048 and the nation-territorial relationships of Israel and Palestine are well...improving from my information?? It is a perfect world after all. A girl of an occupied city and one of a contemporary metropolis live the futuristic high school life of Jerusalem, Israel. But as situations get even more tense between the nations, one doesn't know the fire that awaits her on the other side... (Note: Novel will start before 2048)

Four simple rules to follow: Eight p.m. curfew, Only one child per married couple, Only man and woman relationships, and every child has to be independent by the age of 20. Not too hard to follow, right? Not for Sayna, a second child that has lived in the underground mining tunnels for most of her life. She has been cared for by allies of the second children for her whole life. One day, she meets a mysterious boy, Axton, who is looking for a way out. They go on an adventure that leads them to somewhere they could never have imagined, and realized that the underground world is a lot more complex that just the lost second children of their society.

In a dystopian-like place, a young woman fights for her life to change the world. But what secrets will she uncover? Whose the mastermind behind the games she's forced to play? Will the teachings her father gave her help her succeed or help her fail?