Anna Defies The Locket

My name is Anna Fleming, I am 25 years old and I think today is the last day of my life.

Sirens blaring so loudly, a high pitch humming that shook my whole body, trembling like I was standing on an enormous vibrating belt. My heart was pounding like a jackhammer on dry pavement and my face covered in sweat. "What have I done?" I yelled aloud. "I'm so sorry. I did not know this would happen. I wish I could take it back." Crying profusely, barely able to catch my breath hoping someone could hear me over the sound of people running and screaming and buildings crumbling to the ground. All vehicles came to a screeching halt and it seemed as if all life was in instant turmoil and I had caused it. The air pressure became so intense, I felt like my head was in a giant squeeze machine that was getting tighter and tighter against my temples. The temperature felt like it had dropped at least 50 degrees and ice began to form on the roadways. At this moment I knew that me defying the locket had destroyed the entire world. I crawled off the side walk under what was left of a small piece of a crumbled building hoping it would keep me safe while I looked at my phone to get some sort of information on what I should do. Pulling my phone out of my handbag I noticed the screen was shattered. Wiping the sweat and blood from my face I could read: SOMEONE HAS BROKEN THE LAW OF THE LOCKET AND WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE. I always thought the wrath of the locket was a myth and I did not agree with it making all our life's choices for us. I wanted to live like my ancestors. Free and without limits. I had always followed the law of the locket until yesterday.

It was December 21, 3050 at about two o'clock in the morning and I was having some trouble sleeping. I walked to the restroom to wash my face with warm water hoping that it would relax me enough to drift off to sleep. As I returned to my cot I noticed one of my dorm mates Elli was still awake also. I motioned to her to come sit at my feet and she quietly came across the room where I was laying and sat on the corner of my cot so gently I could barely feel her weight shift it. We began a conversation on what we thought things would be like if we were able to make decisions for ourselves and did not have to obey the locket. The conversation between the two of us had become so exciting, I could actually see it happening. It felt so good to be free in our minds that I knew I had to be the one to make it happen for all of us.

The thoughts of our freedom lingered in my thoughts for months. I could not go one complete day without thinking about it and what life would be like being able to go where we wanted, ate what we wanted, worked where we wanted and talked to who we wanted to. I could not wait until I was able to come up with a way to turn these thoughts into our reality. The only problem was, I would have to brake the law of command and I had to be wise in doing so.

On March 14, 3051 I was given the command to send out messages to all the workers of the east wing. The east wing was made up of all the frontline engineers who were in control of the planetary vibrations, keeping everything aligned and rotating the way its supposed to. The locket instructed that they start work early the next day at three o'clock in the morning instead of five. I thought to myself, why so early? Its not as if they are compensated for the extra time they put in. I found this to be the perfect time to defy the locket and everyone to be free. Everyone will thank me later and I will be a heroic figure in the data base of the future. The engineers did not deserve their sleep to be cut by two hours and furthermore, what does that locket know anyway? Who can take a threat from a beautiful heart shaped locket that only shows amazing mirrored images of whatever it reflects? It doesn't really have the power that was given it by generations before me to rule the earth. People just find it easier to not think for themselves. What is the worst that could happen?

By Depeachtreia McLoyd