Time for justice

7 October, 2137

A truck drives by and I dive into the bushes by the roadside. The branches of the bushes scratch my skin. My clothing is now in such a condition that they no longer protect me. I look straight into Rowan’s icy blue eyes. He’s sitting in the bushes across from me. Both Rowan and I carry weapons, wich is illegal. In my belt is a pistol and in the inside of my jacket is a small knife. Rowan has more. The weapons were stolen from the palace. Not by us, but by an ally; Ceder. She’s one of our dictators guards. Aeron, the dictator, could easily seize power since the breaking of the sun. It has only been a few weeks since it happened. Dark red fireballs as big as houses crashed into the earth. The world has been destroyed by it. The fire is burning almost nowhere anymore, but the chaos is growing by the day. Everywhere you walk, it’s a mess. People think that as they are still alive, there must be a very small amount of sun left. It's only so small that it’s always dark, day and night. It's terrible. But I was born to fight, I've always known that. I met Rowan one day after the accident. Through him I got into the Resistance. Every day more people join. Underground we were able to make a small base, where we can train. And that's what I did. Every day I practiced; throwing knives, shooting and fighting with my bare hands. Maybe you think now that I am strong, but that is not true.

I am weak.

I’m weak because of so many reasons, but mostly because of the death of all of my family. I was lucky that I was at school during the accident. The school building wasn’t hit by a fireball. My family was not so lucky. I wasn't even able to find their bodies; the house was too disrupted. The only thing I found was my sister's locket. It is shaped like a heart and inside is a picture of my parents, her and me. Despite everything, the locket hasn’t been damaged. I don't wear the object around my neck, that's too risky. It is well hidden in a very small pouch. A tear runs down my cheek. I try my best to make the tears stop, but in vain. When I look up it only gets worse. The look of the devastated city is unbearable. And then all the screaming children, mothers with crooked backs and fathers who look wide-eyed at their collapsed houses. Suddenly a large truck passes by. Startled, I stumble even more backwards, into the leafs. The few cars that are left belong to Aeron. He and his small elite have a good life, even in the conditions we live in now. The citizens are oppressed, mistreated, and all possessions have been taken from them. That’s why I am in the Resistance. For weeks we’ve been preparing for this day.

Today we are going to overthrow Aeron.

Rowan and I are close to the palace now. If all goes well, there will be about a hundred Resistance people scattered around the building, so we’ll have it surrounded. In a moment, Rowan and I will have to go inside. Suddenly he nods. It's time. Quickly I look sideways to make sure there aren't too many guards outside. They are hard to spot. Because of the accident, there is a great scarcity of red clothing, so the guards just wear normal clothes. The only feature is the blue gun belt. The guards who have joined the Resistance wear a white ribbon on their shoes. It isn’t easy to recognize, but if they were to wear something larger, it is too suspicuous.

White stands for freedom.

As far as I can see, it’s safe. Of course there are guards, but since there are thousands of civilians roaming the city, we won't be easily recognized. As long as we keep our weapons hidden. My breath quickens as I stand on the road. I stagger a little, but when Rowan grabs my hand I stand more steady. We don't say anything to each other, I'm too tense for that. I stare at my feet as I walk. I walk and walk, until I feel Rowan's hand tighten. We are now only a few hundred yards away from the palace. Most civilians don't get that close, so the guards will catch sight of us more easily now. I let my heart calm down and then we continue on our way. The eyes of guards pierce my back. We’re almost at the entrance. We will be stopped there anyway. Suddenly someone taps my shoulder. Slowly I turn around. A boy with the blue belt looks at me and Rowan intimidatingly. 'You have no right to go in,' he says. ‘Or do you?’ He raises his eyebrows. Rowan straightens his back. My whole body heats up with fear. We do have a plan for when we get held up, but it only works closer to the palace doors. Then it happens. Rowan hits the guard with his fist. I scream, but quickly slam my hand in front of my mouth. Several guards run towards us. In a brief moment, I recognize white ribbons. I smile briefly. Rowan wasn’t panicking, quite the opposite. This is all part of his plan. Adrenaline is flowing through my blood. From one moment to the next it feels like I am alive, really alive. I want to go into battle, but a female guard who is with the Resistance yells for me to go into the palace. I don't let her tell me that twice. I leave the fight behind me. I'm sure I'll be chased, but I'm fast. Really fast. My heart leaps when I see people running from different sides. I know these people: they are my friends. At the door, I count five guards from Aeron and two guards who belong to the Resistance. The guards of the enemy begin to fire. I recognize Ceder's voice telling me to keep going. I pinch my ears shut as I do so. Yet I can still hear the shots and the screams of my friends falling down. Anyone who is in the Resistance knows that there’s a big chance to die during the execution of the liberation plan. I thought I was prepared for it, but that is anything but true. The death of my friends feels horrible. Stubbornly I run on. If I do, hopefully I'll stay distracted. The doors to the palace are open. The guards want to shoot, but I am ahead. Without a doubt I hit all three of them. They are dead instantly. Once inside, I hide behind the first door I see. My mouth falls open. This room is beautifully decorated and filled with luxurious items. I thought the accident had had effect on everyone. I knew Aeron's life was good, but this beats everything. My fingers go tremblingly over a porcelain vase. In the reflection, I see blood running down my forehead. I cringe as my hand touches the wound. Suddenly, I hear footsteps. Instead of waiting, I decide to run full speed towards the person. It works; the guard is completely surprised and I shoot him right away. In my head I repeat the route to Aeron's room. I've been memorizing that every day for the past few weeks. I run up the grand staircase. Upstairs two guards fly at me, but fortunately they are guards who belong to the Resistance. Together with the boy and the girl, I run down the corridor. There are a few dead guards lying on the floor. They must’ve been killed by the guards who belong to us. The two guards who ran with me, remain waiting outside. I take a deep breath and then I open the door. To my great surprise there is no guard to be seen in this room. Dark eyes look at me intensely. Aeron. I could shoot him in a second. Briefly, panic is seen on his face, but it quickly disappears. 'Eleyna. I didn't expect to see you.' Aeron knows my name. I try not to let my surprise show. 'And why is that?' The young dictator slides his chair back and comes close to me. Too close. But I don't step aside, because then Aeron has achieved his goal. 'You're a girl,' he whispers. I become furious. 'So? I'm the one with the most power here.' I point my gun at him. A bitter smile appears on Aeron's face. 'You don’t dare to shoot me anyway.' 'Just watch me,' I reply. 'Come on, Eleyna. Come live with me in the palace. Life here is fantastic.' Automatically I kick him in the stomach. 'Never. Outside, millions of people have died from the breaking of the sun. The living conditions are incredibly bad. Never am I going to live with you.' Aeron looks at me strangely. 'Do you really believe the world can still be saved?' he asks. 'Yes,' I say. 'Of course you believe that,' Aeron says sighing. 'Maybe the world is destroyed,' I begin. 'But that doesn't apply to humanity.' I cast a glance outside. The dark sky makes me feel empty every time. My right hand goes to my pocket. I clamp my fingers around the locket. 'It's time for justice,' I say. And I shoot Aeron straight through the heart.