Beyond the Gloom

Hester stepped out onto the path on the rainy Tuesday morning. He looked up and sighed loudly. The gloomy days seemed to follow each other, like darkness was the only thing to prevail over New Earth. It had been 864 days since the last ray of sunshine filled the city, and Hester was certain the next would not be around the corner any time soon. He slumped along the path, recognising his colleagues heading in the same direction as they too, looked blankly ahead. Hester could see the black building looming at the end of his street, a constant reminder that his dreary place of work stood above all else, in more ways than one. He spotted Karl in the distance, however he did not peep a word as this would have caused more issues than he wished to bargain for. Instead, he thought, I must find a time to ask him how Rita is going. If people knew he was even aware Karl still had contact with his wife, it would mean a death sentence for all three of them, a fate he did not wish to see carried out. At least not today, he decided.

The microchip beeped in Hester’s neck as it clocked him into work, registering his start time. He continued in formation behind his other male colleagues as he prepared himself for a day of tracking and finding the Hysterians, a rebel group rising up against New Earth. As he reached his post, he took in a long, deep breath, attempting to prepare himself for the monstrosity of deaths he was going to witness from the day as they targeted a new area of the city where it had been discovered there were rebel camps. He nodded towards Karl, a silent hello which was the only sort of interaction that could be afforded under such monitoring by the Coercion, as the leaders were known. As the day progressed, Hester continued to wade through the slashing scenes as he usually would, however, it seemed something caught his eye. It glistened for a brief second, but as he looked closer, he saw it. A heart shaped locket on the ground, hidden beneath one of the lonely victims caught attempting their escape. There he realised upon further inspection, his eyes widening with fear, laid Karl’s wife. He held his breath, dreading what may happen when he looked upon Karl’s face as he stood beside him. It was too late. A shriek bellowed across the quiet, still room and within seconds, Karl was whisked away. Hester, without a sound, turned back to his monitor and continued as if he was unaware of the fate of his longtime friend, never to be seen again.

That evening as Hester made his way back home, again in silence, he ensured no one was watching as he veered off his usual path. Something was coming, and it was bigger than the Coercion could have ever imagined. He continued along the winding path leading to the outer factions of the city, and up ahead, he spotted a face he had been longing to see. Nomad, Hysteria’s fateful commander, greeted him with open arms and welcomed him into the meeting that was about to commence. Overnight, an operation was to take place which had been in preparation for many months before them. Hester, with great pain, reported to Nomad the great loss of Karl and Rita and as the group paused for a moment, they each vowed that now was the time to rise up against the forces, to take back what belonged to them many moons ago. Hester carried one main piece of the puzzle which was going to help to defeat the Coercion once and for all; his microchip. He grimaced as this was removed, cutting just beneath the skin of his neck in order to gain the key to control over the city. Nomad thanked Hester, and with that, he began his journey back home. Hester knew it was to be a long night, but little did he know what he would be waking up to at the beginning of his day.

It was Wednesday morning. Great. Another dreaded day. Hester huffed as he pulled on his black jumpsuit, taking a deep breath as he reached for his cane and stood up. He began heading down the stairs into the empty room that consisted of a lonely chair and sat for a moment, entering his code into the tablet on the wall close by, ready to be provided his daily nutrition at the click of a button. The tablet registered his request, and within minutes, it was noted he had consumed his meals for the day, the Coercion to be fooled with this misinformation following the removal of his microchip. As he opened the door, he looked back to make sure everything was in order. Let’s face it, he thought, what is there to remember. He chuckled slightly, but stopped abruptly, his eyes wandering down to his feet where a shadow had been cast by the open door. Except, what he saw was not a shadow. This was a sight he had not seen for many, many days before him. A ray of light beamed beneath his feet. As he slowly turned, his head rising as he went, Hester stifled himself from shouting with utter shock. There in the street stood high and proud, Nomad, holding the heart shaped locket, the Hysterians crowded behind him cheering. Hester began to weep, with sorrow, with happiness. He could not believe what he was seeing. Before him it was the sun. Light. Colour! This was the new beginning.