Chapter 1: Suffocating (pt. 1)

It's suffocating.

It's getting harder to breath.

Here I was alone, wondering who would come save me...

But alas, after saving so many people, no one had come for me.

I flailed my arms in the water, but I kept on sinking. I could not swim up. Shadowy figures appeared beneath me, and a thousand arms reached out to me. No matter what I did, no matter how much I treaded, the water kept on pushing me down. A hand grabbed my ankle firmly, and with a yelp, it jerked me down; into the abyss of the water.

With a yelp, I rose from my bed, gasping for air. My body was covered in cold sweat, refusing to stop quivering. I crossed my arms, trying to steady my pulse, then I took a deep breathe. Ten minutes passed before I was willing to get out of bed.

Walking down the stairs, I checked my surroundings; there weren't anyone home. On the dining table, there was a note that read, "Cam, mommy left early for work. I left sandwiches on the table, please stay safe." I wasn't hungry, so I left the sandwiches. In fact, I was the opposite of hungry; it felt like I would puke any moment. Trying to leave that thought behind, I took some juice from the fridge, and calmed myself on the couch.

Turning the TV on, news of a protest was blasted into my face. I changed the channel, but all channels were broadcasting the protests. My only choice, was to calm myself using this not-so-calming news, and a cup of orange juice.

"Anarchists marched the streets of Melbourne, flooding the traffic. The military is on their way to stop this outrage."

Then the camera cut to the prime minister.

"These people are ignoring their responsibilities, as a part of society. They must acknowledge themselves as humans, not special individuals."

Anarchists? Responsibility? Special individual? What a funny thing to hear, coming from you; Mr President. These news were obviously filtered; this is propaganda, mate.

I finished my cup of juice and grabbed my jacket from the coat hanger. The kitchen was making me claustrophobic, I wanted to leave the house and get some fresh air.

As soon as I walked out, the screams of thousands of people roared. The streets were filled with angry people, united at heart. They marched the streets, some holding signs, some waving flags. Why were they protesting? They were protesting for their freedom.

From far away, I see the military making their way towards the front of the protest. The people, however, didn't stop. They started running and throwing object at the military. In a horror, I quickly stepped back into my house, and closed all the curtains facing the front of the house. I peeked out the window, the soldiers were raising their gun.

"Stop..." I whispered.

The soldiers took aim and put their fingers on the trigger.

"Stop... STOP!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Gunshots went off and everyone started screaming. People slowly started to run in all different directions, trying to seek shelter. The people in their houses locked their doors tight and closed their curtains. Glass shattered, people shouted; and there I was, hiding under the table next to the window. Tears streamed down my face, as I listened to the streets become quieter and quieter. Those people, a thousand of them, all dead in less than 5 minutes.

After the military left the scene, I stepped out of the house to thousands of corpses on the ground. The military didn't even bother cleaning the bodies up. People from other households all slowly came out of their houses. Some were weeping, some were shouting in anger. Nobody wanted to witness a massacre.

The stench of dead bodies slowly grew stronger and stronger, till I couldn't handle it anymore. Before I went back into my house, I saw a flag near my house; one that someone was waving around. I spent a few seconds, just looking at that flag in disappointment, then went back into the house.

The neighbourhood ended up cleaning up the mess, unwillingly. They were not given any rewards for this, no, this was more like a punishment. A punishment for simply existing.

Those people who were alive just around 5 minutes ago? All they wanted was to be free, free from the punishments for simply existing. The government refused to listen to them, and decided the only way to deal with them was to kill them all.

I closed all the windows, blocked all the ventilation, and took a shower. I wanted to remove the smell of the stench, forget everything that had just happened; but I couldn't. The sounds of the gunshots echoed through my head, followed by the horrific screams of the protesters. I then tried heading back to bed, but I couldn't.

I knew those people.

They were my family.

They were waving a red flag.

They were all Taiwanese.