Sound the Alarm

           I am currently the vice president of my college’s Creative Arts Club. It’s part of my job to come up with creative activities to help foster creative thinking and that, well, get my club members producing art. This past week we did a flash fiction exercise where we were all given the same opening sentence and had 20 minutes to write a one-page story. I enjoyed what I came up with so much that I came home and rewrote it for the blog. Here it is for your reading pleasure.

Sound the Alarm

     An unfamiliar alarm rang out stopping the hustle and bustle of the city square. It wasn’t one of the normal alarms signaling our city’s normal daily activities. Instead, it was the loud, grating, angry emergency alarm causing everyone to freeze in place. The citizens looked around in confusion not sure what they are supposed to do at this point. A virtual teleprojector appeared from thin air. The Mayor was on screen sitting stiff and meticulously groomed like a marionette puppet. He began to address the city.

            “My fellow citizens of the great common wealth of Pacifica,” His eyebrows formed a deep menacing furrow, “We have reason to suspect that a domestic terrorist group is at work within the borders of our fair city.”

            A whispered gasp was heard over the square followed by heavy silence. Everyone was listening intently to the mayor’s every word. Instinctively, I pulled my jacket closer around me letting its collar conceal part of my face. It was the same drab gray standard issue designated to all factory workers.

            “This terrorist group is a Trojan Horse, referring to themselves as the Saviors, espousing propaganda against the city of Pacifica and the Authority.” The Mayor cautioned, hardly blinking his dull glassy eyes. “We urge our citizens to not fall prey to their unnatural ideologies and anarchist agenda. As Mayor, I encourage all our citizens to be ever vigilant and report any of the following suspicious behavior, anyone not performing their assigned duties, anyone expressing clear or implied discontent against the Authority, anyone out after curfew without proper documentation, or any other behavior out of the normal. Together we can stomp out this extreme organization. We thank you in advance for your complete cooperation, it is deeply valued and mandatory.

            As quickly as the teleprojector appeared, it was gone. There was a brief pause after the message before the citizens carried on with their day. Many exchanged quick glances. Gone was the puzzled look of confusion. In its place now was fear and suspicion of their neighbors. The Mayor’s corrupted seed was already starting to take root in the hearts of the citizens. It was a brilliant move by the Authority, turning neighbor against neighbor. The more divided we are the easier we are to subdue. If we are busy looking for fault in one another we will be blinded by the control going on around us.

            Eventually, everyone picked up and carried on with their allocated tasks for the day, though a little less defeated than they realize. I smiled ruefully at the blank air where the Mayor gave his message. Soon a different alarm would sound. The Savior’s alarm that would awaken a new era for the people of Pacifica, the country and nothing will ever be the same. They had no idea what they are up against, our roots went deep back to the rise of the Authority and our day of reckoning was close at hand.

            There was much that had to be done. Revolutions don’t happen overnight. The people must be ready for it to take hold. Pacifica was close but needed a push in the right direction by the Saviors.  But first, I had to put a knife into the heart of the person who sold us out to the Authority.