Far from Normal




I woke up from the sound of my alarm clock. I rolled over and checked the time: eight o’clock. I got up and walked into my bathroom to freshen up to get ready for another long, dreadful day. I put on the dull grey uniform consisting of a grey t-shirt and black pants and put my hair in a braid.I walked downstairs, finding my breakfast to already be made on the table but I’ve always hated the idea of robots cooking my meals so I skipped it. I went outside and walked to work.All of the street guards were where the usually are, at every corner. They hold huge guns and wear protective gear as if anyone is brave enough to go against them.

I reached work at nine and started right away. I work in a clothing factory near my house, and I dread going there everyday but rules are rules I guess. I packaged about 600 grey and black uniforms into small cardboard boxes. I wanted to get out early. At lunchtime, I noticed Khily hadn’t come to work. Uh oh. This was bothering me so I walked up metal stairs and down an eerie, narrow hallway to go talk to my boss. I knocked on the blank metal door.

“Come in,” Sir Brown said. I opened the door to find him looking over some computer work.

“Good morning, Sir Brown. I don’t mean to interrupt you, but I have a quick question.” I knew that if I were to be rude to any of the 2nd level adults I’d get in trouble, considering I’m 3rd level, which might as well be called peasant.

“What is it?” he said.

“Well, I haven’t seen Khily today. Is she here? I just wanted to make sure she was okay.” I knew she wasn’t.

“If you haven’t already heard, there was a small outbreak downtown. She was part of it and will be gone for a while.” Does he think I’m stupid? I obviously know she’s being sent to Rano to be changed. People who are different, or who break the rules, go there. If you’re fat, you go there to lose weight. If you’re skinny, you go to gain weight. If you’re stupid, you go to get smarter. If you have a mental or physical disability that does not fit in with our society, then you’re sent there to stay. Even if you break a rule, you go there for at least a month but most stay for a year or two, as long as it will take to act and become “normal” again.

The people who come back are different and always seem scared. Now my best friend Khily is there, and she’ll never be the same. I don’t even know where she is. But I have a plan to stop all of this.


I walked home from work to find my cousin Jay sitting on my front steps. He looked very tense and his eyes wondered everywhere.

“Hello Willow. How are you? I was just stopping by to say hello,” he said nervously.

“Why else are you here?” If he wanted to see how I was he could’ve just called me or sent a hologram.

“I heard around town about your plan,” he said.

“And? Most of what you hear is just rumors, Jay. Don’t worry.” If he knew everything I knew, he would try to stop me or worse, tell a Sir or a guard.

“Listen. If you try this stuff you know i’ll have to tell someone. I don’t want a silly rebellion to start. There isn’t a reason to. Our society is perfect.” Our society was far from perfect, but it tried to be.
“I won’t do anything reckless I promise. I’m tired. Please leave me alone.” I walked into my house and went straight upstairs. I couldn’t call Khily to tell her about tomorrow so I just went to bed.

The next morning I woke up from a huge explosion that sounded like it was from downtown. It must have just been a gas leak or something. But then I heard screams and at least ten shots fired. I sprung out of bed and ran downstairs and out the door to find everyone screaming and running around the streets, with street guards and war guards chasing them with guns pointed straight and ready to fire.

What’s going on? I ran back in to grab my bag that I was planning on bringing with me today anyways, and bolted out my backdoor. More bombs went off. They were getting closer considering the whole ground was shaking. I needed a place to go, and fast.

I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea what was going on, but the people who lived here are obviously the threat and the guards are not. I looked up and saw at least seven hovercrafts above. There must be a rebellion. Finally!

I jumped my backyard fence and ran into the woods. Thank God I live on the outskirts of town. This was breaking a huge rule, but I don’t think it mattered. I ran west which was in the direction of York, one of the biggest cities in America. I guess it used to be called New York City, before everything got changed, that is. It was only a few miles away so I could make it there quick. The woods had a lot of trees, so it made running pretty hard. I was hoping to find food and safety there.I know it probably wasn’t a good idea, but most of my family lived there, and if they were alive, I had to see them and make sure they’re safe.

I finally reached the giant metal gates of York. It all seemed weird to me though. There were no sounds and barely any signs of human life.I couldn’t see anything on the other side of those gates, so I shouldn’t have to worry. Everyone had to be there right? Maybe they heard about what happened back home and they’re all inside.

I typed in my i.d at the door and scanned my finger and they opened. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see. There wasn’t a single building left standing. Everything was grey and ash, I barely knew where I was. I didn’t hear or see anybody. There wasn’t any trace of life. York was bombed and attacked. Not by terrorist, but by our own people who protect us.Our governments symbol waved in the wind on a white flag high in the air, it was the only non-grey object you could see for miles. My heart was beating hard and I felt anger and rage inside of me. My family was dead. Everyone who lived in York was dead. I knew from this day forward, America would never be the same again and neither will I. Our country was now at war.