“BEEP BEEP BEEP” I hear the speaker crackle, then a rusty voice of a man. “Your time is up. Exit to the door in the back.” I look around and see everything stop. See the clouds stop and the birds and the grass. Then it starts rewinding. Observing the birds flying backwards and the clouds go the other way then blackness. Darkness. That's when I saw the door. I started walking towards the door. I reach towards the knob and open the door to the real world.
Glancing around at the people. Looking up at the brown sky. 500 years ago the world I live in seemed like a nightmare. On the planet I’m standing on. People used to work together as a community. Each person raising a family to watch it grow and to see their kids go off to help the world. But one day everyone started to realize that where we live will soon perish and die. Thus making everyone unsteady and uneasy. People started looting and nations started turning. Then each nation took out each leader one by one leaving the wealthy in charge. Now they run us. They act like they own us. And that's just how it is. Another factor that caused the world I am breathing in was over population. The world started growing from 7 billion to 9 billion and onwards, all the way to 20 billion.
Now we scavenge for food eating boots and leather. But once a week these men that work for the government always come and give each person a small block of meat. No one ever asks about the meat they just take it. I have always been skeptical about the meat because I think how cows are only for the wealthy and same with chickens so I have wondered what type of meat this was. I would consider myself to be semi wealthy. I have a home to go home to and that is very rare. Also I have only been looted 8 times because my security is so good. But who knows. I might die. Leave this world. And after that someone might take my home. First come first serve is how it is here.
I start slowly strolling towards my house. Walking around watching everyone look at me. Looking at me from top to bottom. I nonchalantly reach my hand into my pocket to show that I have something. I steadily pull out a 357 Magnum. Each person that looked at me casually turned away realizing that I am not the one to burglarize. I slowly walk around a corner and stroll down a walkway leisurely putting my gun away. Faintly behind me I hear an engine start, or getting closer, I couldn't quite tell. I turn my body slightly to glance and I notice a camo van heading straight toward me. I quickly step to the right and hug the wall. I feel the breeze of the van pass by me closing my eyes but then I notice the engine stop. I lazily open my eye’s looking straight forward and see the vans red lights just a few feet away. I see the back doors swing open. An arm swiftly grabs me and sends me flying into the trunk of the van.
All I see is darkness. The blackness. Hearing people breathing heavily around me and the engine roaring below me. I realize that I am not the only one on the floor of this van. I move my hand around me and realize that there is another body In here. A few of them. Each of them as anxious as I am. Someone suddenly stood and screamed help. That's when I heard a gunshot and saw a spark of gunpowder emerge from a gun. Then a hard thud on the floor of the van. I realize that I had a gun. Scanning my pocket but finding nothing. Recognizing that it must have fallen out of my pocket when I got hurled into the van. Knowing that I am now helpless. With nothing to defend myself. Enclosed in a van with a deranged maniac who is wielding a gun.
I hear the engines rumbling come to a stop. I hear rustling around me. I look around remembering that I can’t see much. I feel the bottom of the van slowly get colder. Around me I hear the men get up and walk towards the back of the van. They reach for the door and slowly open it. I hear a hatch unlock then the world outside. Suddenly a surge of light came streaming into the van blinding me. I turn my head looking around the van seeing men and woman scared and afraid. That's when my eyes focused on something on the floor of the van. The man who stood up at the beginning of the trip with a bullet in his head. Staring at me. Lifeless. Dead. “HEY, YOU, GET UP.” I look forward facing a soldier remembering that my life was at stake. I slowly get up and walk out of the van into this massive dirt patch leading into a factory realizing that there were about 20 other vans. I look up ahead looking at each person. Watching each person slowly disappear into the factory. Suddenly the hairs on my neck stand up. Something is not right. I look around for a way to escape but what I see are soldiers holding guns barackading us in. I force myself to keep walking not knowing what was behind this door.
It ‘s my turn. I walk through the door to see this massive machine. A large waft of meat smelling fumes headed straight pass me. I look forward watching each person In line getting strapped into a conveyor and each person screem. Resisting to go into the machine. Slowly walking forward I notice large bin. Multiple of them. I peek over to see what was in them realizing what it was. It was meat. The meat the government gives the people each week. Each block precisely cut. “You. Get away from there.” I turn my head to see a soldier staring at me with anger flowing through his body. “Get over here.” He said. I walk over to where he was standing passing trembling people. “Come with me.” He said with anger. We walk over to the conveyor. “Get on this.” I wipe his spit of my face and climb onto the conveyor and lay down. He straps me in and all I hear is grinding getting louder and louder watching the last sight of life. Then black. All that is left is the smell of meat. The clouds drift away, the birds disappear, and the grass slowly withers away.