Chapter
4 – Dust to Dust
Androids have been deployed to get
rid of the survivors of the airstrike. Despite most of the survivors being on
the verge of dying, I still try to save as many as I can and tell the able
survivors to save the dying while I continue forward. In the skies, I see the
jets that bombed us and some kind of military aircraft that probably aided
them. I’m surprised that Old America
even has these aircraft though I guess I shouldn’t be because I’ve never heard if
they lost them. Continuing forward, I see androids setting up defensive iron
walls to block off the streets. I hurry before the barriers can be set up in
front of me, eliminate the androids, and continue further into the city. Here,
I find supply trucks with heavy weaponry, one kind of which catches my
attention. These are heavy automatic shotguns carried by juggernaut enforcers
and are sometimes used like mounted turrets. Seeing as I need as much firepower as possible, I carry them on my back and take the ammo for them.
Further into the city, I see virtual
billboards broadcasting the news on all of them. The citizens of the city
gather to watch them concerned about what is happening. There are also some
citizens who are trying to leave the city in either car or on foot with a lot
of them being stopped by androids and enforcers that try to assure them that
they’re safe or are questioning them to see if they’re revolutionaries. Even
with everyone distracted by something, I keep to the shadows to avoid detection
just to be safe.
“Do not fear, true citizens of
America,” a well dressed man with cybernetics says on the news that echoes
throughout the city, “The threat is eliminated and our androids and brave
enforcers are cleaning up the rest of the trash. I’m sure you’re concerned
about the airstrike that happened just outside your doors but be assured that few
if any innocents were caught in the bombardment. We will create a monument for
the lost lives of the innocents once this civil war is over.”
Pfft. Acting as if their
bombardment was justified because they say hardly anyone innocent was caught in
it. That’s what’s always made me mad about America and what led to its
downfall. The degradation of morals and respect for God makes men think they can
define what is good and evil and allow them to make excuse upon excuse for
their sins. It’s also behind the thought process behind the androids. They
thought they could create an AI that would be exactly like the human consciousness and
soul, but they couldn’t make anything like it without using another person to keep
it in check.
The design of the androids has been
a thing that’s been bugging me that shows their true beliefs on what humanity
is. Each android has the same non-expressive face on them and is only distinct
by what they wear. Every one of them serves a singular purpose until they are
eventually destroyed and replaced by a similar type of android. The corrupt see
us like this without thinking about what makes us unique and human. Even in the
end, they continue to talk on their big screens down to the public as if they
have everything under control, that their enemies are evil, and they are
righteous. It’s funny them calling us evil not because they’re wrong, but
because they believe in the subjectivity of morality until it suits them.
Now that I’ve made my way to the
towering communication station that stands like a huge sword in the ground, it’s
time to end this. There aren’t as many guards around it as I thought probably
because they’re told that the threat has been eliminated though there are quite
a few of them left. Regardless of their numbers, I make my way toward them
until someone in the shadows puts their hand on my shoulder.
“You’re Fr. Death, aren’t you?” the
dirt-covered man with electronics on him says.
“I am. Who are you?” I ask.
“I’m with the resistance. Did Mr.
Red and the others actually…”
“Yes, Mr. Red and most of the
others are dead. I’m all that’s left as far as I know.”
“Damn those bastards! We’ll have to
wait for backup until we can attack that communication station over there. I’ve
been trying to hack it from here to cause some damage, but just like the other
communication stations, it’s hard to hack. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised
since this place is the source of the signal that keeps the androids going. I
have a place where we can wait until then.”
“You do that. I’ll head in.”
“You’ll what? That’s suicide!”
“Maybe, but I think I’ll be able to
disable the station by myself.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure. Look at me. I’m heavily
armed and armored. Even if I have to die to accomplish this so that no more
lives will be lost, I’ll do it.”
“I guess there’s no stopping you. I’ll
try to get you back up as soon as I can. God be with you.”
“He always is,” I say while
crossing myself and heading toward the entrance of the communication station.
I’m on a time limit, so I can’t
afford to play this safe as if that were an option. Now that I’m out of the
shadows and the chaos of the city is light here, the enforcers and androids
finally notice me, but they don’t have enough time to react as I draw up my two
large automatic shotguns and mow down all who stand in my path. I hardly bother
with the backup that comes from behind me and instead focus on charging forward
where I shoot open an entrance to the building and lay waste to everyone inside.
More and more of the station’s guards come at me, however, I still push forward
until I begin to realize that I’m running out of ammo. Once my automatic
shotguns are empty, I pick up what I can from the bodies around me and use what
I can as I continue to push forward through the tower and to an elevator that’s
currently shut down.
A glance at the floors of the elevator
shows me that there are many more floors down than there are above, which gives
me the feeling that this station is powered and controlled from below rather
than above. If my hunch is incorrect, then I could be wasting energy and
bullets on this guess. Then again, why would they need so many floors in the underground
if it weren’t needed? Perhaps I could find something valuable down there at the
very least.
“Well, guess I have to do this the
hard way,” I say.
With no better option in mind, I
then open the top of the elevator, shoot the cables holding it, and brace
myself as the elevator shoots all the way down to the very bottom. Surprisingly
enough, I’m mostly fine except for an ache in my body that I have to walk off to
make it go away. The floor I’m currently on is a production facility where
androids are being made and armed at the same time forcing me to snap back into
action. Since there’s a variety of weapons here, I find whatever explosives are here and go wild with them. I throw grenades, explode C4, and empty
and use all the rockets to blow up everything around me to stop the constant production
of androids and destroy them all. After the coast is clear, I take some new
weapons with me, two heavy light machine guns and ammo for it before continuing
down.
Here, I find people strapped to
machines with tubes and wires in them all just like in the prison. There’s what
looks to be a control room in the center of the room where a singular large android
descends from. It has multiple faces and arms that have different guns on them.
“Impressive, priest,” it says. “You’ve
fought your way here and survived every obstacle all by yourself. A small well
armed militia would’ve taken casualties coming to this point, but you’re alive
and well.”
“If you’re about to offer me to
walk away or join your side, then you can forget about it,” I say before
shooting the android to pieces. Soon after, another one pops out from the wall
similar to the production facility above me.
“Who do you think you are? You’re
no one, a random priest who’s only special because of a nearly indestructible
body given to him and a seemingly insatiable bloodlust. What would your God
think of you? Killing me and my copies will result in the people around us dying.
Destroying the android army and remnants of the American army will give this
country over to savage rebels. Is that what you want?”
“I only want to do what God wills
me to do and if He wishes your destruction, then let His will be done through
me.”
Without care for cover, I let loose
my light machine guns in all the machines around me with one hand shooting the
machines while the other shoots the copies androids as I’m being shot. The
machines start exploding and collapsing around me one after the other until
everything in the room is nothing more than broken machines and inactive
androids. Somehow, I haven’t sustained serious damage despite being shot so
many times. It’s probably because the androids lost their accuracy as the
machines were being destroyed. The people who were strapped to the machines are
all dead. God, please forgive me for not finding a better way to save their
lives. I hope they can forgive me as well.
As I make my way back up, I see
that all the androids are off and the building is vacant save for the enforcers
who are currently fleeing. Once I make it to the surface after climbing many
stairs, I see the jets and aircraft from before blow up in the sky. People are
celebrating, embracing, kissing, and waving the American flag in the sky. A broadcast
shows across the billboards of the rebels declaring this last state theirs and
the other state that Roxy and her followers in fallen as well. The country finally
belongs to its faithful people again. Thanks be to God.
To be honest, I do feel a little underappreciated
for not getting a reward for my deeds, but if I deserve one, I’m sure God will
make it happen. All I wanted was justice for my loved ones and I got it so I can’t
complain. Speaking of God, it’s Saturday. It’s quite fitting that the week ends
as the Old America dies. I better get to church to fulfill my obligation today or
tomorrow and properly thank God for everything that He’s done for me. After
which, I’ll head back home and go back to my sacred duties as a priest.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if I spent
the rest of my life doing my priestly duties and never picking up a gun again.
Speaking of which, I drop the guns I’m still carrying and take out my rosary that I pray on as I make my way back to my hearse. I’m confident that the
future of our country and the world is bright. Today’s work has brought us out
of the shadows of yesterday. God only knows what tomorrow and the
next day will bring, but I know for a fact it will be good because every day is
a gift to be treasured.
The End
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