Monotony and Mondays: Chapter 4 – Made New

Chapter 4 – Made New

Getting up early in the morning, the mantises, my uncle, and I head to church for Sunday mass. During the mass, the priest preaches about the current situation in the country. He talks about how we should stand up to corruption while also making sure to do so peacefully, however, in the event, violence is used against us, we should use our discretion in fighting back and making sure that we only kill in the event of self-defense where the other person is committed to killing us. Because of his preaching, a lot of people talk to him about the specifics of how they should fight back and if they should fight back against the police. One person brings up an example of how the police were trying to arrest him in his own home because he influenced others to protest and stand up for their God.

“These people are really serious about doing everything that God wants them to do down to the last letter,” I say to Calabretta.

“I am too. Don’t you ever think about everything you do, say, and think to make sure you’re doing the right thing all the time?” she says.

“I think I’d go crazy if I did.”

“It becomes second nature after a while. I mean you got here because you were concerned that you wanted to do something right with your life or did you forget that?”

“Honestly, I did for a second there. Thanks for reminding me.”

While going back to the hideout, I think about what we should do today that wouldn’t count as unnecessary work. Most of the mantises are home with their families while the few who have to hide because they are wanted stay with Calabretta, my uncle, and me at the abandoned warehouse. It’s going to be hard to convince them to do anything, especially since the priest talked about the right time for everything and today being a time for rest. He mentioned that there will come a time when the country will change for the better and even if we don’t live to see it, the next generation might or the next one after that. I could swear that these people all seem to think will the same mind as if what they’re saying about them all being united by their God in one Church is true.

By now, it shouldn’t surprise me given all the recent events and how I got here. Nothing says divine intervention more than having your life radically changed to the point where I’m surrounded by the religious that try to solidify my conversion and having to go to church every Sunday. While back at the hideout, one of the communications guys tells us that there’s big news, which is a sudden and welcome change of pace. It’s a message from Silas that is coming across all encrypted radio channels.

“Tomorrow, we are marching on DC and cutting off the heads of the hydra. The president and all the members of Congress who have led this country to ruin will face justice. Join us to create a better tomorrow for our friends, family, and country,” Silas says.

The source of the signal dies off.

Excited about this news, I immediately say, “We should join them! DC isn’t too far from here and I’m sure they’re going to need all the help they can get.”

“I’m not sure if we should risk it. DC is full of soldiers and if they hear about what’s happening, it’s going to be even more packed,” one person points out.

“Yeah? It’s why they need help. Are you saying you’re afraid of the risk? You should’ve thought about that before joining this group.”

“Alabaster,” Calabretta says.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m going. Don’t you all know about that story where God told the rich man to give up everything and follow Him? Well, I did that and have been following you all and I know for a fact that we should follow Silas to DC to finally change this country for the better.”

Calabretta sighs and then says, “Okay. I’ll go too.”

“And I’ll go as well just to keep you from running head first into the fire,” my uncle says.

Most of the mantises agree to fight with me at DC while the others choose to stay here. Cowards. Anyways, everyone who is brave enough to risk their lives drives with me to DC tomorrow early in the morning when we’re told that most people will be there, however, when we get there, we see that the party has started early. Four lines of defenses that the army has built up have been destroyed and are littered with hundreds of bodies. Seeing this is enough to make me rush in to make sure that I can protect as many people as possible and if there are going to be more bodies, then it’ll be the bodies of those that serve the corrupted leaders of this country. By the time we join the crowds, they’re on the lawn of the White House trying to break through the final bulletproof barriers set up by the army.

The scene is a chaotic one with civilians using makeshift cover and firing at the army with both firearms and explosives while throwing molotovs and handmade bombs. Among the civilians, I see soldiers and police officers, which explains how they were able to get so far. On the other side, the army’s numbers are dwindling with some running away as soon as they run out of ammo or turn on their own, probably to save their own lives. Despite our winning, progress is slow because of the many barriers, walls, and soldiers that are defending them. We help out where we can here until I overhear plans to break in from the other side.

Before we can head over there, we hear the sound of explosions and see smoke coming from one of the sides. Heading over there, we help out as best we can and keep pushing the soldiers back. People flood into rooms to clear it out as efficiently as possible. I look around me to see Calabretta, my uncle, and the other mantises around me and realize this is the first time during this battle I actually cared to see if they were still alive. The high of being here was greater than any party or drink that I’ve ever had to the point where I forgot about them. After silently cursing myself, I continue forward to the oval office and into a saferoom where the president should be.

We find that the metal doors to the saferoom have already been blasted open with the bodies of politicians around us some of which I’ve done business with. Inside, we find many members of Congress and the president shot dead. Above them stands Silas and his allies. He takes out and unwraps a lollipop before putting it in his mouth.

Silas turns around, looks at me, and says, “Aren’t you Alabaster Weaver?”

“I am,” I say amazed to see a living legend in front of me.

He’s decked out in his signature cowboy-like outfit, hat, and revolver with hardly a scratch on him.

“Thanks for what you did. It couldn’t have been easy and it really helped us,” Silas says as he puts his hand on my shoulder and walks out the door.

There was a real emptiness that I can’t explain in Silas’ words. What could be bothering him? I keep thinking about it even as we join the others outside who are celebrating our victory. Everyone is singing ‘God Bless America’. This is the most patriotic I’ve ever seen a group of people even as the dead, injured, and captive are carried off to be cared for. My memory is hazy from the party. All I remember is that I drink a lot like I usually do, try to kiss Calabretta while touching her butt, get slapped, and I wake up back at our hideout as if it were all a dream, but thankfully it wasn’t when I looked up today’s events. Today was a historic day, however, Silas’ tone of voice makes me feel like it wasn’t all that big.

The next day comes around and one of our people says that they found one of the government’s allies that’s been exposing the hideouts and plans of groups like ours after listening to the government’s secret communications stations all day yesterday.

“What’s the point of going after them?” I ask.

“What do you mean what’s the point?” one of the mantises asks.

“It’s over. The White House is overthrown, the president dead, and all the members of Congress have a bullet in their skulls. What else is there to do except for waiting for the country to heal?”

“Alabaster, there’s more to changing the country than bringing justice to the country’s leaders. You should know more than anyone that those who are still in power in corporations and the government will hold onto their power and try to keep the country the way it is until their dying breath, especially since they still have so many supporters. This is far from over,” my uncle explains.

“I guess that’s why Silas sounded so strange yesterday.” I sigh heavily and then ask, “Okay, so where are these people located?”

“…where your parents are living,” one of the mantises says.

“What?”

“What did I tell you, Alabaster?” my uncle says.

“Okay, okay. Maybe whoever is coming after us is just using my parent’s retirement house as a secret base of operations?”

“Are you serious?”

“It’s possible. They wouldn’t be able to say no to them nor does it seem like a place where secret operations would be held.” My uncle shakes his head while rubbing his temples. “Well, are we going now?”

“You want to go now?” Calabretta asks.

“Yes, now. If this is far from over, then who knows what those in power will do after the heads of the government are cut off. They may come after more people so we might as well strike first. Well, what are you waiting for? My parents’ lives are at risk here.”

Everyone looks at each other and then most reluctantly agrees while the rest stay behind to look after the hideout. Honestly, the only thing I care about is affirming my belief that my parents are innocent. There’s nothing in for them by going after us. There’s even less now that the president and members of Congress are dead. I hope they surrender peacefully if they do have some part to play. Thoughts of what would happen keep racing through my mind until we get to my parent’s house. It’s a black mansion surrounded by gold-colored walls that have cameras that cover every inch of it. Around its perimeter is a small group of armed guards dressed in suits and body armor.

Without waiting, I step out in view of all the guards and say, “Give up, and don’t lay a hand on my mom and dad! No one’s going to save you if you chose to fight.”

Of course, the guards start firing on me. I take cover, take out my pistol, and start shooting back each shot taking out a guard and leaving a hole in the wall behind them if it doesn’t hit another guard. Advancing forward without caring for backup, I cut open the gates with my sword that slices through them like butter. More guards come out of the house and take positions near the windows. Calabretta, my uncle, and the other mantises cover me as I advance forward and the number of guards steadily decreases until all is quiet twenty seconds later. Going into the house, I find it empty save for my parents who are sitting at a dinner table with pistols in their hands. They put their guns down as soon as they see me with a look of relief on their face.

“Oh, it’s you, Alabaster. What are you doing here?” my dad asks.

“My friends found out that there were people in this place that were going after groups like mine,” I say.

“That’s right and you just took care of them. Sorry, we couldn’t do anything about them. They had us and our inheritance at gunpoint after all. You understand, right?”

I smile at them despite not understanding. My uncle shoots their guns away from behind me.

“What are you doing?!” I ask him.

“Can you stop lying for once in your life, brother?” my uncle asks my dad.

“What lie-” my dad says before his cybernetic arm is shot.

“Uncle!”

“He’s fine. I didn’t even make a dent in his arm. The truth. Spill it. Do you enjoy lying to your own family?”

“Okay, fine. The truth is that we were helping the government track your actions, at least when they could decrypt your phones to find you. We did it not because we were forced to or because they asked, but because of what you were doing to our legacy, Alabaster.”

The truth coming out of my dad is enough to take my breath away for a second.

“What? What do you mean? Our family’s legacy was already tarnished by our crimes. I only exposed it.”

“And that’s what tarnished it further. Now no one will trust our family or company unless they’re allied with you.”

“I will restore our family’s legacy to what it was before and make it greater.”

“To what it was before? Our family’s legacy was never great. Another truth I’ll tell you is that our family history is a fabrication for the most part. Our origins as a royal family from the UK? A tenuous claim at best. What we know for sure is that our family came into true power in the early twentieth century possibly under a different last name and that time period is the same time that we made that sword you have plus our other so-called relics to bolster the lie of our family’s storied history.”

“So…that’s the truth,” I say while pacing around the room not sure what to do at first before pointing my pistol at my parents.

“What are you going to do now? Kill us?” my mom says. “It would be one the best decisions you’ve made in a while.”

After thinking it over and saying a silent prayer, I lower my pistol and then say, “No, I won’t.”

“You won’t? Why?”

“I’ve been learning a lot about truth, mercy, justice, and doing the right thing from these crazy religious people I’m with, and the prayer I just said in my head has inspired me to spare your lives. Don’t spoil this opportunity by returning to what you were doing or we will come back here and I will deliver you the justice you deserve.”

My parents are speechless as they look at each other and then back at me.

“Please, make the right decision. I love you, mom and dad.”

The other mantises and I leave my parent’s mansion and go back to our cars and then leave the area.

“That must’ve taken a lot out of you,” Calabretta says.

“I’m proud that you did that, nephew. You’re growing into a good man of faith,” my uncle adds.

“Thank you. Both of you and everyone else here. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know where I would be without you,” I say.

“Well, I think what you just did deserves a reward,” Calabretta says before kissing me on the cheek. “Don’t ask for more.”

“Such a tease,” I say while rubbing my face.

I honestly expected myself to pull the trigger back there, but I guess prayers are sometimes answered in an instant. I’m hoping and praying that my parents do change and by the looks on their faces, something must’ve sparked in their minds. With that done, the mantises, Calabretta, my uncle, and I still have much work to do to help fix America so that its people and the country as a whole become better than it was before, which, of course, will start by doing the right thing.

The End

Monotony and Mondays: Chapter 3 – The Daily Climb

Chapter 3 – The Daily Climb

The next following days pass without much good happening. What the mantises and I do is a variety of community work and protecting civilians from the national guard during protests and assassination attempts. We both gain and lose members while trying to keep our group as secret as possible and working with other revolutionary groups. Speaking of those groups, there are revolutionary groups that are for traditional values and ones for values from just a few years ago. We get along with the more traditionalist movements while agreeing to disagree with others and not really bothering them.

In other news, we’ve made a symbol for our group during a Sunday. It’s a praying mantis in the center of a gold and green cross. No one will really see it besides us since we’re supposed to be a secret group, but still, it makes our group feel more official. I joked that all we need is uniforms and a motto for our group, but everyone didn’t think it would be a worthwhile idea to invest in. My training in marketing makes me want to do more to make our appearance stand out despite not actively recruiting outside of accepting the help of random people who approach us to join.

Meanwhile, in other places of the country, riots and protests are breaking out. The famous Silas and his supporters are going after important figureheads in the corporate, political, and criminal world while being slowed down by the army, national guard, and local police force, so they’re not making that much progress in changing the country either other than constantly gaining support and punishing the criminals who thought they were untouchable. Because of this lack of progress, the feeling of doing the right thing loses a lot of its luster and I begin to want the old days of pleasure and relaxation. We hardly drink since we’re supposed to be working most days and when we do drink to celebrate a week of good work done, we don’t drink enough to get drunk. In addition, I also begin to miss the personal touch of a woman and my eyes and mind are always on Calabretta who I wish was near me more.

During one charity event we helped out in the city, we were cleaning up at the church and talking with one another about whatever. I honestly don’t remember because I was looking for an opportunity to kiss her. Once I see it, I take it and kiss her on the lips and then she pushes me away. Her face is a little red so at least she wasn't disgusted by my kiss.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I feel closer to you than anyone I’ve ever met. I love you, Calabretta, and I want us to be together,” I say.

She blushes and is speechless until she says, “I…now’s not the time for that. Give me more time before I can make a decision.”

Calabretta then walks away from me with the men of our group coming up to me. They say that no one has been able to kiss her without being slapped and that she doesn’t act the same way with anyone else in the same way that she acts with me, so I shouldn’t give up.

Since Calabretta is still not too far from me, I say, “Calabretta! I will have the honor of being your husband one day.”

Now her face is even redder and my friends in the group support me more. Even the girls want Calabretta and me to be together after I confess love. That was probably the best thing that happened in a while. One of the less exciting things is that my uncle caught me talking to my parents on one of my daily calls to them coincidentally when my dad was asking if he knew I was talking to them.

“He knows now,” I say.

“Put us on speaker phone. I want to talk to him,” my dad says.

“Okay…”

“Arthur! Brother! It’s been so long since I’ve last talked to or seen you. How’s it going?” my dad says to my uncle who looks warily at my phone and at me.

“Fine, how are you doing? Still enjoying the lazy, good life?” my uncle says.

“I’m enjoying it to the fullest. You should’ve followed dad’s advice because you would’ve been like me if you did, but to each his own as he said. Try not to get Alabaster, yourself, and your friends in too much trouble, okay brother?”

“Sure…”

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t keep you two hanging for too long. Talk to you guys later!”

“Love you, mom and dad!”

My uncle thinks in silence until saying, “How much have you been telling them, or rather what have you been telling them?”

“Nothing more than what they’ve been hearing on the news and stuff like me confessing my love to Calabretta.”

“Okay, just make sure it stays that way.”

“What? Do you think they’re trying to get information out of me so they could get rid of us?”

“It’s a suspicion of mine.”

“Why would you think they’d do that?”

“Because my brother, your father, is a trained liar and has been lying for his entire life to the point where no one can tell if he’s ever telling the truth or not. I’m pretty sure he even manages to trick himself. Like I said, just make sure you don’t say too much to be safe.”

“Understood, uncle.”

I honestly doubt my parents are using me. They were always uncaring if they were never directly affected. Still, my uncle is right in that my dad was raised to be a liar. My dad also raised me in the same way grandpa raised him, but I won’t be like him. I’ll show him that what I’m doing is right and should be supported or at least proud of. This thought helps me keep working with the mantises through the many repetitive coming days of community work.

There aren’t many fights breaking out between the country and its citizens with the following days just having protests and people from each side debating with one another, however, fights do happen between civilian groups that are a result of arguments over politics, religion, and whether or not America should be completely overhauled and people live out in the uncivilized parts of the country and create their own America. During one of these days this week, I suggest exposing another company like mine for its corruption since it brought so many together and was a major wake-up call.

“What would be the point? People know how corrupt America’s leaders are and we’ve exposed other companies by exposing yours so doing so again will be like saying water is wet to the public,” Calabretta explains.

She’s right and has made me realize something at the same time. Nothing has changed in America even after the start of the pseudo-civil war. Politicians and corporate businessmen are corrupt, don’t have the country’s best interests in mind, and want to only make themselves comfortable? That’s old news. The police and army being sent to arrest and kill civilians who are fighting for their rights? Next, you’re going to tell me we need air to breathe. This also goes for people selling out, figureheads larping as allies, and what seem to be historical events having little to no impact at all. America is still the same as it’s always been. Even so, there seem to be glimpses of real change on the horizon when I look back on all we have done so far which gives me hope.

That hope is all but shattered when our base of operations is attacked by the national guard the day after my uncle finds out that I’ve been talking to my parents. We already have a plan for this since many other groups have been attacked out of the blue and enacted it well for the most part and lose few people, but still, we’ve lost people and now we’re in a backup spot further outside the city at an abandoned warehouse that’s not as comfortable, useful, or convenient as the previous one. After helping everyone settle down with what few resources we have left, I go sit outside to think.

“Mind if I sit with you?” Calabretta says before sitting down next to me.

“You can,” I say.

A few moments of silence pass before she speaks again. “I’m just as upset as you are about our situation, but we’ll get passed it.”

“And then what? Why even continue when we hardly make any progress?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means…to serve God in everything you do, say, and think.”

“I’ve heard that before and I still don’t really get what it means.”

“Maybe you should pay attention more when we go to church rather than looking at me every other second.”

“I’ll try, but why should we bother going to church when we have so much to do? We were lacking in resources and manpower before and now it’s even worse.”

“I have an obligation to fulfill and it’s the right thing that I should fulfill it. You can come if you want to like always unless you have a foolproof plan to take back what was taken from us.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Thank you.” Calabretta gets up and then hugs me from behind. “Things will get better. Trust me.”

She then walks back into the building. How will things get better by taking a day off? Most of the mantises work so they can financially keep us going and if they could go to work tomorrow, we could get a little bit more to slowly restore our resources, but since they’re religious like Calabretta, they’re taking off without considering if they should work a bit more to help build up the group. Is this what it means to be devoted to something higher than yourself? Is their God so important to them that they don’t try to work around the rules and break them if necessary? I guess that’s just my parents’ side of my thinking and I should ignore it. Now I really miss having a drink, a woman to keep me company, and my consequence free life.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have the idea of crawling back to my company expecting them to give me back my life even if I sell out the mantises. Maybe I should do what they’ve been telling me and start praying for help more. So…uh? God? Mind doing me a favor for me? Help me so I can help others and do whatever it is You want me to do? The door opens behind me and my uncle comes out.

“What’s going on?” I ask expecting that he’s going to say something that will answer my prayer in some way.

“I think it’s best if you don’t talk to your parents today at least until we get our communications encryption setup again,” my uncle says.

“Do you think they had something to do with what happened?”

“It’s a suspicion again. Please, just do it.”

“Okay, fine.”

“Thank you,” my uncle says before hugging me. “We’ll get through this.”

“Yeah, yeah. You and everyone else say it a million times, I get it.”

“Alright.”

My uncle goes back in. I keep waiting for something to happen until I’m told that dinner is ready. Guess that means I’ll have to wait for my prayers to be answered. They told me that most prayers aren’t always answered when we want them to be. Here’s hoping that things will get better and my prayers are answered like they said or…I’m not sure what I’ll do then. What a tiring month and a half it's been...

Monotony and Mondays: Chapter 2 – Starting a New Life

Chapter 2 – Starting a New Life

With a USB in my pocket that I got from my home, I go to my family’s underground server without trouble. I’ve also taken my family’s sword since I feel that I won’t have an opportunity to get it again and I may need it for later. The guards don’t even bother asking why I’m down in the most secure of areas and only say hello and smile at me as I pass by with some commenting on how long it’s been since I was last there. One of the higher-ranking guards stops me for a particularly long conversation as he goes on and on about the revolution, modern politics, and how his job secures his safety from it all.

“Think about giving us a raise during one of your next meetings to keep my boys and girls busy. Perhaps you can have those strippers from those parties you go to come here. Everyone down here is bored out of their minds,” the guard suggests.

“I’ll keep it in mind. Is there anything else? I have to get going,” I say.

The guard puts his hand to his earpiece to listen in to something and then says, “No, sir. Sorry to bother you for so long.”

Is there something going on? I hope nothing stops me from doing what I have to. Once I get to the door where the servers are, I ask to go through and the guards armed with shotguns and heavy body armor look at one another and nod.

“What’s the occasion? Going to use what’s in there for one of your parties?” one of the guards asks.

“You could say that,” I say.

“You’re going to need a better reason than that.”

“A better reason? Like what? My family has done the same for lesser events as if the information in there is like a family photo album to them.”

“It’s more than that. You know that the Weaver family’s most hidden secrets are on those servers besides mere records of your family’s history. I could have you shot with no question or consequence if you don’t give me a better reason right now.”

“I am the head of the Weaver company-”

The guards draw their shotguns on me.

“You are a playboy who spends his time larping as a leader while partying every day and frequenting old women. If the next words out of your mouth aren’t a legitimate reason for accessing the servers, then we will kill you.”

A few seconds pass before I open my mouth and am immediately shocked when the guards start laughing.

“I’m sorry, sir. We were just kidding! We had that routine in mind if you came here since we were bored.”

“It’s…fine. Will you let me through now?”

“Go ahead, sir.”

That was weird. Thankfully, no one bothers me while I get the information I need from the servers. Another problem suddenly arises when the power goes out.

A guard opens the door and says, “Stay here, sir. We’ll investigate what’s going on.”

I do as they say and stay put. I’ve never heard of a place like this losing power. Maybe it’s a result of one of the workers being bored and accidentally causing this or perhaps it’s another one of their bad jokes. The sound of what seems to be gunshots makes me curious as to what is happening. I take out my pistol and hold it up as I exit the room and am met by a hooded black masked woman in a black shirt, pants, and shoes. Unsure of who she is, I point my pistol at her and she does the same to me.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“Nobody you should be concerned about. Step aside and I won’t have to shoot you,” she answers.

“You want what’s in the server room, don’t you? Well, I already have it on this USB I have and I’m going to expose my family for its crimes. Can I trust you with it?”

“What? I’m sorry I thought you were the new head of the Weaver family company. Why would you want to expose your family and cripple your company through it?”

“I’m tired of my family’s manipulative ways and I wanted to do something right with my life. I’ll explain myself more when we’re out of here. We can leave in my flying car.”

The masked woman doesn’t say anything for a few seconds until she nods and agrees as she lowers her weapon. She helps me effectively sneak through the shadows and an alternate exit that she used as her entrance. When we get outside, she takes off her black mask and hood revealing her creamy white skin, gorgeous dark brown hair, striking green eyes, and youthful face that suggests that she’s about my age. My breath is taken away by her appearance to the point where she has to snap me out of it before we continue to my flying car and get far away from the facility.

“Where am I taking you?” I ask.

“You don’t have to take me anywhere. Give me the USB. I have an extension for my phone that will let me plug the USB in so I can download it and send it to my contact,” she says.

I do as she says. After a couple of seconds, she hits the side of her phone with the palm of her hand.

She then says, “Dang it! The file size is too large to send all at once. It’ll be a while before it’s done.”

“I can take you to my uncle Arthur’s. He’s not too far from here and has a computer there that you can use. Will that make the download go by faster?”

“Yes, assuming he has a good internet connection. Can you trust your uncle? Does he know what you did?”

“I can trust him, but he doesn’t know what I did yet. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind too much about what I did since he’s hated our family’s corrupt ways for a while. They only keep him around because he’s a gunsmith and can work on cybernetics like my left arm and eye.”

“Your left eye has cybernetics in it? Looks normal to me.”

“If I blink twice, it activates. See?” I demonstrate what I’m talking about by blinking twice activating my left eye’s cybernetics that reveals the four black lines around my eye and its yellow and black color. “It’s a simple cybernetic addon to my eye that helps me aim my pistol while my left arm is augmented to help me deal with the kickback of my pistol, which is essentially a handcannon.”

“Interesting.”

I was actually hoping she’d be impressed more so we could talk more along the way to my uncle's shop, but she doesn’t say anything else. When we get there, my uncle asks what was going on and who the woman is. After explaining myself, my uncle looks at me in disbelief and seems to be mentally praying before he says anything else.

“Well, if this is what God wants, then so be it,” my uncle says.

“Thank you, uncle,” I say.

The woman does her thing uploading the data I got as I anxiously wait for the results and look out the windows every few minutes as if someone is coming after us.

“My contact will get this information circulating in no time. It’ll surely take an hour or so for the reveal to take effect because of how big the information is,” the woman says.

“Why don’t you stay until then? I’ll make us dinner in my house that’s connected to the shop,” my uncle offers.

“Um. Okay, I guess. Thanks.”

My uncle makes us steak and fries for dinner, a specialty of his. We have two news sites streaming on two TVs as we eat. One news station is independent while the other is biased and controlled by my family. The minutes pass like hours as I both eagerly wait to hear them talk about what we exposed about my family and dread it. After about an hour, the news starts bringing up my family’s crimes as breaking news. They talk about murders, the perverting of the truth, buying out politicians, working with foreign countries, covering up sexual abuse and perverted behavior, and so on.

The unbiased news network talks about the information as it is and that my family should answer for its crimes while the biased one tries to excuse most of my family’s actions and leaves out the worst crimes that they can’t excuse. They say things such as the age of consent being risen, how America is better without certain people my family murdered, and that we’ve kept our relations with foreign countries better through our behind the scenes deals. In addition, they bring up the facility I was at and I’m blamed as the primary source of this information since I was there and suspiciously disappeared when the power temporarily went out. Because of this, I’m labeled as a traitor to my family and Weaver company as a whole, and a warrant is put out for my arrest for disclosing private information.

“I guess I should’ve expected this,” I say aloud.

“At least the country knows the truth about your family. I’m sure there are some who you were brave for being a whistleblower,” the woman says.

“What do you think?”

“I think you were brave.”

“I think that too, Alabaster,” my uncle interjects, “But you’ll need to find a new place to live since you’re a wanted man. I’ll need to find a new one as well.”

“They’re not going to be after you, uncle.”

“They’ll come after me for questions and you’ll need someone to help you with your cybernetics. Besides, I need to atone for being on the sidelines for so long while my brother, your father, continued in our father’s footsteps and took part in an uncountable number of crimes. Even now, I blame myself for not taking a more active role in your life so that you’d come to your senses and leave that life of sin sooner rather than later.”

“Don’t blame yourself for anything. It was all my decision.” Turning to the woman, I say, “Would you know of any place we can hide? I’d also like to help more, if I can to atone for my family’s deeds.”

“You’re in luck. I’m part of an underground resistance movement we like to call the mantises. You can stay with us.”

“Thank you. Since we’ll be working together, can I finally know your name?”

“It’s Calabretta.”

“That’s a wonderful name.”

“Yeah, yeah. We should get going since you’re a wanted man now.”

“Right. Should we take my flying car to your place or would that make us stand out too much?”

“It would make us stand out, especially if you park it close to my hideout. We’ll have to walk there.”

“Okay. Let me take out something from my car first before we go.”

“What can be so important that you can’t leave it behind?”

“You’ll see.”

Going to my car, I take out my family’s sword.

“Really? A sword?” Calabretta says.

“Yeah, I thought it may be useful,” I say.

“I’m happy you got our family’s sword, but I’m sure how useful it’ll be other than a last resort,” my uncle says.

Taking the sword with me, my uncle and I follow Calabretta to her hideout while wearing a hoodie that my uncle had to hide my face. To be honest, I look pretty shady in a hoodie, however, the part of town that Calabretta takes us to is shady as well and the cops hardly go down there even under Silas’ command since they’re helping him take care of bigger criminals. Calabretta leads us to an apartment complex and into its basement where a group of twenty people comprised of people who look to be around my age and slightly higher are cleaning up after what seems to be a celebration and getting back to work on computers and fixing and creating makeshift armor and guns. Seeing them make guns out of the pieces of broken guns reminds me of how lucky I am to be carrying around a gun while most Americans can’t due to the restrictions on the second amendment that allows the general public to have small pistols with pathetically small magazines while government and corporate personnel of importance are allowed to carry handcannons like the one I do.

When everyone in the room notices that I’m here, I’m congratulated by them with Calabretta receiving some of the credit, which peeves her judging by her face. After which, my uncle goes to help the people making armor and guns, Calabretta plans their next move with the others, and I practice shooting with one of the pistols they made and swinging my family’s sword. It’s been a while since I’ve shot a gun and swung a sword so my skills are a bit sloppier than I’d like to admit. Some time passes until my uncle helps me practice.

“Are you expecting to shoot someone?” he asks.

“Yes, you told me to practice self-defense if there’s a possibility that my life is in danger,” I say.

“That’s right. You’re training like it’s going to happen soon.”

“It probably is. I feel like I have a responsibility to protect these people and that I’m finally living my purpose. Don’t forget that we got here because you told me to pray.”

“You got here because of what?” Calabretta interrupts.

“It’s unbelievable I know.”

“It’s unbelievable to me because the Weaver family is a secular organization that promotes abortion, the disrespect of religion, and gay and child marriages.”

“Well, my uncle here is proof that not all the family is like that. I guess you can include me in that now too. Anyways, want to see how my sword can cut through metal? I can also show off my custom pistol’s power if you have spare rounds. I’d rather not waste the ammo that I have for training.”

Calabretta checks for the right type of ammo for my pistol and we manage to find some. I then show off my pistol by setting up three armored targets.

“Watch this. I’ll shoot through all three of these, through the wall, and maybe hit something in someone’s basement,” I say before shooting.

The people in the basement doubt this except for my uncle. When I shoot my pistol, my cybernetic arm barely fidgets in reaction to the massive recoil. It sounds like the firing of a mini canon and is enough to scare and make some of the people in here cover their ears and I’m almost certain someone above us heard it. Its shot does go through all three targets and leaves a hole in the wall that the bullet itself is stuck in.

“What did I tell you? This is the result of my uncle’s fine craftsmanship,” I say.

Next up, I show how sharp my sword is by cutting all the practice targets around me as if they were nothing. Again, I credit my uncle for this since he’s been sharping and taking care of the sword. People then start asking him to help them with their weapons while I continue practicing with my sword and go back to using their pistols for practice to not drown out their talking with my shooting. A few hours pass and people start leaving and going to their beds. Since I’ve had a big day, I do the same along with my uncle to sleep in a bed in this basement that was prepared for us by Calabretta. It’s not the most comfortable bed I’ve been in, but it is at this moment given how tired I am from everything.

It feels like seconds have passed after I fell asleep before Calabretta wakes me up. Seeing her almost makes me think I’m dreaming because of her unbelievable beauty. My tiredness and how close she is to me almost make me want to grab her and fall asleep with her next to me, but I stop myself before I do since there must be something important going on for her to wake me up.

“What’s going on?” I ask while stretching and yawning.

“The national guard is being called on a protest happening against your family,” Calabretta says.

“And? SWAT squads have been called to control or rather shoot at protesters to get them to stop. What’s the difference now that it’s the national guard?”

“We have enough guns to arm the masses and the revolution is starting now. We have to help them fight back. Do you want to come with us?”

“Well, I’ve destroyed my family’s reputation and put myself on the wanted list, so why not fight against the army? I’m up for it.”

“Thank you, Alabaster.”

“Anything for you.”

While preparing to go out, my uncle comes up to me and says, “I heard what’s going on. Are you honestly going out there? You’re not a soldier or revolutionary.”

“I wasn’t until yesterday. Yesterday I said that I felt like I had the responsibility to protect these people and I meant it.”

My uncle looks at me before taking my head and butting it with his.

“You’re not the same nephew I knew at the beginning of yesterday and I’m not sure if I should be more afraid or proud of you. Just be careful out there.”

“I will, uncle. I’ll make you proud.”

Half of the group stays while Calabretta, I, and the other half of the group go. We get on motorbikes with each bike having two people on it. While heading to where there’s the most chaos, we hear yelling, gunfire, and the sounds of fighting. Because of the density of the crowds and the number of people going in and out of where the protest is happening, we park our motorbikes in a safe place where no one should find them and walk the rest of the way. Some of the people that we pass by recognize me. They try to get my attention with some of them turning around to join us. We arm these people with the guns we’ve made while rallying the surrounding people to join us.

By the time we reach the place where the most chaos is, there are more people behind us than in the protest ahead of us. Walking ahead of these people makes me feel important as if I’m the figurehead of the movement. The national guard’s group formation slowly begins to deteriorate as they see how many armed civilians they’re up against. Many of them flee and ask their commanders for advice. Now at the front of the protest, we all draw our guns and point them at the national guard ready for a fight, however, they give up and throw their guns down allowing the protesters to move past them and to city hall. There are even some that join the protesters as if they were on our side this entire time or maybe they’re just doing it to save their life.

“That was anticlimactic,” I say aloud.

Following the protesters, they make it to the towering building that was one my family owned and assault it by throwing molotovs and shooting even though its bulletproof steel barriers are up that are unaffected by the protesters’ weapons. I’m about to try my hand at breaking open the doors until a second group of national guard soldiers drives up in military vehicles and starts shooting into the air and telling people through their microphones to leave or else. When the crowd doesn’t listen, they start selectively shooting people, which really starts to get people to leave.

“Protect the civilians and get them to safety!” Calabretta says.

While the fighting is happening, I shift between staying at the front and unintentionally going into the crowd as if using them as cover. I can’t be a coward at this point after wanting to put my life on the line for others, especially when people are dying. Eventually, we get most people out of the city center and then leave on our motorbikes to go back to the hideout. During the ride, I hang my head and think about what I should’ve done and what I can do better next time, and I don’t stop thinking even when I sit down at the hideout and run out of ideas. Even though people died during the protest, the others seem to think we’d done well despite it since many more people survived, one line of national guard soldiers fell before us, and another one lost a good number of theirs to push us back.

Seeing me in distress, my uncle sits next to me and says, “I saw what you did on the news. You did what you could. Don’t worry about what happened today because we’ll get them back some other day.”

“Thank you. I’m also disappointed because I thought at the moment we were so close to making a difference.”

“What difference would it have made if you went into one of our family’s owned buildings and made a wreck of the place or got its leaders inside to listen to you? The country would still view you and me as criminals and wouldn’t change a bit.”

Calabretta approaches us and says to me, “Your uncle is right. We’ll have many more opportunities to make a real change like we did yesterday. They don’t come often, but when it happens, it makes everything that happened till that point seem like it was worth going through.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

She smiles at me and I smile at her back as I feel a real connection that I haven’t felt with anyone else form between us. My uncle and Calabretta are right. I can’t expect big changes with each passing day and will have to take it one step at a time. A thought then comes to me about my parents and what they would think when they hear what happened. Even though they constantly lied to the public and encouraged me to live my life of drinks and women, I still love them because they gave me everything I had and cared for me. I manage to find some time alone, give them a call, and tell them everything.

To my surprise, my mom cuts me off early and says, “You don’t need to explain everything. We’ve seen it on TV and heard it through our friends.”

“…and? What do you think? What’s your opinion?” I say not knowing what else to really say.

“We’re in retirement. It doesn’t concern us at all since we’re far removed from having any impact on the situation.”

“Do what you want. We don’t care,” my dad adds, “And if you’re going to be busting in some heads, you know to go after Kim and Yang since they always gave me trouble and were so full of themselves despite making so many mistakes that cost us money, influence, and going against my advice.”

“Thanks, mom and dad.”

“Regardless, we appreciate you calling. Keep us in the loop if you have time. We’d like to hear your side of the story. It brightened up our boring day,” my mom says.

“I will. Love you, guys.”

My parents say they love me too and dad says not to forget about Kim and Yang before they hang up. Okay, now I’m ready to keep going. Here’s hoping the coming days will bring some new and good changes to the country and my life.

Monotony and Mondays: Chapter 1 – Sobering Up

Chapter 1 – Sobering Up

My life is simple, boring, and one that people would die to have. Since my family is rich and the marketing company that we run doesn’t need my input, I don’t need to work and can just sit back and enjoy its profits despite being the head of the company ever since my parents entered retirement. Despite that, I still do as much work as possible. From eight to four or nine to five, I get involved with the employees and leaders of the company, see what they need, and help where I can through emails and meetings. Sure, talking to people all day may not seem like work, but it’s really all I can do because of all the other managers and leaders doing most of the work. My family, the Weaver family, is one of the most influential marketing companies not just in America but the world. On the outside, we are a simple marketing company that helps corporations sell their products and keep an appealing public image, however, we also help political parties as well.

Behind closed doors, we instruct both major corporations and political parties how to act, when to fight, and when to come together so that the American public will follow the story we are telling and act accordingly in the country’s best interest. Our history goes all the way back to Great Britain as we were once a royal family that moved to America during its founding and have been influential in its shaping ever since. I have to do something since I’m in charge of a company this important. Every now and then I look at my family’s sword that’s been ours for untold generations to remind myself of my family’s long important legacy. It’s kept in a glass case alongside its scabbard. My uncle Arthur who is also a cybernetic mechanic and gunsmith checks on it every now and then and has shown me that the sword is sharp enough to cut through metal, which is amazingly cool, to say the least.

Even so, I indulge in the pleasures and perks of my wealth. Around eight every day I go out drinking and partying with Janis, a forty-five-year-old who is a friend of the family that acts more like a woman in her twenties who is trying to enjoy her life to the fullest. After the party, we…enjoy each other’s company to say the least before I head off to see Lorraine, a fifty-year-old woman who is another friend of the family, to do the same things with until three in the morning though this woman is different because she focuses on her business more than the previous woman who hardly works. This cycle of working and pleasures has been my life ever since I was sixteen with little variation in it. As a man at twenty-four years of age, it’s grown incredibly dull to me.

I’ve been told to travel more, indulge in more extravagant pleasures, and see more women or try being with men, however, I don’t think this would help. Besides, I’m not into children or men like the other influencers and rich men. No, I need something more. As I look out at the city with flying cars flying by here and there, I think of what I should do. The first thing that comes to my mind is marrying a woman. My parents have been wanting me to. Who should I pick? There are only two options in my mind, which are the women that I frequently see.

After thinking it over and picking out a ring from my drawers full of expensive jewelry, I pick Lorraine since she is unmarried. Janis is married and cheats on her husband with many men and women. Maybe I guess I should say that she’s in an open relationship like the many other rich men and women I know, but that doesn’t matter right now. I go through the motions of my normal day with marriage on my mind and the hopes of my life-changing and starting to have real meaning to it. During the party at Janis’ place, I hardly drink and talk to her. With Lorraine on my mind, I can’t cheat on her before entering a relationship, which is what I’m supposed to do I think despite already seeing Janis on an almost daily basis. Nevertheless, I exit the party without spending any extended time with Janis who notices this and stops me before leaving.

“Alabaster, you’re not going to stay for our usual after-party pleasantries?” Janis says while running her hand down my chest.

“No, not today,” I say before taking her hand off my chest and walking past her.

To my surprise, Janis doesn’t come after me probably because she has other people who can satisfy her when I can’t. When I go to Lorraine’s, I wait until we’re alone and away from the party to propose to her.

Getting on one knee, I say, “Lorraine, will you marry me?”

She’s awestruck and puts her hands on her mouth.

“I, uh, I…” she fumbles over her words, “Where did this come from? Why do you want me to marry you?”

“I want a major change in my life to give it meaning and I thought this would be the best choice. So, will you?”

“I, uh…You’re sweet for proposing to me and I appreciate the offer, but no, I can’t marry you.”

“Oh,” I say as I pick myself up and put the ring away.

“We can still-”

“No, not today.”

I quickly leave the party, go back home, and crash on my bed. When I wake up the next day, it feels as if yesterday was a bad dream that was a result of all the drinking and partying I did until I notice something in my pocket and pull out the ring. Now I wish I had never reached into my pocket and stayed ignorant about last night. Going back to my view of the city, I try to think about what to do next. Seeing the flying cars go by every now and then reminds me of the inequality in America and the widening gap between the rich and poor and how those who want to be prosperous in life have to believe in the values and beliefs of the current time or risk falling into obscurity, not being taken seriously, or facing discrimination. I’ve been told that certain beliefs are not accepted and shunned because they would hurt the country and people’s freedoms, but given how the accepted beliefs do the same, I’m beginning to think that what I believe and have been doing my entire life is fundamentally wrong.

Who are we to decide what is right and wrong to believe? Why did we give ourselves that authority?  What if what we’re suppressing is the truth? Sometimes what’s opposed and considered true in one decade is accepted in the following decade after it. It can’t be right that what’s fundamentally right and wrong changes with the times. How can it be when the dogma of subjectivity is unchanging? How can America be a country tolerant of many beliefs when only those who benefit or are not threatening us are accepted while others are shunned?

There is currently a sort of revolution going on in America because of a group of people fighting for their beliefs and against what they consider to be evil in this country. It was started by a police officer named Silas, his fellow officers, and the friends they made all of which came from this city. How long has it been since it started again? A couple of months? I haven’t been following it that much, but I do every now and then because of how it fascinates me. I’ve never seen so many people devoted to what they believe to the point where they’d risk their lives, jobs, and loved ones so that the country can be fixed. The partners of my family’s company have tried to get rid of them and have been slandering them daily calling them terrorists and extremists. Some of my partners have been exposed for their crimes or killed by this group, which adds to my curiosity about them because of how a group of no-named civilians was able to come together to break down companies and wealthy and influential families that have the backing of the country.

I’ve been told to keep my head down and the Weaver family’s message in line with the rest of everyone else’s. In addition, I was also told that if this group should seize power, then I should either pretend to join them to destroy them from the inside or continue to use my family’s resources for the original plan. I don’t like either of these ideas. In fact, I don’t want any part of this civil war or this life that I’m living. That brings up the question that keeps coming up in my mind that I’m always afraid to answer. What should I do next? Am I really going to give this life away to live as a rebel with no place to go and no one to rely on?

With no good answer in my mind, I decide to drive to my uncle’s shop to ask him in person what I should do. Even though my family isn’t religious in the slightest, he is and he talks about his faith and what’s right and wrong. When I arrive at his shop, I see him thumbing through his bracelet with beads and a cross on it. What did he call it again? A rosary? Entering his shop, he puts the bracelet back on his wrist, crosses himself, and comes to greet me with a smile and one of his spine-breaking hugs.

“It’s so good to see you again, Alabaster,” he says while crushing my spine. “How are you doing, my boy?”

“I’m doing fine, uncle. Can you please let me breathe now?” I ask.

“Sure, sure. What can I do for you?”

“I’m…I don’t know how to say this and you’re the only person that I thought I could turn to. I’m not sure what I want to do with my life.”

“Alabaster! You’re not going to kill yourself, are you?! Listen, you know that I love you and-”

“No, I’m not going to kill myself.”

My uncle sighs and then says, “I’m sorry that I jumped to conclusions there. I’ve just been hearing about the rise in suicides in young men your age and thought the worst. Well, I thought the same once and God brought me to faith through it. That’s why I’m a crazy religious man like your parents say. Maybe you should try asking God what you should be doing in quiet prayer?”

“Okay. I don’t have any better options in mind.”

“Hold my hand and the blessed rosary in it and ask through the intercession of the Blessed Mother for God wants you to do.”

I do this silly thing as seriously as I can with my eyes closed and the thought of America’s corruption comes back to me and my family’s part in it. We manipulate the truth so that the public does what we want and silence those who speak the whole truth. Our underground servers in this city contain records of our deeds and crimes that we keep for our pride to show to our most trusted members. My status would allow me to walk in unquestioned, secretly copy a good portion of it on a USB, and give it to someone to expose my family’s history of crime to the public. What kind of plan and course of action is this?

Is this the result of my silent prayer? This must be some crazy plan put in my head because of how absurd it is. It makes sense given how crazily devoted my uncle is to his faith. Still, it seems like the right thing to do. With no better idea in my mind, I resolve to do it.

“Thank you, uncle. I know now what I must do,” I say before hugging him again and leaving my uncle’s shop, and heading to my family’s underground servers.

Finally, I’m going to do something useful and right in my life.