Woke up early, new start to a short story I won't finish....

 It's too quiet outside, it's too cold. I can smell that fire still burning, been burning for days now. It's getting smaller though, a few days ago you couldn't tell night from day; now it's just a glow over the hills. It's about 3am I'm guessing, the normal sounds are missing from this morning's soundtrack. I guess even chaos gets tired from time to time and needs its rest. I guess I'm lucky, so many people didn't survive and a lot that did wish they didn't.

If you're not from around here, I guess I should do some explaining. About 10 years ago a decision was made somewhere to rezone what was known as America. Basically state borders remained the same but instead of having state names they received numbers (all except Texas as it is part of Mexico now). Fences were erected along state borders, this was achieved swiftly by selling the idea of economic aid via job creation. There was a lot of unemployment at the time and people would do about anything to get a steady paycheck. Once the fences were completed freedom to travel from state to state was almost totally revoked, there are always exceptions for members of government and of course those with something to offer. Individual states were then left to basically run themselves. Some states worked together, they reached out to neighboring states and drafted treaties. This would occur when one state was getting water or electricity from another state or a job share program or just what ever. I was living in a state that did not want anything to do with this. It use to be Kentucky, now it's number is 15.

Things were fine for a few years, for most people it was like nothing changed at all. They woke up, went to work, went home, went to bed, and then did it all over again. They still went out on the weekends, still had the same coworkers, the same friends. They still had cable, still had the internet, still had their car or normal bus route, etc. I'm still amazed at just how docile everyone was about this transition. There was some protest, but anyone silly enough to raise their voice was quickly silenced. It became very clear very quickly that anyone or any group that wanted something different would get it, and by it I mean something different.

In every state there is a very large area set aside for people like this. They are called deterrent zones. In 15 a very large national park was chosen, it use to be called Daniel Boone National Park. It is about 708,000 acres, and it too has a fence around it. If you are found to be a problem you are basically body snatched, flown in, and dropped off with a bag of stuff to either help you survive or make you a target. Some people might think this would be great, to live off the land and not have to worry about bills and all that crap that weighs you down in this mundane world we are forced to muddle through, but there is a catch. There is a reason these deterrent zones are so large, when they were created every prison and local jail (including their psychiatric wards) were emptied into these zones. The sick, the weak, the strong, the insane, the leaders, the followers, the loners, the sociopaths, the wrongly accused, the guy doing 30 days for a DUI, the dead beat dads, the males, the females, the drug addicts, the alcoholics, the pedophiles, the juveniles, and even the people awaiting trial who were not even convicted. It didn't stop there though, supervised offenders were rounded up also, anyone on parole or probation were collected and delivered. To relieve even more burden from the state, all babies up for adoption, all the elderly that were considered in state's custody, any child that was in custody of child protective services, and anyone who was under any kind of government surveillance due to a current investigation were collected and deposited as well. So basically, if you're sent there you become the lone impala amongst the pack of lions, and that's exactly where I am.

Before I got here I had a job, a girlfriend, and a pretty normal life. I was a hard working middle class guy, just trying to find my way and pay my bills. I was 21 and working at a car dealership as a mechanic. It was a good job, I worked with mostly good people, and my boss enjoyed my company. I was talking very seriously with my girlfriend about maybe having a child and I was working up the nerve to ask her to marry me. There was a nagging in my brain though, as much as everything seemed fine with my life, something just didn't seem right about life. I guess that's why everything now, well, is the way it is.

It was a Thursday night and I was staying at my girlfriend's house because the dealership was closed the next day for Good Friday. A coworker of mine, and good friend, lovingly called Germ (Jeremy) sent me a text asking if I could meet him for breakfast or something Friday morning, alone. He never did this, it made me uneasy. I sent him a message back asking if everything was okay and I got a one word reply, “No.” I told him I would call him in the morning around 7 or 8 and we could figure out where to meet up. My girlfriend (Gracie) was a little pissed about this. Gracie and I had plans for Friday but Germ said it was really important and he really needed to talk to me. Germ was one of the few people I was actually close to, I had to go and Gracie knew it. The rest of that night was a shit storm between Gracie and I. We fought about the time we spend together and how our plans never work and on and on. I didn't sleep much that night.

The next morning I got up around 6 am. Gracie was snoring and all tangled up in the sheets like a deer in a barbwire fence, it made me smile. I slowly crept out of bed and made my way to her bedroom door trying to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn't disturb her. I got out of the bedrrom without waking her, took a shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed, then got back in bed with Gracie. She said she was sorry about the night before and I said the same. We kissed, I told her I loved her, and that I would be back in a few hours. I walked out the front door of her house knowing she was upset, but something wasn't right with Germ and I had to help.
As I walked toward my car I felt my phone start vibrating in my pocket, I pulled it out and it was Germ. I will never forget this conversation...

“What's up?”

“Your girlfriend is cheating on you.”

“What? Don't fuck with me bro, where do you want to meet up?”

“(chuckles) I'm just trying to get your attention bro, I'm a few blocks away, just get in your car and follow me when I drive by.”

And that's where the conversation ended. I got in my car, confused as anyone would be in this random state, started the engine, and waited for Germ to drive by.

I sat in that car for maybe a minute that felt like a day. Germ drove by without slowing down and I pulled out in conservative pursuit. We took a few turns, ended up on the parkway, and next thing I know we are both being pulled over by the police. I pulled to the shoulder without thinking, as anyone would that had done nothing wrong, and that's when I noticed Germ wasn't stopping. Before I could even think about what was going on, glass was flying everywhere, there were hands pulling at me, then I was on the pavement with a knee pressed firmly on the back of my head. I couldn't breathe, I couldn’t speak, and there were shards of glass between me and the pavement. Once my hands and feet were secured I was drug along the ground and then thrown onto the hood of the police car. Four officers held guns to my head and chest, I was told to remain still. This went on for about 5 minutes until another police car as well as a transport van arrived. Germ was then presented to me, he was in very bad shape. One of the officers dragging Germ toward me pointed a gun at me and said,

“Do you know this man?”

Not knowing what to do, I was honest,

“Yes, I work with him, his name is Jeremy.”

The officer immediately shot Germ in the head.

 I was totally at a loss of everything inside me. I didn't understand anything at this point and before I knew it the transport van pulled along side us, I was pulled off the hood, drug to the van and shoved in, then they threw in Germ's still leaking body. I was in too much shock to deal with the idea of what was to come, I was too busy trying to stay out of the blood pouring out of my friend's head. Then I passed out.