Running away seemed almost easy when I thought about it first, planned it out, lay in bed half asleep, dreaming of it. Just don’t come home from school. Leave. Vanish. How do you get found, really? Where do they know to look? You can lose yourself, somewhere they won’t even think to search - doesn’t really matter where - and then you can figure out the rest from there, bit by bit. Getting away is the most important part, and after that … well … you're free, aren't you?

We, alone, sat in the back of the bus. It was just us. We didn't understand what had happened and we couldn't tell what would. All we knew was what was happening and that was enough. I was sitting on the left with him right beside me. We stared through the bus window at the flashing sights. We had never been outside. It was like our brains were being tortured and there was an immediate battle between the imaginary and the real. Reality was both overwhelming and subpar, simply unexplainable. He was my only sure reality. He squeezed my hand and it felt like the realest thing ever. Together we feared.

"Uh-Oh..."

Boom!

I went flying through the air and slammed into the wall.

"Oh frick..."

Too late to turn back now.

I drew my weapon I knew I didn't have much time.

One came in. His head was covered by a green helmet his chest had a bulletproof vest. I shot at him twice and hit him twice, once in the leg and once in the chest. The vest really worked because he wasn't dead! He started to crawl away gritting his teeth. I shot him once more and he was dead. I wasn't going to be taken. I had to resist this wave and run away. The resistance was counting on me. I had the information we needed. I knew who was really in control! I had to get out of there.

More soldiers were coming in and I was shooting them as they came. I was running low on ammo and had to go. I made an executive decision to shoot the window to my right and jumped through. I began to run. Then the chase began.

Bullets were whizzing by my head. I turned and shot behind me. It hit the nearest soldier and dropped him.

I was so close to the pickup spot when I felt a sharp pain in my leg and fell on my face.

No no no no! I thought. I tried to crawl away. I rolled onto my back and fired five times killing two soldiers.

"Chris!" I heard Val yell.

She shot three shots and killed an enemy.

"Come on Chris!" She yelled, "I got you."

"No," I said, "Just go I'll cover you!" I shot more soldiers.

"I am not leaving without you!"

"Please just go!" I yelled you need to tell Keith! It's Tarry! He's the one!"

"What!?" Val yelled, "How, why!"

"Just run!"

"No!"

I sat up and shot five more shots before I was hit in the left arm.

"Go!" That was the last thing I said. I was hit again and everything went black.

She had triumphed and rallied in life more times than she could count. She had moments of more than enough and those dark days where she was digging deep under the couch cushions to find just enough to purchase something to take away that dull ache deep in her belly. So goes life with it's ups and downs. She was tired. She wasn't young anymore. She felt her devaluation according to the world's standards. She remembered growing up when things not wanted were often found discarded along some road. There was a sadness to these items that once held value and purpose. She never dreamed it would become her life. She had learned to downsize and carry with her only what she needed and what she could not let go of. To anyone looking at those things she kept close...there was no value. To her the crocheted blanket that she never let out of her sight meant more to her than all the money in the world. As she gently folded it when forced to leave her home - she could feel the love her grandmother had put in to every stitch. The rich earth tones reminded of her running barefoot and laughing through her grandmother's freshly plowed fields, smelling that wonderful aroma of rich Texas soil ready for new growth...As she stood there watching the cars zipping past her... she felt like she was just one more thing discarded along the roadside.

“This is the day for which so many in the world have prayed. We at A1Nano, the not-for-profit research and development arm of AlphaAmaElon, Inc., are proud to announce that our ContraNanoC, or CNC as we call it in the lab, is ready for consumption. It will do for sufferers of cancer what quinine did for malaria. But better. Much better.

“What is CNC? We have injected vegetarian capsules with our patented A1 imbued parasites. Each capsule contains one million nanoscopic, smart parasites that includes both the cancer killer and the vaporizer. The suggested dosage? One capsule. One time. No chemo. No radiation. No hair loss. No expensive treatments that destroy mental and physical health, financial security, relationships.

“How does it work? Well, the cancer killing parasites immediately spread out to all areas of the body, including the brain and wipe out any cancerous growths as well as any cancer-causing organisms, chemicals or cells found roaming the body. As soon as the vaporizer senses that the body has reached maximum levels of cancer-cleanliness, all the cancer killers are eliminated, and, subsequently, the vaporizers deactivate. All the CNC is then excreted, leaving behind a healthy, cancer-free body.

“The best of times awaits!”

Thunderous applause erupts. Around the world in homes and hospitals, stores, train stations, airports, everywhere there is a speaker, people listen. Tears of joy abound. Strangers hug the person closest to them. Finally, FINALLY, they think, the greatest scientific minds have done something besides create instruments of war and death. Within days, that elusive killer cancer would be a thing of the past.

More importantly, thought a very small group scattered across the globe, within six months, the undetectable and highly contractable A1 nanoparasite, KtP, would be imbedded in the prefrontal cortex of every human being (and possibly some domestic animals, tests were inconclusive).

Except for this select group of great minds who had each ingested the antidote that would keep their gray matter free to think and make important decisions on behalf of the earth’s inhabitants, thus allowing a return to the just governance of a wisdom-loving ruling class who could make the most well-informed decisions on behalf of the masses.

It would be so much easier to keep the peace when no one questioned their decisions…

She put her hand over her mouth to quieten her breathing. Peering through the cupboard door she watched as the intriguer rummaged through her possessions in search of treasure. His musky aftershave made her want to heave. Her quick decision to hide in the cupboard may have saved her life. She noticed his gun in his back pocket and gasped. He looked her way.