Great Powers War

In 2096 the world’s population has ballooned to a record twenty-one billion people causing a shortage of food and water that leads to the great powers fighting over what little is left. An estimated eighteen billion people died during the war. A war that raged on for close to thirty years before a cease-fire was declared and the powers that survived formed a new government, one that would make those that survived the war of the great powers wish for death.

Compliance was mandatory, citizens of CHAMEDAE were forced to wear a mark showing that they were obedient to the country. Soldiers in hi-tech gear roamed the streets looking for those that weren’t marked and forcefully injected the mark into them. Those that refused the mark were terminated. The CHAMEDAEIN government could not risk a rebellion.

Those that took the mark became slaves to the government, the mark allowed the watchers – a group of fanatics loyal only to the CHAMEDAEIN government. Their sole jobs were to monitor everything about a person. From their thoughts to their feelings and even their love lives, watchers also had the ability to terminate people's lives at will.

Watchers were recruited from the dredges of humanity, those that had lost everything during the powers war and the chaos that followed.

Katy was one such watcher, she had lost everything - her mother died due to the famine brought on by the invaders. Her father was killed on the battlefield, she didn’t remember much about him. She lost the last of her family the night that the watcher organization came to recruit her.

Her grandmother and grandfather were killed trying to stop the watchers, as was her seven-year-old brother, who had gotten a little emotional and tried to stand in the way of a recruiter. All Katy could do was watch on in horror as her little brother’s body slumped limply to the ground.

She didn’t let her emotions get the best of her, she couldn’t. Showing any emotion would have allowed the same psychopath recruiter to end her life. She looked around trying to fully grasp the situation when her eyes fixated on the woman figure hidden behind a mask.

“Come with us” came a voice from under the mask, the voice sounded distorted as if they had a voice mod attached.

Katy began to walk in the direction of the voice, not uttering a word, just continuing to obey.

“What is your name, girl?” – the same garbled voice came out from under the mask

Kat…Katy Masterson, she whispered to the imposing figure.

“Do you know why we are here Katy Masterson?” – the garbled voice said, with a twinge of sarcasm and happiness rolled into one.

N... n…n…no… I don’t.

“Well Katy, I am here for you. You have been recruited. will you comply?” the voice from the mask asked as if she were expecting Katy to say no.

Looking at her little brother's slumped over body, Katy replied with a simple Yes.

“Follow me,” the masked lady said with disappointment.

Where are we going? Katy asked

“We are going to your new home, Overwatch tower. You are now the property of the watchers. You were recruited because of your brain, if I had my way about it I would have killed your whole family. You will train to become like us, you will obey all of our commands and if you fail to do any of this, I will complete what I started and bury you next to your brother, do y …….”

The voice coming from the woman sounded sinister, like she no longer had empathy or a heart. Or any feelings for anyone but herself. She enjoyed the power of having people’s lives in her hands.

*SLAP*

Katy felt the stinging on her cheek and the tears in her eyes as she snapped out of her thoughts.

“I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?!? Your life is ours.”

Katy forced the tears back as she nodded her head to the one who had just slapped her.

Yes, I understand you. she whimpered.

The weeks and months that followed were some of the hardest on Katy, at times she wished she had died, but she knew that if she quit, that the watchers wouldn’t kill her fast, the psychopath that recruited her would kill her in the slowest most painful way possible. Before she knew it ten years had passed, her main job, was that of a brain – their jobs were to find others that would both be beneficial to the government, as well as those that may be great fits for the watcher program. She also had to decide whether someone would attempt a rebellion and if so, she would give orders to terminate that person.

Katy did so numerous times a day throughout her time as a watcher. She no longer had feelings for the outside world, she couldn’t, even though one of the perks of being a watcher meant that she no longer needed the mark, she couldn’t bring herself to feel. How could she? She had watched her mother die from the famine and watched her grandparents and brother die to the one that recruited her.

Slowly Katy’s mind began to corrupt, the pain of loss became too much for her. She began to enjoy killing people and watching those same people suffer as she suffered. She took her revenge on anyone that happened to cross her path, whether good or bad it didn't matter.

Eventually, the orders came down that she was no longer needed as a brain, her mind had become too corrupt to make logic-based decisions.

“Welcome to the club, Katy. You truly are one of us now.” She heard a venomous voice say.

Katy had to grit her teeth; she knew that if she raised her hands to a superior that it would get her killed. She knew that eventually; her chances would come. When she would be able to kill the one that made her the way she was.

“What are you waiting for?” Asked the masked lady

“Let's go, we have people to recruit and kill” she seethed

Katy could hear the hate in her voice and the excitement whenever she said the word kill.

Right behind you ma’am. Katy muttered, where exactly are we going?

“We are going to the same area we found you, it seems that area produces brains at a higher rate than any other area in this godforsaken city.” Seethed the masked lady.

As soon as they pulled up to the building, faint memories began to resurface, memories of Katy playing with other kids in the building came back to her. The memory of her brother keeled over as well. Katy wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible, however, she couldn’t until her assignment was over with.

As they ascended the stairs Katy began to wonder what her brother would have looked like if he had been allowed to live and grow in the ten years she has been gone. She found herself wishing it was her instead of him that had died that fateful night.

Katy quickly snaps out of her daydream as she hears the whiz of a bullet pass by her head, narrowly missing her and striking the masked lady in the shoulder. Katy returns fire and manages to take down her assailant. She follows the sound of faint moaning until she comes across a teenager holding a weapon.

“DROP IT!” she shouts her voice garbled due to her voice modifier.

The teen drops the weapon as instructed and lays there, wondering what is to become of him.

Katy rushes over to the boy, who is shaking and clearly in pain.

“My arm, you shot me, why did you shoot me?” the boy screamed while writhing in pain

YOU SHOT FIRST! WHY?!?! – screamed Katy, her voice modulator starting to fail.

Katy raised her gun ready to put an end to this when a heart-shaped locket catches her eye. Lowering her gun, she continues to stare at the locket.

WHERE DID YOU GET THIS, LOCKET?!?! – Katy screamed in a voice that came out normal, a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time.

The boy stared at her silently, not knowing what to say or do.

I’LL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME – WHERE DID YOU GET THAT LOCKET? – she screamed as she kicked the boy in his stomach.

“It…it…it was my sisters.” replied the boy in an almost whimper like tone.

BULLSHIT DON’T LIE TO ME!!! –

YOU DON’T HAVE A SISTER! DO YOU FORGET WHAT I AM?!!? WATCHERS KNOW EVERYTHING! - She screamed as she kicked him again.

“I was adopted after my grandparents were killed, and my sister was kidnapped by you fucking watchers” – the boy coughed, knowing his ribs were likely broken from the beating he had just taken.

Stunned by the revelation, Katy tries to catch her words.

Bbbbb…. rayden? but, how? I saw you die. she whispered

“Who the fuck are you?” – asked the boy

It’s me, Katy – I’m your sister, she says as she takes off her mask and headgear. I thought you were dead; all of these years and you were alive…. How though?

“All I remember is when I came to, you were gone, I was aching all over and I had this around my neck” – said Brayden pointing to the heart-shaped locket.

“I see that you kept the heart-shaped locket.” – said a somewhat familiar voice

“MOVE” He shouts to Katy as he lifts his gun and quickly points at the figure behind her.

“Is this how you treat your mother, Brayden?” – asked the masked woman, as she begins to remove her gear.

“M.mm..m..m.mm. Mother” – The siblings asked together incredulously.

“Yes, mother. I’m sorry that things had to be this way, I’m sorry that you had to experience all of this, and you too Katy, I’m sorry that I put you through this hell.”

“YOU KILLED GRANDPA AND GRANDMA, YOU TRIED TO KILL BRAYDEN! WHAT TYPE OF MONSTER ARE YOU?!!?” – Screamed Katy

“Those weren’t your grandparents; they were your handlers. Their jobs were to nurture you until you could be of use to the government. However, due to your off-the-chart scores, the government decided you both needed to die as you could pose a problem in the future. It took everything that I had to convince them to let one of you become a brain. I was given the hard choice to decide which of you would need to die.”

Mother went on to explain everything to her kids, how by some chance when she went off to find food, she was stumbled upon by a watcher that took pity on her. Trained her, let her in on all of their secrets. Including the fact that watchers didn’t require the mark. How she had learned of a way to make it seem like she had killed someone when they were only stunned. She used it on others It is the same move she used on Brayden. She knew that if she displayed any emotion, she would have died, so she had to pretend to be this horrible person.

Why didn’t you tell me? You had ten fucking years to tell me all of this, instead you kept on taunting me, watching as I killed people!? – Katy said raising her voice.

“I know this is hard to understand right now, but I had a part to play. For ten years I played this part of this evil person, and for what? So that, I could find both of my kids, so that they could use their brains to help us finally topple this dystopian government. I did it for you.” Said mother as she reached out and embraced her kids in her arms.