Utopia Redux

Billy Day sat on the toilet, facing a small 10 x 10 mirror, staring at his reflection. His light brown hair was scruffy and dirty. His eyes were a bright green, and were currently gazing into themselves. Billy, a young man of 17, was worried about his mother. She had been gone for too long. He was beginning to think the worst.

His mother, Shannon, was supposed to have returned before the daily scheduled physical training. Since he just got back from the forced exercise he knew she was late. The only thing running through his mind was all of the possible, horrible, scenarios that could have befallen her. She had already taken his father and sister into the wilderness that surrounded the city. She, like Billy, knew the consequences of trying to escape, but Shannon was determined to save her son from the 18th birthday ceremony.

The ceremony, while seeming harmless, was actually when the government would place a small computer chip at the base of your skull. The computer chip monitors the individual's health signs and current location inside the city. Shannon and Billy's father, William, had removed their chips before they left that morning. And Elizabeth, Billy's sister, was 14 so she did not have one.

From what Billy was told, that morning, it took a little under an hour to actually get out of the city and get far enough away that the officials, who walked the perimeter, could not catch them. It was 4 hours past the time Shannon said she would be back. Billy didn't know what to do, but he knew he needed to do something. If his mother, or whole family, had been caught trying to escape the officials would soon be busting through the door to black bag him.

Billy had come into the bathroom to take a shower after his required exercise, but was forced to sit, fully clothed, on the toilet. The horrible thoughts that were fueling his fear had forced him to sit, and stare back at himself. He was no longer thinking about his family. He was on to what was going to happen to him. He jumped to his feet and ran to his room. He grabbed his backpack and dumped all of his school books and supplies onto the floor and darted back out of the room. He rushed into the kitchen and started throwing random cans of food from the pantry and fridge in the backpack. He then tried to cram water bottles into it. When he was finally done throwing anything, and everything, into the backpack, and struggling to close the zipper, Billy placed the backpack next to the front door.

Now he had the duffel bag from his parents closet and was going from bedroom to bedroom putting clothes in it. He then stopped in the bathroom and grabbed random items. He grabbed a bottle of body wash, a bottle of conditioner, a bottle of mouthwash and one toothbrush and shoved them in the bag. After placing the duffle bag next to his backpack he sat in a chair and contemplated his next move. He knew he needed to act now, but he was unsure of what he could do. Then, like a flash, he got an idea. Billy knew that his parents were close friends with another family that lived close to the edge of the city. And he knew that his parents had confided in them. He hoped they could tell him more about what happened to his mother, so he put the backpack on and threw the duffel bag around his neck and walked outside his small apartment.

Billy's journey to his parent's friends, the Winslows, was quick but filled with fear and paranoia. He quickly knocked, while scanning up and down the street, and stepped back into the dirt. After just a few seconds the door opened and there stood Jeremiah.

"Bil ...", Jeremiah started, but paused, and after scanning the street he continued in a whisper, "Why are you still here? Where is your mother?" Jeremiah asked as he stood back and held the door open, "Come inside before an official sees you."

"Who is here, Jeremy?" Meredith, Jeremiah's wife, asked as she walked into the living room.

"Close those blinds Mary. Billy is here," Jeremiah almost hissed under his breath.

After the blinds were quickly pulled, with her hands still on them, Meredith whispered back, "Where is Shannon?"

"I don't know. She was supposed to be back before calisthenics, but never showed up," Billy said with worry in his voice.

Jeremiah and Meredith gave each other a scared look. Meredith then swiftly walked next to Billy and started leading him towards the couch while whispering in his ear, "Do you need anything to eat or drink, dear?"

"No thank you, Mrs. Winslow," Billy said in his regular voice as he sat down.

"So you haven't seen her at all this morning? Jeremiah whispered as he sat down next to Billy.

"No, I saw her before they left this morning. She said she would be back before morning exercise," Billy said, normally, as he looked at the floor.

"Maybe it is taking longer than she thought," Meredith whispered, again.

"No, I don't think that is it," Billy responded as he looked from one adult to the other, "I have a bad feeling about it and was hoping you knew how to get me out."

"I'm sorry, son. Since we were not going to go, your mother didn't want to put us in any more danger," Jeremiah whispered with a concerned look on his face.

"Why are we whispering?" Billy asked, whispering himself now.

"Ehm ...," Jeremiah cleared his throat, "I guess it is just habit when talking about escaping."

"I guess I will have to go by the processing center," Billy said.

"You can't be serious. Dear, if they do have your mother they will, surely, be looking for you," Meredith replied in her normal voice.

"What else can I do," Billy asked as tears swelled in his eyes, "If they do have mom they won't stop looking for me."

"I don't agree with your plan, Bill, but you are right. They will turn this city upside down just for one runner," Jeremiah replied.

It didn't take long for Billy to reach the processing center. He casually walked down the dirt road outside the Winslow's small, rundown, shack of a house. The road ran parallel to the giant wall that enclosed the city. It was also heavily patrolled by officials, but he remained calm as each pair passed him. The processing center was by far, the largest building in the entire city and as he walked it started to peek out theover other buildings. As he continued to walk towards the building it began to tower over him, like a judgmental parent. He turned a corner and there, in all its horror, was the building that many innocent people saw just before death. He struggled to force his feet to move and as soon as he walked under the shade the giant building provided, a chill ran down his spine.

He continued to walk in the shade of the monstrosity to his right. However, the building had sucked the courage out of him and he started to hide his face each time officials passed. Thankfully being right next to the processing center there were fewer patrols. He could now see the stage that the public executions were conducted on. As he fully turned the corner he could see the glistening blade of the guillotine and the dried blood on the stage. He stopped and stared. He had to fight back the tears as he envisioned his mother being put in that archaic machine. After what felt like an eternity, but was less than a minute, he turned to continue his journey.

Outside the front of the processing center was a chain link fence that separated the people and the "criminals". The newly arrested, regardless of the crime or guilt of the individual, were left outside all day and night for several days. This was supposedly for the guilty to confess their sins to the victims and the city, but it was really just one of the ways they tried to break you. People were allowed to do anything they wanted to these "criminals". And people did do anything. Boiling water, spit, rotten food and any other nasty or hurtful materials were thrown at the fence. Billy slowly walked past the entrance to the building, where the fence started, and began scanning the multitude of people in the makeshift cage. He only had to take a few steps before he heard, "Billy".

Out of fear he froze. He didn't know who was calling out to him, but after another "Billy" he recognized his mother's voice. With a snap he started scanning again. A woman was now pressed up against the fence. There was his mother. Her dirty blonde hair was muddy and matted to her head. Her piercing blue eyes were now dim, swollen and bruised. The clothes Billy had seen her leave in were covered in mud and what appeared to be blood. There were holes in her clothes that clearly showed the injuries she suffered under the watchful eye of sadistic officials. Tears could no longer be held back as Billy ran to his mother.

Using their fingers they tried their best to hug one another and pressed their cheeks together through the chain link. Billy's crying grew in intensity now that he knew his mother had been caught and severely beaten. His sobs were, unfortunately, gaining the attention of the officials at the front of the line.

"Billy, you need to listen carefully," Shannon said with fear in her eyes.

"Mom, what happened to you? Is dad and Elizabeth here?" Billy asked through his cries.

"Shut up, Billy, and listen ..."

"Where is dad and Elizabeth? Where are the- ...," Billy interrupted his mother.

"Shut up, Billy. You need to take this," Shannon hissed as she pulled a golden heart-shaped locket from her pocket and pushed it through the fence, "Billy take this. Inside is the code to the east archway. Once through you need to follow the trail until you see a dead tree on your right. Climb over the tree and walk straight into the forest. They will be waiting for you."

"What about you, mom? We need to get you ...," Billy tried to talk, not caring about what was now in his hand.

"Billy, you need to run now. They are coming," Shannon said as she turned her head towards the front, "Billy, RUN!"

"William Robert Day the third," came ringing in the air from some disembodied voice, "You are under arrest. Stop right there."

Billy said, "I love you," just before taking off towards the end of the cage. When he looked back to see if the officials were chasing him he witnessed one of them shoot his mother, point blank, in the chest with his stun weapon. The blue light that the weapon shot enveloped his mother and she folded to the ground. This enraged Billy and that fueled his legs. He was much quicker than the middle-aged officials chasing him and his lead was growing.

As Billy ran, a woman in front of him became engulfed in blue light. She folded and Billy started to crouch. He looked behind quickly and, correctly, guessed where they would be firing next. The blue light hit the wall Billy was quickly approaching and faded harmlessly. Billy then used his momentum to propel himself up onto the wall, a blue light hit where his body would have been, and dove in-between two walking citizens. He was then able to run down a street that, conveniently, turned towards the east archway and lost the officials among a group of confused people.

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