A Story They Wouldn't tell

“Diane Shield is 5'4 blonde hair, blue eyes and was last seen wearing a red blouse and jeans, if you see her or any suspicious people, please call your local police”

The so-far endless and repetitive announcement played on repeat, pulling Diane out of her conversation with Michael Wilkins, who she was warning against helping her, for risk of imprisonment.

“Ya see, I’m lucky. I can’t afford a phone that They can listen in on,” Michael said, “I reckon though, that all this'' —he gestured around— “is because They’re panickin’, They’ve never had to deal with anythin’ like this before, ya know? The people in a violent rage about what They’ve done. I’ve been keepin’ an eye on the news though and it looks like someone came clean, it shouldn’t be long until we find them all. Ya did good, kid. I bet They’re only after ya because they think you’re leadin’ all this, ya did start it after all, no ones done that before.”

She was lucky that Michael had recognized her after They had come for her earlier that day. They had come for her at her school. Really, before that she was able to at least pretend that They cared about the people. But no. No, They only cared about protecting the status quo, you see. Gods forbid that one fucking kid be able to express themselves. Gods, she was so angry, this was infuriating. She really missed Eileen.

A few years ago Diane had been talking to her friend who she, at that time, knew as David. They’d been talking in the very back of her room, a place only used for secrets where ‘David’ had let loose a secret.

“How do you know you’re a girl?” It seemed simple enough at the time.

“Because… Well I just am one, why?” Diane had been confused.

“I think I might be one...” David had hesitated, probably unsure of whether or not he could tell her. She probably shouldn’t have, gods, she never should’ve said anything. The damage had probably been done by that point though.

“I don't like being ‘David’ and I don’t know why but I’m just… Not a boy. I can’t put it into words to explain it but I know that I’m a girl. Just like you.”

“Well if you don’t like being called David, then what do you want to be called?” Diane had asked, Gods, she had just wanted to help.

Diane had figured that David, now Eileen, would know best so she didn’t question it. Eileen left to head home for the night. That was the biggest mistake of her life.

The next morning when Diane walked to Eileen’s house, so they could walk to school together as they normally did, she found two grey vans leaving behind an apathetic mother who told her that ‘David’ had to go to a camp for people who were sick in the head, that ‘David’ would be back in a month. She patiently waited every day, waiting for when she would be able to see Eileen again. That day came and went, that week came and went, then another month and so on. No Eileen. Diane realized that Eileen would never come home. How could this have happened? Just because Eileen was a different gender to what everyone thought she was? That was unacceptable. Diane went home that night and wrote down everything that she remembered happening over those two days, especially the vans. She did some research and found multiple posts online, one read:

CW: kidnapping,

Has anyone else seen those weird grey vans? My next door neighbor was put in one and when his family came around the next day they weren’t concerned at all????? Is this some shady government thing that I should stay out of or should I go to the police?

So this wasn’t a one-time thing. A few days later, Diane had a folder full of research and her own written account, she sent it to every news outlet she could find an address for and she posted it online. Over the next few weeks, she amassed some 400 odd stories of the same thing happening and with that added to her folder she sent it out again. People started organizing protests against what was happening as they began to realize, slowly but surely they started turning into riots when it became clear They weren’t letting the kids go. That’s when They came after her, she saw Their vans at her school. They must’ve found her because of how much attention she was getting, being blamed for the riots. She had no choice but to leave and ditch her technology.

But Michael was right, someone had come clean about what They were doing to all those kids. And gods, Diane kinda wished she’d never found out. Electroshock therapy, non-consensual surgery, genital mutilation, torture, unnecessary medication, sexual abuse and more all in the name of making those people ‘normal’. Gods forbid anything goes against the status quo. It made her sick, made her stomach churn in disgust every time she thought about it, bile making its way up her throat. Eileen must’ve been going through this for 3 years at least, if she’d even stayed alive this long. But the government was cracking, splintering and shattering. It had been for just under 3 years since the first protest and just over one since the first riot. Diane knew that society couldn’t stop at just finding the stolen kids, she knew that they couldn’t stop until every single person involved and every single person who just stood by and let it happen was in a place where they couldn’t hurt anyone ever again... Even if that meant they were buried six feet under. Diane only wanted to look for her friend, she didn’t start this looking for a bloody revolution, but by the gods was she ready for one now.