Strings of Fate

Society. It’s a funny thing if you really think about it. It’s built on an intricate system of people’s morals, ideas, opinions; and ultimately influences how the world works. Well at least that’s how it once was. That was until the Great Panic. There was a time where life was more complex. People left their own fates in the hands of society, and their life wasn’t set in stone, influenced by decisions and events. I know. Sounds crazy right? After the massive pandemic that took root globally, people lost faith in society and no longer believed that the fates of others should be left to nothingness. This is where people began to panic and obsess over their fates and how decisions impacted them. People became so paranoid with their lives it drove them to insanity. It was the outburst of insanity that caused chaos throughout the world. Riots, massacres, arson, vandalism, etc. It all wreaked havoc on the world, with no way to contain the problem. That’s when The Visions came into light.

The Visions were five people who possessed the ability to see into the future. This caused the people to rejoice in relief. They wouldn’t have to be subject to the unknown and could live their lives without any worry. The visions restored faith and hope in mankind through a system called the predetermined mindset. This is where the visions came together and looked into the future of every living being on the planet, writing it down in a book as a biography. Every person’s lives would be documented from the first breath to the last, available to anyone. Fascinatingly, this was only the first stage. As all of these biographies were placed in public libraries globally, people began to read others' fates, and determined a new societal system to abide by to keep peace, balance, and order. Like I said, every detail is documented from birth to death. This means that one can determine future careers, accomplishments, mistakes, significant others, etc. With this in mind, society was modified to fit all these factors. Once you are born, a biography is made and reviewed. According to your fate, you will be divided into divisions according to your future path. For instance, you will be housed with people who share similar fates, attend school focused primarily on future achievements, only socialize with people of your house in order to assure success.

It is said if you do not follow the guidelines that a worser fate is in store. The first guy who didn’t follow the rules, Jax Drew, had a secret love affair with a girl from a different division. When their relationship was discovered, him and the girl disappeared with no trace, practically erased from existence. Their books were taken from the libraries. Nobody talks about it. Everyone is too scared to. Now everyone goes about their day as they should according to the system. So here I am walking about the grounds of my city, examining the kind of life that is in store for me. It’s a little bland if you ask me. But I would never say that out loud. It’s even dangerous to think about it. I continue walking until I finally reach the library. I like to go here in my free time. It relaxes me. As I enter, I walk towards the biography section and pull the first one I see. I’ve never had the nerve to look at my own, although you're supposed to in order for the system to work properly. I’m scared of what is written on the pages. Of what I am. Who I’ll become. I think that enough people have looked at mine to know if I stray from my path, they’ll put me back on track. As I flip open the book I begin to read. I skipped all of the toddler comicals and advanced to the moments where one is able to understand the society we live in, and how they plan to live in it.

“Sam Fry walks along the street toward his housing facility after he endured a long day of strenuous work in the factories. Once he rounds the corner of the governing facility he sees a child being dragged into a secluded area. This boy belongs to his own labor division he recognized. He looked to the guards on duty for help, but they won’t acknowledge the boy's existence seeing as he’s from a different division. Sam Fry inched closer taking up a spot behind the wall to hide him from sight. The captors are dressed from head to toe in black and begin restraining the boy against the hard ground, muffling his pleas for help. Sam Fry looked panically to the guards but still nothing. When he turned back the to the little boy, a gag was placed into his mouth and his limbs were bound with rope as he kneeled in front of his captors. Then one of the captors stood directly in front of him and pulled out a gun, aiming it at the boy’s head. Sam felt his heart drop to his stomach as his face paled.

“No! Stop!” He yelled as he charged towards the people dressed in black. Before he could get any closer to the boy, he was pinned to the wall and forced to watch as the gunshot pierced through the boy's flesh and his body fell limp against the hard ground. Once the deed was done the people dressed in black picked up the boy’s body and walked out of the secluded area letting Sam Fry go. As his body was taken away, Sam emerged from the secluded area rattled. The sound of the gunshot rings in his head, the vibrant color leaving the boys eyes, bloodshot eyes and muffled cries of help haunt him. The worst part was that Sam didn’t even know the little boy’s name.”

I look up from the book slamming it shut violently and calm myself as tears threaten to fall. How could someone kill an innocent child with no remorse, no reason. I get up from my spot on the floor and put the book back and begin skimming the shelves. I spot one and begin to pull it out of the shelf before a little black book falls at my feet. I push the other book back on the shelf and lean down to pick up the little black book. It looks like a journal. I sit back down on the floor and open the book in anticipation. But there’s nothing on the pages. They’re all blank. Only a single pen is attached to the book. I grab the pen and ponder what to write about. All I can think about is that boy. He deserved a better ending. So just to make myself feel better I began to write one. It gave me peace of mind that our world is not as screwed up as I think it to be. After I finished writing a better fate for him I closed the black book and got up from my spot on the floor. As I turned to face the bookshelf I noticed several random books glowing in purple light. This is weird. Kind of scary to be honest. I reluctantly pulled Sam Fry’s book back out and opened it to the page I was reading. As I looked down, the letters were shifting, disappearing, and reappearing to form different sentences. The exact sentences I just wrote in my book. I frantically pulled out my book and made sure they were the same. They were. I pushed the book back into the shelf and ran out of the library. As I rounded the corner of the street I walked the rest of the way to my housing facility. As I entered the building I ran straight to my room and locked it. I sat down on my small bed and stared at the book in front of me. This can’t be real. I must be going crazy. I was interrupted from my thoughts by a knock at my door. I shoved the book under my pillow and got up to open the door. As I opened the door, Adrian Booker was revealed. My best friend.

“Hey. Can I talk to you?”

“Yea. Sure. Come in.” I say nervously. Does he know?

“So you know how things have been around my unit lately. Someone keeps breaking into housing units and stealing food rations, money, and valuables.” I nod my head gesturing for him to continue.

“Well guess who was the target today while I was at work?” He said painfully laughing.

“Adrian I’m so sorry. Did you talk to the authorities? Can they reimburse you?”

Adrian let out a scoff before continuing. “You know they won’t do that. That would mean admitting that there is a problem within the system and they haven’t caught it. They’ll never do that. My job won’t even let me pick up extra overtime hours to earn back some money.” He paused before he put his face in his hands.

“I don’t have much but I can share my food rations and some of my money.”

“No. I can’t ask you to do that. You would be drowning just like I am.”

“You’re not asking me to do anything. I’m volunteering my services. “

“No. I can’t do that to you. The money isn’t even the worst part. They took my sister's necklace. That’s the last piece I had of her before she disappeared.”

I got up and walked over to a small box and pulled out a few food rations and shoved it in Adrian’s lap.

“Don’t even start. I’m not taking no for an answer. “

“Thank you. I owe you. Anyways it’s getting late I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“No problem. See you.” I said as he closed the door behind him. This is awful. I laid down in bed and stared at the ceiling. I tried to sleep but my thoughts were racing. I sat up abruptly and pulled the little black book from my pillow and grabbed the pen. That's when the words started flowing on the pages. If this is real, I should try to do some good with it.

By morning I was woken up by loud knocks on my door. I got up and opened the door to find Adrian again, happier than I’ve ever seen him.

“Riley you’re not going to believe this. When I woke up this morning everything was returned and $2000 bucks was just laying on the table. Come on you have to see.”

We ran through the housing facility until we reached his room. It was spotless and two thousand dollars laid on the table. He closed his door behind me and took the money in his hands and split it. Shoving one thousand dollars in my hand.

“What—“

“Me and you are in this together. Here take it. We need it.” I didn’t argue and just smiled like a maniac before throwing my arms around him.