I dodged the pit of spikes, but clearly, I had a penchant for poisoned darts. My left great toe dragged lazily behind me, tripping the wire to release the toxic weapons. I threw myself to the ground just as one of the darts caught the end of my curly, sepia ponytail. Having narrowly escaped sudden death, I was now close to my target. Every training session and every strategy session led me here. This dump of horrors was the last thing that stood in the way of my success.
My target was encased in glass and placed on the tallest pillar. Other pillars in the room held jewels, world-renowned art pieces, and advanced technology. What I came for was more life-changing than a famed Kahlo. I would give the world a new order.
Enough was enough.
I scaled the towering pillar for what seemed like hours. When I finally reached the top, I lasered a hole through the glass big enough for my arm. Grasping the cool, cobalt blue metal, I carefully extracted the device. I grinned to myself. Then I heard him.
“I knew you’d come running for this,” he said, settling in the walkway above me.
I ignored him while admiring this rectangular device the size of my palm. Red and yellow lights, surrounded by several buttons, flashed sporadically across its screen. My mind flashed to where my journey began, envisioning the casualties this device just counted. Time equaled lives. I needed to make my decision now.
He bellowed, “There are several charges against you now. I was willing to overlook the first ten or so for pettier matters. But I will not stand for this.”
My silence was goading him. In his ire, it was clear that he would eventually reveal his true nature, and it would all be recorded.
He continued to spit fire down on me as I whipped out my palm pilot. A holographic screen emerged from my phone, pulling up the stats I needed to make my decision. Three thousand in Prague, half of them children. Fifty in Chile. The list continued in that fashion.
My choice was clear.
I hurriedly entered the password into the device; it was always my birthday. After a series of prompts, I easily maneuvered to the final screen. My finger hovered over the bottom-most button on the device.
“You’re making a grave mistake! You know the consequences of that button. This will only cause more chaos,” he yelled, rattling the bars in front of him.
I scoffed. The state of the world had been in continued chaos since the devolution of every country’s government over the last two-hundred-and-fifty years. A restart was necessary for any hope of survival.
“You’re as foolish as your mother was. I should’ve given you away the moment she left me. But I wanted to make you into the best! I had a vision for your life, and you opposed me at every turn. Now all my hard work has been wasted. I hope your ‘better’ world will be worth it, and I hope you end up with nothing in it,” he seethed smoothly, seemingly resigned. Meanwhile, I was buzzing for a brighter tomorrow.
“A life without you in it is my favorite world,” I said with a beaming smile.
He opened his mouth to spew uglier words. But my finger flattened the button faster. The cool rectangle became frighteningly hot before emitting a bright white light.
I closed my eyes and prayed to open them to a better world.
Luci Strong is a budding writer, hailing from Mississippi. Her Southern experiences and upbringing shape her writing. She loves to read romances, thrillers, and fantasy novels. When she is not reading, writing, or working in healthcare, she enjoys baking, hanging out with family and friends, and binging various TV shows (current binge: Real Housewives of Atlanta).
Featured image by Chris Yang on Unsplash.
