They said that the world would end in fire, or so I heard. In a way, it's kind of poetic; the world is being cleansed of all the badness that was in it. But being alive during that fire doesn't seem like a good way to go. People had many theories on how the world would end, and some of it seemed like it would have really happened. Billy, from over the street, was a complete conspiracy nerd. She had all kinds of theories lined up on her blog and even had a massive following. I was kind of jealous of that fact, and for that reason, we couldn't get along. Billy had her mind set on a tsunami, but when the power started going out for periods of time during the day, her theories changed. We started getting comfortable with having no power for a couple of hours a day, but then it started to get worse. Billy was the first one to lose her mind when the power finally decided to give up on us. The world was out of resources, that's what the government had said. The people started to protest, and mentions of other alternative sources of power came to talks, but the government still insisted that there were no resources. What they didn't tell us, the working class at least, is that there were no resources for us but plenty for them. The rich decided to stop pretending to care about the world and start caring more about themselves. Not that they really cared in the first place. Now there is a whole section cut off from us where the wealthy live their best life and us, well, we still have to work. We work hoping that we too, one day, can experience the resources they denied us. Billy, though, she decided that she will bring an end to this pretence of actually having a chance to have power once again.
The wind blew her hair into her face, blocking her view. She hurriedly pulled back her hair and tied it up in a low pony. She gritted her teeth as the coldness travelled through her thin winter jacket. Not that you can actually call it a jacket since it was so thin and worn through. There were different-coloured patches here and there, making the original colour look lighter than what it truly looked like. Billy, though, tried her best not to pay attention to the cold. She pulled the jacket closer to her body, preventing the wind from distracting her from what she was doing. Her eyes were firm as she stared at the building in front of her, and a small twitch in her stomach told her that she was nervous. This building was new, and that made her frown. There hadn't been any new buildings since the power has completely shut down. It made Billy even more nervous being here, and there was a part of her that wanted to turn around and not go into the building. The letter in her hand made things difficult for her. A letter that spoke of opportunities and freedom that most people would not think twice of taking. And it was being handed to her on a silver platter, at least according to what the letter had said. Billy had always wanted freedom from this mess that the world was in, but not the way the wealthy are trying to give it to her. Her heart was with the people that she left behind and who was and still are trying to take down the system that divided them. Billy sighed, and a puff of smoke formed in front of her then disappeared with the wind. At that moment, she decided to leave, but then there was light from where the door was. In that light, a man stood. The light bloomed behind him like a halo, making it hard for Billy to see his features, but she could tell that he was tall, taller than her at least. His footsteps were too light to be heard, and he walked with confidence that only a wealthy person could have. Her face immediately crunched up in an ugly manner. He was standing in front of her with a smirk on his face, and Billy could just tell that this man was part of the one percent of the world. The closer he came to her, the more she moved away from him, but the smirk never left his face.
"Not going in?" Billy looked behind him, through the door, but the light made it hard for her to see what was inside. She narrowed her eyes, hoping that she could make out at least one thing, but then a chuckle brought her attention back to the man in front of her. He too was facing the door then turned to face her. Billy gritted her teeth; the man still had that smile on his face. She could tell that he was trying to get a reaction out of her, but she was not going to play into this man's game. She knew what he wanted, even though he would not tell her, but the look in his eyes told her that much.
"It's no use, they make sure not to put anything close to the door; it makes people curious to go in." The man's voice was soft, almost a whisper, as though he didn't want anyone but Billy to hear. "Come on, aren't you curious at all?" She gritted her teeth as he came closer to her, his lips almost touching her ear. Billy moved back, not willing to give in to the man's taunts. She could see that he enjoyed toying with people, but she would not fall into his trap. She had an idea how the wealthy trapped people like her to work for them in hopes that they too can live like them. What they don't know is that they would end up working for their entire lives without tasting that freedom that is just in their reach. She refused to speak to him and continued to look past him at the door with the light that made everything looked white. She had never seen anything as clean as that room, not since the day that the power finally gave up on them.
"Okay then, I was just sent out here to help you decide. You stood here for almost an hour, and the higher-ups were starting to get restless," he clapped his hands at the end, turned, and went back through the door, but the door didn't close behind him. It didn't close when he completely disappeared from her view; it just stayed open. It was mocking her, she decided, then moved to the top step leading up to the door. Billy's curiosity finally reached its peak, so she looked into the room. The room was completely bare. She realized that the man hadn't lied to her. She had been curious since the moment that the man had appeared, and it never went away when he left. A part of her wanted to enter that room, but her heart was screaming not to. What about the people depending on her? She couldn't leave them, but it was them who told her to come. They told her that this was her opportunity to destroy the system from within. She never told them that she was afraid though. Afraid that she too would be sucked into the belief that she could also be one of them. Her hand clasped around the letter even tighter as she stared at the tiled floor. Tears began to form as the letter fell from her grasp. The letter, that made her come here today. The letter that made the resistance put all their hopes on her. This letter was the catalyst for all her fear. Billy never wanted to enter this place. She wanted to bring it down and make the wealthy beg on their knees for mercy. This was not the way that she wanted to do it, but it seemed like it was the only way. All the other plans failed even before they started, and now this was the only solid plan that they could see succeeding, even if it had a small percentage of succeeding. It was the only way.
Her mind had made the decision to move into the room, but instead, she moved backward away from the door. Billy stopped just before she could descend down the step, staring into the white room. The tears that formed a moment ago were long gone, and in their place was a hardness that was only ever seen once before. Billy looked like a completely different person with the determination that she could muster. Her back was straighter than when she first stood in front of the building. Her winter jacket flapped around her as the wind played with it. The cold bitterness of the wind had long stopped affecting her as she became even more determined than before. It was like the stubbornness that she had back when she was writing her conspiracy theories online and no one believed any of them. She was even now more than ever determined not to go through that door that would have her become a slave to the wealthy.
"No," her voice was lost in the wind as she turned around, her back to the open door. This was not the way it was supposed to go. This was a trap that the wealthy perfected for people like her. Billy could see it now. All those people, fresh with hope, falling for this trap only to be destroyed with freedom almost in their reach. She could finally see this opportunity for what it was worth, if it was ever an opportunity to begin with. She was blind to the fact that they, the wealthy, had plans too, and what they had were resources. Resources to keep people like her in their place. Billy would not play their game, and that man was just that, a game for her curiosity. They wanted to see if she would bend to their crumbs, but she was stronger than that. She would go back to the resistance and plan anew. This time it would be a success; she could finally see their weakness, and that weakness was their strength.
Author's note
This was stuck in my head for some time now... I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you for reading.
