The Saviors

Chapter 11 - Hayden(Part 3 - The US, 2015)

I pass through many abandoned streets and buildings. Everything has been blown to pieces. I can no longer recognize what used to be my city. The world is a million times worse than it was when I lived here, homeless. After hours of driving, I notice a change in my surroundings. The roads ahead of me are no longer covered in rubble but are clean and look to be newly paved. I see bright lights ahead piercing through the darkness. As I continue to drive, I see tall buildings that are still standing. I slow down hesitantly driving up the path to the front gates. I reach the gate and roll down my window to be confronted by a man sitting in a booth.

"Name," he says.

"Um... Hayden." He looks up from his papers and examines me with surprise etched in his face.

"My bad. Come in." He opens the gate, and I roll into the large road beyond. There is a massive road leading through the entire city. Large buildings rise up around me, and it's as if nothing has changed. It feels like I am in my old city. I drive through unsure of where to go. As I am driving, I see a large building that stands out among the rest. On the front of the building is a giant picture of the man, the only who kidnapped me. He is smiling a wicked grin and below his face it says "The Key to the Future". I realize that, that must be the building where I can find Aspen.

I park my car in the front lot, and I walk inside. The building looks just like the ones I used to go to with my family. At the front of the room is a desk that tells me to check in. I approach, and the woman sitting there takes one look at me and beckons me forward.

"We have been waiting for you," she says, handing me a badge and pointing me towards the elevator in the far corner. I step inside and listen as cheesy saxophone music blasts from the speakers. You would think with all the innovations we have made that we could have created better music to listen to while inside an elevator. Finally, I reach the top floor where the man and Aspen are located. I exit the elevator and head down the hallway to the one door at the end. I lift my hand up to knock but quickly pull it away as I start to second guess myself. I don't know if I can trust this man. I know that I can trust Aspen, but I am not sure if that is enough. As I am standing in front of the door, debating, it opens, and Aspen pops out her head.

"What are you doing just standing out here?" She asks. "Come in!" She grabs my hand, lugging me into the room. She brings me to sit at a table in an otherwise empty room. I look around and see nothing, no windows, no other people and no other items besides the table and chairs. Out of a door that I didn't realize was there, the man appears.

"Hello, Hayden. What a pleasure it is to meet again in person. Do you remember me? I am Noah." He stops talking and grabs a seat across from me. Aspen joins him, and I just stare, not saying anything.

"I guess I should explain what happened. You might have noticed that the world is different." Before he can say anything else, I interrupt.

"DIFFERENT! It's destroyed! Everything is gone!"

"Not everything," he interjects.

"Was this your plan, to destroy the world?"

"The only way to stop climate change was to decrease the population, so I did that. I saved the world by taking away some people, and you and your friends helped me accomplish that. Together we have saved the world."

"We didn't save the world!" I shout. "We ruined it. When you told me we were going to stop climate change, you said it was to benefit everyone. This doesn't benefit people. This is terrible. Aspen, how can you support this?" I turn to Aspen wondering why she is with this horrible man. I realize that it is my fault that the world has turned out like this, but I refuse to stand with this man.

"We have saved the world. We couldn't undo what was already done. The only way to effectively stop climate change was to get rid of the source which was the overpopulation. You helped the world. You should be proud!" The man starts to shout as he conducts his horrific speech. "And as for Aspen, I gave her something that she desperately seeked." I look at them, confused. Why would Aspen stand with this man? What could be so important to Aspen that she would support his terrible acts? The Aspen I knew was sweet and kind and cared about the world. She was willing to give up everything to help everyone. We all thought we were doing the right thing by following this man's instructions. It turns out we should never have trusted him.

"I am going to be giving you a choice. I realize that I am in your debt because you helped me fulfill my dreams. I am going to give you a job to work with me, you will be one of the most important people. You can live an amazing life full of luxury. Aspen can tell you how spectacular life is for her. If you choose to work with me, you will also be given access to the non-aging solution that will allow you to live forever. There are many benefits to working with me." Aspen has a giant smile on her face, but as she turns towards me, smile wavers slightly, and I can see another emotion seep through her eyes.

"It really is amazing," she says, emotionless. "You can get nearly anything for working with Noah. We get to help the world." I stare at her, anger painted on my face.

"How could you? We destroyed the world, but we thought we were saving it. This man knew what we were doing, and he did it willingly," I angrily reply to Aspen. Then turning to Noah, I spit in his face while saying "there is no way I will ever work for you. I will do everything in my power to undo the terrible damages I caused. If I had known what was really going to happen, I would have never helped you in the first place. You lied to me, and I can't believe you would ever expect me to work with you again!"

The smile that was on Noah's face falters, and he looks at me with pure hatred in his eyes. Before I can do anything, he presses a button on the table and disappears from sight.

"You shouldn't have said that," Aspen whispers to me. "You should have agreed to work with him."

"No!" I shout. "I will never willingly work with that man again. You are a coward for helping him. I can't believe you could do this to the world." Suddenly, the door bursts open, and two armed men walk forward grabbing my arms and pulling me out of the room and into the elevator.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask. They don't reply, and I am left to think as I listen to the elevator music. I can't believe I listened to this guy. I can't believe I am responsible for what happened to the world. My family is probably dead because of me. The elevator rings indicating that we have reached our destination. I am pulled out and brought into a gloomy hallway. I can barely see anything in front of me. The two men bring me to the end of the hallway and turn on a light. The entire room is illuminated, and I can finally see where I am. Bars are everywhere. I am unable to see within because of the dimness, but I realize that I am in a jail. Since I have refused to work with Noah, he has decided to trap me in his building. The guards unlock the door and throw me inside.

"Hey, please. Come back!" I shout as they lock me in and start to walk away. "What is happening? Why are you doing this to me?" They don't answer and just keep walking. I shrink into the back of the cell, left alone in a room of darkness. Something scurries over me, and I scream feeling fur rub against my skin. I sit in the dark, pondering everything. I have so many thoughts running through my head. I guess the one benefit of being trapped in this cell is that I have endless time to think. As I am about to doze off, I hear a whisper from the cell near mine.

"Hayden," someone says. "Is that you?"

"Who's there?" I ask, stuttering as fear takes over. "How do you know my name?"

"Hayden, oh my god," the person says. "It's me. It's Alex."