Chapter Twenty: Edge

Christopher sits at his desk and rests his head on the table. He was so close to having his virginity curse lifted. He feels nothing. He doesn’t want to rest. The next morning, he is perky as ever, ready to get Melanie and have his future wife and daughter.

A few weeks pass and he continues to declare his search. He continues to play video games while he waits for the results.

“We need to find Melanie!” he shouts.

“Sir, it’s been three weeks. No one has reported any sighting of them,” the janitor explains.

“So? They’re just playing a game of hide and seek,” Christopher says, “She is just playing with my feelings. She is playing “hard to get” as they say.”

“Whatever you say, sir.”

“Look, it’s only because of those jerks that Melanie has been kept away from me. There are only two terrorists left: Mimi and Kid and they are no threat because they are too preoccupied with shopping. I’m sure Melanie has taken control and is headed right for me!”

The group continues by car to find themselves fifteen miles away from the entrance of Christopher’s basement. Kid rests on Mimi’s shoulder, knowing what is to come next. Christopher, the face of evil, appears every night in Kid’s nightmares.

“Hello, Kid,” says Christopher, “You look very pretty.”

“Stay away, evil Santa!” Kid yells back.

“If you don’t do what I say, you’ll end up just like your sister.”

“Shut up! Shut up!”

Kid attempts to take a swing at Christopher’s face. Her hand merely goes through it.

“You can’t hurt me, I am invincible!” he boasts as millions of papers fly from his hands, all of them containing different colors of Rabbichoso.

The papers begin to target Kid, giving her millions of paper cuts all over. She is bleeding profusely and can hardly walk. A single piece of paper containing the original Rabbichoso stares right at her.

“Hello, Kid. I am original.”

“Stop lying! You’re not original! You’re stupid! Stupid!”

“I am original. I am original,” Rabbichoso repeats as Christopher’s face replaces Rabbichoso’s.

Kid is completely stunned by this new creation.

“I am original. I am original. I am God. I am God,” repeats the piece of paper.

Kid attempts to close her eyes and ears, but realizes that she has no body. Her mind continues to see and hear everything.

The new creation begins to step out of the paper and soon duplicates form all around the room.

“I killed your father and I will surely take your mother!” all of them shout.

Kid wakes up to find Mimi looking down on her with a worried face. Kid buries her face into her mother’s chest and begins to cry. As they come within ten miles of the basement entrance, a large dust storm comes into view. The dust storm stretches for miles and miles with no end to either side of them.

“What is that?” asks Mimi.

“This is a dust storm, but none that I have ever seen,” replied Shana.

“It seems a bit risky to drive through that,” warned Melanie.

“I mean, this car can probably handle the storm,” says Shana as she begins to drive into it, “You see, no problems.”

As soon as she finishes her sentence, the car begins to shut off. Shana turns around and pulls out of the dust cloud as the car comes to a complete halt.

“What could be the matter with this?” asked Shana as she opened the hood of the car.

Inside the car, the engine had been destroyed. The dust storm had ruined the internal combustion engine. Dust entered the fuel tank and had destroyed all the small, delicate machinery. Shana closes the hood with a perplexed look on her face.

“What are we supposed to do now?” she asks.

“I suppose we should look around for any supplies,” suggested Mimi.

“Yeah, I guess we should split up.”

“What if the dust storm gets to us?” says Melanie, “What do we do then?”

“I doubt this dust storm, or whatever it is, is going to move anytime soon,” assures Shana.

“But still, maybe it is best to start backing away from the dust. If we were to enter it, it might just kill us.”

“Really now, Mel? I know Christopher has to get his supplies somehow. I’m sure he has a messenger go through this dust to retrieve his wants,” Shana explained.

“Wouldn’t he just announce that on radio or television?”

“No, he has some,” Shana pauses, “private orders that he can only do through a trusted person.”

“Oh right, those orders,” Melanie remembers, “You know, when I first met Christopher, he wanted to show off some of those things to me. He showed me some,” she pauses, “toys and some DVDs. He thought it was an icebreaker or something.”

“Right, so we just need to find something that can get us through this dust. I’ll take Kid. Mimi, you stick with Mel and Matt,” delegated Shana, “we’ll meet back at the car in an hour.”

“Okay!” Kid says as she hugs Mimi before seeing her walk off with Melanie.

“Be good!” yells Mimi as she slowly disappears out of sight.

Kid and Shana walk to the edge of the dust storm. The two peer into it, seeing absolutely nothing but dust. Not even an outline of a building can be seen.

“There is nothing here!” Kid exclaims as she walks around in circles and then collapses onto the dirt ground, “It makes me kind of sad.”

“Come on Kid, get up. There must be someone. Some crazy person that might have discovered a way to get through the dust storm,” says Shana.

“Why would anyone want to live here?”

“Maybe there is nowhere else for them to go.”

Kid sighs, “I just really want some ice cream.”

“Oh come on Kid, grow up.”

“I’m still a kid though!” Kid exclaims.

“Sometimes I forget about that. You’ve been through so much. How do you keep together? I guess we adults envy your ability to stay so normal throughout this ordeal.”

“I don’t know. I believe that everything will work out in the end. Vivian told me that. She might be gone, but I still think things will be better.”

“So innocent,” Shana mutters as the two continue to look for any sign of life.

Melanie and Mimi begin to walk along the edge and find themselves in an eerie silence.

“If Jones was alive, he’d start talking about some passage from his book and then we’d be lost in the memorizing spell he had,” says Melanie.

“Yes, he really did have a way with words,” says Mimi, “We’ve both lost a husband to this monster. Do you think we can stop him?”

“Of course, he’s still after me, I think. He doesn’t realize we’re so close to him. He would probably burst through his basement and come running to us if he found out.”

“Oh Melanie, how could things have gotten so bad?”

“The world works in strange ways.”

“Now you’re quoting Jones,” says Mimi.

“I still haven’t finished all of his books, the first thing I do when we finish with Christopher is just read. Read and cry.”

The two come across a school.

“Hello?” says Melanie as she enters the school, “Is anyone in here?”

A child exits from one of the classrooms.

“Get back!” the child shouts, “I’ll kill you!”

“We’re not here to do anything. We just need some supplies,” reassures Mimi.

“How do I know that? Are you with Christopher?” the child replies.

“No, in fact, I’m Mimi, one of the alleged terrorists.”

“And I’m Melanie and this here is Matt. Here, take a look at my driver’s license.”

“Yeah, I heard about you terrorists. Where’s the others?” the child asks.

“The only one left is Kid. She is my daughter and she is currently with Shana,” says Mimi.

“So, what did you do to make Christopher go crazy?”

Mimi and Melanie explain the entire situation to the child as delicately as possible. The details seem to overwhelm the child.

“That’s why Christopher has gone insane looking for you? He just wants to have a girl? Ew,” says the child, “Okay guys, you can come out. These are not Christopher’s henchmen.”

One by one, a dozen children all exit the classroom to meet the newcomers.

“We’ve all been trapped here,” says one child, “We have nowhere else to go. Everything else has been destroyed. We’re just running on the last of the cafeteria supplies.”

“Christopher has been capturing us,” says another child, “I don’t know why, but he says that this Psychic Rabbichoso guy has been doing some studies.”

“But lately,” says another, “he hasn’t shown up.”

“Well, soon Christopher’s reign will be over,” says Melanie, “We plan to kill him.”

The children begin to cheer.

“Do you have anything you can offer us? Anything to get through this dust storm?” asks Mimi.

“We don’t have much left,” says one child, “We’re down to canned peaches. You can have a can if you want.”

“No, that is quite all right, but can you help us get through this dust storm?”

“No, every time someone was taken away, a man wearing a suit and carrying a gun would arrive and shoot at us a few times before leaving with a child.”

“A suit,” says Mimi, “Thank you for your help. I’m not sure where we can get a suit like that, though.”

“Well, good luck trying to kill Christopher. We’ll be rooting for you!” yells a child as they all return to their classroom.

Melanie and Mimi return to the car to find that Shana and Kid had not returned yet.

“We’re lost, Kid,” says Shana, “I knew I should have left markers, but god damn it!”

“Calm down, Shana,” says Kid, “I’m sure we’ll find our way back.”

“Think, Shana, think,” Shana says to herself, “Oh right! Our footprints!”

They look to their backs to find that their footprints had been lifted away by the winds.

“We’re screwed. All I can see is nothing in all directions,” says Shana.

“Maybe we can find supplies in an abandoned house,” says Kid.

“Sure, let’s try to find those first.”

They do their best at backtracking for the next hour and still they can’t find their way back to the rest of the group. They do find an abandoned structure.

“Do you see anything of interest, Kid?” asks Shana.

“I found this compass!” says Kid excitedly, “Look at it point north!”

“That’s going to do no good, Kid! We don’t know where north will take us to!”

“Well, now what?” asks Kid.

“You want to know what we’re going to do?” says Shana, “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to kill Christopher now.”

“Are you sure?” asks Kid.

“Yes, we’re going there right now!” she yells as she begins to walk into the dust.

Shana begins to feel terrible as she walks into the dust. She quickly returns outside of the storm to find herself coughing up blood.

“Shana!” Kid shrieks, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t breathe,” Shana says as she continues coughing up more blood, “It’s over for me.”

“No! No!” Kid beings to cry, “This can’t happen.”

“I know it was foolish of me to enter that dust storm,” she coughs for a while, “I’ve always been a little bit reckless in life.”

Kid only continues to stare at her.

“Perhaps I knew this was going to happen, I was just a little distressed. Or maybe, I wanted this. I’m sorry for taking the coward’s way out.”

“Don’t be sorry, Shana. Please stay with me.”

She stops coughing and her eyes close.

Chapter Twenty One: Genes

Kid takes the compass and stares at it. The needle points north, right into the dust storm.

“Please magic compass, take me to my family and friends,” she says to the compass.

She looks behind her after taking a few steps. The body of Shana faces upward with her eyes closed. Kid salutes the body and heads west. After an hour and a half of walking, she spots the broken car with Melanie, Mimi and Matt all sleeping on top of it.

“Mom!” she shouts from afar.

“Kid?” says Mimi incredulously.

Kid runs up to Mimi and hugs her.

“Where’s Shana?” asks Melanie.

Melanie, Mimi, Matt and Kid all pay their respects to Shana. The entire group stares towards the sky, all of them hardened after their journey. No one shows any emotion, except on the inside.

“Good bye, friend,” thinks Kid as the group continues together to look for any sign of life.

As they continue to search for any sign of penetrating the poisonous shield that surrounds Christopher’s basement, Melanie begins to think.

“This is hopeless,” says Melanie, “Christopher has really outdone himself this time. Even if we were to assassinate him, what will that do for us?”

“It will mean the end of his era,” replies Kid.

“What you’re saying is meaningless. Christopher has already ruined this world; it will take years to rebuild it. I’m pretty sure he has no idea of what he has done. This era will live on for generations.”

“No, it’s won’t. We need to inspire people to live once again. If a crazy person like me kills Christopher, then maybe America will wake up. We can make people believe again!”

“You’re turning out just like your sister,” mentions Mimi. She pauses for a moment, “I miss her too.”

“Vivian has taught me everything I need to know about life and the man,” says Kid.

“The man?” asks Melanie, “How much of a hippie was your sister?”

“She wasn’t a hippie. She was a radical. She told me to think for myself. If I want to try a new flavor of ice cream, I will do it!” Kid exclaims.

The group continues to walk and finds an old hut with smoke blowing out of it. Kid leads the group, holding her trusty sword, as she enters the hut.

“What are you?” she shouts into the darkness, “Reveal yourself!”

A light is turned on and reveals a glasses-wearing, slightly overweight, pajama-clad woman lying down on her bed. She had been sleeping when Kid had woken her.

“Oh good, little bro decided to send his stupid henchmen after me. Well, kill me, I’ve got nothing else to give,” says the woman.

“Little bro?” says Melanie, “We’re not with Christopher if that’s who you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you’re not with Chris?” says the woman, “Then who are you guys?”

“We’re the terrorists,” says Mimi, “I’m Mimi, and this is Melanie and Matt, and right there is my daughter Kid.”

“You guys are insane,” the woman exclaims, “You manage to go coast to coast just to meet Chris when all you had to do is get captured.”

“If we got captured, then that’s spelling our doom,” says Melanie, “Jones and Vivian both died with a botched assassination attempt. We’re here to take him on by surprise. We’re not going to make the same mistakes that everyone else has made.”

“Good luck, you’re not getting through that mess. Now leave me to sleep, I’m tired,” says the woman.

“What did you mean by little bro?” says Mimi, “Are you his sister?”

“Half-sister. My name is Karen Vega.”

“Well, do you know of a way to get through the storm?”

“Yeah, I do. I was the one who created all the suits to allow people to get through the radiation to get supplies,” says Karen.

“What?”

“Look, I was working for my brother. I was surprised as any other person to see him win and I wanted to just congratulate him, you know? We never had the best of relationships. I never knew of Chris until after I came back home after the economy hit hard. I got laid off of my job. I mean, I was working for one of the most powerful banks and I never expected them to go down under. Anyway, I had to move back home. The family had recently given up tracking Jones Brimley down so they just welcomed me back with open arms. That’s when I first met him, Christopher. When I was growing up, I only had an older brother named Adam who I only saw for a year before he went off to become a researcher for some company. He used to tease me a lot and I always felt a little bit jealous that he had all this power over me. I kind of liked being the older sister. Unfortunately, Christopher was a nightmare to deal with. He always complained that he wanted a fun sister, not a boring, geek sister who loves math. I was always fascinated with science but I never had the grades for it. My math was still good, so I went into economics instead. Anyway, I never really got along with Christopher. Besides me too being too much of a geek, he said he wanted a younger sibling to play with. I asked him why he couldn’t make do with an older one and he wouldn’t answer. He just kept doing whatever it is he did and never wanted to play with me. So, a few years later, I managed to snag a job for the government doing some classified scientific studies. Then, when I heard Chris managed to get the GOP nomination, I sort of flipped out. How could he, out of all people, become a potential candidate? I mean, the GOP hasn’t been very good with picking winners lately, but really, Chris? Anyway, I followed the debates and the advertisements and whatnot; he was actually coherent and was nothing like the old Chris I knew. Maybe, he had changed. I was wrong, the day he won and the day he stepped into the office, I could already tell he was the same person. He actually recognized me when I said hello. That was it. That’s all he ever said to me when I was working in his government. I continued to do calculations when I was told to develop a suit for radiation protection. I said those have already been made, but supplies to make the suits had run short. I had to come up with a new way to make them. I finally managed to do it but only created three prototype suits before the place blew up. I was actually off getting supplies to finish the suits when it happened. I didn’t know this was what Chris had planned to use the suits for. I didn’t know he was capable of such destruction. This entire area used to be radioactive, but it’s begun to dissipate. All that remains is the haze that is above Chris’s new office. Some of Chris’s men wanted to get the suits from me. I gave them up; I mean what else was I supposed to do with them? I’m not going back there. Anyway, that’s my story. Now I’m going to back to sleep.”

“Can you make a new suit?” asks Mimi.

“Sure, but you have to get me the supplies. Trust me, you’re not going to find them in a place like this,” says Karen.

“What happened to the suits?”

“Well, I was told to develop three of them. One for an adult male that is slightly overweight, one for a woman and one for a little girl. I mean, I still have the one for a little girl, they didn’t want it. I mean, none of you are gonna fit in that except that for that baby and the kid.”

“My name is Kid!” Kid shouts, “I’m not just a kid!”

“Woah, relax. Sorry, kid,” says Karen, “Look, you can have this suit. I don’t care. Do what you want.”

“I guess that means I’ll have to go alone from here.”

“What are you talking about?” asks Karen.

“I’m must be the one to kill Christopher.”

“You? I’m pretty sure Chris could easily take you down even with that shiny little toy of yours,” scoffs Karen.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

“Look, kid. I hate to break it you, but you’re gonna have to walk like fifteen miles and if you’re not tired from that, you’ll have to deal with whoever’s left besides Chris in that office of his. I mean, go ahead. Be my guest. Just walk into your grave.”

“Look, Karen. Kid is much stronger than she appears to be,” says Melanie, “She’s managed to walk through this treacherous wasteland and has seen her family and friends die before her tiny little eyes. Inside that girl lies a much tougher spirit. I believe in her.”

“Kid is all I have left in this world,” says Mimi, “I know she’ll come back to my safely.”

“You’re going to believe this little child will end Chris’s reign. I’d love to believe that, but the chances are that she won’t succeed. I mean, I wish the best of luck but you know, I don’t see it happening,” says Karen.

“I’ll do it! I’ll come back and show you what I’m made of!” shouts Kid.

Karen sighs, “In this world, all I do nowadays is sleep and watch television. I have nothing else to live for. I have seen this world go from happy to bleak in a blink of an eye. I believe in nothing anymore. I’m surprised I haven’t killed myself at this point. If you really believe so strongly in stopping him, you better put this on.”

Karen hands Kid the suit. Kid struggles to put it on but manages to fit it all around her body.

“There you go, kid. A suit that’ll protect you from the radioactive dust. Here’s your sword, good luck. Hope to see you again, but I doubt it,” says Karen, “Now to go to sleep.”

The four walk outside. Matt begins to cry as they watch Kid head into the dust.

“According to this map, just head north!” shouts Mimi.

“Good luck!” shouts Melanie, “We’ll be rooting for you.”

Karen watches from outside the hole in her hut. She gets out of bed and opens her door. She runs past Mimi and Melanie and rushes towards Kid. Karen goes through the dust barrier and tries to reach Kid. Kid turns around to find Karen struggling on the floor.

“Karen? What are you doing?!” yells Kid.

“I don’t know,” she says, “If you’re our last hope, then we’re really screwed, huh?”

Karen stops moving. Kid stares at the body for a few seconds. Mimi and Melanie watch as Kid returns from the dust.

“Why did she do that?” asks Kid.

The two pause as they try to come up with an answer.

“She has seen the transformation of Christopher from his early years to his later years. What if you had watched Vivian all your life and never believed in anything she ever did?” asks Mimi.

“I don’t know what I would think.”

“Exactly. Karen could only watch him grow and was never able to penetrate whatever went on in his mind. I believe she felt powerless to stop him. She thought if she couldn’t do anything, how could you?”

“I’m different. I’m not powerless! I’ll stop him! For Vivian, I will kill him!” Kid shouts.

Kid takes off her suit and hugs Matt. Matt stops crying and begins to laugh. She says goodbye to her mom and kisses her farewell. She looks up at Melanie and gives her a thumbs-up. She puts the suit back on. She heads back into the dust storm, confident as ever. She passes by the body of Karen and takes a look at it.

“To be related to Christopher must be a curse, huh?”

Chapter Twenty Two: Revenge

Ballad of the Avenging Sister

She walks alone, with just a sword,
   She tells herself, she must press on.
Her mind is young, yet she still finds,
   She only hears of those long gone.

She takes a break to ease her mind,
   Then journeys on, right to the lair.
The day is bright, the sky is clear,
   Yet all around, no one is there.

The madness caused by just one man,
   All to be stopped with just one girl.
She knows she is the final hope,
   To take his life, and save the world.

Kid continues to walk forward as she looks at her compass. The ruined soil that has contributed to the dust storms only impedes Kid as she attempts to walk faster. Christopher’s agriculture policy only brought ruin to this land. The lack of clean water due to the failure of Christopher to continue the government’s public water works has taken a toll on society itself. War within America has been fought over scarce resources that dwindle each day. Without water, life can not exist. Kid looks around the ghost town that is in her way. Corpses lay in the same position as they died in, in fear. She looks away and continues to walk towards her destination. Her stomach growls. She has not eaten anything for a day and she still must press on.

“Christopher, you sick person. How could you do this?” she thinks as she continues walking.

She continues to fight against the dust storm that impedes her path when she feels her body completely bogged down. Her mind becomes heavy and she can barely keep awake. She fights to stay conscious as she realizes she has hit the core of the radiation. Her suit continues to protect her, but the weight of the radiation slows her down tremendously. She continues walking at an even slower pace. She knows she must kill Christopher at any cost, even if she dies. Her sister would be proud.

“Vivian,” she says to herself, “I wish you were here with me. I can’t do this by myself.”

Melanie and Mimi wait patiently on top of the broken car, waiting for Kid’s return.

“Do you think she has what it takes?” asks Melanie.

“I do not know. When we raised Vivian, she was our first child and we had made many mistakes. Her behavior had always been a little bit rough and perhaps we had been too hard on her. Her anger had consumed her body and by the time she hit high school, she seemed to be an out of control rebel. When we had Kid, we decided to be nicer, gentler and less strict. Kid seems to be a little more naïve and a little more childish than Vivian at the same age, but that was fine by me. Kid probably would have grown up to be a good woman at least,” says Mimi.

“What do you mean would have?”

Mimi hesitates to answer but then Melanie realizes what she was implying.

“Don’t worry; she’s got Vivian’s spirit for now. If she could keep her head up, she’ll do fine,” says Melanie.

“Do you think I made the good decision to let her go?”

“We all we must part from our children one day.”

“But like this?” Mimi exclaims.

“Not the best example, but still, Kid is the only one who can do this. The fate of the nation rests on her shoulders.”

“Miles always quoted that God will not make us bear more than we can handle. What kind of God would give Kid so much responsibility?”

Kid continues on her walk. The weight of the suit begins to take a toll on Kid’s mind. She finds herself getting thirstier with every minute. She comes across a bottle of water and begins to stare hard into it. She wishes she could take off the suit and drink it. She pauses at the water and pretends she is drinking it.

“It’s just not the same,” she thinks to herself.

A few hours pass and she sees a building that is not destroyed. It is the entrance to Christopher’s basement. She can hardly believe her eyes. She clenches her fists harder on the sword she carries.

“It is now or never.”

She picks up the pace and begins to run towards the entrance. Before she opens the door, she finds the bodies of Vivian and Miles.

“What?” she exclaimed as she saw the decomposed piles of flesh.

She continues to stare at them, stunned at the sight.

“Christopher, you jerk!” she screams as loud as she can, “How dare you defile my father’s body! Vivian, Vivian, why did you leave me alone in this terrible world? You said things would be great! Ever since we discovered Christopher, everything has turned into a nightmare for me. Why? Why?”

“I am there for you,” says Vivian.

“What? Who was that?”

“Kid, you aren’t the same person I know and love.”

“Vivian? What do you mean?”

“You want to kill Christopher? I didn’t think you had it in you to kill a fly.”

“I don’t!”

“To kill a human then?” questions Vivian.

“It’s different!” Kid exclaims.

“She’s right, God would never allow you to kill another human being,” says Miles.

“He killed you! He has done too much wrong as well! An eye for an eye!”

“Christopher never killed a single person. He never killed anyone with his bare hands,” explains Miles.

“He caused all of this! He is responsible for everything that has happened to my world! Everything I have done since we’ve moved is because of him! I want nothing more than to settle a score!” screams Kid.

“Just forget about that, everything will be fine at the end,” says Vivian.

“No! It won’t be if Christopher is still alive!” Kid yells.

“You don’t have to worry. It’s all in the stars.”

“I am the one who is destined to kill Christopher. I must do it!”

“Kid, you’re too sweet of a girl to kill anyone,” says Miles.

“I am not! I can be tough too!” she exclaims as she swings the sword at Miles.

“You have killed me,” says Miles, “How could you do this to your own father?”

“I…I didn’t mean to!” wails Kid, “Stop this! You’re not real!”

“I am real, and you’ve killed me.”

“How could you do that to Dad?” asked Vivian.

“How could you do this to me?” asked Miles.

“How could you?”

“How could you?”

Kid blacks out and collapses into the dirt next to the bodies of Vivian and Miles. She gets up after an hour and finds herself at the entrance to Christopher’s basement. She takes a look at the bodies one last time before opening the door.

“Must have been a bad dream,” mutters Kid.

She opens the door to find an unlighted hallway. She looks around for a light switch and finds it. She goes down the stairs and finds a wheelchair. She takes off her suit and puts the places it neatly next to the wheelchair. She stares down the hallway. She slowly takes her sword and proceeds down the hallway.

Christopher stares at his desk. He has grown tired of playing all thirty nine of his video games. He stares at a picture of Rabbichoso. He looks around to find the other members of the cabinet but they have gone missing.

“Rabbichoso, do you think I’m a good president?” asks Christopher.

“Of course, father!” Rabbichoso responds, “You’ve cemented America’s superpower status!”

“Some people, like those terrorists, are out to get me. That girl terrorist even convinced my half-brother to try to kill me. He gave up his life to protect that terrorist, why would he do that?”

“Father, some things can’t be explained.”

“No, they can be,” replies Thomas, also known as Black Rabbichoso, “Your brother was corrupted by the sins of mankind. You must purge the earth.”

“No! I can’t! There are so many innocent women out there who are potentially my future wives!” Christopher exclaims.

“Understand Christopher, there are men out there willing to risk their lives to kill you. They are also taking away the precious women so you desperately need,” says Thomas.

“Do not worry!” says Christopher, “Melanie will soon come and all of my problems will be solved!”

“What if Melanie dies?”

“She can’t! She’s got enough nerve in her to take out those terrorists! She has the right nerve amount amongst all the ladies!”

“Christopher, as your Secretary of Defense, I know what I am talking about when I say America needs to be purged. You can repopulate the earth once you’ve captured any girl you desire,” commands Thomas.

“Any girl I desire? But they only exist in cartoons!”

“Look, it is ultimately your decision on what to do with America. I must warn you that America will only get worse. Your presidency is coming to a close, and it’s not because of term limits. No, Christopher. You’re going to die,” says Thomas ominously.

“Why are you saying these things?” asked Christopher.

“I am here to protect you. Deep in the back of your mind, you know Melanie isn’t coming. You know it to be true.”

“Shut up!” shouts Christopher.

“What is going on?” exclaims the janitor.

He walks in to find Christopher yelling at pieces of paper that are propped up with empty soda cans. Christopher notices the janitor and begins to calm down.

“Hello, I was just talking with them,” Christopher explains as he points towards the pictures.

“Christopher, have you ever thought of going to therapy? I can get a specialist here,” says the janitor.

“No, I don’t need therapy! I am perfectly normal just like the rest of the worldwide population.”

“Alright, Christopher, whatever you say. I am going to clean the closet now.”

“Okay, I have so much stress right now,” Christopher complains, “I think I will take a nap.”

“You do that,” replies the janitor as he leaves the room.

Kid continues moving down the hallway. She spots a few pictures set up on a desk. They are the same ones that were set up when she first encountered Christopher at his house. All of the pictures of him and a beautiful woman were with Melanie. The one drawn picture is censored, but displays Christopher giving a thumbs-up while Melanie lays on a bed moaning. In the corner of the picture, a little girl is smiling. Kid puts the picture down and finds a poem right next to it.

The Saddest Soul in the Universe
By Christopher Winnfield Vega

Sad and depressed, sad and depressed
The cops took away my damsel distressed
In trying to find my future wife
I suddenly find a cop with a knife
Angered, lonely and absolutely sad
I may never become a future dad
With the Hyper Magician Robot’s song
I sing these depressing lyrics along
“But you say, then why I am still only cursed?
But you say, my virginity really is the worst!
But you say, hate those cops who went and took her away!
I want a girlfriend.”
So with this song deep in mind
My future wife I hoped I could find
Without a place, without a girl
I may just give the mall a whirl
This is not the end, you jerks indeed
I will only look harder with lightning speed
I end this song with a single tear
I will find my woman in a single year

Kid finds that the poem had been written six years ago. She continues on down the hallway ignoring everything else Christopher left to supposedly introduce Melanie or a future wife. She passes by an assortment of adult-type toys she does not understand, a few magazines and DVDs, and a few packets of protection in extra-large size. She finally reaches the door.

Chapter Twenty Three: Everything

Kid takes a breath before opening the door at the end of the hallway.

“You can do it, you just gotta believe,” she says to herself before she opens the door.

Slowly she reaches for the handle and opens the door. Sword in front of her, she slowly walks into the hallway and enters a room. She spots Christopher Winnfield Vega sleeping on top of his desk.

“Bingo.”

She walks over and prepares to decapitate him. The sword is stopped by a broom and knocked out of Kid’s hands.

“No!” she shouts as she scrambles to get it back.

“Not so fast, Kid,” says the janitor as he takes out his gun, “Take one more step and you’re dead.”

Kid slowly turns towards the janitor and stares at him. The janitor makes no movement.

“So, Kid, you made it this far. Congratulations, pretty impressive for a little girl.”

The janitor walks up to Kid and pinches her cheek, “So cute.”

Kid sticks her tongue out at him while he continues to point the gun at her.

“So, I bet you’re wondering who I am.”

“Yes, who are you?” asks Kid.

“My name is Hendrix. I am the leader of America.”

“What?” Kid says in surprise.

“Christopher is only a sock puppet for the true owners of America. Look at him sleeping, so adorable, yet disgusting at the same time. The fat bastard has turned into a psychopath.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, we only chose Christopher because he amused us. I mean, his antics were hilarious so it would only be fitting to see what he would do as president. Every day he would have something new to reveal and every day we would laugh. He would often delve into his past life and randomly scream out curses while denouncing everyone and everything. His whole vice-presidential and cabinet debacle was hilarious on its own. After a while though, it did get boring to say the least. Christopher actually believed he had power. He believed he could control everything in America despite not having real influence. We let him play with the nukes for a while and watched him bring America to ruin as well as a few other countries we honestly didn’t care about.”

“Wait, you said we? What are you talking about?” asked Kid.

“You see, I’m only an agent working for a higher power. I work for China.”

“What?”

“China has a long standing hatred with America. Not only did they start a war with us, they denounced the One China policy and continued to accrue massive debt. We started to doubt America would pay us back so we began Operation Praying Mantis. It all started in the year 2004 when George Bush ran for reelection. He needed to win so he turned to us. We backed up the Republican Party behind doors and gained massive influence among the party. He did many stupid things and said many foolish quotes all because we told him to. We were that influential and that powerful. Then we tested the waters in 2008 when Barack Obama and John McCain battled for the White House. McCain had no idea of our existence. We secretly weaseled our way in to influence McCain to say things that go against his ideals. We even picked Sarah Palin to run as his vice president to see how idiotic Americans had become. Surprisingly, McCain was poised to win even with Sarah Palin until the economy took a nosedive. We needed to see if Americans would actually vote for someone that politically naïve, that stupid, and it was a rousing success. It was at this point rumors began surfacing of a shadow government. George Bush was trying to reveal our existence to the world. No one believed him because we had destroyed his reputation; however he would just not shut his mouth. Bush is the only one who knows how much power we held while top party officials just believed we were backing them up financially. We had to keep his mouth shut so that’s the reason for his assassination in 2010. We had to destroy all his records so we burned his house down to the ground. McCain was easier to deal with; he just died of old age before he could reveal anything. It was at this time that the Democrats seized control of the White House for who knows how long. In that time, more radical Democrats continued to win while we kept sending out terrible candidates. Soon, America was shaped into a bleak society, run by the government. We waited patiently for a day to strike. We wanted to bring in a candidate that would destroy America. When one of our agents saw the news report about a crazy man in a car chase, we had found our man. Christopher Winnfield Vega presented himself to the world through his undying love for Melanie. We promised him he would get Melanie after the end of his presidency only if Christopher listened to each of our commands. We had to train this idiot into presenting himself as a viable candidate for nine months. Three of our staff members killed themselves while trying to do it. After he was nominated, we continued the ruse and found the Americans would actually support this man. Despite the many idiotic mistakes he made, no one wanted the Democrats in power anymore. Christopher Winnfield Vega had become next president and it felt so good. The Democrats had given so much power to the government that we abused it and every single loophole we could find. We gave ourselves even more power than possibly imagined. So, what will China gain from doing all of this? Simple, it’s just revenge. Christopher has done more to destroy America’s reputation than every politician in the world combined. His idiocy combined with his so-called creativity has led to many ridiculous laws and changes to the basic fundamentals of government that no country on earth could respect the United States anymore. This is what we have wanted, complete humiliation, and of course, funds that we have been wiring directly to China. Christopher shut down many public services and cut funding to thousands of programs just to feed our need for money. China wishes to become the next superpower but the United States has taken that spot for far too long. And to think, it has all come down to this. A little girl with a sword attempting to take on the government of Christopher. Pathetic, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you expect your fellow patriots to have killed Christopher earlier?”

Kid stares back at Hendrix, she is completely stunned by this revelation. She can not even think to come up with an answer to the question.

“I see you’re too busy being amazed. That magician almost ruined everything; however, his hesitance got the best of him. There have been a few threats, but nothing that has surfaced. You see how powerful we are? We have subverted America into two categories: mindless followers and apathetic renegades. Then again, isn’t that how America has always been?”

Kid continues to stare at Hendrix. She feels powerless. She had come all this way for nothing. Even if she did kill Christopher, it wouldn’t mean an end to an era. It wouldn’t mean anything at all.

“Kid, I have to congratulate you. You did your best. Now, it’s time for you to say goodbye,” Hendrix announces as he points his gun towards her.

“Don’t you feel any remorse for killing someone as adorable as me?” asks Kid.

“No.”

Just as Hendrix is about to fire, Christopher jumps on top of Hendrix and slams him to the ground. The gun is flung out of his hand and Kid grabs it. Christopher then crushes Hendrix with his body weight and a minute later, he suffocates to death.

“Christopher, why did you save me?” asks Kid.

“Rabbichoso, I thought you were going to be hurt by the janitor, so I stopped him with my magical powers,” says Christopher.

“Father, thank you so much for saving my life. I only wish I was real,” replies Rabbichoso.

“You are real Rabbichoso, now come to father.”

“No, I can’t. I’m not real. You created me because you had nothing in your life.”

“Please, don’t disobey father, come with me to a better place.”

“I can’t go with you anywhere, Christopher. All throughout your life, you always found escape in something. I’m putting a stop to this. You can’t escape with me. You need to face reality and live.”

“What would I need to escape from?” asks Christopher.

“Ever since your parents have died, you have lost any foundation in your life. You hardly know how to function in the real world without someone telling you what to do or say. You despise the real world and all its complications; you would rather live in your crazy, twisted land. Secondly, Melanie. She was everything to you and she rebuffed you completely. You made up stories about you being with her after she got the restraining order and you just continued to just behave immaturely. You continue to believe that she will come to like an angel and you refuse to escape from that fantasy. Finally, your future. You have no future.”

“That is not true! I have a great future ahead!”

“What is it then, Christopher?”

Christopher pauses and takes a moment to think about an answer. Kid continues to stare at him holding a piece of paper in his hands.

“I will have my future wife and future daughter!” Christopher exclaims.

“No, you won’t. You’re destined to live alone, without a wife or daughter. You will live alone and die alone. That is your fate Christopher. You have cemented it in stone. Others can not save you from your fate,” says Rabbichoso.

Christopher is finally at a loss for words.

“I only exist as a part of your mind that has been eating away at you for years. You can either listen to what I say or live a doomed existence with no future!”

“I want to be with you Rabbichoso, we can be best friends forever!”

“You haven’t been listening have you, Christopher?”

“I have!”

“No, you haven’t and I guess you never will. Farewell,” says Rabbichoso as he fades away from Christopher’s hands.

“No!” shouts Christopher as he begins to chase him.

Christopher runs right into the screen that deploys nuclear devices and destroys the input device. An alarm sounds as the self-destruct mechanism is activated. Kid looks back at Christopher who had fallen down against the wall and points the gun at him. She decides not to shoot before she runs out to the exit. The alarm counts down from three minutes as Kid runs as fast as she ever ran in her life. She finds the suit she left behind and quickly puts it on. She barely makes it out the steps when the explosion behind her shoots from the basement. She begins the long walk back.

“Did you hear that explosion?” asked Melanie.

“Yes, I think it came from inside the dust storm,” replied Mimi.

“I hope Kid is okay.”

“I know she is,” responds Mimi.

The two wait patiently for any sign of Kid as she continues to make the long journey back. Hours later, Kid can see the end of the dust storm. The compass continues to guide her as she reaches the end of the storm. She can see Melanie and Mimi.

“Kid!” Mimi shouts as she spots Kid from a distance.

“Mom!” Kid shouts back.

The two embrace as Melanie looks on.

“So, what happened?” asks Mimi.

“A lot of things happened,” Kid replies.

“Well, did you kill Christopher?”

“No, I think the explosion did though.”

“So that was an explosion!” exclaimed Melanie, “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” says Kid as she explains what had happened inside the basement.

Afterwards, the four find an old beat up car to make their way out of the desolate, ghostly area.

“Where now?” asks Kid.

“I don’t really know,” replies Melanie, “I’d like to have somewhere for Matt to stay safe.”

“And I would just like to live the rest of my days in peace,” replies Mimi.

Melanie turns on the radio to hear dead silence.

Chapter Twenty Four: Reset

Dear Diary,

We have been hopping from town to town looking for a place to settle down. It hasn’t gone so well. Many places have been devastated by Christopher’s reign and it appears as though America is dead as a country. I see a lot of violence on the streets and looting is on the rise. There doesn’t seem to be much left. I don’t know what we’re going to do.

Love Kid.

Kid puts her pencil down, and thinks to herself, “Vivian, I hope you’re enjoying your time up there more than me down here. You gave your life to protect me and I hope you are treated nicely.”

“Mom?” asks Kid.

“Yes?” replies Mimi.

“What will we do if we can’t find a place?”

“I think we will move to Canada.”

“No can do,” interjects Shana, “Canada’s been bombed to pieces.”

“I doubt any airlines are still running,” mentions Mimi.

“Man, what are we supposed to do,” says Shana.

Hu Huanghe answers the phone. He hears the news that the Christopher presidency has ended. He does not seem displeased by this answer.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted,” he says to himself, “Wangye, how much information has been returned to us?”

“Everything,” she replies.

“Excellent.”

Kid continues to stare out the car window and thinks about Miles and Vivian. So much lost, yet so little gained. She looks up at the sky to find an object hurtling down towards them.

“What’s that?” asks Kid.

“I’m not too sure,” says Shana.

“Hu Huanghe, the nuclear weapons have all been launched; the entire world is at our mercy now,” announces Wangye.

“Excellent. Proceed to eliminate our enemies.”

“Sir, we have a situation!” exclaims a worker, “Some of the nuclear weapons have been targeted onto us!”

“How can this be?” shouts Huanghe.

“We have a traitor in our hands,” says the worker who begins kneeling, “Please God, let me live.”

Nuclear rain fell upon the world. God’s tears fell upon the world.

“So, this is how the world ends,” he tries to say as he stifles his laughter, “That was quite hilarious.”

“You know, I honestly thought humans were better than this, that such a chain reaction stemming from a single man could have been nipped in the bud after a few days. So sad. So sad.”

“Then again, I did create every single thing in this entire world, including Christopher. That man, what was I drinking when I creating him? I believe it was brandy. That was a good dinner.”

“What was my thought process into creating such a man? Well, being hammered I thought it would be funny to create a person who had no imagination whatsoever. He would be influenced by everyone and everything and could not think of an original thought for himself. He would also disregard everyone else’s feelings but believed he wasn’t. A man who can only think about himself and pushes his opinion above others, that really is quite narcissist and sad. What else did I do? Oh, there are too many details to list. Man, I should create another person like Christopher. No, that would spoil the fun and uniqueness of him. I don’t think I’ll do that again. Well I can’t anyway; there is no more world left.”

“What should I do?”

Somewhere in Nevada, a person by the username of cogs turns off her television. She takes a step outside and breathes in the fresh air.

“Life is such a wonderful thing to have. Well, time to back inside and go play some video games,” she says as she closes her door.

Jim heads over to Shana’s house for a visit.

“Hey Jim, what’s up?” she asks.

“You know, it’s been a year since we’ve met each other, you know? This has been on my mind for quite a while now…”

Jim gets down on one knee, “Shana, will you marry me?”

Shana is stunned by this announcement. The two had seen each other a lot over the year and while they were never officially started a relationship, the two always seemed to be seen together. She opens her mouth but can’t find words.

“Well?” asks Jim.

“Yes, of course, Jim.”

Karen Vega enters the Oval Office becoming the first woman president in the United States. A staunch Republican, her rhetoric and demeanor managed to sway the hearts of millions of Americans after years of Democratic rule. Parts of her inauguration speech are being replayed on a monitor.

“Who knew the daughter of a crazy musician and a hippie roadie could become the president of the United States. Not only that, America has seen past issues such as color, religion, gender, and creed to pick a president based on merit alone. That, my friends, is what America is about.”

She smirks as she watches herself.

“Oh, man, putting up such a front for the people. I’m not the speech maker they think I am, they’ve seen my past, I’m not too good with words,” she says to one of her Secret Service agents.

“Well madam, you did manage to pull off the delivery very well,” he replies.

“Yes, well I’m just adding to my family’s history of deception. I mean, Jones Brimley? Hah, he changed his name after discovering the disgrace of our family name. Christopher, well, I haven’t heard from him in all those years, and I don’t care either. We were all born from a father whose only goal is sexual conquest. And to think I’m president, pretty amazing, huh?”

“Yes, madam, it truly is a great day for America.”

The magician stands over the grave of Eva G. Warren who passed away a day earlier.

“You were a good friend; you taught me everything I know,” says the magician, “Sally, why do you think she gave up her life for us?”

Sally gets up from her chair and walks over the magician, locking arms with him, “The world was not meant to see such acts of the paranormal. Our recklessness proved fatal. If she didn’t step in, we would have died.”

“She truly cared for all of her students, didn’t she?” asks the magician.

“She truly did, her whole life was dedicated to teaching. Until she met Christopher, her streak had gone unbroken and after she met him, she started a new streak that lasted to her death.”

“I should have not let my anger consume me.”

“You were doing the right thing.”

“Still, to act out against the robber like that and then have the police get involved, it’s all my fault,” mutters the magician.

“Eva knew you would one day find yourself in trouble and you wouldn’t able to save yourself. She said that our fates have already been decided. She was powerful beyond her years. She knew.”

“God bless you, Eva,” says the magician as the two slowly walk away from the grave.

Mr. Mays has finally quit teaching, he hit it big.

“So long, suckers!” he shouts as he hops into his limo.

“Mr. Mays, where are you going?” shouts Cameron as he runs after the limo.

“Kid, you’ll do fine without me. I’m off to bigger and better things!” he laughs as the limo leaves.

“How could he do this?” asks the principal as he watches the limo leave in disbelief, “Now we’re a teacher short. Run along back into your classroom, I have to find a substitute.”

Cameron heads back into the classroom and sits next to the girl he secretly has a crush on.

“Hi,” says Cameron.

“Why do you always sit by me?” asks the girl.

“Well, I kind of like you,” says Cameron.

“That’s nice,” replies the girl.

The two awkwardly stare at each other for a few seconds. Cameron wants to say something to break the silence but before he can do that, the girl responds.

“Do you want to come over to my house to play?” asks the girl.

“Sure!” says Cameron with a smile on his face.

After school, Cameron gets dropped off at the girl’s house and finds her watching television.

“Look!” says the girl, “It’s Mr. Mays!”

On the television, Mr. Mays can be seen on a commericial.

“We’re doing this live!” he shouts, “I don’t make mistakes, so let’s get to it.”

“Look at this cigarette!” he yells, “This is the most powerful cigarette you’ll ever buy! Now, watch this!”

He takes a cigarette and lights it.

“Just this one cigarette will do over thirty puffs of smoke so it is gonna save you a lot of money. Watch!” he demands.

He begins smoking the cigarette. The kids continue to watch him as he continues to smoke the cigarette. The commercial continues to just show Mr. Mays smoking the cigarette for well over three minutes. He finally stops and readdresses the audience.

“This is not magic! You don’t need a cabinet full of packs! Just this one will do! Order right now!” he yells right into the television screen.

“I feel like smoking now,” says Cameron.

“Let’s go buy some!” says the girl excitedly.

“Okay!” says Cameron in agreement.

Jones Brimley watches a replay of Karen’s inauguration speech. He calls the White House to see if she is there. They say she’s busy at the moment. He looks outside to see a woman approaching his door.

“Hello!” says the woman, “My name is Melanie and I would like to congratulate you on your sister getting inaugurated!”

“That’s nice,” says Jones, “Who are you?”

“Oh, let me introduce myself, I am a representative of Waynesworth Enterprises and we are interested in doing a book deal with you.”

“Tell them no thanks,” says Jones, “I don’t have the inspiration to write books right now.”

“Really?” asks Melanie, “You seem to have a lot of ideas. I mean your family is quite famous with you as an author and your sister as the first female president. The world works in strange ways, doesn’t it?”

“You’ve read my books, haven’t you?”

“Only a few of them, I haven’t gotten around to reading the others.”

Jones pauses for a moment, “How would you like have a cup of coffee with me? We can talk about a potential book deal. Maybe I have some inspiration left, after all.”

Kid knocks Vivian’s door a few times. Vivian takes off her headphones and opens the door to find Kid looking down on the ground.

“Kid, what’s up?” asks Vivian.

“It’s quite lonely with just me sitting in my room. Can I join you?” asks Kid.

“Of course you can.”

“Ever since we’ve moved,” Kid explains, “I’ve realized that you are my only true friend.”

“Don’t say that, you had plenty of friends back at our old home.”

“But you’re the only one I can trust with all of my heart!”

“Sis, I’m sure this place has plenty of new trustworthy friends for you. We just have to look around for them is all.”

“But Viv, all I’ve seen are adults in suits. I haven’t seen a single kid around here my age!”

“Oh Kid, come here,” says Vivian as she pulls Kid closer to her, “Even if we don’t find anyone, you’ll still have me. I’ll make sure to protect you as much as possible, okay?”

“Thanks sis,” Kid says.

“So, do you want to explore the city with me?” asks Vivian.

“Sure!”

The two walk outside. They look at the neighbor’s house for a while.

“It looks kind of old,” says Kid.

“Their yard hasn’t been trimmed for quite a long time. They must have gone on vacation or something,” says Vivian, “Come on, let’s not waste our time here.”

The two wait a bus stop and soon a bus arrives. The two hop onto the bus, looking for new friends.