Reversal | Teen Ink

Reversal

June 18, 2013
By Jared_C BRONZE, Ardsley, New York
Jared_C BRONZE, Ardsley, New York
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Reversal

Dead. That is... half the country. I don’t know how or why, but they are. It was my fault and only I have the power to fix it. The rest of, them, are all under his power, but I know one secret that can change it all.
My name is Dilon Sparks, and I must sneak into sector 5. What is sector 5 you ask? Well, it’s only the most secure testing site in the country. No one goes in, no one goes out. I will be the first to break that streak. If only I had my own hovercraft. That would make life a whole lot easier, woulddn’t it? However, my job isn’t accessible them, and I’m stuck with a subsonic car. In the rich city, they aren’t that common.
5 days earlier...
It all started with that man. He seemed like a good guy, and against the repeating candidate, he almost had the advantage. His whole speech was golden in the eyes of many.


“I will provide money for the lower class” he began, “by having my country create new technologies, including, He stopped for effect,” Time travel!”


The crowd answered with cheering “WOOOO HE’S GONNA WIN”. I was astounded also, and I swore to vote for him. When votes came, though, I couldn’t make it. It was a worldwide holiday, and I was stuck working. My boss could’ve been arrested if I had told the enforcers, but I needed the money. I missed nearly the whole voting day, and by the time I showed up at the Capitol building, I saw something that made my blood run cold. 1,000,400,345 to 1,000,400,345. My vote would decide the new ruler. I nearly fainted. I knew I wanted to vote for him, but there is so much pressure. I could see the imperial enforcers watching, their weapons glinting in the light. Their pure black outfits absorbed all light, leaving just black. Lets just say their outfits complemented their job. I had to choose. Now. Sweat formed on the brow of by face. Slowly, it rolled down, like liquid mercury. Then my vote went in. The new ruler is...
Back to the present
I’m sure you can guess now who the ruler is because you probably know what I am sneaking in for. The Time machine. He came and ruined everything. He tore down the government and replaced it with his own image. Everyone must wear a nametag, and these bland suits. Freedom of expression, gone. Freedom of Speech? Gone. Everyone but the most elite of officials were stripped of their riches, and forced into poverty. The funny thing is, I’m not one to complain. My dad happened to be in the government at the time, and was promoted. I got a mansion, hundreds of slaves, and any hovercraft of my choice. It just doesn’t seem right...
I need to change things. Running to the counter, grab my dad’s ID, and hop in my sweet ride. Next thing I know. I’m zooming at Mach 5. With the flashy paint job, one of the only models not black, the enforcers know to stay clear. In two hours I reach the outer gate- a score from the main facility. I forgot one thing- I look nothing like my old man. I silently curse myself for even starting. They'll know I’m a fraud. Today, I’m a dead man.
I pull up outside the gate. Hot beads of sweat formed on the top of my brow. Time seemed to stop as I lightly tapped the pedal. I pulled up to the tinted window. My face turned an unhealthy shade of white, and I waited.
The window then opened and some blood flowed back into my face as I saw the black and gold stripes of a new recruit. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.
“ ID please” he asked in his routine voice.
“ Uhh. Here you go sir” I handed him my father’s ID.
“ Ohh” he sighed “Please state your name and rank”
“ John Sparks” I said using my dad’s name “ Level 2 access”. Only the ruler himself had level 1 access, so I felt I was in good shape. The recruit flagged me on, and I rode closer and closer to the core. Then the last thing I wanted to happen happened. The gunshot.
The next thing I remember was my face hit the wheel and I blacked out. The last thing I think of is I’m a dead man...
Announcement: “ Prisoner D in Sector X please step forward and state your crime.”
“Treason against the ruler and our country.” I knew that meant death by firing squad, but I couldn’t think about that now. I needed to find a way to escape. But how? Then I remembered my father. Level 2 access. I might have just saved my cause. I could get past the DNA scanners! As I allowed myself to get ushered back to my cell, I couldn’t help but smile. I was planning my way out.
Phase 1: I called for a guard. I needed to get a map of the complex. As he unlocked my cell, he came in with 4 other men, requirements of opening a maximum security guarded cell. I had previously built a bomb from the lemon based supplements, and some other chemicals I found in the food. Crazy huh?
He entered the cell with his men; guns armed and asked, “What do you want. Not that it matters” he added with a chuckle to himself.
I answered, “ The ceiling’s been leaking, and I don’t know what to do about it” They leaned closer to the mysterious puddle, and I dived for cover. The next thing I know is that the world literally exploded around me. Nothing could shield my eyes from the blast of UV light, so I was temporarily blinded-- A minor sacrifice to a greater cause. I examined the men: All dead. I grabbed the leader’s gun and map and hightailed it toward the door. Towards the core. If I could make it, everything would be fixed. I quickly glanced at the map. Only one mile to the core. What a shame they built it so close to the prison. I ran shooting every guard who dared try to get in my way. I was sweating now, excessively. I tried to go faster, but my legs physically couldn’t.
I reached the outer shell of the core. Only 5 gates left to go. I whipped out my dad’s ID, and ran swiftly down the corridor. 4 gates left to go. 3 gates left to go. 2 gates 1 gate.
Then I was hit with a flash of light. I reached the core, and in the middle sat the time machine, surrounded by a protective field. Only one more problem--about 200 soldiers also. Some sat at machines trying to operate the complex mechanics, some stood guard, but all had weapons locked on me. I then remembered, I had stolen a major’s gun. It had a shield. As quick as I could move my hands, they went towards the blue button. 200 shots followed milliseconds later. Time seemed to slow down once again, and I was as sure as dead. Then, as if some miracle, my fingers closed in on the button. A blue shield enveloped me-- the bullets disintegrated on touch. I moved to the core now, focusing my weapon on anything that dared to move. Unfortunately, there were 6 other majors in the room, and I was not the only one with the shield. I walked closer to the time machine.
“Open the protective shield, and let me go back 5 days ago.” I shouted to the man sitting in front of the most buttons.
Not knowing what to do, he followed my orders with a simple “Yes sir.”
Lights whirred all around this strange contraption. All colors of the rainbow. I was enveloped in a sea of green, then blue, then red. I didn’t know how to react, so I let the buzzing stop, and I entered.
I got in, and it seemed pretty plain to me: velvet seats with a console in the middle. Hopefully I didn’t ever need to use the console. I instantly heard a buzzing sound, and everything went dark. I vaguely remember someone saying, “You can’t ever come back to the present.” I didn’t care. Not for what I was planning to do. When I woke up, I found myself in my own house, and the previous me eating breakfast. He had, thankfully, not seen me yet. Since my weapon didn’t travel with me, I needed to find something: something deadly. I found a golf club stored in the closet and I hit him, or me, as hard as I could.
Then black...

I woke up. Silently cursing myself, I searched for the other me. The past me. I couldn’t find him. He must have left for the voting booth. I needed to reach him before he reached the toll. I needed to end him. The world would finally be able to live freely again

I found the nearest street guard and asked, “Do you know when the next pickup will be for the trash?”

He answered in about 2 minutes. I couldn’t wait that long! I needed a ride now. Voting ended in less than 10 minutes. I remembered: my neighbors Ferrari. It might be old, but boy did it fly. Running around to my neighbor’s driveway. I searched for the garage. I found it. Boy was it sweet. A newly redone interior complete with holographic touchscreen features, a new radio, and leather seats, a rare luxury reserved for the uppermost officials. However, the most important gizmo in the car was a newly redone turbocharged v14 engine that could hit Mach 1. I have never felt so proud of a car in my life. I pop open the engine lid and look for the startup motor. Finding no luck, I push aside some other pieces, with my luck, very important, and I finally lay my eyes on it. I grab the two wires connecting the motor to the rest of the engine, and I snap them away.

I quickly search around the garage for any battery of some sort, and find a small decomposing 9v. I pull it out and immediately connect the two wires. The engine roars to life with sparks flying everywhere. I close the lid, and make my way to the cockpit. I toe the gas pedal, and there I am flying 60 miles an hour down the road. I don’t care if any cops pull me over because there is no way they can catch me in this baby. The unruly driving astounds onlookers, but they don’t matter to me. I just need to finish the task at hand. I finally make it to the voting building and see myself about to put the vote in. I look around. A police motorcyclist who had been trailing me pulled up behind and pulled out his weapon. I quickly grabbed for it and, finally, with some success, I tug it free. The next thing that happens even I am not ready for. The shot goes off, and it is a clean shot through the head. Him, or me is dead before impact. But why am I not dead? I shot myself in the past.

I realize then that the time machine may have delayed effects. Maybe it will come. I hope it doesn’t, my mind says as if a cowardly thought entered my head. I know I am done for, so I just sit there. The pain doesn’t come. The darkness does…


The author's comments:
While writing a project in English class, I had this astounding idea to do an action novel. This is the work that I have spent so many hours and worked so hard on. Our final project was to publish our piece, and this is what I have.

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